Kodak PlayFull: Conclusions

CONCLUSIONS
The whole point of a pocket camcorder is to be affordable, easy to use, and compact, and the Kodak PlayFull hits it out of the park in this sense. It retails at $150 (about the same as the competition), it's incredibly simple to operate, and, even for what it is, it's especially compact.

As easy as it is to use, though, there are some aspects that make the PlayFull an uncomfortable choice in pocket camcorders. It may have the benefit of a comparatively tiny size, but this also means it has a painfully small screen that is of poor quality and not particularly useful outside of framing your shots.

Additionally, the widescreen orientation of the display -- while holding the camera vertically -- takes a while to get used to, while the d-pad is horrendous. Micro HDMI is also a rather unorthodox choice for a video out port (and as such, I doubt many users will be equipped with the necessary cable), but I'll give the PlayFull a pass on that one since I'm sure part of that decision had to do with keeping its size to a minimum.

With pocket camcorders, the point is being able to take them on the go and shoot spontaneous video on the fly. If you're looking for something that has more depth and shoots better quality video, then don't bother with the PlayFull, but you also shouldn't be looking at this type of camera in the first place. That being said, as far as pocket camcorders go, this doesn't shoot the best video or pictures, nor does it shoot the worst. You get what you pay for with the PlayFull, which is to say, just enough.

Individual Ratings: *

Image/Video Quality 
Features 
Design/Ease of Use 
Performance 
Expandability 
* Ratings averaged to produce final score