Kodak Playsport vs Flip

My Analysis: The Kodak Zx3 is in fact a waterproof video camera right out of the box and the Flip UltraHD isn't. There's a little more to it than that though. The Zx3 is waterproof to a depth of 3 meters (about 9.8 feet). It achieves this by putting all ports behind 2 doors that are sealed with little rubber O-rings. If you are familiar with these, you know that eventually they will get brittle and start to leak. By the time you notice they're starting to leak, there's a good chance that water will have already gotten inside and ruined your camera. While the Flip UltraHD isn't waterproof, you can get a waterproof case for it. The Flip Video Underwater Case is waterproof to 30 feet. Since it's external, you will be more likely to notice moisture inside (if the seal starts to fail) before it starts leaking bad enough to ruin your camera.

Real Advantage: Flip UltraHD

My Analysis: The Kodak Zx3 does in fact accept SD memory cards up to 32GB and the UltraHD is limited to 4 (or 8) GB. Again, there's a little more to it. Out of the box, the Zx3 only has 128KB of memory which mean's its practically useless until you buy a memory card. The Flip UltraHD Video Camera comes with either 4GB or 8GB of memory and is usable right out of the box with no need to buy a memory card.

Real Advantage: Flip UltraHD

My Analysis: The Kodak Playsport Zx3 does in fact accept have audio/visual (AV) output as well as HDMI. This is very important if you want or need to hook your camera to a device that doesn't have an HDMI port. The Flip UltraHD doesn't offer AV output, so if you want to connect your Flip to a divice that doesn't accept HDMI you'll need to get an HDMI to AV Converter which can be a little expensive.

Real Advantage: Kodak Playsport Zx3

The Flip UltraHD Camcorder has a squarish case that lets it stand up on its own. Other camcorders with "sleeker" cases either need to be hand held or mounted on a tripod. I've found that this can be limiting. For example when I'm trying to shoot candid video of my 5 year old son. it's hard to get good shots because he tends to act goofy if he knows he's being filmed. Because the Flip will stand on its own, I can place it unobtrusively on a shelf and get better video.

Advantage: Flip UltraHD

Other videos cameras might be easy to use, but the Flip UltraHD is so easy to use that it took me about a minute to show my 5 year old son how to use it. It's so simple that the entire user manual is just one page. If you want more information on Flip Camcorders, I highly recommend Flip Video For Dummies.. This book covers just about everything Flip related - choosing the right Flip camcorder, troubleshooting your Flip, shooting and importing videos, creating movies, etc. My favorite chapter is the one on using Windows Movie Maker - if the FlipShare software that comes with Flip camcorders doesn't give you quite enough editing options, Movie Maker (or iMovie on a Mac) provides more capability and might save you the cost of buying specialized video editing software. I also found the tips on shooting and editing videos very helpful. If you are a Flipper, check out this book. I think you'll like it. I know I do.

Advantage: Flip UltraHD