Customer Reviews:
 fun camera, but wiggly viedo January 1, 2009
Got this for Xmas, nice surprise because I wanted one. The camera is VERY light, and a welcome relief from my regular camcorder, mostly because it doesn't use the dreaded tapes. The hassle of the common camcorder is just dealing with those tapes. With this one it is just like taking videos with your digital camera, as most cameras now do. Getting started was instant...and it is a fun thing to use, as opposed to a chore. The pictures are taken in widescreen format so they match the modern TVs and Apple cinema displays.
The drawback is that the camera is SO light that it is impossible to hold still. I'm not a marksman with hands of steel, but I don't have the shakes either...I can hold a laser pointer very stable when giving presentations across a pretty big room. So here's the conundrum: the camera is fun and I want to carry it around with me, which I have done the last few days, but then when I look at the video it is so shaky that it's hard to watch. The picture quality is very good (in sufficient light...the nighttime indoor ones are not so impressive, just as with a digital camera; the exposure time is not enough for the CCDs to get a good picture). I'm going to try putting it on a tripod, and I bet the pictures will be excellent. But then that sort of defeats the convenience factor.
IN any event, I should say that if you don't have a camcorder and are thinking of getting this, then you will enjoy it a lot. This one is cheaper. It is much more convenient to play on the TV directly (worked great with the supplied component video and audio cables) or on the computer. No need to wait while the tape rewinds, or try to get to the start of a video segment with FF and REW...you can just skip to the one you want.
After putting the video onto my Mac, in iTunes, and double clicking, Quicktime launched and showed the video, looking great. The file sizes are big, but that's what you want: high quality video that you can downgrade when producing your final product.
 Fine for the kids, but... December 27, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
We intended to purchase two cameras for our teenagers for Christmas, but fell for the salesperson's hype in the store and I purchased a third for myself. It's definitely small, portable, easy and fun to use. If it had image stabilization, it would be a fantastic little camera. However, we gave them a test run at the family Christmas dinner, and were very dissapointed. Video is jerky, and it was a chore to get a still photo that wasn't blurred in some way. Just a casual snapshot of two people having a conversation was impossible without having them stop and sit completely still. Otherwise, if someone moved their hand, it was a blur. Even many posed shots were not exactly sharp and crisp.
It's great for the kids. They had a ball running around catching little videos of everyone, but I'd hate to be in a situation where you didn't have a second chance to get a good shot.
Kodak Zi6 versus the Flip Mino HD December 23, 2008
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
I own both of these cameras. I have seen a lot of requests for information regarding the comparison of these two products and thought I might try and contribute. For me there is no clear winner. I believe if you want superior image quality and are traveling for a length of time, the Kodak's replaceable batteries and memory are preferable. If you want something that is extremely easy to use, has great desktop software for both the PC and MAC and is easily put in your pocket, the Flip is the way to go.
Flip:
Slightly more user friendly
Great desktop software and Mac compatibility
Good low light performance
Doesn't suffer from apparent dropped frames of the Kodak when in low light
Rechargeable batteries
Considerably smaller
Kodak:
Much less expensive. Major national retailer is selling these for 39% less then the Flip.
Noticeably sharper image
Better color rendition especially under artificial light
Desktop software is not as easy to use and supplied software incompatible with Mac. However iLife apps work fine with this camera.
Much larger viewing display but the whole unit is larger as well
Removable memory
Easy to get and replace AA batteries
 Great Little Device for the Price December 22, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
The other day I realized I did not have a camcorder. I really wanted to be able to record our first Christmas in our first house, site visits to wedding sites, etc., so I started looking for digital camcorders. However, I wanted it to be small and very portable, have good video quality, record in HD resolution and it had to fit into my tight holiday season budget.
My first instinct was to look into the new Creative Labs VadoHD. The original Vado received great reviews and had 4GBs of flash storage. The new VadoHD records in 720P resolution at 60FPS and sports 8GBs of storage. The problem is that 8GBs apparently only holds 2 hours of 720P 60FPS video. It's slimmer than my cell phone and fits right in my pocket, but at $230 2 hours of video was not going to cut it. If I could have expanded the storage via SD card I would have been sold.
The other option would have been a Flip Video MinoHD. The MinoHD is basically the same device as the VadoHD. It was also developed from is standard definition predecessor, the Mino, and shoots 720P 60FPS video. It's roughly the same size and costs the same ($230), but it can only hold 60 minutes of video at 720/60. If I can't expand the memory, than no deal.
Both are capable of switching to VGA and 720/30 modes to shoot video that would use less storage, but then you're compromises video quality for storage. Both devices also use Li-Ion batteries and can charge via the attached USB connector which also serves to connect to your computer for quick transfer of all of your videos.
Then I found the new Kodak Zi6 HD. Just like the others it can shoot 720/60 video, has an attached USB connector and some flash memory. The difference is the Zi6 only has 130MB of on board flash memory. To make matters worse only 30MBs is usable by you. The other 100MBs is used as a sort of CD partition with the included Kodak video editing software on it. 30MBs of storage offers about 20-30 seconds of video at 720/60. Ouch.
Believe it or not, the memory isn't a deal breaker. The Kodak Zi6 has expandable memory via SD or SDHC cards up to 32GB! The drawback is the SDHC cards are an added cost, but at the current $160 price of the Zi6 you can get a Zi6 and an 8GB card for about $200. The MSRP of of the Zi6 is $180, so even at MSRP you can still get 8GBs of memory for the same price as the VadoHD or MinoHD. 8GBs gives you an estimated 2 hours of video (like the VadoHD's 8GB storage).
So what other differences are there? The Zi6 is a bit bigger than the competitors, but it's still lighter than any other device I own. This is surprising because it runs off 2 AA batteries. At first I was put off by it's increased size over the Vado and Mino and the fact that it uses 2 AA batteries, but the Zi6 felt much nicer in my hand than the others and the ability to change dead batteries on the fly was very appealing.
The Vado and Mino require you charge them via USB. That's great, but what if I'm on a trip and don't want to bring my laptop or I'm out for the day a long way from any USB port? The Zi6 also comes with 2 precharged rechargeable AA batteries and a little Kodak charger that plugs into the wall. The battery life for the 2 AAs is great at 4 hours.
The larger size also allows for other things to be larger, like the screen. The Zi6 has a 2.4" LCD screen for recording and reviewing your video. The screen is very nice with a sharp picture.
For comparison, the VadoHD has a 2" screen and a battery life of 2 hours per charge.
The Zi6 only has 2 buttons and a joystick directly below the screen. Each button performs 2 functions. One function for during recording and one for during playback. The joystick controls the 2x digital zoom and recording options (VGA, 720/30, 720/60 and still image) and acts as the record "button" by pressing in on the stick. The joystick also changes functionality when in playback mode for selecting videos.
The Zi6 can take still image pictures, but they're about cell phone quality at 3MPs, but in a pinch they look fine. The video is what the Zi6 is made for. The video looks great. It's very clear, color reproduction is fantastic and there's no chop or blurring recording at 60FPS. Even VGA looks good. VGA is going to appear grainy and not look as good as 720/60 video, but it's great for recording something that you want to e-mail or upload to YouTube (small size).
The only problem is the video does suffer in low light situations. Outside the video is amazing for a $160 mini camcorder, but inside with shades pulled and less light the video gets a little grainy. That's not so bad though. For the size and price it's expected and it's certainly still watchable. You'll just find yourself slightly disappointed because your other videos will look better. That isn't to say the Zi6 can't record good video inside. If you have a lot of light or can open the shades, the video quality goes up.
The Zi6 comes with a set of composite and component cables for viewing your video on an HDTV (or SD set). The 720/60 video looks awesome upscaled to 1080i on my 42" set.
The Zi6 has a macro mode you can set by flipping a switch to the macro setting on the side of the camcorder. It allows you to take very close (about 1" away) video with blurring and seems to work great. It takes a second to focus, but does the job well.
Once you record your video you can use the attached USB connector to transfer it over to your computer. It can work just like a flash drive or you can use the accompanying Kodak software to import and edit your video. It's compressed with H.264 compression with AAC audio and played back with Quicktime.
I just click and drag the video over and have not tried the software, yet. I have Adobe Premiere, so I expect I will never use the Kodak software, but I might just to see it.
My only gripes with the Zi6 are mere quibbles. For instance, you can't format the memory card on the fly. You have to select each video individually to delete them or use a computer. That's no big deal though. With expandable memory I can have multiple SD cards available and I always move my videos over to the computer. I can't stand having clutter on my storage devices anyway.
It's also slightly irritating that the Zi6 does not remember your video setting. It defaults to HD 720/30 whenever you turn it on even though I use 720/60 exclusively, but it only takes one click of the Joystick to the right to fix it.
Overall, I am very pleased with the Zi6. Sof ar it's allowed me to get some great footage of our 9-month old puppy getting lost in 2 feet of snow and I've done a lot of experimenting with lighting conditions and video modes. I can't wait to get some "real" footage on Christmas morning and at Christmas parties this week.
At ~$200 for the Zi6 and an SDHC card you can't go wrong.
I'll be posting some sample video on Vimeo later. Vimeo supports HD video, so it should show the real quality.
NOTE: I use a Lexar SDHC Class 6 card rated at 20MB/s. I was fortunate to actually speak to a Kodak representative at Best Buy who recommended that class and speed. If you use a cheap off-brand card not meant for photography/video you will probably have choppy video. This is due to the card's write speed not being fast enough to keep up with the video.
 Buggy = Returning December 22, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Got this camcorder at Radio Shack for $140. It does take some nice video if you don't mind the shakiness, but what do you expect with no image stabilization. I'll highlight the main differences between this and the competitors and why what you might think is an advantage really isn't.
Bigger Screen: The screens on these (flip mino HD, Vado HD, Zi6) are all to small to really do anything on anyway. What you want is the smallest screen that is still effective for centering your subject. This is because the bigger the screen the more battery juice it is sucking up.
720p at 60fps: Wow cool you can record twice as many frames per second for that smooth motion video, right? Wrong, neither imovie hd or imovie 08 will allow you to eidit and export at 60fps. In fact good luck finding any program that will. They all drop your video to 30fps, so unless your only going to be playing back just raw unedited video then the 60fps is kinda dumb and a battery sucker.
Removable SDHC: I have a 16GB Trancend card that worked in the camera with no problem. This and the battery's are probably the main reasons people choose this camera over others, but there problem and the biggest problem with this camcorder go hand in hand, BATTERY LIFE!
AA Battery: I liked the idea of recording 4 hours of HD on my 16GB card. I figured maybe i would need an extra set of AA's to get through that much video. Forget it and forget this camera, First off the battery's that came with this camcorder are crap. I put in two brand new energizer battery's and they lasted less than 20min shooting at 720p 30fps. What!!, yea less than 20min. You will spend piles of money on battery's for this pig.
Buggy: I've had the camera freeze in record mode twice where nothing works untill i pull out the battery's and restart the camcorder. The battery indicater is totally screwy on this camera. it will go from full to red in a matter of mintes, so i will turn off the camera and turn it back on and it will be full again?? I have had this camera for over a week and this problem has happened with the batterys they supplied and both energizers and duracells.
Final Thoughts. I haven't used the Flip camcorder yet, but seeing as that is there flagship product, I'm guessing there aren't any bugs and probably has a well thought out design. Kodak makes everything from tv's to picture frames and there customer support couldn't be worse. The battery problem alone makes this camcorder almost unusable. I don't think i got a defective product either, cause once i started noticing this I did a google search for Zi6 battery life and saw many others dealing with the same low life and indicator bugs that i am. Take my advice and just forget about this camcorder, the specs are right on, but the execution SUCKS! If you can afford it get yourself a Canon HF100, or maybe try the Creative Vado HD, but that is also new with not many reviews.
|
