Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera – Aqua Blue

Captain Graphic

at 5:04 am

I do minor video work, and am by no means have professional knowledge of all cameras. I’ve been using the zi8 all day to film a small project, and I have to say it has done a pretty good job. It is much better than the previous zi6 model, but isn’t without a few minor issues.

Comparing them side by side right now, the zi8 records and displays colours much better, where as the zi6 isn’t as sharp and has a slight blue tint to it. However neither of these cameras perform great in low lighting. The best feature about the zi8 is the fact you can plug in an external microphone, so you can record crystal clear sound, even though the built in mic is reasonable quality. Also the zi8 will play back sound in its preview mode. One thing the zi6 does better is smooth zooming, whereas the zi8 zooms in block segments. The way the USB connection flicks out on the zi6 is much more slick, than the rubbery styled flick attachment on the zi8, but both do the job fine.

Both cameras are similar size and are great for just carrying around on the go in your pocket. Although I didn’t receive any cloth pouch to put my zi8 in, so I would recommend buying one of those to protect the screen & lens. I prefer the rechargeable battery in the zi8, but if it runs out on the go you can’t easily replace, unlike with the zi6.

The only thing missing from both these cameras is a flash/light. The zoom feature could also be improved.
Rating: 5 / 5

Ripple

at 6:19 am

A very clever, good value unit BUT it has two drawbacks – one the light sensor is small so it’s poor at low lighting shots, but the deal breaker for me is the zoom. While it’s nice to have a zoom option, it is not smooth and jumps from setting to setting in a way that is just plain annoying. For me, I’d wait for a model with a smoother zoom – but in no way is this a bad unit.

In the box you get:

- camera (duh)

- battery

- charger unit with EU and UK attachments

- lanyard strap

- software

- good easy guide book

- HDMI cable

- normal AV cable

( note the USB is integral to the unit in one of those poppy out things)

Pros:

- Price. This is a basic, pocket video recorder – at a very competitive price (even at RSP before Amazon’s competitive pricing). Be warned though, that you need to set your expectations to that price – it won’t match the quality of units that can be many times that price – it’s a pocket video camera, not a camcorder.

- It’s a nice looking unit. It will fit into a shirt pocket – though you will certainly know it’s there due to its weight. Build quality is good. It’s about the size of a Blackberry and about one and a half times the depth.

- Video quality at all settings (WVGA, 720p, 720p 60fps, 1080p) is excellent in good lighting. It works best when you are stationery. As with all cameras, the quality is only as good as the lens. The lens on this unit is tiny and it’s stunningly good for its size. I found the 720p probably the best in the long run. 1080p is stretching this unit’s capability to the max and you will get some noise on it.

- It has a macro setting which is a nice feature to have.

- The battery unit is user replaceable. It charges in two hours from the AC adapter and about 4 hours from the USB connection. You get around 60-90 minutes from a charge (depending on what you are using). That’s pretty decent, but if you are travelling, you’d be well advised to buy a spare battery unit.

- The screen is good and a perfectly acceptable size. (About Blackberry size).

- Simple controls. The on/off switch doesn’t trip accidentally and there are four push buttons on the back for settings, deletion, record and play. They take a bit of getting used to as they you don’t always feel that they’ve responded to your touch, but they are OK. It’s so simple to use you don’t need a complex manual.

- Transferring video from the SDHC cards is very easy using the USB connector. On first use, you have the option of installing the supplied Arcsoft software will allow you, among other things, to convert the Quicktime MOV files to other formats. I found that watching playback of .mov files on Realplayer was very poor (jumpy) so use Quicktime. Arcsoft allows you to convert to web, apple or PS3 formats. I don’t have a Mac so cannot comment.

- The internal microphone produced excellent to acceptable audio at distances ranging up to about 10-15 feet (3-4 metres). Plus there is an external mic socket.

- The 4X digital zoom is surprisingly good. Noise increases as you would expect, but not to the point of seriously degrading the image.

- The HDMI feature is a very nice touch allowing you to play on your HDTV very easily. If you have shot some footage in good light, do try the HDTV option – the results are much more impressive than on my screen.

- I like the SD card system – but it does mean you have to buy one (as opposed to an internal memory – you get a 128mb of internal memory which won’t give you much space). A 32gb SD card will give you about five hours on 720p. You’ll need to recharge the battery before getting to this though.

Major Cons:

- The digital zoom is not even remotely smooth. It leaps along like a demented kangaroo. This is a big problem.

- Low light performance is poor. This is a major drawback as the unit’s attraction is that you can carry it in situations that you wouldn’t take a larger unit to – like evenings out. Its sensor is tiny and that’s a problem.

Other Cons:

- The lens is 46mm (35mm equivalent) which can be a bit restricting. A 28mm would have been more practical for social situations. The Zi8 focal length is 46mm for 720p and WVGA settings. At 1080p, the focal length is 61mm.

- No slip cover

- The Image stabilization works only moderately well. It’s not too bad if you are static, but if you are walking, it cannot cope. Because it’s such a small unit – holding it steady can be a problem. Image stabilization is one of the things that makes the expensive camcorders so expensive. Having said that, it does have a tripod mount (which is a plus point) and would help (or would if I had a tripod!). Also, image stabilization eats power and I found the unit getting a bit warm.

- The stills photos are, at best, average. It’s a 5MP stills camera without a flash. But chances are you’ll have a stills camera anyway.

- I know I said the ease of use was a plus, but it also means you don’t have a lot of control over things, like exposure.

- It does have face tracking, but I found it created more problems than it solved – if the face was at the wrong angle, it would black out the background etc, partly because the exposure meter is slow to adjust to changes in lighting.

Update – found firmware upgrade to solve jumpy zoom – now 4* product
Rating: 3 / 5

Mr. G. Bridgeman-clarke

at 9:55 am

The last camera I bought from Kodak was an instamatic way back in the early 1970s and that was my first “real” camera if you can call a plastic fixed lens camera with a disposable cube flash a real camera. Anyway I have never ever been tempted to buy a Kodak camera since. That was until this little gem arrived.

This is a High Definition (HD) video camera which does 1080p video – better than my Nikon D90 which only does 720p. The batteries are rechargeable and come out of the camera so no problem with buying spares but on a downside first time I used the video it lasted barely 1 hours of continued recording of a local youth football match. Looking on-line batteries are cheap enough and I have learned always to carry at least one spare. On the upside it fits easily in my pocket.

The unit is beautiful. Shiny black gloss finish and what I love most is that to download you can use the flash usb connector straight into your computer or link it to your TV. Brilliant for the price! Now what I love most is that it’s MAC friendly!!! Load up, plug in to your MacBook and in no time you have a Quicktime movie.

I shot video behind the goal on a tripod and it worked well. At least this model does have a tripod screw bush. Saying that the camera needs a tripod as due to design it will not stand up itself. No doubt designed for the on the move, no tripod, sort of user. Thats cool and its priced to suit but it would have been great to have a level bottom to allow the camera to stand alone.

The great thing about this video camera is that can shoot at 1080p which I assume is 24 frames a second or switch to 780p at 60 frames a second. No sure when I would need the 780p when the better quality 1080p is available but its there.

There isn’t much I didn’t like about the camera but I would say that it has mono sound and stereo would be better. It does, however have a jack plug for an external microphone, but strangely no jack for headphones so its not easy to check if the sound is good on the recording until you watch it on your computer. My zoom was also a bit jerky but maybe that is just me needing to get used to it more.

On the storage front the camera can hold up to 32 gb sd cards. Thats a lot of recording time but you will need those additional batteries to get the best of that facility.

I really can’t believe that this camera is either from Kodak and it is mega value. No more video cameras with tapes or disks, this is the way to go.

Rating: 5 / 5