Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera by Kodak
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Digital camera reviews of Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera
Digital camera Review: A Zi6 HD or a Flip?
Summary: 4 Stars
A quick one here:
I have several of the small video cameras- the Flip MinoHD, Vado, Flip Ultra..
There is a lot to like with the Zi6- nice LARGE screen, good build,sensational outdoor results , the battery set than can be recharged, SD card slot (**see urgent and important note below, particularly if this is a gift**).
As with ANY of the smaller cam's, image quality can suffer inside unless the room is well lit. If you are inside,and want vibrant color, you will need to add light to get the best result, unless the room is flooded with sunlight.
Without extra light, indoor shots can vary - at times acceptable, at times not. Night shots or dim rooms will not produce an acceptable result.
This product comes with all the cables you might need to connect to your TV-- very WELCOME!
Software is good, if basic. Even a novice can edit a video with reasonable ease. Though many never bother with editing, I assure you the end result is well worth the effort! Try it!
Outside, the Zi6 shines, with vivid true to life colors, just as the Flip models enjoy. I did note that sometimes the blue's ( like the sky) were ultra vivid, though not un natural.
As far as ease of use, it is quite simple (if you read the directions) but is not quite as simple as a Flip. I found the soft keys on this one to be hard to work with at first.
This product is optimized for YouTube- you cant miss that feature as there are notes on the box, and stickers on the camera. Unedited footage could be downloaded within 5 minutes or less.
All in all an excellent value.
Now to compare to the Flip products - both the Flip Mino HD and the brand new Flip Ultra and Flip Ultra HD are more expensive,and are market leaders in this sector.
Out of the box, the Flip's are easier to use - no question. I like their software better too - particularly for email.
On my HD TV's (Samsung 23 inch and 32 inch) the 720P HD looked great from either brand- with the Kodak offering a particularly vivid blue.
Right now, the Zi6 cost's quite a bit less then some of Flip's offerings,and depending upon intended use, this might make sense.
One important note: It is VITAL to get a SDHC class 6 card!
You or whoever you might gift this to will not be able to use the unit without it. Kodak should have included a card, even a 2GB ( I would go for a 4GB or 8GB easily available at Amazon or a local retailer).
I give the edge to the Flip units, but I very much like this unit as well- just please, please get the SDHC card, and enjoy using it!
Digital camera Review: A disappointment
Summary: 3 Stars
I wanted a quick and easy video camera to take with me for those "unexpected" Kodak moments. I looked up the reviews for this and went with the positives. I would have done better to have paid attention to the negatives.
First the camera has a nice viewing screen. You can see what you are recording with very little eye strain. It is easy to insert the batteries, the S/D card, and to access the USB port. Unlike many reviewers I don't find the picture that shakey or the quality that poor.
One huge negative if you are using it while traveling or over a weekend is the battery charging time. Twelve hours. The batteries do run down rather quickly too. A positive though (if you can call it that)--the unit comes with a battery charger so you can purchase additional rechargeable batteries to take with you on your jaunt! However, rechargeable batteries aren't cheap and I'm not sure the camera price warrants the purchase of several more if you aren't pleased with the end use videos.
Another negative for me at least--the booklet about the camera contains very little information. I had a symbol come up while filming which I assume was telling me something was wrong and the book had no listings of any type of symbols. Actually the booklet referred me to a Website for additional information. However, I was out at a pumpkin farm amidst what seemed like thousands of kids--Website perusal wasn't an option! I couldn't get the symbol to disappear until I deleted some video, so I assume I had used up the memory.
And that is a third negative--the memory of the camera itself. I could only record about 28 seconds until the memory ran out. I had forgotten the S/D card and had hoped to get about two to three minutes of video, but the camera maxed out at around 28 seconds.
The picture quality is a bit poorer than the promotional materials leads one to believe, but I found the sound to be totally awful. It is mono, but very tinny.
Summary? If I had to do it over again, I would probably not purchase this product. It doesn't seem to work any better for short videos than my digital camera's recording function. In fact, my digital camera was cheaper and I'd say the picture and the sound is much better!
Digital camera Review: A great little camera
Summary: 5 Stars
Santa brought my daughter this camera and she's put it down long enough for me to play with it. This is a really nice little camera (Santa apparently did his research well) that delivers on the promises Kodak makes.
- It's easy to use and ready to go out of the box. The batteries come charged - just pop in some memory (or use the small amount built in to the camera) and you're making videos right away.
- The picture quality is excellent. Images are bright and clear, indoors or out. My daughter has taken video indoors at school and home and the image is very bright. I'm impressed with how sharp the HD (30 frames per second) and HD60 (60 frames per second) videos are.
- Sound recording is good, nice and clear. Playback (through the camera) volume is loud enough to hear clearly as well.
- Downloading the videos is easy with the attached USB connector. I recommend buying a USB extension cable Cables To Go - 19003 - 1M USB A Male to A Female Extension Cable (White) so the camera doesn't have hang out of a USB port.
- The included tripod socket is handy. Santa also thoughtfully included a Gorillapod flexible tripod that works great with this camera. Joby GP1-EGEN Gorillapod Flexible Tripod (Green)
- The camera comes with both component and composite cables. My daughter loves that she can hook her little camera up to the 50" plasma and watch her videos in HD. Since the component output doesn't have sound you need to use the audio output from the composite jack, or just use the camera's built-in speaker.
- Some have had problems with larger memory cards. I purchased a Transcend 16 GB SDHC SD Class 6 Flash Memory Card TS16GSDHC6E [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging] and it works fine in the camera. Make sure you get a class 6 card for this camera...recording in HD or HD60 requires a faster speed of memory.
The main problem with this camera is the included software, by Arcsoft. It's horrible. It installs several programs (including an updater that runs all the time) and some didn't install completely so we kept getting messages about missing files. Arcsoft provided the software for an HP webcam I bought...and returned because of the poor software. Fortunately we use Pinnacle Studio 12 which works with the type of file this camera produces (.mov - H.264/MPEG-4 files) so I happily uninstalled the Arcsoft software.
It's an excellent camera that's worth getting even though the software is junk.
Digital camera Review: A great, cheap alternative to Flip or Higher Kodaks
Summary: 4 Stars
I recently lost my Kodak 12 Megapixel Camera I owned, and I take many videos constantly, and finally ran in to some extra money to get a camcorder. With only a $100 budget, I went with the Kodak Zi6 for $60 off of craigslist. It had recieved positive reviews and decidedly was the right choice, and in that way it is. This camera is DEFINITELY portable- despite it's mild bulk (which I will talk about shortly), you can use it anywhere. Say your on the road all day, and your filming every second of it. You can interchange SD cards to store certain parts on and can record up to 10 HOURS of video on a 32GB SD Card- far more than any flash memory Flip or Vado camcorder has even come close to. It is also great that you can charge your main Kodak batteries, and at the same time use regular AA's. The quality of the camera is superb- 720p HD looks very good, and no Flip camera has the option of 60FPS, which makes things even better. The fact it can also take pictures is a relief too. The built in software is excellent too- easy uploads to Youtube! But of course I have my pet peevs about this camera. The still photo quality is terrible; even sub-par to my iPhone. Low lighting quality is horrible and winds are disasterous. Compared to about any other camcorder on the market, it is the bulkiest. But, aside of everything, my final thoughts:
Pros:
Small
Cheap
720P
HD Video Connection to TV
Ability to change Batteries and SD Cards up to 32GB
Built in Software
Still Pictures
Easy to use
60FPS Option
Cons:
Bulky
Terrible still shots
Terrible wind sounds
Horrible low lighting
Not the best quality
But, for far far less than any flip video is going to cost you, I give this camera a 4/5- not perfect, but for saving money, this is your camera.
Digital camera Review: A lemon!
Summary: 1 Stars
Needed urgently a small video camera and when it arrived the screen did not light up enough to see what was being recorded.
Returned it right away, still no news when I`ll get it back. A real pity since was very excited about this product. Sent it with the HD card and advised that it did not arrive with the card!!!