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: Better than Flip
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this for my son for Christmas. After spending days comparing the different options, I went with the Zi6 for these reasons (in no particular order):
1. Amazon had a sale.
2. It takes AA batteries - great when you are away from an outlet.
3. Expandable memory.
4. HD Video
I read several articles where the reviewer or consumer had problems with dropped pixels or sound issues. Since this camera has been out for over a year, all the issues (I believe) have been fixed with a firmware update. I am impressed with the quality of the camera. The build of it is pretty solid. The images look good. The video is great. I heard complaints about some graininess in low-light situations. This is true. One thing to remember, though, is it will be hard to find a camera like this that DOESN'T have that problem.
Digital camera Review: Broken Eject and Just Poor Quality
Summary: 1 Stars
I was excited to receive the Zi6 HD based on the reviews I had read here and on various website. However; when I actually got it I was less than thrilled.
First, when I tried to insert a brand new 16GB SDHC Card, the eject mechanism in the camera was broken. The card just slid in and kept on sliding... to the point I had to use tweezers to retrieve it.
Next, I slipped the card in and knowing there was no working mechanism to stop the card, I got it to where the camera would actually acknowledge its presence. I took a couple videos inside my home and outside on a sunny florida day. The videos all looked washed out and since the camera lacks any optical focus, nothing was really sharp.
I ended up packing it all back up and sending it back to Amazon. To the credit of Amazon, they do make the return process very easy. Just print a label and give it back to UPS.
Digital camera Review: Buggy = Returning
Summary: 2 Stars
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.
Digital camera Review: Buy it
Summary: 5 Stars
Love this little guy. I take it everywhere. It is great!
After reading reviews and working with products in the stores, I decided to purchase the Zi6 over the Flip HD products.
Here are my reasons:
1) Zi6 uses Memory Cards, up to 32gigs, not an option with the Flip Products. Swap out, easy to move data around, print stills directly to my Epson printer.
2) Batteries, the Zi6 comes with rechargable batteries, actually my Zi6 purchase came with two sets of batteries and one charger. Batteries life is very good, mine last about 4 days between recharge.
3) Zi6 LCD screen size large compared to the Flip screens.
4) Great video qualtity, for the device type.
5) Zi6 comes with all the cables.
I did not work with Flips software, but Kodak software works well. I use Pinnacle Studio to edit and upload my videos and stills.
Again, really enjoy this camera. It is always in my pocket and now I don't miss anything.
Digital camera Review: CAN ANYONE HELP?
Summary: 3 Stars
I recently purchased the Kodak Zi6 after carefully reading reviews from several sources. Since this is my first camcorder purchase and use, I wanted something affordable, easy to use, and something that would produce decent videos since my use would mainly be personal.
The instructions are excellent--not technical and easy to follow, excellent diagrams, etc.
PROBLEM: The manual states that the AA Kodak batteries that were included would take 13 hours to charge. I put mine on the the charger (included with the package) around 6:00 p.m. last night and as of 7:30 p.m the next day, now, they are still charging!
**So that's 25.5 hours and still going strong!!**
Anyone have any suggestions? Should I try to contact Kodak or the company where I made the purchase to see if this is normal? I'm going to contact the place where I purchased it first, however, if anyone has any suggestions OR if anyone has had this experience, please let me know.
I read a couple of reviews that the batteries took too long to charge, but they never said HOW LONG!
So until this battery issue is resolved, I honestly cannot rate the product any higher. I believe I'll enjoy it once I get over this hurdle. Thanks.