The Zi6 is a clear competitor for the Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder (and now the Flip Video Mino Series Camcorder). It has a USB arm that swings out, just as the Flip Video pioneered. It uses two AA batteries and has a very similar form factor. But along with the copycat vibe, Kodak's managed to do what other competitors (such as RCA) have pretty much failed to do. That is, they took a great idea like the Flip Video and made some excellent improvements.
The most notable improvement is the addition of HD video. It's not Full HD (1080p), but my opinion is that people only want that because it's advertised as better. And to be honest, a 1080p picture is very capable of being a much better picture, however when it comes to consumer camcorders (especially cheap ones like this) it's more of a bother than anything. Most computers, even some of the newest, have some difficult playing back, or at least importing, 1080p video. It's a lot of data and if you don't have a 23 or 24 inch monitor you probably don't have the adequate resolution to even watch it on your machine. Your TV may be able to handle it, but remember that these small camcorders must have small sensors. Packing a huge HD picture into a small sensor is tough. Even 720p doesn't look that good when the sensors are tiny. Here, my point is, don't discard the Zi6 because it records 720p video. It's a blessing, I promise.
That said, the picture quality still isn't great. It isn't bad either. It's better than what you'd expect from a device this tiny but it does suffer from some other issues that make the better-than-expected picture quality lose it's edge. For example, there is no stabilizer on this camcorder. That's not the sort of thing you come to expect with a cheap handheld, but it can be a problem when walking around or recording while on a moving vehicle. Generally it wouldn't be all that bad, but the Zi6 uses a sensor reminiscent of cell phone cameras. Along with other drawbacks I'll get to shortly, the picture wobbles the way many a cheap CMOS sensor does. Heavy motion recorded with this device can be a little hard to watch. Additionally, low light performance is bad. It never gets all too grainy but it does get blurry. In addition to the blur I can guess is due to a wide aperture and a poor auto-focus unit, the Zi6 reduces it's shutter speed greatly to compensate for the lack of light. This produces an exceptional amount of motion blur that is very undesirable and pretty much makes the device useless in such spaces. All the other drawbacks are tolerable for a camcorder of this class, but the motion blur makes me think iPhone camera. In fact, the video the Zi6 produces looks very much like photos from the iPhone.
But enough bad news. I don't want to give the Zi6 a bad reputation because there is a lot it does very well. When you're not wobbling around in the dark, the picture quality is surprisingly sharp. Highlights get blown out at times, but for the most part you can get a pretty nice picture from the device. Compression artifacts are to be expected and are certainly present, but they're not as bad as you may think. They're certainly more significant than, say, what you'd get with a Sanyo Xacti, but it's nothing too bad. Chances are home videographers won't even know. If you'd like to see for yourself, however, I've taken some samples and posted them in a link at the end of this review.
The feature set on the Zi6 is where the device really shines. HD video is certainly the selling point, but there are some delightful little surprises I wasn't aware of until the camcorder arrived. I'll start with the most useless so we can end on a good note. The camcorder actually sports a small zoom. It's digital zoom, though, and therefore completely useless in my book. I would have preferred they left it out entirely. The biggest surprise for me was macro focus. I'm not sure why Kodak thought to put it in a camcorder of this class, but it's certainly welcome. You have to get very close for it to work, but it's as easy as flipping a switch and getting yourself too close for comfort. While this isn't really a feature, Kodak's USB arm release is a button rather than a sliding switch (which you'll find on the Flip). I didn't think I'd ever have a preference for a USB arm-activating button but Kodak made it so comfortable and easy that I've been won over. Another wonderful feature is Kodak's approach to batteries with the Zi6. AA batteries are great because you can take a bunch and pick them up just about anywhere. The problem is that they're disposable. You could buy rechargeable batteries, but most people don't. Kodak saves you the trouble by providing you with two rechargeable AA batteries and a miniature charging station that plugs directly into the wall without a cord. It's smaller than most charging options, doesn't ruin your vacation if you leave it at home, and is environmentally friendly. The only thing that could make things any better would be the option to charge the batteries in the camcorder via USB. Of course, you can always pick up a pair of USB Cell AA Batteries and really make things easy for yourself.
While Kodak gives you a miniscule amount of internal memory (128MB), even that memory is mostly eaten up by the included software leaving you only 30MB of recording space (which translates to about 30 seconds of video). Clearly this isn't enough and you'll need to buy an SD or SDHC memory card to cope. Personally, I prefer the option to use external media because it's endlessly expandable and easy to replace. Nonetheless, when you get the camcorder out of the box and you can't record it's a little disappointing. Luckily I have an SD card graveyard, and I believe most people are used to buying additional cards, but with the Flip (and it's other competitors) setting a precedent for built-in memory I believe Kodak made the wrong choice. What would I have done? I would have included a 2GB SD card. It's cheap, gives you approximately 30 minutes of recording time and you're all set to go out of the box. Nonetheless, this is a small oversight and hopefully most people will either have a spare SD/SDHC card or know to order one when purchasing the camcorder.
One other nice little feature is the mode selection. The Zi6 is capable of not only standard 720p recording but also 720p at 60 frames per second. In addition, you can record in VGA (480p) as well as take photos. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend the photo mode, as the quality is pretty bad and there is option for using a flash in low light situations, it's nice to know it's there if needed. VGA is also nice if you need space or you just don't care about HD resolution for the moment. While I don't ever see myself using anything but the standard 720p mode, the other options are welcome additions as they could very well come in handy in certain situations.
Once you get down to recording, however, the camcorder is a breeze to use. If you're actually planning on using digital zoom it's very simple. You can simply push up or down to move forward or back (respectively). Changing modes is also very easy. Left or right shifts between HD, HD at 60 frames per second, VGA and photo modes. One of the unfortunate realities of the Zi6 is the inability to use the camcorder's playback features without tethering it to a television. Playback is very simple as well, but it must be plugged into a TV with one of the included cables. This doesn't bother me at all, as I could care less about watching videos on the camcorder, but I think I may be alone there. Many people like to see what they just shot, or their subjects do, and it's just not possible with the Zi6 as far as I can tell. Getting back to recording, however, there is really only one drawback and that is the screen. It's a decent screen and does fine indoors, but in heavy sunlight it's very difficult to see. The reflective plastic over it doesn't help matters as you may end up unable to even look at the dim screen in the first place if the sun catches the wrong spot and hits you in the eye. Nonetheless, with this sort of camcorder you generally understand what you're capturing without seeing the screen. It tends to record just about everything in front of itself as the lens is fairly wide.
Another minor but understandable drawback brings us to post production, if you will. The video you take with this camcorder doesn't work with Kodak's own multimedia digital frames. While this seems kind of silly and a bit of an oversight, the frames weren't designed to handle HD video. They top out at 480p. The unfortunate part is that the video specifications (in detail) for these frames are very hard to come by and many people with a frame and the Zi6 might expect a good partnership. You can put your video on the frame, but you'll have to convert it first. This will be, for most people, too much effort. Converting video isn't exactly the easiest and fastest thing, but Kodak's video codec support on the frame is limited and highly specific so you may find yourself trying again and again to get it just right.
Being a Mac user I haven't had a chance to try the included software. If I ran Windows I would appreciate how Kodak created a separate partition on the Zi6's flash storage to hold the software installation. Software being included on the camcorder isn't new to Flip owners, but the partition is. It's a welcome addition as it separates your ephemeral videos and photos from the software that you'll probably want to keep. To me, it's a nuisance as it's another drive I have to eject before removing the camcorder and I won't ever use the software, but nonetheless I can appreciate Kodak's intentions and believe it was the right move to make. While I haven't used the included software it seems fairly simple in that it helps you upload to YouTube and make minor edits. I would expect major similarities to the software included with the Flip. On a PC this may be welcome but on a Mac I would imagine people will be using this camcorder with iMovie. Unlike the Flip, the clips will just import and that is something Flip owners have wanted since the camcorder's introduction.
While I was impressed with Kodak's inclusion of rechargeable batteries and charging station, they're not particularly generous with accessories. For the price you can't really expect to much, but along with an included SD card they could have included a software installation disc in case you did, in fact, delete the software off the camcorder or simply want a backup. These are both trivial things and minor criticisms, but they're also both very cheap and wouldn't have affected Kodak's margins terribly. Nonetheless, you do get most of what you need. Though not for long, you can use the camcorder out of the box and the software is easily accessible. You get both kinds of AV cables (standard and HD), the batteries and charging station, a very simple and easy but overly brief manual, and a carrying case. It's a little bit above satisfactory.
In fact, that's what I'd call the Zi6 as a whole: "a little bit above satisfactory." Either that or a glorified cell phone camcorder on steroids. It's a great little device for the money, but I'd rather see it priced at $200 and see a nicer sensor in the device. If you're in the YouTube demographic and are interested in HD (which is almost a contradiction, but I won't go there), this camera is for you. Kodak's betting on it.
I've put together some sample footage and photos you can download here (go to the bottom of the page for the link):
http://honestbydesign.com/2008/8/16/kodak-zi6-stops-in-early-and-gets-reviewed
The Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera follows in the footsteps of the Flip series of small, pocketable video cameras. In many cases the Zi6 ups the ante in this area however. With a significantly larger LCD screen as compared to the Flip series, your eyes will be much happier. The resolution of the screen is great as is the brightness, except when viewed outdoors in bright sunlight. In bright outside conditions, the LCD becomes more difficult to see, but this is a common problem with most LCD displays.
The camera gives you three ways to record video and also captures single still images:
1. As HD movies at 720p and 60fps
2. As HD movies at 720p and 30fps
3. As VGA movies at 640x480 resolution
4. Still images at 3MP interpolated
What does that mean? Well it means that you get pretty good quality HD video in good lighting at either 30 or 60fps. And VGA movies are pretty good quality as well. But in lower lighting conditions, the quality suffers greatly.
The still image quality is barely acceptable and certainly not up to par with a dedicated point and shoot camera. The quality is comparable to what many cell phone cameras would provide.
The Zi6 has a SD card expansion slot which is a huge advantage over the Flip series of cameras. You can put in up to a 32 GB card which will hold several hours of video.
The major downside of this video camera is its lack of image stabilization and the awkward placement of the button that controls recording. It takes much practice and concentration not to get visible "jumps" when turning off the recording. If you are recording a long segment of video, it can become quite tedious to hold the camera still for any great length of time in spite of it's lightness. The lack of image stabilization really becomes apparent when you are panning while recording, unless you are using a tripod. Using a tripod for such a tiny camera is awkward and diminishes the usefulness of such a small video recorder.
The camera itself has a nice "feel" to it. I do not get the impression of cheapness or flimsiness. The LCD display is a joy to look at indoors and in shaded outdoor situations.
The camera has a built-in speaker.
The built-in microphone is quite good and because the unit is solid state, there is no motor noise or any other such mechanical noise picked up while recording.
Battery life is good. On fully charged NIMH batteries, I recorded a continuous segment of 15 minutes and then several other segments of varying lengths and the battery indicator was still showing two bars. I would estimate that fully charged batteries could give you an hour of recording... less in cold weather.
As a small video camera that can easily be put in a pocket, this provides a great way to capture spur of the moment snippets of video. The included software is pretty weak, but it is easy to import the video into other image editing programs. And Mac users will happy to know that the video is formatted as .mov H.264 so you won't have to deal with wmv files.
One other feature worth mentioning is that there is a Macro setting that let's you get remarkably close macro photographs and videos. As close as 2 inches basically. While it isn't something that most people will use very often, if at all, it is a great feature for the times that you do need macro capability.
Pros:
-Great tactile feel
-Large sharp and bright LCD screen
-Quick startup time
-Decent battery life
-SD slot lets you use large capacity cards for hours of recording capability
-Amazing macro capability
Cons:
-Lack of image stabilization makes shooting steady video difficult
-Still image capture is not very good
-Very poor low-light performance
-No volume or mute control for the startup and shutdown chime
I think Kodak has brought to market a great little video camera that will certainly put some pressure on Flip. As it is right now, it's a wonderful little video camera that easily fits in a pocket and gives you the ability to virtually instantly grab video whenever you want.
Make no mistake, this is not going to suffice if you are looking for a really small yet great quality video camera for movie making. It will suffice for spontaneous video capture of life's unexpected events. It's easy to operate, attractive and fun to use.
For its intended use, I give it 4 stars. If it had image stabilization, it would have earned 5 stars.
Buy Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera Now
If I'm going to spend more than a hundred bucks on an item or somewhere around there, I do extensive research first to know I got the best bang-for-the-buck and, consequently, dodge any potential future buyer's remorse.
I've realized that the time I spend doing my product comparisons is often time that others don't have so I may as well share what I can.
I'll start by saying that you'll see my "Verified Amazon Purchase" on the Flip HD Ultra Camcorder review because, obviously, that's the one I wound up buying and I'll share with you why. But what I like in a camcorder may not suit your own needs so I'll break it down and let you decide what's best for you via what I found out:
Here are the pocket camcorders I compared:
Flip UltraHD (will be referred to as "F")
Flip Mino HD 2nd generation (Will be referred to as "M")
Creative Labs Vado HD 8 GB 2nd generation (Will be referred to as "CL")
Kodak Zi6 Pocket HD (Will be referred to as "K")
Why HD cameras only? Brighter colors and better images, wider images
HOW CNET RATED THE CAMERAS:
F Excellent
M Excellent
CL Very Good
K Very Good
HD SHOOTING TIME:
F: 120 minutes.
M: 120 minutes
CL:120 minutes
K: 25 minutes with batteries they included, 120 minutes if you buy an SD card
MEMORY:
F: 8 GB
M:8 GB
CL: 8 GB
K: internally only 30 MB recording space but it has 32 GB expandable SD/SDHC card slot. Because it comes with such small recording space you really need to buy an SD or SDHC card to maximize its potential, but the potential is really good and this will increase your ability to shoot longer.
RESOLUTION:
All 720p which is excellent, just one step below the top 1080p format.
MICROPHONE:
F: Stereo
M: Mono
CL: Mono
K: Mono
SOUND:
F:Premier AAC audio. Best sound quality but still not great in winds
M: Good sound quality but still not great in winds.
CL:Poor sound quality; had issues with sound and picture not being in sync.
K:Poor sound quality
ZOOM:
F: 2x
M:2x
CL:2x
K: poor quality zoom on the one I tried but I still think it's 2x. It has a great macro focus for very close-up objects if, for example, you see a bumble bee and want to shoot it on a leaf a few inches away! Kinda cool.
CAMERA SIZE AND WEIGHT:
F: 4.3x2.2x1.2 4 oz
M: 3.9x2x0.6 3. 3 oz
CL: 3.9x3x0.6 3.5 oz
K: 5.5x2.5.0.9 5.6 oz
SHIPPING SIZE AND WEIGHT:
F: 6.2 x 3.1 x 3.1 inches ; 11.2 ounces
M: 2 x 0.7 x 3.9 inches ; 1 pound
CL: 3.3 x 7.9 x 6.3 inches ; 11.2 ounces
K: 4x 5x 2.5" 2.4 lbs
TECHNICAL DETAILS:
F: USB cable pops out of the back so you don't need to keep up with a separate cable. Comes with Flip Video rechargeable AA battery pack (recharges when connected to USB); also supported by standard AA batteries. Note: Some sets come with the HDMi mini included and others come with the rechargeable battery pack on Amazon. Looks like one or the other but of course if you need both you can buy the other.
M: USB cable pops out of the back on this one as well. Has child safe button to prevent accidental deletion of videos. Internal lithium ion battery recharges through built-in USB arm
CL: USB in camcorder. Included in box are HDMI cable (nice), USB extension cable,(nice)silicon skin (cool) & rechargeable battery.
K: Included in box are HD and AV cables and wrist strap and rechargeable batteries and battery charger. Has built in USB arm.
SPEED:
F: 30 frames per second.
M: 30 frames per second
CL: 30 frames per second
K: choice of 30 frames per second or 60 frames per second.
VIEWING SCREEN: All 2" except the Kodak was the largest at 2.4"
IMPORTANT NOTES:
F: Best low-light performance for the mini cameras (though not perfect at all) and least amount of blurring and dropped frames in my opinion. Best color. Only one with stereo rather than mono sound. You can get an underwater case for this one! Though that may sound crazy for a Texan, we use the camera non-stop on vacations and even when we aren't IN the water, we are around the water...on boats, in the sand with sea mist, etc. Then we can dive in and record the fish. Comes preloaded with flipshare software...just plug in to computer and it pops up.
M: Colors don't appear as good on the Mino as the other cameras. Thinnest camera. Make sure you get the one that only comes in the color aluminum or brushed metal. If it comes in any other colors it is the 1st generation MinoHD and they improved upon that one in the newer models. Great audio. Better shooting in low light than most mini cameras. Camera comes preloaded with FlipShare software. Can get still images through flipshare software.
CL: Decent filming in low light but not nearly as good as the Ultra or Mino; Software is preloaded in camcorder.
K: This is the only camera that I compared without the built in image stabilizatin which corrects for shaky images...so the images were shaky, much like a cell phone camera. What appears to be metal in picture is actually a chrome colored plastic. That said, this had the largest viewing screen of all of them. 2.4" Very poor shooting in low light with even MORE shaking and blurring. It also takes still pictures but they are really really poor quality...same as a lesser-quality cell phone pictures but good in a pinch if you want a still shot and have no cell or camera I s'pose. You can get still photos from the Flip cameras of better quality by using their software. You can pick out ANY frame and turn it into a higher quality jpeg. Heaviest for a pocket camera. Software is not preloaded in camcorder but a cd comes with it. Poor color in comparison to Flip Ultra and Creative Labs but still better than the Mino.
And, finally, the reviews of the Flip from experts swayed me quite a bit:
Fast Company: "Flip Ultra HD is Pure Digital's "Best Pocket Camcorder Yet." 6-09
USA Today: "New Flip Ultra Video Cameras Might Flip Your Switch" 4-09
Business Week: How do you Invigorate a Recession? Look to i-phone, Flip, Kindle, and Zip Car For Answers
There were lootttts more I came across when researching the Flip Ultra HD but those are some of my favorites.
CONCLUSION: Clearest picture and sound was important to me, expert reviews that pointed to the Flip UltraHD as well and I liked the built in software and the case I can get to shoot underwater. It is the number one selling camcorder as well. So that was my personal decision-making process. However, keep in mind that if you need reading glasses none of that will matter if the 2" screen is too small for your viewing the shots easily for playback in which case you may wish to get the Kodak if that's important to you..
Also: No matter which one you get, you will probably want a mini tripod if you ever want to be in the shot yourself do don't forget those.
Also note: It's confusing because when these manufacturers make changes in the camcorders, they do not change the names on the new versions, nor do they change the names if it's an HD version or a non-HD version so be sure you look for the "HD" after the brand name and look for "2nd generation" or "newer version" on the Mino and Vado if you like one of those better so you don't get the older models.
And: The software that comes with the Flip and Mino allows you to take any part of the video and create a still photo from it.
Hope my obsessive comparing and contrasting for my own purchasing assistance helped you as well even if what you wanted in a camera was different from me. :-)
Read Best Reviews of Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera Here
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
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Sample footage taken with Zi6
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Luckily, I didn't listen to the other reviewers here and actually checked the reviews on Newegg. Glad I did, this product is awesome! The quality is great (however, you must change the the output settings to something other than default of VCD [read the manual on how to do so]). It doesn't have Vista support (but being a gamer, I am staying on Windows XP).
