 Fantastic Value, awesome! But don't expect it to compete with $3000 camera |
| Review Date: October 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: R. Vernon, |
I rarely will type/review products but I've been a small frustrated reading the reviews of this product on Amazon and by users at other sites. Many users seem to reckon that this camera was designed to compete with pricey, professional cameras that cost thousands of dollars and produce full HD feature video. That's not what this is. Also, while my camera hasn't had the 'noise' issue from the Mic, i have seen a camera that had the issue and its BARELY noticeable. Its nearly like a very silent background noise from a Florescent light or a touch.
Kodak has designed, marketed, and built a camera to compete with FLiP and has clearly bent a FAR better product.
I'll keep it small and sweet and first give reasons for who I am and what I am using this camera for. I use it for:
-Home Videos/Fun stuff with ancient buddies and friends
-For work when I need some quick video that's simple to upload online, or place in iMovie and edit
-For work when I need more complicated videos that may require editing, or to some extent lengthy video but I want the ease of use/portability.
I have seen some of the problems stated with the domestic Mic and I have had none of them (I do have the upgraded Firmware that is now standard 1.03, and Kodak says this absolutely eliminates the issue...again have never had the issue on my camera). A relative of mine was lucky enough to buy this product when Kodak did an 'early' relief a few months ago and irregularly his videos will have a bit of a higher pitched background noise, but it doesn't interfere with the sound from the video -- its just a light background noise that, honestly, i've heard on dozens of cameras. Don't forget, without an external Mic the camera only records mono so -- the sounds feature isn't going to be fantastic anyway!
The video is fantastic, image stability isn't as well ahead as those available on more pricey cameras but it is better than whatever thing i've seen in a FLiP or other Kodak model. It does work and you can see a variation, even if its not huge. Its SO simple to flip linking video modes. The 1080p is awesome, but sometimes its nice to go back down to 720 and the 60fps to capture 'action' footage.
One negative -- which most people may see as a clear -- i do wish there were more settings, or at least the skill to play around with more facial advent/edit modes. Its Fantastic simple to use, its a point and shoot video camera -- but with the fantastic lens and abilities, it seems like Kodak could have -- pretty easily -- had this camera competing with much higher end cameras. If all the hardware was place to fantastic use this could compete with $500+ cameras. But I be with you wanting to keep it simple.
I like having the SD card. Some people would prefer the domestic memory, and yes by the time you buy a decent sized SD card the camera is more pricey than the FLiP, but, the FLiP has a very limited memory. This camera is limited only by the size of the card...Beyond doubt a clear!
Finally, I know people that are both in the TV affair and do a lot of Video blogging and they are drooling over this camera since of the external mic capabilities. One reason lots of 'pros' didn't like FLiP was since of the audio issues. Kodak has solved those, not to mention providing better feature video.
Again this isn't a touch to shoot with if your a young film-maker or a die-hard amateur cinematographer. But if you need a touch cheap to get some fantastic feature video, or need a touch super simple to use that is really portable....Take the plunge. And if your considering FLiP -- don't bother... |
Actual footage in uncommon lighting situation
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| Review Date: December 3, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Richard C. Drew, Oak Lawn, IL USA |
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3DTAE8IALESIN Instead of shooting a review, I took some video, out-of-doors in the dark, in a dim room, and innumerable lighting situation. I erased the audio part - it was just wind and ambient noise. The original video is fantastic feature - hopefully Amazon does not compress it too much!
Christmas lights in front of the house, the tree inside the house, and some footage at the local gym (dark, medium and bright situation!)
I also shot some close-up footage with the close-up background on and off so you can see how it works.
All videos are recorded by the camera in .mov format. |
Significant improvement over zi6
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| Review Date: August 26, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Vivek Chaudhary, Portland, OR USA |
Since I already own a Kodak zi6, I will confine my review to comparison linking Kodak zi8 and zi6. By and large, I feel that zi8 is a significant improvement over the previous model. The video feature is beyond doubt better than zi6 in all situation, whether outside in bright sunlight or indoors in low light. The firmware is superior giving a more user forthcoming interface and buttons layout is much nicer. Unlike zi6 where background menus was hidden, this time you get direct access to settings counting controlling the screen brightness, varying mic sensitivity, turning image stabilization on/off and enabling/disabling face recognition.
I reckon this is a fantastic video camcorder at a fantastic price. Go for it!
------------- update: Sep 24 2009 --------------
Upgraded to the latest firmware 1.03, and this eliminated the background noise in my recordings absolutely! Wow. Thanks Kodak for listening to costumers and promptly fixing the mic bug.
[...]
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Fantastic encounter.
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| Review Date: January 24, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Winston Wolfe, Marietta, GA USA |
So, I read all the same reviews you did on Amazon. Some people like it some people have had problems. I have not seen a product with such a wide range of reviews and was very leery. I bought it locally at a store with a excellent return record as Amazon was out of stock with no ETA on new stock.
I will start by saying, I have not had any of the problems that seem common here. No lines, no amusing squeals/hums, etc. This unit came with the latest firmware installed (1.06).
Reading the 4 and 5 star comments on Amazon, I would say they are in line with my own experiences. For my needs this camera hits the mark on so many levels.
My needs:
- Small camera
- Skill to record quick action movement of sports/dance activities
- Exceptionally simple to play back on a pad AND box
- Zoom. Optical would be fantastic, but not needed for what I do.
- A standard video format that could be edited by lots of uncommon software.
Major pluses that tipped the scale to this camera over others:
- Comes off memory. I don't want to download all to a pad when I am on vacation. Swapping out the memory card is like loading film...I'll administer it when I get home.
- Comes off Battery. With all of my rechargeable tools/toys, I will use them more if I can swap out a run down battery and keep going. This lesson was first learned with freestyle drills, always buy a second battery so you can keep effective.
- Decent feature video for the size. Look at another reviewer on Amazon. He did a decent job of recording in uncommon lighting situation to show you what to expect. Similar videos were found on Youtube.
Software:
This seems to be a problem for a lot of people. I really didn't expect much and knew from other reviews that the .mov format was well-matched with Quicktime. I would have preferred a touch I could use on Windows Movie Maker, but if the software did not work it was only $30 to upgrade to Quicktime Pro to edit.
As an aside: I found it fascinating that folks complained that only PC software was included. What they didn't seem to be with you is this .mov format works natively with the standard iMovie software on the Mac.
All that said, the Arcsoft software loaded fine on an ancient laptop running XP. Now, like any other video editing software, I had to close all other programs to keep the video from being jumpy when I edited or played it.
The one fascinating detour I did not expect was the 8GB SDHC card I bought for the camera was not a touch the ancient XP could read with it's built in SD card reader (SDHC did not exist when this pad was built). It worked fine with a newer Vista based pad. That said, flipping out the USB connection from the camera and plugging it into the XP laptop worked fantastic. The laptop treated the camera like a USB memory stick and the movies run in Quicktime.
As to converting the .mov to a touch I can use (say .avi) with Windows Movie Maker, I did find some free tools listed by other reviewers that worked fine (RAD Video Tools - http://www.radgametools.com/bnkdown.htm) .
What would I like to see uncommon? An adjustable focal length so I could get everyone in the shot across the table and still take the long shots. I expect that will be years before this feature is affordable enough to place in a $200 camera. I do look forwards to that day as I bet we see optical zoom and detachable lenses to do fun things when that day comes.
I reckon I got lucky in some areas and had uncommon expectations in other areas.
It appears that the early adopters had problems and Kodak was quick to fix them. I expected a newer model with the latest fixes (firmware) and maybe newer ArcSoft software.
I never probable a $200 camera without optical zoom to take pictures of cameras estimate twice as much and more.
I never expect included software to be planetary as that has never been my encounter with ANY product. It should do the basics, and for me it did, although I probably won't use it given other free options.
I have had video cameras in the past and admit the need for excellent lighting, both on the theme and behind the theme. That said, I am pleased with the video even in low-light situations as it is better than what I probable.
If you need a small video camera that is very simple to use and share your videos, I would not hesitate to recommend this to you. |
By and large, an brilliant choice in this price range
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| Review Date: November 16, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Joseph S. Wood, Andover, MA United States |
As others have mentioned, you really need to add $20+ (for an SD card) to the price of this to compare it to Flip and other cameras with built-in memory (the Zi8 does have a small amount of onboard memory, but it's only enough to test the camera, not enough for any real use). That said, though, it's still a bargain.
First, and most importantly, the video (and audio) feature is exceptionally excellent for a camera in this price range. No, it won't compare with a $1000+ camera - but it compares very well with Flip and the like. My initial video was made by later my four year ancient around the house as she clarified things to me. Bright sunlight to dark hallways to lit rooms, close to and far from the camera, still and active. We recorded (at 720p/60fps) for ten summary, then together the Zi8 via the included HDMI cable to the TV and watched. I was quite impressed. I wouldn't expect the Discovery Channel to use these to film the sequel to the Planet Earth series, but for recording kids, pets, outside events (I also recorded my dog running around the yard), etc., it does very well. Color dependability is excellent, and the built-in audio had no perceived issues. Adding an external mic makes it even better (my daughters use one and attach a tripod so they can interview each other).
I'm a Mac user, so I can't speak to the ease of use of the included software, but I can say that the Zi8 connects easily to the Mac (the first time, I only saw the drive partition with the Windows software, but I ejected and plugged it back in, and from then on, I saw the image/video partition as well). The movies are all in H.264 format, so iMovie (or effectively any other video software) works well with them, and, as others have said, iMovie does jitter reduction well, so no need to waste camera batteries on image stabilization). Also, obviously, you can eject the SD card and use a card reader to import the movies and pictures on any OS.
Speaking of pictures... the depiction feature is adequate, but very much in the cellphone camera feature range - I wouldn't use this to take wedding photos or to document UFO sightings, but it's fine for the things you'd use your cellphone camera to snap.
Ease of use is fantastic, but I will admit that, at first, I took a lot of half-second videos since the camera starts taking video whenever you switch resolutions. Still, it's trivially simple to use.
I rate it five stars since, for the price (even counting an SD card), I was very impressed with what came with it (cables, etc), with the feature of the recordings and of the camera, with the ease of use, with the external mic option, with the comes off battery, and with the by and large encounter.
At under $200 with a memory card, it is currently the best of the pocket-cam options. |
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