Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera (Raspberry) - Zi8 Raspberry

GREAT HOME VIDEO CAMERA

2/2/2010

I am 74 years of age and have been taking home video for 50 years. My last video camera was a Cannon, MINI DVD. That camera took good video and although small it became too much of a hassle every time I wanted to shoot a scene.

After a fair amount of research the pocket video seemed the answer, and the Kodak Zi8 the best of those. Although I have not tried any of the other pocket video cameras this one meets or exceeds my expectations. The picture quality is excellent when played back on a high def TV. Even the 5mg still pictures are very acceptable, and 4x6 size prints are good. Amazon was out of stock when I ordered, but still received the camera within two weeks. Camera arrived on February 1, so have only had a few days with it.

Problems. You cannot show your video as one continuous film. Every time you stop filming a separate segment is created, and you must key up each of these segments to show them. This makes for a stop -start home movie show. Therefore, you must have the remote. Otherwise, your out of your chair every few minutes.

Be sure and purchase an extra battery. The life, particularly with the EIS on is perhaps 25 minutes. Overall this is a great handy camera. I don't find that the pictures jiggle that much and the low light, though a bit grainy, is very acceptable for my home movie purpose.

Kodak Z18 review.

2/2/2010


I like the Z18,I suggest getting extra batteries because you will need them for back up. When you zoom in or out,it does it choppy, and if you want good sound quality, get a stereo mic and plug it in on the side,other units don't have this option and it makes a difference.UTube reviews were very helpful in learning.

Very good quality and portability

2/2/2010

I got this for my husband for christmas and he loves it. He is able to record video of his guitar playing when he brainstorms new ideas or riffs, anywhere. It is very handy and easy use. The battery life is good, we got a 4 GB SDcard and it stores plenty before you need to upload, remember to get class 6 or higher SD card for quality and speed. The only negative is that although it does zoom, the lighting must be bright inside for visible recording, outside is great. I even got one for my son who likes to make little movies with family members, from scripts that he writes.

I hoped for better image quality

2/1/2010

Summary: This camera is for people who don't care about image quality

Image Quality: The Kodak Zi8 image quality is quite poor compared to what I was hoping for. If a camera is advertised as having HD video capability, then I would expect it to be less grainy and pixelated in average light conditions. It performs very poorly in lower light conditions (e.g. inside a house).
The image looks really good on the small screen on the camera itself, but on anything larger, such as my 46" plasma, it makes me want to dig my eyes out with a spoon. I have not tried the still image function and don't plan on wasting time using thie Zi8 as a still camera.

Ease of Use: It is pretty easy to use and turns on quickly.

Image Stability: Also, the camera is supposed to have image stabilization, but it seems that the IS doesn't help. I have a steady hand and make great effort to keep my panning smooth and my still shots steady, but I think that since the lens is in the same plane as my hand (picture the difference between the longer, larger video cameras vs. the little flat ones like the Zi8 and flip), any slight shakiness in the hand transfers to the camera and this slight motion is exaggerated by the very quick radial velocity of the motion. I thought about this for a while, because I just couldn't figure out why things were so jerky. When I use a "normal", old school video camera with a hand strap, my shots are super smooth and stable- none of that Blair Witch jerkiness that makes it look like a toddler was filming. Sure, it has a tripod provision, but I use the camera to capture quick moments and don't have time to set up a tripod.

Bottom line is that you sacrifice SO MUCH quality for the convenience of the small size and ease of use. It is my first compact video camera and my last, until the quality of compact CCD, lenses, and video processing produces an image that is pleasing to my eyes.

Good Quality Camcorder

2/1/2010

I was looking for a small portable camcorder, something I can carry around without too much weight and of course great quality. I came across this and I think it's great. Video quality is clear and pictures aren't too bad either. Uploading takes a while because I'm using the full 1080p quality, but that's not a surprise. The software with this camcorder (can't remember the name) allows me to email these videos using windows live hotmail and that's great too, I can do all that while I have the program on. I like it overall.