Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera (Raspberry) - Zi8 Raspberry

henner2002

1/25/2010

Love everything about it but did have a little problem with downloading onto DVD off computor. Very easy to use, just point and shoot!

Great experience.

1/24/2010

So, I read all the same reviews you did on Amazon. Some people love 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 good 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 funny 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
- Ability to record fast action movement of sports/dance activities
- Extremely easy to play back on a computer AND television
- Zoom. Optical would be great, but not needed for what I do.
- A standard video format that could be edited by lots of different software.

Major pluses that tipped the scale to this camera over others:
- Removable memory. I don't want to download everything to a computer when I am on vacation. Swapping out the memory card is like loading film...I'll process it when I get home.

- Removable 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 cordless drills, always buy a second battery so you can keep working.

- Decent quality video for the size. Look at another reviewer on Amazon. He did a decent job of recording in different lighting conditions 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 compatible with Quicktime. I would have preferred something 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 interesting that folks complained that only PC software was included. What they didn't seem to understand is this .mov format works natively with the standard iMovie software on the Mac.

All that said, the Arcsoft software loaded fine on an old 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 interesting detour I did not expect was the 8GB SDHC card I bought for the camera was not something the old XP could read with it's built in SD card reader (SDHC did not exist when this computer was built). It worked fine with a newer Vista based computer. That said, flipping out the USB connection from the camera and plugging it into the XP laptop worked great. The laptop treated the camera like a USB memory stick and the movies run in Quicktime.

As to converting the .mov to something 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 different? 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 put in a $200 camera. I do look forward to that day as I bet we see optical zoom and detachable lenses to do fun things when that day comes.

I think I got lucky in some areas and had different expectations in other areas.

It appears that the early adopters had problems and Kodak was quick to fix them. I received a newer model with the latest fixes (firmware) and possibly newer ArcSoft software.

I never expected a $200 camera without optical zoom to take pictures of cameras costing twice as much and more.

I never expect included software to be stellar as that has never been my experience 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 recognize the need for good lighting, both on the subject and behind the subject. That said, I am pleased with the video even in low-light situations as it is better than what I expected.

If you need a small video camera that is very easy to use and share your videos, I would not hesitate to recommend this to you.

Would be better with autofocus

1/20/2010

As received, the low-light video quality was relatively poor. After updating the camera software it improved. The camera is quite easy to use and well designed in most ways. However, it is a fixed-focus camera. Therefore, even though it has good depth of field, many of the things you video will be either too close or too far away to be in good focus. Therefore, the benefits of HD are lost a lot of the time. Actually, the focus is switchable between normal (mountains symbol) and macro (flower symbol), but the macro position focuses too close up to be useful for filming people. Autofocus would make this a much better camera.

Sony makes a similar pocket-size camcorder that includes autofocus. (I saw it demonstrated in a store.) I recommend that you check it out before buying this camera.

Excellent product

1/17/2010

It is hard to believe that such a small video camera has such great pictures. Very easy to download the videos to your computer, and then upload your completed video to facebook or youtube. Even my wife is posting videos of her horses without me sitting there showing her each step. This alone is a great feature. Great. The video editing program that comes with it is very rudimentary, but that also translates to easy to use, and a very small, intuitive learning curve. PCWorld rates this number one over the Flip, so buy with confidence.

Amazing!

1/16/2010

THIS CAMERA IS AWESOME! I showed some friends some footage I shot, on a 50" HDTV and they couldn't believe it came from this tiny camera, and a Kodak to boot! I intend to shoot a feature film with the ZI8 (yeah, you'll be laughing out of the other side of your face when I start winning festivals!). The colors, the sharpness, simply amazing, and it is the currently ultimate Guerrilla Filmmaker's tool. You could shoot entire scenes without anyone knowing what you're doing, and if the authorities come around, no one is going to think you're doing anything other than playing with your new camera!

Anyone who criticizes this under $200 camera that can shoot 1080p that looks like broadcast quality, and with a film transfer will look like 35mm, is an idiot.