A Day With my Kodak Zi8

I've owned Kodak's new Zi8 for a couple of days now and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with it still. The mono sound is becoming less of an issue (looking for an external stereo mic though), and I really feel the picture quality is fantastic. I tried to include several various lighting setups in this clip, both indoor and outdoor.

There is a tendency for the camera's white balance auto-adjust to take some time when moving the camera around, but what can you expect for the price? It's not like this is a $1,000+ camera! The still pics are pretty solid, the interface is great. I think I prefer Kodak's joystick over Flip's button. It just seems easier to activate, more responsive maybe.

Low lighting situations present the biggest challenge, but I see that with most pocket cameras. I see that Sanyo has released their HD2000 model that uses iFrame technology. I hope that is the future for camcorders.

Enjoy the clip, leave comments if you have questions. I realize how important it is for some viewers to make the right choice when shopping for a new gadget. I spent plenty of time online researching various pocket cams before I decided to get the Zi8. So far, I'm very happy with my choice!

Kodak Zi8 Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeq7-U4gvwI

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Kodak
• Zi8
• HD
• pocket
• camcorder
• test
• footage

[jw1487]

how is the battery life on this camera? That's kind of the only thing I'm worried about. Kodak says you can film for 1 hour. yikes!

You can get 10 hrs of video on this thing, but if you can only film for an hour, that sucks. Does is take AA batteries so at least you could just swap them out? Thanks!

[thegreatgoodbye]

@jw1487 Battery life is decent for a handheld cam like this. I get about 90 minutes (or more) on a single charge. No AA batteries unfortunately. You are required to use Kodak's rechargeable battery. You can always purchase a spare battery and swap, so that would give you a few hours of film time.

[jw1487]

@thegreatgoodbye One more thing... is the microphone really that bad? I know you can adjust levels using the User Interface on the camera. Seems like that's the biggest complaint for this camera.

[thegreatgoodbye]

@jw1487 It's mono, not stereo so the quality is sub-par when compared directly to the Flip series cameras. The upside is that the Zi8 has an audio jack so you can actually plug-in your own high quality stereo mic. I've seen some decent multi-directional mics for $50 or less. So if you're wanting to shoot interviews, or whatever that's a great feature. But if you're "out and about" wanting to shoot on the fly, the mono mic is "just okay"... nothing great. Definitely the Zi8's weakest feature.

[Idontlikebanjo]

what is the name of this track , 

[Idontlikebanjo]

good vid thanks im a gettin one , btw the missus dont look too happy lol

[dimaflour]

poor dog

[jw1487]

@thegreatgoodbye wow... thanks for the super fast reply. I think I might spring for one of these instead of the Flip Ultra HD. The ability to record in 1080 dpi offsets the bad audio quality for me.

Good advice on the rechargeable batteries, though. Thanks!

[SaiE8]

@thegreatgoodbye

Thanks soo much for the info, its hard to get a reply from someone with the cam.

[thegreatgoodbye]

@SaiE8 You can generally get around 20 minutes of footage for every 1GB you have when recording in 720p @ 30fps. I use an 8GB SDHC card and can fit about 2.5 hours when shot in 720p/30fps mode. Probably closer to 2 hours when shot in true HD 1080p mode. Battery life is decent, I'd say around 90 minutes or more on a single charge.