Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera

HSN Today’s Special Value 1/18/09
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Was considering this little camcorder as a first time buyer of a camcorder for home use and stills. HSN includes a 4 GB card and a 1Gb card and $55 in Kodak gallery items. Thankfully, I have researched and learned the rechargeable batteries and recharger are standard accessories with the camera, along with pouch, cords, etc. The big turn off for me is the problem with a steady video and lighting issues. This was a today’s special value back in November,too, so it’s not like it’s brand new to the market. I soooo much appreciate all the feedback here to help me indeciding. You guys are great!

Zi6 camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
great product! Two quibbles: the USB connection is tenuous and the still photos are usually blurry but otherwise I don’t leave home without it!

Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera Review
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Pros: Great HD video (video is good even in low light conditions), SD memory, uses AA batteries, USB connection.

Cons: Digital zoom, eats batteries (get the most powerful mAh batteries you can afford).

Great Camera for moms on the go!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am a mom of two kids who loves to video them. I was looking for something small and compact that I could throw into my purse, that still had good video quality. My old Sony camera took good video but was just too big to carry around to caputure spure of the moment actions.

I first bought the Flip Mino HD, because of the great reviews. BIG MISTAKE. The video was grainy indoors and the included software wouldn’t ever load on my computer. Then the camera just ended up locking up and I could never turn it back on. Also my computer messed up for three or four days after trying to install. I returned it.

I bought the Kodak Zi6 and it is great! I took my first video inside at the mall (santa) and the lighting was great! The sound was great too! Then I took some video inside my house (low light) and it was good also. Finally I loaded the included software and it did fine. I can make movies and put them on DVD or the web. This camera was just what I was looking for!

Mediocre, no firmware upgrade on website
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I wanted a replacement for my old JVC Mini DV camcorder. Big shoes to fill, I was willing to compromise slightly on video-replacement had to have SDHC, very small form factor, and decent still photo function. Versus the JVC and Panasonic LX500 still camera, the Zi6 rated thus, scale of 1-10:

Video: JVC 9, LX500 6, Zi6 5

Shakiness of video: JVC 8, LX500 6, Zi6 4

Sharpness of video: JVC 8, LX500 5, Zi6 4

Speed of focus: JVC 8, LX500 7, Zi6 5

Form factor/portability: JVC 6, LX500 8, Zi6 7

Still photos: JVC 2, LX500 9, Zi6 3

Intuitiveness/Ease of use: JVC 7, LX500 6, Zi6 7

Portability to other devices (TV, PC): JVC 3, LX500 8, Zi6 7

Will return Zi6, then it’s head-to-head LX500 vs. Samsung SC-MX20, same criteria.

Pick a better Pocket Video camera
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I found that the video is OK but not as sharp as I expected. It falls into the same quality as others on the market but fails to fit into the ‘Pocket Video’ category. The camera is heavy and reminds me of older designs of still cameras that Kodak has done. However, it is 2009 and the device could be much smaller and lighter so that it is pocket size. It, like the RCA, seems to be designed by old guys in Asia who did large camcorders in their past.

Fine for the kids, but…
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
We intended to purchase two cameras for our teenagers for Christmas, but fell for the salesperson’s hype in the store and I purchased a third for myself. It’s definitely small, portable, easy and fun to use. If it had image stabilization, it would be a fantastic little camera. However, we gave them a test run at the family Christmas dinner, and were very dissapointed. Video is jerky, and it was a chore to get a still photo that wasn’t blurred in some way. Just a casual snapshot of two people having a conversation was impossible without having them stop and sit completely still. Otherwise, if someone moved their hand, it was a blur. Even many posed shots were not exactly sharp and crisp.

It’s great for the kids. They had a ball running around catching little videos of everyone, but I’d hate to be in a situation where you didn’t have a second chance to get a good shot.

Quality not as good as Flip but has some awesome features!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’ll start out with what i didn’t like because there isn’t as much compared to what i do like-please read till the end-

1. I was disappointed with the quality. It doesn’t handle low light nearly as well as the flip, which makes even the 720p HD quality look bad to the standard quality of the flip.

2. The sound is also not nearly as good as the Flip when it comes to recording live concerts. The flip handles a loud rock concert without clipping in the least, whereas the kodak clips during my church praise and worship. Depending on your preferences though, you might want the kodak, if you want a more sensitive mic.

3. Another thing the batteries don’t last as long as the flip, but it comes with rechargeable batteries AA’s so that bothers me the least. which brings me to what i LOVE about this camera.

1. It uses Double A’s so you can just switch the batteries out when you don’t have time to recharge them. It comes with rechargeable batteries though so you don’t need to buy batteries all the time.

2. You can take still pictures with it. Most people will overlook this if they are already photographers and have cameras already, but i was more into video and this is my first still picture camera.

3. Card slot is really cool because you can fit up to a 32 GB SD card which gives you lots of time to record HD, which takes up more space, although i got a simple 4 GB card now, which does the trick for me. You can also record in VGA, which i find nice

4. MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FEATURE PLEASE READ-THIS IS AWESOME!!!! You can record video while the A/V cables are plugged into the TV!!!!! My old flip ultra will not do this. This feature is great for recording yourself. I have not heard anybody mention if this feature is on the new flip cameras, or really any camera. I love this feature.

Solid HD alternative to a full blown camcorder
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
While I already own a HDV camera, I have found that it’s not always practical for personal use because of its size. If I wear shorts with cargo pockets, I can fit it into a pocket if I really want to, but it’s still bulky and heavy for casual use like on vacation. After looking at the Kodak Zi6, the Flip and another “pocket video camera”, I settled on the Kodak and have been pretty happy with in thus far.

The main factors that sold me were the price (it’s cheaper than the other models), the reviews of its picture quality (it’s been rated better than the others), and its use of SD cards for memory instead of built-in (I like the fact I can use up to a 32GB card and switch out if I need to record more). My Kodak still camera came with a long-lasting rechargeable lithium battery and the Zi6 comes with rechargeable AAs instead, which is good in a way as you can use standard AAs in a pinch.

My only complaint is that I use a Mac Book Pro and I cannot plug into the USB port with the power supply connected because the USB connector comes out at a right angle to the camera, which then blocks the power supply connection. Right now I have to unplug the computer to hook up the camera, but I’ve ordered a cheap USB hub to see if that will help and it may not be a factor for other computers depending on where their USB ports are located.

Why I bought this instead of the Flip (and happy I did)
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After reading alot of reviews on the Flip I realized there were a few things that didn’t make sense for us and eventually stumbled on the Kodak Zi6 which fit our needs more closely:

1) Cheaper: Tough economy, ‘nuf said

2) AA batteries: My wonderful wife has incredible patience with our little boy but has serious issues remembering to plug in gadgets for recharging. Often times I’m scrambling to catch something on video and left with…no charge, dead battery. Swappable AA batteries was the perfect solution, not offered with Flip.

3) Expandable memory: A similar issue to batteries, we both fill up memory before downloading onto the hard drive, at least there’s an option to grab another memory card. Not so with the Flip.

4) Bigger screen size: Getting old, eyesight isn’t so good anymore.

5) USB and Mac: Like the Flip, it pops out and connects to the Mac. Another review noted the Kodak can’t be plugged in with Mac power supply at the same time. It is a small inconvenience and should be noted. I’ll also comment on the Kodak software. I hate installing all the different software that comes with gadgets these days. I didn’t install the Kodak and simply plugged it in to see what would happen. After launching iMovie, you simply select ‘Import Movies’. Find the device and the associated clips you’ve recorded. A small workaround but no big deal for me.

6) At the end of the day I just wanted something easy to use (with only a few buttons and settings) and less bulky than the regular camcorder we have. Just remember it has limitations because of that simplicity.

This thing just gets thrown in the diaper bag or in my pocket like a cell phone and we are able to catch more ‘Kodak moments’ if you will.

Like I mentioned earlier, I bought this instead of the Flip. Not bashing the Flip simply pointing out differences that fit our needs better. From what I can tell, these are the things that are better on the Flip:

Smaller, USB rechargable, more colors, onboard memory

Note: Went to preview the review and noticed my wife as also changed my Profile Name to ‘New Mom’. Like most new Dads I’ve officially lost my identity!

Buggy = Returning
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Got this camcorder at Radio Shack for $140. It does take some nice video if you don’t mind the shakiness, but what do you expect with no image stabilization. I’ll highlight the main differences between this and the competitors and why what you might think is an advantage really isn’t.

Bigger Screen: The screens on these (flip mino HD, Vado HD, Zi6) are all to small to really do anything on anyway. What you want is the smallest screen that is still effective for centering your subject. This is because the bigger the screen the more battery juice it is sucking up.

720p at 60fps: Wow cool you can record twice as many frames per second for that smooth motion video, right? Wrong, neither imovie hd or imovie 08 will allow you to eidit and export at 60fps. In fact good luck finding any program that will. They all drop your video to 30fps, so unless your only going to be playing back just raw unedited video then the 60fps is kinda dumb and a battery sucker.

Removable SDHC: I have a 16GB Trancend card that worked in the camera with no problem. This and the battery’s are probably the main reasons people choose this camera over others, but there problem and the biggest problem with this camcorder go hand in hand, BATTERY LIFE!

AA Battery: I liked the idea of recording 4 hours of HD on my 16GB card. I figured maybe i would need an extra set of AA’s to get through that much video. Forget it and forget this camera, First off the battery’s that came with this camcorder are crap. I put in two brand new energizer battery’s and they lasted less than 20min shooting at 720p 30fps. What!!, yea less than 20min. You will spend piles of money on battery’s for this pig.

Buggy: I’ve had the camera freeze in record mode twice where nothing works untill i pull out the battery’s and restart the camcorder. The battery indicater is totally screwy on this camera. it will go from full to red in a matter of mintes, so i will turn off the camera and turn it back on and it will be full again?? I have had this camera for over a week and this problem has happened with the batterys they supplied and both energizers and duracells.

Final Thoughts. I haven’t used the Flip camcorder yet, but seeing as that is there flagship product, I’m guessing there aren’t any bugs and probably has a well thought out design. Kodak makes everything from tv’s to picture frames and there customer support couldn’t be worse. The battery problem alone makes this camcorder almost unusable. I don’t think i got a defective product either, cause once i started noticing this I did a google search for Zi6 battery life and saw many others dealing with the same low life and indicator bugs that i am. Take my advice and just forget about this camcorder, the specs are right on, but the execution SUCKS! If you can afford it get yourself a Canon HF100, or maybe try the Creative Vado HD, but that is also new with not many reviews.

Great Device with only a couple minor design flaws
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is a great product for the money. There are a number of long winded reviews on it so I’ll be brief and just point out a few minor issues. The first is the manual, or lack thereof, even though the device is incredibly simple I had to contact tech support just to figure out how to set the internal clock correctly so that the the videos would have the correct date and time stamp. The manual should include this info (push play and stop together to get to the settings menu). Along these same lines the clock has to be reset every time you change the batteries, this is a major hassle and could easily be avoided with a small internal clock battery.

My only other issue is that the device defaults to the second highest quality setting every time you turn it on, requiring you to change the setting before you record. It should either default to the highest setting or remember where you set it.

Finally, although there is no Mac software iMovie handles the files just fine and based on past experience I doubt that any Mac software that Kodak might provide would be better than what Apple provides with iMovie

better than i expected
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Very clear picture- easy to use,worked even in relatively low lighting. I’m very happy with this product.

Kodak Zi6 versus the Flip Mino HD
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
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

Kodak video
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
camera works great. software could use a few improvements, but am getting used to it. either way I love the camera.

Kodak camera: broken out of the packaging
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
The Kodak camera was faulty and failed right out of the package. Considering the success of the Flip, I just returned it and went with the better competitor. I can’t recommend any product that is broken before first use.

Good value for casual video, some s/w issues for PC
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I already had a “good” and reasonably portable camcorder, but found I didn’t use it much because of the hassle of carrying it around (even though it could, with some bulging, fit in my pocket). I thought it would be great to have a camcorder I could actually USE with little preparation or bother. Now,I use the zi6 much more often and with little need to plan.

My PCs all run WinXP, and my initial impressions of the zi6 output were quite poor, because the playback (even after copying the MOV files from the SD card to the HD) looks very jerky, even on a reasonably powerful PC. However, I was pleased to find that once you convert the MOV files to a more Win-friendly format, the playback is really very good — not like from an expensive camcorder, but certainly better than my old “home movies” or VHS-based recordings. So, for Windows users, the immediate/instant playback of the MOV files should be seen as just a first draft — it will look much better if you care enough about your video to convert it.

The software shipped with the camera is crap — a total waste. Good choices include: DVDFlick (Free!) to go directly from a series of the zi6′s MOV files, to creating a DVD (with simple menus); or, if you want to do editing or enhancing, you might invest a hundred bucks in Adobe Premiere Elements. Forget using Windows Movie Maker, which will not accept MOV files due to Mr. Bill’s pathological hostility to anything Mac-based, including MOV files, a/k/a QuickTime Movies. (“Thanks,” Mr. Bill.)

Another tip: Use the default HD format, even if your TV and computer monitor display in the older 4:3 ratio. You can switch the zi6 recording to VGA, which is 4:3 (although you have to do this EVERY time you start the camera), which I did at first, but the HD mode has significantly more pixels, even with the bands of black across the top and bottom, and I found it really does look much better. I can learn to ignore the black bands, until I eventually move to a 16:9, HDTV.

Two more drawbacks: You cannot turn-off the musical chimes at startup, which seems like a small thing until you want to start-and-stop recording during, say, a school play or in some other situation where your little beeps will disturb others (and their own recordings). And, there is effectively no zoom (just digital zoom, which here is both minor and counter-productive).

But if you don’t care about zooming-in for closeups, and if Windows users don’t mind some post-processing before seeing the output actually look good, and if your camcorder criteria place a high value on portability and convenience, this is an excellent choice.

I now think nothing of slipping this less-than-wallet-sized beauty into my pocket, going someplace and capturing some potentially good moments. And if the results are keepers, I can spend a little time making them more Windows-viewable.

The Zi6 fills a need, and fills it better than comparable products, in my opinion. My only misgiving is the technical issue, for Windows users, of dealing with these MOV files.

—-

UPDATE: I bought the Zi6 at a time when reviews made it the clear favorite for video quality in these pocket-sized cameras. Specifically, there was a consensus that the Zi6 results were better than anything Flip could produce.

Well, that was before the Flip Ultra HD. After getting my young son an original Flip at the Amazon liquidation price of $49.99, I was pretty impressed with its quality, and certainly very pleased to find how much easier it is to work on a PC, with the Flip’s MP4 output — compared to the MOV files from my Kodak.

For example, my favorite editing program is Adobe Premiere Elements. Which “can” use MOV files, but they run quite badly until converted. Even just displaying the Kodak’s MOV files, is jerky on my brand-new, duo-core PC. The Zi6 output is just poor on a PC, in my opinion, until it has been converted. Which is do-able, as I have said, but who needs that hassle, with a cheap-o product that’s sold for its EASE and SIMPLICITY, for CASUAL use?

Whereas the MP4s from the Flip work smoothly and perfectly in Premiere, AND can be edited in the everyman’s editor, Windows Movie Maker.

So that’s a deal-changer for me.

So I now plan to get the Flip Ultra HD, and maybe give the Kodak to the kid or wife. I will report back after actually using the latest Flip.

But for now, my recommendation is: Zi6 for Mac, Flip for PC.

Excellent, considering the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The complaints made about this camera should fade away, when you consider the price. You have a camera, cables, batteries, charger, manual and a small amount of memory. The manual is barely adequate, but it doesn’t matter, since the camera’s controls are intuitive and easy to master.

The manual tells you to go online for more information. Don’t bother.

The software works but doesn’t explain itself very well at all. You should have no problem figuring it out.

You can slip this in a pocket or briefcase and take videos and/or snapshots within seconds.

Kodak has made a very consumer-friendly product.

A solid alternative to the Flip series with a few nice improvements
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
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

Kodak Zi6 is the bomb
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I read a bunch of reviews before I bought this pocket video camera. There was a few things that sold me. 1) It can record in still, VGA, HD, and HD60 so it is good for web uploads as well as really sharp high def tv. 2) It take AA bateries that you can get anywhere in a pinch and comes with two nimh batteries and a charger. 3) It records to a SDHC card so you control the amount of memory available. A 2G card will hold 1 hour of HD video, and an 8G card will hold 4 hours of HD. 4) It is compact and easily fits in your pocket.

It has some limitations though, only digital zoom, and it won’t show playback on a 16G or larger card even though it records just fine and plays on Pc and TV.

But for 149.00 I think it’s as good as it gets. I bought a gorilla tripod and put it on my dashboard while plowing snow in a snowstorm it was pretty dam cool. I recommend it for casual video nuts.

Great Buy and I Highly Recommend It
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The Kodak Zi6 is easy to operate and takes excellent High Definition movies. The only problem I have had is that I neglected to turn it off and filled up my 4 GB memory card. Even though I left it on, the batteries are still in good shape and I have not had to recharge them yet. I would highly recommend this camera.

Do Not Use this camera if you use a Mac
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
This camera is not compatible with Final Cut Pro. In order to use the files generated by this camera, you have to convert the files to Apple Intermediate codec in order for them to play in your sequence without rendering. It uses an H264 codec called Amparella AVC codec, and when you import the files into FCP, they play very sluggishly, then when they are edited into a sequence, they require rendering, which makes them totally useless in an editing situation. In order to export the files, you need twice as much disc space as is stored in your camera, since you have to copy the files in order to edit with them.

Because the camera runs on batteries, and does not include an AC adapter, and because the files take so long to transfer between camera and computer, the camera runs out of batteries, the Finder indicates a Device Removal, the copy function does not reset, and you have to restart the Finder in order to clear the copy function. You cannot use the stop copy button to stop the process. If you do not restart the Finder, you have to force shutdown, and in one case, the computer did not immediately start up afterward, and had to be restarted for a second time.

This camera is more trouble than it’s worth for Mac users. The camera is very unstable for handheld users, and is a substandard camera as far as image quality and color balance. The zoom is not fluid, and the camera looks terrible when panning or tilting the camera.

When I contacted support at Kodak to ask about compatibility with Final Cut Pro, their response was:

it is a different program you use and we are not familiar with (it).

I am returning the camera tomorrow. I would suggest that you not waste your time.

Maybe Kodak should stick to film.

Karen Truett
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Gave this to my 12 year old grandson for his birthday and he loves it! We videoed Christmas morning!

Great product
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
We only needed a simple camera that we could use for videotaping clips and downloaqding them. The camera was perfect for our needs.

Broken Eject and Just Poor Quality
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I was excited to receive the Zi6 HD based on the reviews I had read here and on various website. However; when I actually got it I was less than thrilled.

First, when I tried to insert a brand new 16GB SDHC Card, the eject mechanism in the camera was broken. The card just slid in and kept on sliding… to the point I had to use tweezers to retrieve it.

Next, I slipped the card in and knowing there was no working mechanism to stop the card, I got it to where the camera would actually acknowledge its presence. I took a couple videos inside my home and outside on a sunny florida day. The videos all looked washed out and since the camera lacks any optical focus, nothing was really sharp.

I ended up packing it all back up and sending it back to Amazon. To the credit of Amazon, they do make the return process very easy. Just print a label and give it back to UPS.

I love it, with some caveats
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Other reviewers have already spoken very highly of this little device, and it’s praise well-earned. However, there were a couple of disappointments for me that I want to point out for others.

1) Instead of using the more popular .MP4 container for AVC video, it uses .MOV. If you are using a Windows operating system prior to Windows 7, and you want to play the videos as-is without installing Quicktime (ugh!) then you will need other players (such as the Zune software or an open-source player called Media Player Classic with a codec package called ffdshow). This is actually mitigated for me somewhat, as I transcode all my video to XviD anyway for playing on the Xbox 360 and some other devices I own.

2) Kodak points out that they only tested it on SDHC cards up to 8 GB. Normally, I wouldn’t think this was a problem, so I ordered the Transcend 16 GB card in Amazon’s frustration-free packaging. Apparently, the camera just can’t handle that much memory. It often freaks out on playback, displaying a red exclamation point. I even lost a few minutes of footage earlier today when it apparently locked up while recording. If I use the 4 GB card from my wife’s camera, it doesn’t have this problem. So do stick to memory cards 8 GB or less.

UPDATE: As of 6/24/2009, the latest firmware on Kodak’s website, 1.11, addresses the issue with SDHC cards and it now happily supports 16 GB.

Exelent point and shoot video
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The only reason I didn’t give this five stars is because of the swing-out USB connector. This is a novel idea, but in practice it is cumbersome and feels as if it could break easily, especially if attached to a laptop while it is in your lap. This is easily overcome by using a USB extender cable though and I do like the fact that you do not have to keep up with a special cable to transfer video or pictures.

Depending on your expectations and needs, it might be a good choice.
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
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 640×480 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.

Although the camera has a built-in speaker, there is no way to mute the volume of the starup and shutdown chime. It is always on. 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.

Great Little Video Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
To really appreciate this depends on your requirements.

This is one of the few handheld flip-like phones that offer the following:

- HD 720p resolution at 60 frames per second (also supports HD 720p at 30 fps, or VGA (640×480))

- upgradeable solid state storage (I purchased a cat 6 16 GB SD card for it for $30). There are 32 GB cards and I believe 64 available as well. You can fit hours of video or 1000′s of photos on this camera without running out of space. If you find you run out of space often, you can buy more SD cards just about anywhere.

- AA rechargable photo batteries are provided. Many units either have proprietary batteries that cost an arm and a leg to replace or others have integrated proprietary batteries that cannot be replaced. The fact that this unit takes standard AA, I can go buy new batteries from any store on vacation if the charge runs out.

- The screen is a nice size, very clear / crisp

- The video coming out of the device is very good. No image stabilization, but most of these types of devices don’t have it. Up until a few years ago most consumer cameras didn’t have image stabilization (or good stabilization).

Also, many cameras like this one have USB connectors to connect to the computer to download your photos, videos. USB connectors are designed to only last for 1000 to 2000 insertions. After that, the connector doesn’t work and for cameras without removeable memory, your videos will be stuck on the camera forever (plus you may not be able to recharge the phone). However, with this device, you can remove the SD card and plug it into just about any standard laptop with an SD slot. Most laptops have them, or you can buy an SD reader for your computer for less than $25. And you can keep using the phone without a working USB connector.

good
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
one of those things i bought and never use. poor sound quality and picture is shaky but that is expected in a product with no internal stabilization. doesn’t do too well with darkness either. overall it was a definite good buy for the price but left me limp and wanting more

doesn’t work out of package -disappointed
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Very disappointed. It hasn’t worked since we took it out of the box. Looks like it should be easy but I’m pretty confident it’s broken since even though the batteries are charged it doesn’t really turn on, only occasionally and then it doesn’t record. Hopefully Amazon will take it back and I’ll get the Flip.

Easy
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I love this. Perfect for recording on vacations or out & about & uploading to various websites. We got a great deal on Amazon with free shipping only only $130 when the new zi8 was released a couple months ago. Obviously the zoom isn’t much & it’s not the best in dark settings, but overall, you can’t beat it for the money! It’s so small & lightweight & the batteries last for a really long time. Ours came with rechargeables & a charger… but the best thing is it takes regular AA in case you’re out somewhere & run out of batteries… you don’t have to spend a fortune in a pinch. We took ours to Disney & that trip alone was worth it! No lugging around a bigger or more expensive model, worrying about it etc. Shop for a good deal & you’ll feel even better about this purchase~!

Kodak’s answer to the Flip Mino
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great Camera for a great price ($159). I wanted the Zi6 because of the SDHC capability. The versatility of 3 recording speeds is definitely nice too (HD 30 frames, HD 60 frames, VGA). Super simple user interface for the camera. I’m still learning the software and like all media software it tries to make itself your default for everything, what a pain.

All in all, I’m a very satisfied customer.

Cute and easy to use camcorder
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
It is small and very easy to use. I just plug the USB to my Mac, and can instantly play out the .mov from QuickTimes. It was great! I will get a few as gifts for people.

Overall, I like it a lot…one inconvenience, though
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I just got this camera, and really do like it. Opinions seem to vary on this, but I actually do like the fact that you can just drop in two easily-available AA batteries to power it. I hate and detest gadgets that use some sort of rare, esoteric battery type that isn’t readily available everywhere. You can use rechargeable AA batteries if you wish, and it actually comes with a couple of them (pre-charged) and a recharger. For me, though, the whole idea of a tiny little camera is to have it with you for instant use when an unforeseen opportunity presents itself. With rechargeables, you have to plan ahead for when it’ll be used by constantly having a pair of charged batteries on hand….and it takes many hours to charge them.

The one thing I dislike about this camera so far is that USB plug that pops out. Maybe it’s perfect for a laptop computer, but on desktop computers you wind up having to plug it in the USB slot somewhere on the computer’s case or on the monitor, and it’s just being held suspended in the air by that little plug, and gravity is pulling the camera down and trying to bend that plug and its socket, which doesn’t seem like a very good idea as it puts strain on those delicate parts. I find I either have to hold the camera in place, or use a piece of tape or something to hold it there. Ridiculous. I tried getting around this problem with a USB extension cord, but for some reason the camera didn’t seem to like this, and it remained unrecognized by the computer. Same thing happened when I plugged it into a USB hub. When I relented, and plugged the camera directly into the socket again, it again recognized it. Why? Who knows? The pop-out plug seemed to me like a neat idea….until I actually tried it out and encountered the practical problems with it.

By the way, the built-in memory is almost useless. You get about 30 seconds of video with it, and no more. For the camera to be of any practical use, you HAVE to get a memory card. I got an 8 gigabyte card, and it’s extremely easy to install. You just plug it in, and there’s an illustration in the instruction booklet to show where, and how the card should be oriented when inserting it.

Painful Support Process for a Decent Camcorder: Not Worth It
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Their Support Dept is located in the Phillippines – bad phone line connections for both times I phoned them. They had to call back but I waited for at least 30-minute for their call back, and the phone line connection’s still not very clear.

I’ve had the Zi6 for 6-month, and had to phone Kodak’s Tech Support twice. First time on obtaining the right software (which had come w/ the purchase but I couldn’t locate it). Their Zi6 hardware department and the Software Department referred me to each other and for 2 hours, I was just on hold to get connected to the other dept (each time a diff rep answering & transferring the call). At one point, 1 person even said i should contact Adobe, because it’s an Adobe software. I had to get Adobe on the 3-way call to let Kodak Zi6 hear it himself that Adobe’s off the hook – they sold the spe. software to Kodak & it’s all a Kodak issue now.

The 2nd time I called because when connected to my laptop, the “Media Impression” software didn’t find any video files in the Zi6 (while all videos are playing just fine on the Zi6 itself). Again, one dept transferred to another dept (both in the Phillipines), and the 2nd dept couldn’t hear me while I could hear her perfectly. She said it’s the phone line connection problem (again, just like last time), and she had to phone me back (so she verified my phone number). I asked if she knows the US Country Code for int’l calls, she either did not understand me enough or was distracted, she didn’t answer me and just hung up. That was 15 minutes ago and I’m still waiting.

Zi6 might be a decent camcorder to use, but a pain to simply get decent support.

As an ele. device, problems do occur. Whenever the problem occurs, it’s a PAIN & HASSLE to get support, and communicating with int’l tech support team. It’s time wasted explaining to them what’s going on again & again, and time wasted waiting to be transferred to other depts and time wasted because of the poor phone line quality b/w the US & the Phillippines, and frustration amongst all of these.

I will NOT recommend Zi6 unless you know you’ll never encounter problem to call their tech support.

poor and dissatisfying
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I selected this camera because it was way more convenient than the digital video camera I have been using. I wanted something that could fit in my pocket and upload video easily to grandparents. So far I have used this camera only a few times, and been really disapointed. My main concern is the image quality – photos are sometimes good quality, but frequently blurry or out of focus and video breaks up into pixelation every 10 to 15 seconds. I do not know if I have a bad camera or if this is just the expected quality. I am really sorry I bought this camera rather than waiting for lots of others to post experiences.

Kodak Pocket Cam A Winner
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I checked a lot of online reviews before ordering this pocket HD cam. Picture is crisp and clean and the audio quality is much better than a slightly cheaper flip cam. Simple to use with easy interface it epitomizes plug and play.

Quality Video w/ Great Macro, But Buy QuickTime Pro to Edit
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I purchased the refurbished version for $99, it works amazingly well. The quality of the videos, especially in macro mode, are beyond my expectations. I did have to upgrade the firmware to get better light exposure indoors, but it works fine now. Here are my complaints….

1) 60fps is great – but not when you can’t edit or share it. The editing software that comes with the camera is very basic and crashes constantly. MediaImpression only allows you to cut clips, rotate videos, add music, along with a few other simple things. To do more advanced editing (for color and lighting fixes) I’ve downloaded trials of Corel VideoStudio, Adobe Premier Elements, and Sony Vegas. All three downgraded the video from 60fps to 30fps. I also lost sound with the Sony product. My solution was to buy QuickTime Pro for $30, and it works beautifully. I can now edit lighting, sound, contrast, etc. Another problem – I’ve noticed that some video sites (ex. Smugmug) downgrade uploaded video from 60fps to 30fps. WHY!?!?!?! Although 60fps is cool to watch on your computer, it’s harder to edit and share

2) The digital zoom is not great and does not work smoothly. On top of that, the “clicking sound” made when you physically move the joystick to zoom in or out is recorded as audio by the camera. I suppose you could edit this out.

3) This is just annoying…the camera always starts up in 30fps “HD” mode. You cannot change the default so that it starts in 60fps “HD60″ mode.

Bad Pixels, Non-Service, and Horrible Customer Relations
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Three months ago I held Kodak products in reasonably high regard and I was excited to have purchased my Zi6. As of today, I will never by any Kodak product again. Here’s the story…

Early May 2009: Purchase a brand new Zi6 video recorder.

Late May 2009: Take Zi6 on vacation. Upon returning home, I discover that there are several bad (hot) pixels that light up like X-mas lights in the videos I take and are terribly evident in moderate to low-light conditions. Although disappointed, I realize that issues like these can be mapped out in software/firmware and plan to contact Kodak to have it serviced.

Early June 2009: I contact Kodak to provide me software to map out the bad pixels; they indicate that they do not offer end users the ability to map out pixels themselves. I ask the online rep to assign me an RMA number to have the bad pixels mapped out; they indicate that I should go to their main support page and use the automated services there. I go to the automated page and there is no category for bad pixels. I have to contact a rep (again) to request an RMA; finally I am sent the information after some toil.

Early June 2009: I send out the Zi6 for service to one of Kodak’s subcontractors. I include the actual pixel location areas in my documentation that went out with the unit (no ambiguity here… I want bad pixels mapped out. Period.)

Late June 2009: I receive my Zi6 back and the service memo indication is that the unit was “calibrated”; I was suspicious as to why it was recalibrated and no mention of pixel remapping. I take the Zi6 on a mini-vacation over a weekend. Upon returning home, I discover that the bad pixels are still there.

Late June/Early July 2009: I contact Kodak again and complain that the unit was not repaired as I wanted; the bad pixels were not remapped. I explicitly request that the service request indicate that I want bad pixels mapped out and the rep writes it up that way. I package up the unit and send it off to the same Kodak service contractor (Precision Camera) in CT with documentation indicating where the bad pixels are located and again emphasize that I want pixel remapping service.

Late July 2009: I receive the unit back a second time and the service memo indicates the was issue and the unit checked out; I cringed that nothing was done again.

Early August 2009: I went on a late summer vacation trip and took the Zi6 along to try taking more videos (oh yeah, I took a spare camera too as my trust in Kodak had already been heading South).

Early/Mid August 2009: I review the vacation video taken with the Zi6 and yes, the bad pixels again had not been repaired by Kodak or its service subcontractor.

Mid August 2009: I contact Kodak one final time and rehash all the trouble they’ve put me through and the fact that they don’t listen to their customers. For three months all I wanted was to have the bad pixels mapped out of the unit and instead got a huge runaround. Kodak’s final reply… the unit checked out okay with the service company. (Did I mention they don’t listen to their customers?)

Buyer beware if you plan to purchase a Zi6 or any Kodak product based on this experience. My opinion is that they just don’t care about their customers, their service repair providers are a joke, and they don’t stand behind their own products or warranties.

If you have a functioning Zi6 and enjoy it, then good for you. I’ll never buy Kodak again after this waste of time and money.

Good product
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Our organization used this camera to take about 15 minutes worth of footage daily make a bumper video for 5 weeks. This is a pretty solid product, and am pleased with the quality of video that it turned out.

Battery life was okay, could have been better.

The center button is a bit weak, and as the summer went on, it got less responsive.

The camera did take my abuse quite well. It did get dropped a couple times on hard floors.

I’m not a fan of .MOV format, but Windows 7 and Movie Maker Live supports H.264 just fine.

great camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great camera, works well, we use it mostly for business takes good still and excellent video, only drawback I can see is you have to be careful how you hold it or your finger willcover up the microphone… I would highly recommend this camera for any business or person that is looking for an inexpensive digital camera/video camera.

For the price you can’t beat it.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Picked this up at a local Best Buy for a mere $109.99. I was surprised to see them in stock as their website says online only. The competition to this is the Flip series of usb camcorders. The basic Flip Ultra goes for about $150 (on sale) but only films at vga (640×480) quality. For less than $150 at most outlets, the Kodak Zi6 gives you 16:9 HD quality (720p) video at 30 or 60 frames per second. Additionally, the memory is EXPANDABLE with SDHC cards up to 32GB (more on this later).

While the Flip gives you way more built in memory (2GB) that can hold 60 minutes of video, the Flip is not expandable. So you better take a laptop or something with you on vacation to off-load the videos.

The Kodak Zi6 can hold several hours of HD quality video on an 8GB SDHC card (not included). The cards are cheap to buy, I picked up a class 6 (highest speed) SDHC card for $16 on Amazon. So you can take this on vacation with an extra card and record 6 hours of HD video without ever connecting to a PC to offload.

The Zi6 also has a much bigger and clearer LCD screen (2.4″ vs 1.5″ on the Flip)

Con: The battery life of the included AA rechargeable batteries is horrible however. I have tested regular AA batteries in it and gotten much better life span out of them (2 hours vs less than 1) I may purchase a second Duracell brand AA charger and batteries to see how those last with it.

Pro: This sucker INCLUDES HD cables to hook up to your HD TV! (regular cables are also included if you want to watch on any old TV) That is a huge value and more than makes up for the lack of internal memory for me. HD cables are $$$!

On a side note, the build quality of these seem less than bulletproof. The first one I got had a crackling microphone. The second one I got it seems the gain on the mic was really hot (hissy). I don’t see a way to adjust it, but at this price I am not going to quibble about a hot mic.

The video themselves were very nice, especially in natural light. My biggest surprise was the quality of the indoor video. I was expecting the worst after reading the reviews, but you know what? It actually does a pretty darn good job indoors! Yeah, if you try shooting without turning on some lights, the frame-rate drops a little to compensate. But turn on some lights and it’s just fine.

Slow motion using the high speed HD (60 fps) setting is unbelievable.

The lens is zoomed a little tighter by default than other cameras of this ilk. The advantage being it gets your subject closer showing more detail. The disadvantage being it is prone to a little more shake because of it. I don’t find it a huge deal. Just keep your elbow bent and move slowly when shooting.

IMPORTANT NOTE!!! I recommend not using any SDHC card larger than 8GB in this camera. Description says it will use any up to 32GB. Kodak’s own site say the card accepts cards up to 32GB but cards over 8GB are untested and users may experience issues. It seems some users are having no problems with 16GB cards, but some are. (read through the reviews)I would keep the cards 8GB or under and you’ll be fine.

Just food for thought, I compared the Flip Ultra series in this review which only records a resolution of 640×480. An HD (720p 30 FPS) version of the Flip is also available for well over $200. It still is limited by non-expandable memory (60 minutes internal),includes only a standard definition TV cable, and doesn’t provide the option for stills or recording at lower resolutions if desired.

Not Knocking the Flip cams so much as I am touting the value of the Zi6. Hopefully it holds up!

SDHC size/brand
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
The Transcend 16 GB SDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Card TS16GSDHC6 would not work in this device. After checking Kodak website I found several clicks

in that even though this device is said to work with up to 32GB SDHC

it was only tested up to 8GB SDHC size. So I’m not sure whether it is the size or the brand that was the problem.

Great product for the price!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is a great, easily portable video camera for the price. The sound quality and volume has room for improvement.

Great camera, horrible software
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I’ve had the Zi6 for about three months now, and I am very impressed with the camera’s performance. The picture quality is quite good for a point-and-shoot video camera, and the ability to use off the shelf replaceable batteries and SDHC cards puts it way ahead of the competition IMHO.

However, the Arcsoft MediaImpression software included with the camera is one of the worst pieces of video software I have ever encountered, and is essentially useless. When it first comes up it attempts to scan your hard drive for video files. Given that I have 1T of hard drive, this is not a good idea. And there is no way to defeat the scan, which ran for many hours before permitting me to attempt to produce a video. It crashes inexplicably every time I try to produce a video longer than about 15 minutes. And it produces a temporary file on my disk that grows without limit every time I try to produce a video, filling up the disk (which is quite a trick with 40G free). Customer support for the software is essentially non-existent, although they do have a user forum, which documents all of the problems I have had with no solutions.

Kodak, if you cannot provide quality software with your cameras, just do us a favor and don’t include any. This MediaImpression trash is damaging to your reputation, and the Zi6 deserves better.

Buy it
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Love this little guy. I take it everywhere. It is great!

After reading reviews and working with products in the stores, I decided to purchase the Zi6 over the Flip HD products.

Here are my reasons:

1) Zi6 uses Memory Cards, up to 32gigs, not an option with the Flip Products. Swap out, easy to move data around, print stills directly to my Epson printer.

2) Batteries, the Zi6 comes with rechargable batteries, actually my Zi6 purchase came with two sets of batteries and one charger. Batteries life is very good, mine last about 4 days between recharge.

3) Zi6 LCD screen size large compared to the Flip screens.

4) Great video qualtity, for the device type.

5) Zi6 comes with all the cables.

I did not work with Flips software, but Kodak software works well. I use Pinnacle Studio to edit and upload my videos and stills.

Again, really enjoy this camera. It is always in my pocket and now I don’t miss anything.

What a Great little camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased the Kodak Zi6 as a Chistmas gift for my nine-year-old daughter. After checking it out for Santa before gift wrapping I sure hope she will let me borrow it after the holiday. This is a very impressive product. Good quality video in a compact product. I’m very favorably impressed.

Zi6 is the most useless product you can buy
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I bought this product after reading several reviewws on it particularly on Amazon. Be careful reading junk info by pseudopundits! People will tell you anything! Useless little product. No significant information in the manual. No troubleshooting whatsoever. Kodak chat had no clue what the problems where. Connecting to the computer is very difficult. Software is invoked when the camera is plugged into the port but then does nothing. Slick, folding USB but that is it! Shot several videos which did not look High Def to begin with but while downloading them, they get corrupted easily. I started seeing the screen all green, then red, etc. Not a good experience at all. But may be that is all the pocket HD cameras and not just Kodak. 2 AA batteries with charger came with it. They are supposed to fully charge in 12 hours and then switch the indicator lights off. 30 hours in the socket and the two red lights were still on!! Not very reassuring because once you connect to the computer, the batteries are sucked dry in an hour or so. Oh, and the Kodak web site has a help line for all Kodak products. After many links, I was told that I need Win XP Pro. The Kodak CD that came with it says Win XP. Hello!

A great little camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Santa brought my daughter this camera and she’s put it down long enough for me to play with it. This is a really nice little camera (Santa apparently did his research well) that delivers on the promises Kodak makes.

- It’s easy to use and ready to go out of the box. The batteries come charged – just pop in some memory (or use the small amount built in to the camera) and you’re making videos right away.

- The picture quality is excellent. Images are bright and clear, indoors or out. My daughter has taken video indoors at school and home and the image is very bright. I’m impressed with how sharp the HD (30 frames per second) and HD60 (60 frames per second) videos are.

- Sound recording is good, nice and clear. Playback (through the camera) volume is loud enough to hear clearly as well.

- Downloading the videos is easy with the attached USB connector. I recommend buying a USB extension cable Cables To Go – 19003 – 1M USB A Male to A Female Extension Cable (White) so the camera doesn’t have hang out of a USB port.

- The included tripod socket is handy. Santa also thoughtfully included a Gorillapod flexible tripod that works great with this camera. Joby GP1-EGEN Gorillapod Flexible Tripod (Green)

- The camera comes with both component and composite cables. My daughter loves that she can hook her little camera up to the 50″ plasma and watch her videos in HD. Since the component output doesn’t have sound you need to use the audio output from the composite jack, or just use the camera’s built-in speaker.

- Some have had problems with larger memory cards. I purchased a Transcend 16 GB SDHC SD Class 6 Flash Memory Card TS16GSDHC6E [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging] and it works fine in the camera. Make sure you get a class 6 card for this camera…recording in HD or HD60 requires a faster speed of memory.

The main problem with this camera is the included software, by Arcsoft. It’s horrible. It installs several programs (including an updater that runs all the time) and some didn’t install completely so we kept getting messages about missing files. Arcsoft provided the software for an HP webcam I bought…and returned because of the poor software. Fortunately we use Pinnacle Studio 12 which works with the type of file this camera produces (.mov – H.264/MPEG-4 files) so I happily uninstalled the Arcsoft software.

It’s an excellent camera that’s worth getting even though the software is junk.

Noise-filled pictures, grainy video…but is HD (16:9) capture
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I got this camera just before Christmas 2008 and used it only on Christmas day. Upon viewing video and pictures, I found the picture quality to be totally unacceptable and video quality not very clear and quite a bit jumpy. I will mention that, after inspecting the camera very carefully, I found a flaw mark or minor scratch on the lens which may have degraded it’s best ability to perform optimally. (I returned this camera) The only nice quality is the HD video capture which is a great feature for the future of video cameras to be in sync with newer tv’s and computer screens. Otherwise, it feels to be constructed well other than the poor design of the USB connector which is easily accidentally released at inopportune times. I somehow must have hit the release button while camera was in the carry case making the camera difficult to remove from cloth carrier. Overall, I would recommend either buying a higher quality camera for those “special” moments or waiting for the technology to expand and produce better products for around the hundred bucks this camera cost and is only worth at this time.

Kidak Xi6
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
What a great product. As advertised, very simple to use and the picture quality is outstanding. I could not believe the HD color and how it transformed from shade to light. Well worth the price…..

Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera – Excellent For Most Videos
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I purchased the Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera after reading many reviews between this and the Flip Mino HD. I also checked out many sample video comparisons between the two products and found the video and audio superior to the Flip Mino HD.

My goal was to use this to create some Real Estate Videos. For general use this video camera is 5 stars, however for Real Estate I find the lens is not wide angle enough to get many of the rooms looking great. I love this camera for family videos as the camera is small and light. Very easy to carry and get some great videos.

For Real Estate as I use the camera more I am finding better ways to get better videos, though I have had trouble getting rid of movement andshaking. I have a lot of waterfront listings so with the winds the movement can be extreme. A tripod works although can be hard to always use, so I bought a monopod and have been getting much better video and have the freedom to walk around and get some good video.

Overall I would give 5 stars to general video and 3 stars for Real Estate. As I practice more, I would expect that the Real Estate Videos will be 4 stars. If the lens was a bit wider angle it would be perfect.

I am also using the video camera when I preview properties for my clients. They love the video as it lets them see a better perspective of the home, and also I take video of the neighborhood and they can hear how quiet or noisy the area is.

Great Camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This camera is exactly what it claims. Easy to use and transferring videos to a computer is a breeze. Only downfall is no stabilizer. If you are walking or riding in a vehicle on a bumpy road it is very hard to keep the recorded video from being shaky. Other than that this is a great camera. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a camera they can just throw in their pocket.

Digital Cam Flip Recorder
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This a great little tool and it makes excellent videos. I have really enjoyed it very much. Good Piece of equipment!!

The Underrated Champ of the Mini Camcorders!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve ordered a ton of products from Amazon and I’ve only recently gotten into posting any reviews (except for years ago when I first started buying off of Amazon). Let me say that this I believe is the most underrated mini-cam in its price range and I will explain why in further detail.

The first point to consider when looking at any “video camera” in this price range is value vs. cost, and in terms of cost the Kodak Zi6 is still one of the lowest priced minicams, when you consider the fact that you DO NEED AN SD CARD, if you don’t already own one (which most people with digital cameras do) then you have to add on an additional $20-$30, but this still puts you into the $160-$170 price range with the Kodak as currently priced on Amazon.

The second point to consider when looking at this camera is the fact that it has an SD card slot to begin with, compared to the Flip (which has gotten undue praise ahhemmm….cough) or the Flip HD which has a static memory of 4 GB (and to be fair Flip does have the newer Ultra which has a card slot I believe as well), the Kodak can accept up to 32GB in its SD card slot, the only caveat which is probably the case with most cheaper cameras is that I don’t know if it will work with 32 GB SD HC (High Capacity) cards and that may be the problem that some other reviewers ran into with bigger cards, anyone with more info let me know…. I currently have an 8 GB SDHC card by Transcend which was purchased from another site (a popular computer parts seller, and I’ve had absolutely no problems recording video, the longest I’ve recorded straight so far has been about 10 minutes, but I’ve recorded about 60 or 70 smaller clips.

The third point I want to address is the criticisms of this camera and the comparisons of it to the Flips and the Creative Vado, I have a friend who owns the 30 minute Flip Video Camcorder: 30-Minutes (White) and in terms of size the Zi6 is not any bigger than that cam, the Zi6 is slightly bigger than the Flip Mino (not Ultra) HD, but like I said the Flip MinoHD Camcorder, 60 Minutes (Black) no removable storage, only built in memory which to me is a negative, 8 GB (120 minutes) sounds like alot I know, but you may be surprised how one or two recitals or basketball games that you haven’t gotten around to downloading can eat that up….

The second negative which is the biggest criticism is the complaint about lack of image stabilization, well not to sound like a ____ but up until a few years ago only the real expensive semi-pro cameras had ANY IMAGE STABILIZATION and if you started with one of the old VHS CAMCORDERS forget about it, like other reviewers have said keep your arm bent at a near 90 deg angle, don’t do alot of jerky movement (or walking) or use the included tripod mount and you can get some great footage w this cam. I do understand how this is a valid concern for some people an older co-worker of mine loved the footage of the Zi6 but said she wouldn’t buy it because there was no image stabilization, but we should not that the FLip Ultra or Mino series don’t have image stabilization either.

The Creative Vado I’m not sure about and haven’t mentioned much, but I personally wouldn’t trust any products from Creative too much (except their Creative Labs GigaWorks T20 Series II 2.0 Multimedia Speaker System with BasXPort TechnologyPC speakers which kick ___), I’ve personally had nothing but music production grief from their Soundblaster soundcards, and I won’t forgive the fact that they destroyed (when they bought out ) EMU a once great music gear company, but they do make very good PC speakers, but I digress…..

A few more positives, CNET or Gearheadz (you can youtube it) did a side by side comparison of the Zi6 and the Flip Mino HD, and the two reviewers gave the Zi6 the best ratings in terms of color contrast and realism, if you are a MAC USER (which I’m not and still have no problems with video format) you will LOVE this camera’s file format for the fact that its MAC NATIVE QUICKTIME MOV format, so it converts right into IMovie or Final Cut Express/Pro, one of my friends/co-workers is a new Mac convert and he swears up and down how much easier for him this camera is to use and edit video with on a MAC.

This point I want to leave with a * that if you DON’T have a NEWER PC or MAC,YOU SHOULD NOT BE TRYING TO EDIT AND ENCODE HD VIDEO IN THE FIRST PLACE…..

I started doing serious video editing when I bought my Canon HV10 3.1MP High-Definition MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom with a custom built Pentium D 3.0 GHZ desktop and 3 Gigs of ram + 256 video, and the Canon video would edit fine with both Sony Vegas Studio and Pinnacle Studio 11 + 12.

I still love and use the Canon (its a great cam W IMAGE Stabilization) but I bought the Kodak to take with me places the slightly larger Canon would be inconvenient, with the Pentium D PC the Kodak HD would edit ok (only in Pinnacle Studio ),but the rendering (mixing down and converting) was slow.

The Zi6 video in HD 60 Frames mode was very choppy and hard to edit or render without serious PC hiccups and maybe program freezing, and note this is a PC that I’ve also played games on and edited other video with no problems.

Recently I just completed a new PC build with an Intel Core 2 Quad 2.83 GHz 4 (3.25 in Windows XP) Gigs of ram, 768 gigs video,and I’ve been able to edit both the Zi6 HD 30 and HD 60 video like a charm in Pinnacle, the render time has increased dramtically too. I plan to have some video to add to this review soon, and also some reviews posted on my site.

I think that the Zi6 is a great mini HD cam for the price and the video in good lighting (daylight) is comparable to the Canon HV 10, yes badly lit video is bad but that’s the case for all “camcorders” under about $1500 to $2000 bucks, even the HV 10Canon HV10 3.1MP High-Definition MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom which I think take great video as well suffers badly in poor lighting.

In conclusion if you have a newer PC or Mac, a good video editing program, and the patience to actually learn how take good video (it is an art, I believe), you can get great mileage out of this cam, if you even just want a cam to take video of the kids its absolutely great for that, and even better is that you don’t have to edit you can hook it directly up to you Flatscreen or standard TV.

*A note about the Arcsoft video Impression program, the program included on the CD has more video editing features than the program saved and installed into the Kodak Zi6, why not include the full program on the Zi6 instead of the CD, maybe to save space, but even the Arcsoft program isn’t bad again CONSIDERING YOUR PC CAN HANDLE it….A final note is unless you are planning extreme outdoor use I would stay away from Kodak Zx1 compared to the Zi6, they are basically the same camera but the Zx1 suffers from poor Mono audio, while the Zi6 records great audio and sounds like HD stereo (depending on what’s captured, outdoors is a little noisy like most handhelds)…Hope this is helpful…….

Better than Flip
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Did a lot of research on this before purchase. Cheaper than Flip HD and better built. Kodak did it right on this device. No complaints and I’ve gotten a couple of others to buy one after seeing mine!

Good review for Kodak Z16 pocket video
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The camera is excellent for the intended purpose. It is light wieght and has a very good picture. I love being able to carry it in my pocket and have the ability to do a quick video when the occasion presents. It is so simple to operate. The features I like best are the loarger screen and the ability to add memory at will.

Buy Zi6 or minoHD? Answer: Zi6
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I did alot of research & read many reviews for both Kodak Zi6 and Flip minoHD. I decided to go with Zi6 and I’m happy that I did it. I already had Flip Ultra & also tried Flip mino recently. Compare to Zi6, both Flip ultra & mino have lower quality built & feel cheaper in your hand. The Kodak Zi6 is more Pro. Flip Ultra takes brighter & sharper video than mino though. Comparing the video quality of Zi6 & minoHD, almost the same but colors & blacks look better with Zi6. Replaceable batteries & memory card slot of Zi6 are big advantage over minoHD which has built-in battery & no memory card expansion slot. You get alot more accessories with Zi6 like component cable, RCA cable, Mini Tripod, x4 AA rechargable batteries, x2 Cases, Battery charger, Lens Cleaning Kit & Strap (I didn’t buy it from Amazon though). The 2.4″ bright LCD display is much better than 1″ LCD on minoHD. Unlike minoHD, Zi6 gives you 3 modes to shoot video: VGA (640×480), HD (30fps) & HD (60fps). Does MinoHD take Still photos like Zi6? NO! Also recorded sound quality is better with Zi6. Both models claim that they shoot in “HD”, but they don’t. They should name it “High resolution Widescreen” not true “High definition”. The “ArcSoft mediaimpression Software which comes with Zi6 is better & more effective than Flip software (The one I tried with Flip Ultra & mino crashed many times in Windows -I did not try minoHD Flip software yet). For your money, you get alot more & better built quality with Kodak Zi6 and as I mentioned before, The video quality of Zi6 & minoHD are almost the same (Both models lack in low light situation) but I prefer Zi6 because of richer colors & better blacks….And, Kodak Zi6 has cheaper price which is better for your pocket

Great little video camera for the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
My first video camera Panasonic PV-L750D with VHS-C tape that was large and bulky and the video quality was below average. My second video camera was a digital JVC Everio GZ-MG77U that was much smaller but the video quality was still below average IMO. It did have a hard disk for storage which was great for longer videos but its size did not make it easy to catch the kids doing day to day stuff. I often used my pocket camera to catch videos but the quality was again below average. I just got the Zi6 but already love it since I can capture better quality HD video in a pocket sized video camera. Plus it cost much less than my first two video cameras. As long as you have enough lighting the video quality is great and even in low light it has better video quality than my JVC Everio or the old Panasonic VHS-C. Obviously this is not going to give the same video quality as a top of the line bulky 1080p HD video camera with a huge lens but that was not what I was looking for. I just wanted a small pocket size HD video camera the capture videos of my children and this thing delivers just what the doctor ordered.

JVC Everio GZMG77 2.0MP CCD 30GB HDD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I’m on my third one of these. Each has had a different problem. Many of the new point/shoot still camera’s will shoot MUCH better HD video then this camera. Unless you are perfectly still, the videos from this camera will be so shaky that they will make you seasick. Classic Kodak product, cheap, likely to malfunction, getting videos off camera is a CHORE, not well thought out. Period.

First digital video cam
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera

What a neat little gadget! Never had a video camera of any type before & we didn’t really “need” one but got a gift card for Xmas so…

Very very easy to use. Video quality blew my socks off. Looks great on the 65″. Make sure you get the additional flash memory. 16gb is keeping us happy right now. More then enough room. Rechargable batteries & charger nice to have included in package. Software is o.k. Converts and uploads hd to YouTube darn easy.

ZI6
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Works well. Have some trouble with focus sometimes. Love that it takes 2AA batteries. Easy to change when out and about. 4 gig card give me 3-4 hours of recording time.

Overall fairly satisfied
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Pros:

-Solid build quality

-Easy to use

-Expandable Memory

-Replaceable Batteries

-Good Video Quality in most lighting situations

-Macro Mode

Cons:

-Not as small and light as a Flip Mino

-Mediocre-Poor Video Quality in low light situations

-Makes annoying sounds when turning on & off

-Controls, while functional, are somewhat clunky

I had been looking for a small video camera for a while and decided to go with this since it took HD video and the video samples I had seen online looked decent. I have been very impressed so far. Video quality is solid in most situations. I really like that you can just drag and drop files of the camera to your computer, even in linux. Since it encodes the video using H.264 it is pretty easy to edit or transcode the video. Expandable memory is awesome, same goes for the ability to change batteries for a fresh pair. I wish it was a little smaller and lighter, but you can’t have everything.

Firmware Upgrade makes device unusable
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
This product is pretty much WSIWYG. Simple DVC, simple funtions. Recorder does not have stabilization resulting in some very shaky video.

Once the firmware was flashed to 1.11 the camera became a paper weight. Randomly shuts off and freezes. Called Kodak Help Center, or rather the “interpretive” help center in Timbktu or wherever. They do not understand english at all. Had to basically spell words and speak one word per minute. The first stated that they were going to transfer me to US tech support. After another 10 minute wait I got another non-english speaking rep. After more run around and now RMA #. I will not buy another Kodak product. Stay away.

Does What Its Meant to Do
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’ve had my Zi6 for about two months now and I’ve shot over 400 videos with it. I have to say, overall I am very happy with it. The video quality is better than I expected for $150. Its not excellent, but a camera of this type is not focused on video quality…its all about compact size and ease of use. If you’re looking for amazing video quality, you won’t find anything that fits in your pocket.

Besides vidoe quality, I’m also very happy with the simple interface. Being a high end SLR camera owner, its nice to work with a product with essentially no complexities at all. I just take it out of my pocket and begin shooting. Its that simple. Playback is also very easy, and you can play your videos back at 8x speed which comes in very handy with longer videos. I also love that it uses rechargeable AA batteries. They charge just like any other camera battery, but you have the added benefit of being able to buy AAs anyplace you happen to be when they run out of juice! This has already come in handy for me a few times.

The issues I have are pretty minor. For one thing, the pop-up USB feature is NOT a pro for me. Some people may like it, but I find it clumsy and problematic. For one thing, when you plug it into a USB port, the entire camera is now hanging from the port! I have to pile random items under it to support its weight. Also, the button to pop out the USB connector is right out in the open on the front of the camera. It pops out ALL the time while in my pocket. I’d also be much happier if it outputted AVIs instead of MOVs. I’m not a big fan of Quicktime.

In the end, I’m unbelievably happy with it. The cons are far outweighed by the pros in my opinion, and its portability just makes it much more versatile than standard camcorders. My recomendation is to buy this for “out and about” use, and buy a more expensive camcorder for indoor use for parties and holidays, etc, where quality is more of a concern and portability is not.

not bad Camcorder
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
i got this item but the problem is the batteries charger not working so i have brought new one, over all i suggest this Zi6 and i think it is better than FLIP Cam, at least you can change the Memory card… yes go ahead and get it

Great little Camcorder
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Just got the Zi6 in today. I’ve run it through the paces and am pretty impressed by this little rascal. By default, it starts off set to HD, but it can be toggled to HD60, VGA or still camera easily. The HD resolution is very good for a camera of this type and looks great on a 42″ HD screen. The build quality seems good and transfer to the computer was seamless. I used a Mac for this.

Get this if you want a trouble-free, catch-the-action-as-it-happens kind of shoot. Yet I think used, under the right conditions, it might even fool some into thinking this is better equipment than it is.

Downshots? A few. Using the toggle to zoom is unavoidably audible and you do need a steady hand. Not the best low light performer ever was. Minor caveats really. What was Kodak thinking with pink? Yes, I have the black model. Battery life is moderate the Zi6 is a hungry, hungry baby.

Cool things? Yes! Seeing yourself in the reflection of the USB button to self shoot was definitely a sublime idea. The ability to use AA batteries rock too. Screen is good too.

Get Zi6 if you want to have some fun making video.

Zi6 e a pretty good product
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
A found the product pretty good. Nice, beatiful and slim and good video images when recording or reviewing.

The batteries supplied are good but they work just a few minutes…

SO…COOOOOL…
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am not kidding when I say that this camera is phenomenal. A great Christmas or birthday present, or just a simple indulgence, the Kodak Zi6 Pocket Video Camera is uber-awesome. From the tiniest details in Macro Mode to the grand panoramas in Landscape Mode, this camera captures it all in stunning, vibrant colors. Create a memorable still-life in the camera mode or a detailed video in VGA, HD, and HD60 formats. Would I recommend this product? Heck yeah! The most advanced camera I have ever seen in a small, manageable size, I sooooo recommend the Kodak Zi6 for everyone.

However, I might not recommend depending completely on the software that comes with it. The Media Impression program has its faults. When I try to create slideshows with my pictures, there are several flaws, such as the “Add Music” feature is choppy. DO NOT IMPORT PICTURES FROM YOUR CAMERA TO YOUR PC USING THIS SOFTWARE. It freezes up your computer and no matter how many times you say “End Now,” you will be forced in the end to simply turn off your computer. Uploading to YouTube does work, but it takes FOREVER.

Overall, I would highly recommend this product. Be warned about the software and its flaws, however. But the Media Impression program’s shortcomings can surely be overlooked in the light of the impressive features of the Kodak Zi6.

-Legend

*UPDATE*

I have been using this camera for almost a year now and I have one complaint. The battery life is awful. I don’t know if it’s just my camera because no one else has complained but…It lasts on average about an hour, and if you’re just taking pictures, then almost two hours.

Better than Flip
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this for my son for Christmas. After spending days comparing the different options, I went with the Zi6 for these reasons (in no particular order):

1. Amazon had a sale.

2. It takes AA batteries – great when you are away from an outlet.

3. Expandable memory.

4. HD Video

I read several articles where the reviewer or consumer had problems with dropped pixels or sound issues. Since this camera has been out for over a year, all the issues (I believe) have been fixed with a firmware update. I am impressed with the quality of the camera. The build of it is pretty solid. The images look good. The video is great. I heard complaints about some graininess in low-light situations. This is true. One thing to remember, though, is it will be hard to find a camera like this that DOESN’T have that problem.

LOVE THIS CAM
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I love this cam so much that I set up a fan site with the hope that we’ll get tons of beautiful Zi6 videos… I just love what this camera can do in such a small package. I picked mine up at target for $[...] this week, but it’s amazing at $[...] too.

The site is [...]

So, I already have a DV Cam – panasonic 3ccd GS-120.. which I love.. really do, color reproduction is great, love the cam.. but I found that I wasn’t taking as much video of the kids in recent months because the cam just wasn’t convenient to carry around. I stopped taking it to Disney World, never had it with me, etc. Now, with this cam, it’s always in my pocket (I wear a lot of cargo shorts, so i have one pocket for the zi6, one for the canon sd1100is still cam (for photos). Get this camera folks, you won’t be sorry. Looks like a 2gb card will record about 28 min of 30fps video.. so I’m planning on swapping in an 8gb card I have from the still cam.

So, if you want, come visit the site! Hope it helps you make a decision on the cam, I expect it will, once you see what it can do.

Excellent resolution, easy to operate.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This product beats the competition hands down. From ease of use to picture quality, this mini camcorder is by far the best I have ever used in this price range.

Great Product
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Easy to use. Great video quality. My computer is too slow to view the HD video but I knew that before I bought the camera. There are work-arounds such as Blender in proxy mode.

Kodak Zi6 … decent camera but short battery life
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Although Kodak Zi6 can shoot “HD” with good quality movies, it is limited in its battery power (last less than 1 hour use). I shot at HD60 with best experience with a SD card up to 4GB. My camera cannot read cards that are 8GB or higher. The movies are clear, but there is no image stabilization so hold your camera real still or dizziness will ensure on reviewing your movies. The movies plays best on my Mac, and “older” PC will have trouble handling movies with the increased “HD” resolution. Overall a solid portable camera. I would much prefer a smaller screen with better battery life management, but I heard that HD takes quite a bit of “juice”. Great for outdoor use. Indoor use produces grainy movies with slow shutter speed. Therefore I can only give it 3 stars, enough not to return it.

For the money
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
For the money it’s hard to beat.Just as advertized. It is simple to use, it’s basic, it does not have super zoom power. But what it does have is this. easy and fast as you can get, a card you can change to fit your needs (we bought an 8gig card with it for $11),It fits in your pocket, batteries hold charge for a long time, software that ocmes with it is easy, downloads are simple, taking movies dark to bright areas is good if you don’t change to fast, sound is ok. Best of all my wife loves it especially for the grand kids.

Nice little camcorder that takes good quality video
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought the Zi6 based on all the good reviews it received. I like the small size and the ability to carry it in my pocket. I noticed that I stopped carrying my Sony mini DV camcorder because it does not fit in my pocket. I was taking video on my digital camera which were 640×480 i.e good for a computer or smaller TV. This camcorder addresses both of my complaints.

I have not been able to take a lot of video yet but the trial runs appear to be satisfactory. On a large screen TV (61 inches) the indoor picture quality is comparable to that of a Sony mini DVD camcorder converted to DVD except that I don’t have to go through the hassle of the tapes or converting them to DVDs. The picture quality is much much better when shot outdoors or in good sunlight.

I also like the build quality. It feels as good as a Palm PDA both in size and quality. The only negative is the USB connector. It feels a bit cheap and it keeps the camcorder dangling from the computer when transferring video. I am worried that it will break and render the whole thing useless. This is the only reason for my 4 stars.

I will update the review after I get back from vacation in December to Florida. I hope the good sunlight will produce good quality video.

Great little toy
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is not a replacement for a high-quality HD camcorder with a nice lens, zoom, and all the fine features. I have one of those, but I don’t take it out often, and when I do I turn into a videographer/camera-man. So, bought a Zi6. It is a great product for its size and portability. It’s only a little larger than a PDA. I can stick it in my pocket and get hd-quality video anytime. Once you come to terms with its limitations (it’s weak in low-light conditions, and its zoom is quite basic), it becomes a great companion. I picked Zi6 over Flip because of its ability to use either rechargeable or AA batteries and because of its expandability via SDHC card. It’s great for unobtrusively capturing family videos and all kinds of life’s moments. In short, pick this video camera for the same reason you’d pick a small point-and-shoot over an SLR.

I LOVE THIS CAMERA!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I just don’t get the negative reviews….? I have a Mac and Quick time downloads the videos perfectly. I can play them on a pc as well. The HD60 videos are beautiful and look great on YouTube. The camera is well made, the best value for HD, does great pans if you use patience and you don’t have a shaky hand syndrome, battery life is all you need with a 4 pack of Kodak recharging bats and a 1 hour charger, usb hook-up works well and is easy to use and the screen is large and clear. The stills are very nice as is the sound and low light videos aren’t nearly as poor as reviewers have made them out to be. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

piece of junk
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
There was a time when you could trust amazon.com reviews. No longer.

This camera is pretty much a piece of junk. Yes, it records videos in three modes (vga, hd, hd60), but what good is it when you can’t play them back (you can play them back only from zi6, see below).

Its interface is also quite dumb (e.g. when you start the thing first time, it asks you something, but you will have absolutely no idea what it is asking and what your options are).

Trying in three different computers with three different OS (linux, OS X, Windows), the videos of this crap turned out to be unplayable (very choppy playback, video and audio out of sync). Some googling revealed that some people think this is due to poor hardware on the PC you are trying to play, but the computers I tried were quite good… My belief is that the problem is due most probably to some proprietary codec they use (and most probably tweaked outside the standards) in this thing.

The batteries charge in 13 to 15 hours! And the charger will not be able to show you if they’re charged or not, because (as mentioned in the manual), its lights will be on as long as it is plugged in and has batteries in it. I don’t understand the thinking behind this… a camera that gets charged in 13 hours. ouch.

The software that comes with it is another piece of junk (by ArcSoft). Apart from its hideous interface, it hangs up while converting and playing videos… It keeps popping up and asking you to register the software and giving other stupid ads (like “30% of your next activation” -what activation??? who knows). Thank god that junk is for windows only. Mac and Linux users would go crazy by the (poor) programming and design behind it…

Kodak’s support site is another piece of junk where you won’t be able to even navigate, let alone find an answer to your problems.

I don’t know about the flip mino, but stay away from this crap. obviously only their marketing team knew what they were doing. I’m very depressed that I bought it.

Worth the Money
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is the best camera for the money. This camera allows you to swap out batteries, simply and the SDHC Card function is a must have. Be sure to update your firmware. And YOU MUST hold this camera still. Easier said then done I know, however, if you can achieve using this on a tripod, you get the benefit of great HD Video with supurb color. I suggest the refurb for $100 from Amazon. It is just as good and likely not to have the sound hiss 1/3 of these cameras have new.

A disappointment
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I wanted a quick and easy video camera to take with me for those “unexpected” Kodak moments. I looked up the reviews for this and went with the positives. I would have done better to have paid attention to the negatives.

First the camera has a nice viewing screen. You can see what you are recording with very little eye strain. It is easy to insert the batteries, the S/D card, and to access the USB port. Unlike many reviewers I don’t find the picture that shakey or the quality that poor.

One huge negative if you are using it while traveling or over a weekend is the battery charging time. Twelve hours. The batteries do run down rather quickly too. A positive though (if you can call it that)–the unit comes with a battery charger so you can purchase additional rechargeable batteries to take with you on your jaunt! However, rechargeable batteries aren’t cheap and I’m not sure the camera price warrants the purchase of several more if you aren’t pleased with the end use videos.

Another negative for me at least–the booklet about the camera contains very little information. I had a symbol come up while filming which I assume was telling me something was wrong and the book had no listings of any type of symbols. Actually the booklet referred me to a Website for additional information. However, I was out at a pumpkin farm amidst what seemed like thousands of kids–Website perusal wasn’t an option! I couldn’t get the symbol to disappear until I deleted some video, so I assume I had used up the memory.

And that is a third negative–the memory of the camera itself. I could only record about 28 seconds until the memory ran out. I had forgotten the S/D card and had hoped to get about two to three minutes of video, but the camera maxed out at around 28 seconds.

The picture quality is a bit poorer than the promotional materials leads one to believe, but I found the sound to be totally awful. It is mono, but very tinny.

Summary? If I had to do it over again, I would probably not purchase this product. It doesn’t seem to work any better for short videos than my digital camera’s recording function. In fact, my digital camera was cheaper and I’d say the picture and the sound is much better!

Get it from Beach Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great camera. I ordered it from Beach Camera, as amazon was sold out. I ordered yesterday with standard shipping, and an hour later it shipped. I am INCREDIBLY happy with the seller. It took them only a day to get it on my doorstep!

The quality of the video is what you pay for. It’s great quality, but it doesn’t have image stabilization, so you need a stable hand. For an example of the quality search youtube for kodak ki6 field test. If you want a good camcorder for an amatuer this is a great one.

Overall this is a great product sold by a great company.

Great Little Device for the Price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The other day I realized I did not have a camcorder. I really wanted to be able to record our first Christmas in our first house, site visits to wedding sites, etc., so I started looking for digital camcorders. However, I wanted it to be small and very portable, have good video quality, record in HD resolution and it had to fit into my tight holiday season budget.

My first instinct was to look into the new Creative Labs VadoHD. The original Vado received great reviews and had 4GBs of flash storage. The new VadoHD records in 720P resolution at 60FPS and sports 8GBs of storage. The problem is that 8GBs apparently only holds 2 hours of 720P 60FPS video. It’s slimmer than my cell phone and fits right in my pocket, but at $230 2 hours of video was not going to cut it. If I could have expanded the storage via SD card I would have been sold.

The other option would have been a Flip Video MinoHD. The MinoHD is basically the same device as the VadoHD. It was also developed from is standard definition predecessor, the Mino, and shoots 720P 60FPS video. It’s roughly the same size and costs the same ($230), but it can only hold 60 minutes of video at 720/60. If I can’t expand the memory, than no deal.

Both are capable of switching to VGA and 720/30 modes to shoot video that would use less storage, but then you’re compromises video quality for storage. Both devices also use Li-Ion batteries and can charge via the attached USB connector which also serves to connect to your computer for quick transfer of all of your videos.

Then I found the new Kodak Zi6 HD. Just like the others it can shoot 720/60 video, has an attached USB connector and some flash memory. The difference is the Zi6 only has 130MB of on board flash memory. To make matters worse only 30MBs is usable by you. The other 100MBs is used as a sort of CD partition with the included Kodak video editing software on it. 30MBs of storage offers about 20-30 seconds of video at 720/60. Ouch.

Believe it or not, the memory isn’t a deal breaker. The Kodak Zi6 has expandable memory via SD or SDHC cards up to 32GB! The drawback is the SDHC cards are an added cost, but at the current $160 price of the Zi6 you can get a Zi6 and an 8GB card for about $200. The MSRP of of the Zi6 is $180, so even at MSRP you can still get 8GBs of memory for the same price as the VadoHD or MinoHD. 8GBs gives you an estimated 2 hours of video (like the VadoHD’s 8GB storage).

So what other differences are there? The Zi6 is a bit bigger than the competitors, but it’s still lighter than any other device I own. This is surprising because it runs off 2 AA batteries. At first I was put off by it’s increased size over the Vado and Mino and the fact that it uses 2 AA batteries, but the Zi6 felt much nicer in my hand than the others and the ability to change dead batteries on the fly was very appealing.

The Vado and Mino require you charge them via USB. That’s great, but what if I’m on a trip and don’t want to bring my laptop or I’m out for the day a long way from any USB port? The Zi6 also comes with 2 precharged rechargeable AA batteries and a little Kodak charger that plugs into the wall. The battery life for the 2 AAs is great at 4 hours.

The larger size also allows for other things to be larger, like the screen. The Zi6 has a 2.4″ LCD screen for recording and reviewing your video. The screen is very nice with a sharp picture.

For comparison, the VadoHD has a 2″ screen and a battery life of 2 hours per charge.

The Zi6 only has 2 buttons and a joystick directly below the screen. Each button performs 2 functions. One function for during recording and one for during playback. The joystick controls the 2x digital zoom and recording options (VGA, 720/30, 720/60 and still image) and acts as the record “button” by pressing in on the stick. The joystick also changes functionality when in playback mode for selecting videos.

The Zi6 can take still image pictures, but they’re about cell phone quality at 3MPs, but in a pinch they look fine. The video is what the Zi6 is made for. The video looks great. It’s very clear, color reproduction is fantastic and there’s no chop or blurring recording at 60FPS. Even VGA looks good. VGA is going to appear grainy and not look as good as 720/60 video, but it’s great for recording something that you want to e-mail or upload to YouTube (small size).

The only problem is the video does suffer in low light situations. Outside the video is amazing for a $160 mini camcorder, but inside with shades pulled and less light the video gets a little grainy. That’s not so bad though. For the size and price it’s expected and it’s certainly still watchable. You’ll just find yourself slightly disappointed because your other videos will look better. That isn’t to say the Zi6 can’t record good video inside. If you have a lot of light or can open the shades, the video quality goes up.

The Zi6 comes with a set of composite and component cables for viewing your video on an HDTV (or SD set). The 720/60 video looks awesome upscaled to 1080i on my 42″ set.

The Zi6 has a macro mode you can set by flipping a switch to the macro setting on the side of the camcorder. It allows you to take very close (about 1″ away) video with blurring and seems to work great. It takes a second to focus, but does the job well.

Once you record your video you can use the attached USB connector to transfer it over to your computer. It can work just like a flash drive or you can use the accompanying Kodak software to import and edit your video. It’s compressed with H.264 compression with AAC audio and played back with Quicktime.

I just click and drag the video over and have not tried the software, yet. I have Adobe Premiere, so I expect I will never use the Kodak software, but I might just to see it.

My only gripes with the Zi6 are mere quibbles. For instance, you can’t format the memory card on the fly. You have to select each video individually to delete them or use a computer. That’s no big deal though. With expandable memory I can have multiple SD cards available and I always move my videos over to the computer. I can’t stand having clutter on my storage devices anyway.

It’s also slightly irritating that the Zi6 does not remember your video setting. It defaults to HD 720/30 whenever you turn it on even though I use 720/60 exclusively, but it only takes one click of the Joystick to the right to fix it.

Overall, I am very pleased with the Zi6. Sof ar it’s allowed me to get some great footage of our 9-month old puppy getting lost in 2 feet of snow and I’ve done a lot of experimenting with lighting conditions and video modes. I can’t wait to get some “real” footage on Christmas morning and at Christmas parties this week.

At ~$200 for the Zi6 and an SDHC card you can’t go wrong.

I’ll be posting some sample video on Vimeo later. Vimeo supports HD video, so it should show the real quality.

NOTE: I use a Lexar SDHC Class 6 card rated at 20MB/s. I was fortunate to actually speak to a Kodak representative at Best Buy who recommended that class and speed. If you use a cheap off-brand card not meant for photography/video you will probably have choppy video. This is due to the card’s write speed not being fast enough to keep up with the video.

Absolutely Perfect!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is exactly what we wanted and needed. High quality video, portable, easy to use and easy to load onto our MacBook using USB! MacWorld has a great review of it as well.

[...]

It is worth every penny! Oh, and we got the 16GB SD Card which holds about 10 hours of video. Though we typically load what we take and delete off the camera, we haven’t used a full Gig yet. But, when we travel we’ll have nothing to worry about.

Total piece of junk
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I got this camera a few months ago for a trip. Since then, it has proved itself totally and utterly worthless. I’ve had it for about 4 months now, and it won’t even tape. I have kept it in tip-top shape, but it refuses to film for over a minute in any mode. I’ve tried everything, replacing the SD card and batteries, but this terrible camera is simply a piece of junk. Caveat emptor sums it up pretty nicely.

The Right Video Camera for the Right Price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I got this camera for my wife because she was looking for something simple light and easy to use to take videos of our kids. I chose this over other similar models because it offered a great balance of HD video, simplicity, portability and price.

Additionally, this camera’s SD card expansion capability is a must have that was lacking in many other models. Some other models only record a short amount of time, and then you have to download to your PC before you can continue to take video (OUCH).

Overall, I can’t imagine what more anyone could ask for at this price-point. Excellent Video Camera.

Works great in Iraq
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought my Zi6 at Target back in June just before deploying to Iraq. Think I paid $149.00 and had to add a memory card. Mine works great, I have some great footage of patrols, Iraqi Kids getting toys, the land scape moving down the road, and a few shots going thru Mosul at night. I filmed most of it looking thru the glass of an armored vehicle. It also takes fairly good still pictures. Easy to carry and holds-up good, I have dropped my several times and it is still going strong. I do recommend buying 2 extra rechargeable batteries and swapping them out. I have 2GB card in mine and can get a few pictures and about 45 minutes of video.

Kodal Zi6 Video Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Excellent product. Does most of what I wanted it for. However software does not allow one to make a CD. When I contacted KODAK, THEY SUGGESTED ANOTHER software program which costs almost as much as the product costs. This is a problem

Totally great camera, but…
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I did a lot of research before settling on he pocket digital video camera. These little cameras do some great things. For my money, I decided to go for flexibility so I chose the Zi6.

While a bit bigger than the Mino, the Zi6 gave me greater flexibility with the ability to use SD cards to expand memory. Because it’s HD, the picture is great in almost any circumstance, but you need to keep clear that you have a pocket digital video camera and you’re going to get what that can give you – little more.

The camera is great. It came with charged rechargable batteries. I popped in a memory card and was off. The first big test was taking the camera to record my son’s band. They were very loud and I thought the sound might be too distorted because of the microphone, but the end product was pretty good!

The camera is super easy to use I’ve really enjoyed getting to know it. I found that a cheap, expandable mono-pod helps me resolve any stability issues I might have with a shaky hand and as long as you consider where you are – you will not be disappointed with this camera.

The only downside is the software. The Arc Mediaimpressions that came with the camera imported the video fine. It helped me add screens and titles – ok. It’s not flashy, but I didn’t really expect it to be. The Problem came when I tried to burn something to DVD or export it. Nothing happened. My system meets the requirements, but still… I’ve contacted Kodak, but they refer me to Arc. Arc has yet to respond.

As I did some looking around for a fix, I found a great number of people who have experienced trouble with the software. Not the camera – but the software. Arc apparently, is not responsive and in my case it’s been about 2 weeks and still no word.

Now I resolved my issue by securing some different software, but I think that should be Kodak’s responsibility. If you are going to package software with your camera, you want it to work or the customer has a bad experience overall.

All in all. Camera good. Arc bad.

Love the Kodak zi6
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Bought the Kodak zi6 over the Flip due to expandable memory and HD for price. Very happy with my purchase. Super easy to use and great quality video. Highly recommended.

Excellent video recorder with one reservation
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The Kodak Zi6 is easy to hold and carry. There are very few buttons to press and a button may have more than one function. That makes it difficult to notice which function you are in. More familiarity with using the camera would resolve that problem. Pictures are of HD quality and are impressive. The failing is that this camera is perfect for filming things that are close up and not moving too fast. Objects, like pets, that are less than 10 feet away will look blurry when they move rapidly. In addition the volume is good for those close up. When trying to get the audio from someone speaking 20 feet away in a quiet room, the audio on playback was not loud enough.

The software accompanying the Zi6 was underwhelming. I could not use the software to view my pictures, some error on the software side. Videos were able to be viewed in Quicktime player. It is easy to upload the pictures, as there is a usb connector built into the camera, and Windows’ Scanner and Camera Wizard was able to upload the pictures, both still and video, without a problem. You can upload the movies to Youtube, but do not need the software to do that.

Simple, easy to use
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Already purchased one before. Purchased another one for a gift. Camera is easy to use. Great for travel and spur of the moment videos. Easy to download to the computer. Had a little trouble trying to convert to DVD, but we eventually figured it out. Quality is not as good as regular video cameras, but I feel it is outstanding for the type of camera and ease of use.

Sample footage
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2GG0LJIMTT9Q1 Sample footage taken with Zi6

A Zi6 HD or a Flip?
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
A quick one here:

I have several of the small video cameras- the Flip MinoHD, Vado, Flip Ultra..

There is a lot to like with the Zi6- nice LARGE screen, good build,sensational outdoor results , the battery set than can be recharged, SD card slot (**see urgent and important note below, particularly if this is a gift**).

As with ANY of the smaller cam’s, image quality can suffer inside unless the room is well lit. If you are inside,and want vibrant color, you will need to add light to get the best result, unless the room is flooded with sunlight.

Without extra light, indoor shots can vary – at times acceptable, at times not. Night shots or dim rooms will not produce an acceptable result.

This product comes with all the cables you might need to connect to your TV– very WELCOME!

Software is good, if basic. Even a novice can edit a video with reasonable ease. Though many never bother with editing, I assure you the end result is well worth the effort! Try it!

Outside, the Zi6 shines, with vivid true to life colors, just as the Flip models enjoy. I did note that sometimes the blue’s ( like the sky) were ultra vivid, though not un natural.

As far as ease of use, it is quite simple (if you read the directions) but is not quite as simple as a Flip. I found the soft keys on this one to be hard to work with at first.

This product is optimized for YouTube- you cant miss that feature as there are notes on the box, and stickers on the camera. Unedited footage could be downloaded within 5 minutes or less.

All in all an excellent value.

Now to compare to the Flip products – both the Flip Mino HD and the brand new Flip Ultra and Flip Ultra HD are more expensive,and are market leaders in this sector.

Out of the box, the Flip’s are easier to use – no question. I like their software better too – particularly for email.

On my HD TV’s (Samsung 23 inch and 32 inch) the 720P HD looked great from either brand- with the Kodak offering a particularly vivid blue.

Right now, the Zi6 cost’s quite a bit less then some of Flip’s offerings,and depending upon intended use, this might make sense.

One important note: It is VITAL to get a SDHC class 6 card!

You or whoever you might gift this to will not be able to use the unit without it. Kodak should have included a card, even a 2GB ( I would go for a 4GB or 8GB easily available at Amazon or a local retailer).

I give the edge to the Flip units, but I very much like this unit as well- just please, please get the SDHC card, and enjoy using it!

great but . . .
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
we needed to record debates that last 2 hours long.

the batteries don’t last that long and there is no way to plug it in.

so, we returned it.

Best in class
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased Zi6 preparing for my vacation trip to FL. I just wanted to try it and if I didn’t like it just return it back to store. Price was unbeatable 149 in TARGET, End of March 2009. My first impression was white balance settings and how it reacts on lighting conditions changes. I think reason is CMOS. CCD creates a little bit colder/bluish colors. Second, was how simple this device is. As an owner of LUMIX with optical image stabilization I can say that to create quality video more important is to know and follow basic video making rules, like using tripod or monopod, never zoom in and zoom out in the same clip, keep camera static/stable, do not move too much, etc.

I use my Zi for about 2 months now and still do not see any real competitors in the same class or size of camcorders. My criteria’s are video and sound quality. Only pocket camera that I would prefer is Canon SD780IS, but price is $245 what is about 2 times higher than $129 in TARGET. Even Zx1 is not a competitor to Zi6 and reason is its sound reception. I highly recommend this camera as a first step to Canon HF100 or as a pocket addition to it.

for the video geeks
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Here is how the video and audio are encoded according to insurgent (cccp). Shot one movie in HD format. Haven’t tested HD 60 fps or VGA mode yet.

Format: QuickTime

1 video stream(s), 1 audio stream(s), 0 subtitle stream(s).

Video Stream 0:

Titles: Ambarella AVC

29.970 fps, 8063 Kbps

Codec: avc1 (Family: )

Dimensions: 1280×720, AR: 16/9

Audio Stream 0:

Title: Ambarella AAC

Codec: AAC LC, A_AAC/MPEG4/LC, AAC Low Complexity

Bitrate: 128 Kbps

Bitrate Mode: CBR

Sampling Rate: 48 KHz

Channel(s): 2 channel

Resolution: 16 bits per sample

====================================

The controls are a bit clunky (have to get used to them), mic input levels can not be adjusted. Blue tones are rich (point this thing up at the sky during early morning right before sunrise and you’ll understand).

There is a low signal throughout all videos (import the sound into a sound editor to view it…. but I can hear it).

Other than that… 4 stars. Everyone complaining about not being able to post to youtube.. learn a bit more about video processing?

WOW!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This camera is awsome like wow.Pros and cons

Pros.

Easy to use.

Portable.

clear close up shots.

Great video.

Great sound.

Cons.

drops frames when you enter a dimlit room.

Battery life is not great.

Overall i like it.

Simply Perfect!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
For making home videos this is so easy and simply perfect for such usage! Just don’t forget to buy an SD card which is very necessary. I purchased an 8GB Class 6 SanDisk Extreme III and it works great.

It is what it is.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I got this locally from a BBox that must not have been paying attention. I like many others, read the reviews here and studied all the different opinions. Then I realized that I could not (like others) expect $1000 performance from something that cost me less than $100. The video was choppy when I was uploading to my laptop on the cruise and I had my doubts. With a 20 year computer resume, I suspected the laptop and was proven correct when I watched the clips once I got home. I have also noticed a difference in players (software) trying to play on my desktop. This is not the camera’s fault. The shaky video is also not the camera’s problem. I realize that if the video is so jittery as to be unwatchable, it is on me. If you go into the situation with a little common sense and realize the limitations, this is a steal for out of my pocket and catching an 8th grade basketball game in a matter of seconds. On the other hand if you aspire to make feature films, feel free to spend the money. Amazon has many high quality products available to serve you faithfully. Me, fits the bill perfectly.

so glad I bought this!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I read so many reviews of these products on a couple different websites. I wanted a handheld recorder which the expectation that it was not a regular camcorder. I just wanted something I could throw in my purse or pocket. I got it a couple days before my trip and played with a little. I took it to a concert, for the true test. Granted my seats were pretty close, but I was not disappointed. I am so glad I had it on hand when my favorite music artist surprised the concert I was at and sang a song. I was thrilled to have captured the whole moment on this device. now I have been able to share it with some many others and will always have it to look back at.

I do suggest getting a memory card and extra batteries for it. the picture quality and sound quality far exceeded my expectations. yes the picture got shaky at times because my arm was tired, but all in all a great product!

Excellent engineering
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Kodak should be applauded for restructuring the company

to produce a camera that compliments my Apple Ipod and

immediately feels like a keeper. The controls are well thought out and

the Macro opens up a whole new world of video. The camera so impressed me that I am looking

at other Kodak offerings with a fresh eye. Kudos to the team that made this happen. Don’t be

fooled by comparisons to other HD video offerings in a small package, if you buy the Zi6

you will be happy with it for many years. No buyer remorse here.

I never thought I would be saying this!

Kodak Zi6 HD
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Considering the price is a good bargain

The only downside is the available memory and if you don’t have at least a 4G SD card it will became useless.

fast shipping ….will buy from seller agian
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
im in afghanistan right now and time is very important …he shipped it very fast and the product works great .thanks amazon.com.

Easy to use Pocket Video Camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The Kodak Zi6 works well. The video is clear, sharp and easy to use. It is not easy to hold the camera still and videos can look a little shaky but that’s not unusual for such a small camera. With video processing software that can be overcome.

I use a MAC so I do not use the Windows software that comes with the camera.

The only negative I found is the zoom tends to be jumpy and therefore, transitions using the zoom can be jerky rather then smooth.

For an easy to use quick video camera I would recommend the Kodak Zi6 to friends.

Great little camcorder
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great little camcorder, purchased 2 days ago from SAM’s Club, special bundle that included bag, extra batteries, & tripod for $146.00. I am not a professional but this camcorder works great, great little movies, purchased for a holiday party and wasn’t sorry, highly recommend.

The camcorder SHOWDOWN: I’ve done the product comparisons for you
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
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: 4.3×2.2×1.2 4 oz

M: 3.9x2x0.6 3. 3 oz

CL: 3.9x3x0.6 3.5 oz

K: 5.5×2.5.0.9 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.

the Kodak Zi6 may be for you, but it’s not for me
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Because i am giving the product a ‘low’ rating, i feel the need to explain why i am doing so. I hope that you find my review thorough, helpful, and informative. Before i get into specifics, i’m going to start off by saying your needs may be different than mine, and the Zi6 may be a great product for you. For me, however, it was not.

*1) The eject on the SD card slot isn’t very effective. Sometimes when i put the SD card in, it will not stay, but a second later it will. Then, when i go to take out the card, it ejects half way, and i have to resort to using my fingernails to get it out- it’s annoying.

*2) When you go to upload the videos onto the computer with the USB arm, the camera will wobble up and down on the side. It’s very shaky and it feels cheap. I almost thought the USB arm would break off. It does, however, do its job.

*3) Now that we’re talking about uploading the video, let’s talk about the software. The software is basically useless. The only good thing about it is that you can upload straight to youtube. You can make movies, but they won’t be very interesting ones- you can not do half as much there as you can in Windows movie maker.

Also, Kodak uses an annoying MOV format, which is not very accessible on a Windows computer like my own. If you wish to view your movie, you must download an additional Apple software. Also, i have yet to find a free way to convert the video to AVI. With Kodak’s software, you are limited to just converting to MP4, which isn’t very useful. You can still not edit them in WMM. I am very annoyed that you can not freely convert the video to AVI. I had no idea the video would be in MOV format. If you are a windows movie maker fan like i am, the Zi6 is definitely not for you. I spend hours trying to download things, but all of them are just trials!

*4) The ‘HD’ video is also not that great. I compared it to the quality of the Canon A590IS’ video, and there was not that big of a difference at all. The Canon adjusts more quickly to light, and the colors are more exact. the Zi6 loves to guess colors, and it takes long to adjust to light. The Kodak Zi6, does however, produce video that looks ‘more like the real thing’, but then again, it’s not that different. When you are buying a cheap HD camera like this one, you are getting HD resolution, but not ‘real HD’ quality, although you do get more detail with this camera than you would with the Canon A590, the video ok.

Like i said, the MOV files are very annoying to me, and the frame loss in lower light is very annoying. Also, when i turn it on, it takes about three second to start up, it’s not ‘instantaneous’.

In conclusion, if you just want to view your videos, and you do not need to edit them, this Camera may be for you. If you have higher expectations and like to make short movies, this camera isn’t for you, you’ll have to get a higher-quality camera. I was disappointed.

It’s always the cheapest part that gets you
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I’d had the Zi6 for about five minutes when the pop-out USB jack jammed halfway open, rendering the camera useless. Sure, it may have just been one defective unit out of many. But in a competitive marketplace where there are other options (hello Mino HD!), there’s no reason to put up with crappy manufacturing standards. As an addendum: I did have the camera long enough to be unimpressed by the video quality. Back it went. Thanks, Amazon, for the speedy refund.

All but the Memory…
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
The Zi6 does exactly what is says it will do and does it well. Only drawback is that the 16 gig SDHC card, which it is suppose to be compatible with, will not allow you to review/play back recorded video. When it is replaced with a regular SD card all of the review/playback functionality works. Unknown if the brand of SDHC card is the problem as all the online and written documentation of the Zi6 states that the SDHC is a compatible card.

fun camera, but wiggly viedo
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Got this for Xmas, nice surprise because I wanted one. The camera is VERY light, and a welcome relief from my regular camcorder, mostly because it doesn’t use the dreaded tapes. The hassle of the common camcorder is just dealing with those tapes. With this one it is just like taking videos with your digital camera, as most cameras now do. Getting started was instant…and it is a fun thing to use, as opposed to a chore. The pictures are taken in widescreen format so they match the modern TVs and Apple cinema displays.

The drawback is that the camera is SO light that it is impossible to hold still. I’m not a marksman with hands of steel, but I don’t have the shakes either…I can hold a laser pointer very stable when giving presentations across a pretty big room. So here’s the conundrum: the camera is fun and I want to carry it around with me, which I have done the last few days, but then when I look at the video it is so shaky that it’s hard to watch. The picture quality is very good (in sufficient light…the nighttime indoor ones are not so impressive, just as with a digital camera; the exposure time is not enough for the CCDs to get a good picture). I’m going to try putting it on a tripod, and I bet the pictures will be excellent. But then that sort of defeats the convenience factor.

IN any event, I should say that if you don’t have a camcorder and are thinking of getting this, then you will enjoy it a lot. This one is cheaper. It is much more convenient to play on the TV directly (worked great with the supplied component video and audio cables) or on the computer. No need to wait while the tape rewinds, or try to get to the start of a video segment with FF and REW…you can just skip to the one you want.

After putting the video onto my Mac, in iTunes, and double clicking, Quicktime launched and showed the video, looking great. The file sizes are big, but that’s what you want: high quality video that you can downgrade when producing your final product.

Cheap, easy, and good
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
What can you expect from something like this? Obviously its not going to film stunning pictures in the dark. To expect that is silly.

Its easy to use, it takes great video in good lighting.

The seller to me was the memory expansion slot. Throw a 16 GB SDHC card in there and you can film for hours and hour. It uses two AA batteries, and it eats them up quickly. So, invest in spare batteries.

I’d rather be able to have tons of memory and the ability to change batteries instead of searching for a way to charge the camera and be stuck with limited memory as would be the case with the sleeker/smaller FlipHD camera.

If youre looking for convienience, ease of use, with decent video in normal lighting conditions, in a cheap, who cares what happens to it, camera. I think this is your choice.

The new ZX1 is out now, and its pretty much the same thing, but with more color options, better cables to hook up to your TV (HDMI), and is water proof.

Wish I waited for that one, but I needed something to toss around on a drunken vacation before it was available. Bought my Zi6 at Wal-Mart in a bundle that included extra batteries, a tri-pod, a case, and a lense cleaner for $150 in April of 09.

The editing software that comes with it is easy as hell to use. Doesnt have any great features in it, but gets the job done for simple edits with a music bed. Debating on what kind of editing software to buy for larger projects. Gonna go with Adobe Premiere elements 7.

Anyway, its worth every penny. Just realize, its a $130 HD video camera. Dont expect the world from it, and you’ll be more than happy.

A lemon!
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Needed urgently a small video camera and when it arrived the screen did not light up enough to see what was being recorded.

Returned it right away, still no news when I`ll get it back. A real pity since was very excited about this product. Sent it with the HD card and advised that it did not arrive with the card!!!

Wonderful!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a wonderful little video camera. The video is fantastic and it is very easy to use. I love that you can add a SD card!

Zi6 = 24 seconds of record time
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I bought the Zi6 based on its advertised “60 minutes of record time”. In reality, there are only 24 seconds (YES, SECONDS) of record time unless you purchase the memory card along with the camera. By the time you do that, you could buy a better, higher-priced camera. I feel violated and cheated.Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video CameraKodak Zi6 Pocket HD Camcorder (Pink)Kodak Zi6 Pocket HD Camcorder – Refurbished – (Pink)

I like It.!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is not a professional cam. It does the work that it is build for. Very portable and easy to use. And the Kodak software make the job for you.

It is a good product I recomend it.

Terrible software obviates OK camera
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Purchased this camera after our Flip Ultra died. Did quite a bit of research and almost replaced it with another Flip but thought we’d try the Kodak instead. After using it for a month, I returned it and purchased another Flip. Here’s why:

- The ArcSoft software that comes with the camera is a joke. Aside from it being a pain to use, it puts an icon in your toolbar tray that you cannot eliminate; it gives you “tips” on how to use the software. This thing shows up all the time, especially at times when I didn’t want it there (like when I was doing PowerPoint presentations to groups). Ridiculous.

- I didn’t think the HD quality was that great. We compared all of the HD settings and felt there was not a noticeable difference.

I’ve gone back to the Flip Ultra where the picture quality and software utility are reasonable and less irritating.

Kodak Zi6: HD on the cheap, with a few quirks
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I write this review of Kodak’s Zi6 mini-HD video camera largely from my perspective as a former network television correspondent, and, as a result, I know something about video cameras. David Pogue of The New York Times gave Kodak’s competitor, the Flip MinoHD video camera, a fairly good review, and never mentioned Kodak’s Zi6. It is possible, of course, that Kodak’s PR people never contacted Pogue. I learned of the Zi6 from a fellow on Twitter who gave it high marks. I then read all the reviews here on Amazon.com, noting that many people complained the camera lacks motion stabilization. Here’s a headline, folks – ALL still and video cameras lacked that feature until a few years ago. Video is usually shot either using a tripod or in short snippets of four to seven seconds, and then edited. Here is what I found when using the Kodak Zi6 – the HD video quality is astonishingly good when screened on my 20-inch Mac desktop. I believe that video quality is a primary quality, and the Kodak delivers. Audio is omnidirectional and only good to pickup ambient sound. The Zi6 (an model number which apparently means nothing) is small and lightweight, fits in a pocket, and can use AA batteries. Now, about the quirks – the camera seems to have been designed by someone who never used a laptop or a video camera. First, there is an annoying chime when the camera is turned on and off that cannot be disabled. I know the camera is on when I see an image appear in the screen, and do not need a chime to tell me. Second, the flip-out USB adapter used to connect with a computer is flimsy and upside down – a laptop’s power adapter must be unplugged in order to make room to connect the camera. The designer wasn’t thinking. Third, the camera’s controls are pure guesswork, with no menu for guidance. Fourth, the camera booklet is worthless, and no help unless you have never before inserted a battery into a camera. Despite these design flaws, the camera captures remarkably good HD-style video in light conditions ranging from daylight to indoors with available light. I would give it higher marks were it not for the laundry list of design problems which make the Zi6 cheaply made and which are inexcusable for a company such as Kodak.

Pocket Gold
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3NBAA260Z74KZ these are all the tests i wanted to see before i bought it…

it is golden

Zi 6 recording mode
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I purchased a refurbished Zi 6 and returned it when recording switched off between 4 and 28 seconds. I returned the camera for replacement. The replacement has an identical recording fault. The result is that it is really only useful as a camera.