Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera

TimCastleman · 11-13-2009, 12:23 AM

I am looking for video owners of this product to share with me the pros and cons of it. I am looking for something to shoot online web videos with and also offline videos (performance videos, etc). Went to Best Buy and checked it out but I hate not being able to see myself being recorded.

At any rate people who have bought this camera or were thinking about buying it please let me know your thoughts.

Tim

TimCastleman · 11-13-2009, 12:27 AM

I was also looking at this one:

Insignia® - 5MP Digital Camcorder with 3" LCD Screen - Black - NS-DV1080P

jan roos · 11-13-2009, 12:33 AM

I have a flip and it works good. I do want to get a different camera but it would have to have an external microphone jack.

Josh Anderson · 11-13-2009, 12:51 AM

We already discussed this in depth here:

New Flip camera Rival has External mic jack!

TimCastleman · 11-13-2009, 01:07 AM

Josh -

I know, I used the search function.

But what it didn't have was Kodak users who had bought based on the thread and what they thought about it. Trust me, I looked.

Hence the new post.

Tim

Kevin Riley · 11-13-2009, 01:42 AM

Tim

Don Schenk, who was taking lots of pictures at Raleigh Warrior Event, has one. He's had some time to try it out. Hit him up for some feedback.

TimCastleman · 11-13-2009, 01:49 AM

Kevin -

Email fired off to him tonight, guess Don is in bed at 1 in the morning.

Tim

Josh Anderson · 11-13-2009, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimCastleman

Josh -

I know, I used the search function.

But what it didn't have was Kodak users who had bought based on the thread and what they thought about it. Trust me, I looked.

Hence the new post.

Tim

One of the ways I like to find the best feedback for cameras is to search on both Amazon.com and Bhphotovideo.com and read through the reviews there. Usually they are quite insightful from the perspective of active experienced users of the product.

Kevin Riley · 11-13-2009, 02:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimCastleman

Kevin -

Email fired off to him tonight, guess Don is in bed at 1 in the morning.

Tim

What? Only 1 am? Some people have no stamina.

Anyway, he often shows up at George Sepich's Friday Night Chat. Pop in there later. Best go sign up now to get the notice and room link:

Friday Night Chat

John Piteo · 11-13-2009, 08:51 AM

I recently sold my Flip Mino HD because, although the picture quality was very good, I really didn't like the sound of my voice on it. It sounded like I was talking in a tin can.

I purchased zi8 and it's fantastic. Here is what I like about it.

External mic jack - I use a Audio-Technica ATR3350 Wired mic and it produces really good sound with nice deep base. The wire is kind of a pain in the a_ _, but it's OK for talking head shots. (Amazon $25)
Image Stabilization - not great but better than nothing
Good in Low Light - It works well in low light. Face tones come out nice with regular light bulbs. Of course the colors are not perfect with regular light bulbs because the white balance is off, but skin tones look very nice. You don't need expensive video lights. If fact they are too bright and give a washed out look when using this camera.
Great Outdoors - Outdoors you get a fantastic picture shooting a 720 @60fps
Remote Control - this was a biggie for me. You can get (and I did) an optional remote control for around $12 plus s&h from Kodak.
Replaceable Battery - Unlike the Flip you can buy spare batteries to take with you.
Removable Memory - You can use SD cards, up to 32 GB so you are not limited to 30 or 60 minutes of shooting like the Flip.

All that said, it's not a $800 Canon so you can't expect it to perform like one, but for under $200 I think it's great for what we do here in Web marketing, much better than the Flip.

John P

P.S. Also see this thread by Don Schenk for a video example. This is how I found out about the zi8.
Don Schenk zi8

TimCastleman · 11-13-2009, 09:15 AM

John -

I'm afraid you just cost me $200 for the camera. My wife might want to have a word with you about all of this.

Seriously thanks. Needed a good birthday present to myself.

Tim

Dexx · 11-13-2009, 09:16 AM

I got the Sony Xacti CG-10 from Best Buy for like $190 and its been amazing!!

Digital Camera | Compact HD Camera | VPC-CG10 | Xacti SANYO

Jeremy Kelsall · 11-13-2009, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dexx

I got the Sony Xacti CG-10 from Best Buy for like $190 and its been amazing!!

Digital Camera | Compact HD Camera | VPC-CG10 | Xacti SANYO

You like that one?

I've had horrible picture quality and after I purchased it read a bunch of reviews from people having the same problem.

TimCastleman · 11-13-2009, 11:08 AM

Jeremy -

Which one do you have?

Tim

kimperino1985 · 11-13-2009, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimCastleman

I am looking for video owners of this product to share with me the pros and cons of it. I am looking for something to shoot online web videos with and also offline videos (performance videos, etc). Went to Best Buy and checked it out but I hate not being able to see myself being recorded.

At any rate people who have bought this camera or were thinking about buying it please let me know your thoughts.

Tim

I really don't see the point of these kind of devices anymore. For a little bit more, one can get a real digicam with 720p video recording, and it would have better optics and optical zoom to boot.

11-13-2009, 12:23 AM	#1
TimCastleman Gunslinger War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,649 Blog Entries: 34 Thanks: 155 Thanked 744 Times in 293 Posts	Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera I am looking for video owners of this product to share with me the pros and cons of it. I am looking for something to shoot online web videos with and also offline videos (performance videos, etc). Went to Best Buy and checked it out but I hate not being able to see myself being recorded. At any rate people who have bought this camera or were thinking about buying it please let me know your thoughts. Tim

11-13-2009, 12:27 AM	#2
TimCastleman Gunslinger War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,649 Blog Entries: 34 Thanks: 155 Thanked 744 Times in 293 Posts	Re: Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera I was also looking at this one: Insignia® - 5MP Digital Camcorder with 3" LCD Screen - Black - NS-DV1080P

11-13-2009, 12:33 AM	#3
jan roos Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA. Posts: 2,172 Thanks: 473 Thanked 543 Times in 248 Posts Contact Info	Re: Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera I have a flip and it works good. I do want to get a different camera but it would have to have an external microphone jack.

11-13-2009, 12:51 AM	#4
Josh Anderson It's in my Signature :-) War Room Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: ID, USA. Posts: 8,754 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 248 Thanked 990 Times in 443 Posts Social Networking	Re: Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera We already discussed this in depth here: New Flip camera Rival has External mic jack!

11-13-2009, 01:07 AM	#5
TimCastleman Gunslinger War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,649 Blog Entries: 34 Thanks: 155 Thanked 744 Times in 293 Posts	Re: Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera Josh - I know, I used the search function. But what it didn't have was Kodak users who had bought based on the thread and what they thought about it. Trust me, I looked. Hence the new post. Tim

11-13-2009, 01:42 AM	#6
Kevin Riley Clockwork Hamster King War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Beautiful Downtown Osaka, Japan just minutes away from all the Sushi, Okonomiyaki, and Izakayas Posts: 9,594 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 476 Thanked 1,667 Times in 577 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera Tim Don Schenk, who was taking lots of pictures at Raleigh Warrior Event, has one. He's had some time to try it out. Hit him up for some feedback.

11-13-2009, 01:49 AM	#7
TimCastleman Gunslinger War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,649 Blog Entries: 34 Thanks: 155 Thanked 744 Times in 293 Posts	Re: Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera Kevin - Email fired off to him tonight, guess Don is in bed at 1 in the morning. Tim

11-13-2009, 08:51 AM	#10
John Piteo Getting into Video! War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 349 Thanks: 68 Thanked 48 Times in 31 Posts Social Networking	Re: Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera I recently sold my Flip Mino HD because, although the picture quality was very good, I really didn't like the sound of my voice on it. It sounded like I was talking in a tin can. I purchased zi8 and it's fantastic. Here is what I like about it. External mic jack - I use a Audio-Technica ATR3350 Wired mic and it produces really good sound with nice deep base. The wire is kind of a pain in the a_ _, but it's OK for talking head shots. (Amazon $25) Image Stabilization - not great but better than nothing Good in Low Light - It works well in low light. Face tones come out nice with regular light bulbs. Of course the colors are not perfect with regular light bulbs because the white balance is off, but skin tones look very nice. You don't need expensive video lights. If fact they are too bright and give a washed out look when using this camera. Great Outdoors - Outdoors you get a fantastic picture shooting a 720 @60fps Remote Control - this was a biggie for me. You can get (and I did) an optional remote control for around $12 plus s&h from Kodak. Replaceable Battery - Unlike the Flip you can buy spare batteries to take with you. Removable Memory - You can use SD cards, up to 32 GB so you are not limited to 30 or 60 minutes of shooting like the Flip. All that said, it's not a $800 Canon so you can't expect it to perform like one, but for under $200 I think it's great for what we do here in Web marketing, much better than the Flip. John P P.S. Also see this thread by Don Schenk for a video example. This is how I found out about the zi8. Don Schenk zi8

11-13-2009, 09:15 AM	#11
TimCastleman Gunslinger War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,649 Blog Entries: 34 Thanks: 155 Thanked 744 Times in 293 Posts	Re: Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera John - I'm afraid you just cost me $200 for the camera. My wife might want to have a word with you about all of this. Seriously thanks. Needed a good birthday present to myself. Tim

11-13-2009, 09:16 AM	#12
Dexx Offline Consultant War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 1,860 Thanks: 583 Thanked 573 Times in 307 Posts Social Networking	Re: Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera I got the Sony Xacti CG-10 from Best Buy for like $190 and its been amazing!! Digital Camera \| Compact HD Camera \| VPC-CG10 \| Xacti SANYO

11-13-2009, 11:08 AM	#14
TimCastleman Gunslinger War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,649 Blog Entries: 34 Thanks: 155 Thanked 744 Times in 293 Posts	Re: Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera Jeremy - Which one do you have? Tim