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Kodak zi8 and Camtasia?

by Sara Young
12 replies
I'm about to buy a new camera and I'm thinking of the Kodak Zi8. Does anyone know if the videos it produces work ok with Camtasia?

I'll be using it to shoot videos for my site, but would like to combine them with powerpoint presentations (hence the need for it to work with Camtasia).

If not, what other cameras are good?
#camtasia #kodak #zi8
  • Profile picture of the author Shannon Herod
    The videos are compatible with Camtasia, but there is a small issue. The videos are very lagging in the editor. So, you cannot edit extremely well because the videos do not play back that well inside of the editor. So, to answer your question you can import them and use them inside of Camtasia. But, it is extremely hard to edit because of the lag.
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  • Profile picture of the author Quentin
    I like to edit my videos in Sony Vegas before I bring them into Camtasia and then not so much lag.

    Quentin
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    • Profile picture of the author Sara Young
      Thanks. Do you know if a Flip camera would work better?
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      • Profile picture of the author Kelly Verge
        Originally Posted by Sara Young View Post

        Thanks. Do you know if a Flip camera would work better?
        The lag issue isn't the camera - it's the way Camtasia handles video.

        The Zi8 is a better camera than the Flip.
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      • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
        Originally Posted by Sara Young View Post

        Thanks. Do you know if a Flip camera would work better?
        The Zi8 is a better choice because it has a jack for an
        external microphone. This way, you can use a lavalier
        mic or even a studio quality microphone to greatly
        improve the sound quality in your videos so they appear
        even better.

        The Flip has a built-in mic but no jack for an external
        mic.

        Amazon do the Zi8 for a great price too.

        Dedicated to your success,

        Shaun
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        • Profile picture of the author Sara Young
          Thanks, everyone. Is there anything even better than that in that price range (a bit higher would be fine too)?

          Or is the Kodak Zi8 the best for my needs - short videos of myself talking to be integrated into a camtasia/powerpoint video.
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          • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
            The Zi8 will be fine for recording separate videos and
            then importing them into Camtasia or other software.

            The Zi8 will not allow you to record directly into Camtasia
            whilst you're doing a live screencast recording though,
            e.g. Powerpoint with a live camera.

            Are you going to be recording just from your computer
            at home, or do you also want to record from anywhere
            on location?

            If you're just recording from your desktop, then consider
            a HD Webcam such as the Microsoft Lifecam Cinema or
            the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 HD.

            Dedicated to your success,

            Shaun
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            • Profile picture of the author Sara Young
              Originally Posted by Shaun OReilly View Post

              Are you going to be recording just from your computer
              at home, or do you also want to record from anywhere
              on location?

              If you're just recording from your desktop, then consider
              a HD Webcam such as the Microsoft Lifecam Cinema or
              the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 HD.
              That's a good point. When I'm sitting at my desktop I might be better off using a good webcam and recording directly via Camtasia. Will save me time on the setup.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lance K
      Originally Posted by Quentin View Post

      I like to edit my videos in Sony Vegas before I bring them into Camtasia and then not so much lag.

      Quentin
      That's what I do too.
      Signature
      "You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
      ~ Zig Ziglar
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  • Profile picture of the author Vincent Moore
    Originally Posted by Sara Young View Post

    I'm about to buy a new camera and I'm thinking of the Kodak Zi8. Does anyone know if the videos it produces work ok with Camtasia?

    I'll be using it to shoot videos for my site, but would like to combine them with powerpoint presentations (hence the need for it to work with Camtasia).

    If not, what other cameras are good?
    I have the Zi8 and love it. It's far better than the Flip cameras are. I've not tried it with Camtasia though so I can't help with that.

    Someone else had mentioned to me that Panasonic has recently come out with the Panasonic TA1 camera which competes with the Zi8 and Flip cameras. Specs look really good on it so it might be worth considering as well depending on what others say.

    Vince
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  • Profile picture of the author MichaelHiles
    The Zi8 ROCKS. If for no other reason, it has an external mic input.

    Get the free converters from koyotesoft and you can convert the .mov files before pulling into Camtasia.
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