After weeks of deliberating I finally decided to invest in a Kodak Zi8 earlier in the week. I had been researching various options for HD video recording since before Christmas but for one reason or another it took me until now to finally make a purchase. All I can say is that despite taking me a little longer than I would have liked it was certainly worth the wait. Arriving on Tuesday morning the Kodak Zi8 has been nothing but a joy; from the moment I took it out of the box I was impressed. Intuitive yet extremely functional, light yet sturdy, a pocket camcorder yet a powerful and complete HD recording solution.
The Zi8 offers a range of recording modes 1080p, 720p at 60fps, 720p at 30fps and SD. To have these sort of options in such a compact device is impressive in itself but to have the quality of recording on offer here at those settings in a portable pocket camcorder is nothing short of revolutionary. Up until now the Flip pocket camcorder has pretty much dominated the market, that is going to change, word has already started to spread among tech lovers and the geek community are singing the Zi8’s praises on blogs all around the world. I have tried shooting in all of the available modes, saving all captured images to the high capacity SD card which I bought at the same time. The unit supports cards of up to 32GB in size, I went for a 16GB version – which equates to hours of HD footage before transfer to my MacBook Pro!!
The video quality is stunning – I have used various HD camcorders at work and the video quality of the Zi8 matches anything I have seen on them. For a gadget that costs several hundred pounds less than they do, it really does raise some interesting questions. The professional quality extends to more than the footage captured, the Zi8 features a tripod mount connection for image stabilisation (although the unit has that built it to compensate for the hand held nature of the device) and perhaps more importantly a 1/4 microphone connection so a range of microphones can be connected for professional audio capture. The built in microphone is more than competent however particularly in controlled environments, the Mass Effect 2 unboxing video on the blog was recorded at 720p with the integrated microphone with my voice not even targeted at the device for much of the recording.
The unit is compact and sleek – I invested in a carry case to protect the lovely 2.5 inch screen from any scratches but really it is something you can slip in your pocket and bring with you anywhere. I fully intend to never leave the house without it again, it’s quickly become a regular feature in my messenger bag. The Zi8 has an integrated USB connection for transfer of footage to a computer, this slips out from the side of unit. I personally tend to remove the SD card and house that in my SD card reader and transfer in that way, both are viable options. Footage is stored in the.mov container which for someone working with Final Cut Express and the Mac platform in general as I do is ideal. In addition to the camcorder functionality the Zi8 also functions as a 5MP still camera, just another nice and useful feature.
From it’s easy to use interface, excellent range of features, relatively long battery life and light frame the Zi8 is a comprehensive and professional HD video production solution. I love it, I mean really love it. In fact I would class it as my second favourite gadget after the MacBook Pro. If you’re looking to produce HD video but don’t want to invest in really expensive equipment you really should look no further than the Zi8.
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