As Christmas approaches, you might be thinking of buying a pocket sized video recorder for your loved one. But which one should you get? A Flip? An iPod Nano?
How about none of the above? When I asked my Twitter followers the same question, they were unanimous: “Get a Kodak Zi8“, they said.
So what’s so good about it?
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The Kodak is a solid piece of kit with a simple row of controls on the back. Very Flip-like (more so than previous Kodak models like the Zi6). It’s not overly large (although a little bulkier than an iPhone) and feels comfortable, and surprisingly light, in the hand.
The large central record button doubles as a five-way joystick, for flicking through menus and between video resolution modes. It makes everything very simple.
That’s the first good thing about this gadget: it’s simple. There’s a manual in the box, but you probably won’t need to consult it.
Next up is the lens. As one of my Twitter correspondents said, this is a lens that has a macro mode “that actually works”, and this is one of the best features. You can even switch to macro mode mid-recording if you wish. The digital zoom is basic and juddery and frankly best avoided.
At full resolution (1080p, 30fps) you get very nice video recordings in 16:9 aspect ratio. The 2.5 inch screen is bright, the interface easy to understand. Deleting requires three clicks; playback just two. I like the way the minimalist on-screen instructions and control graphics.
HD recordings are OK indoors and in lower light, but footage shot at night under standard electric lighting is grainy and less satisfactory. Lower resolution recordings (720p at either 60fps or 30fps) are generally good too. For pure quality of moving pictures, you won’t find much better at this price. The antishake technology does wonders at cutting down on jitters and judders, but it doesn’t remove them completely. It’s still a good idea to have a tripod handy.
As well as video, it can take 5MP still photos but they are nothing to shout about. Stick to a proper still camera if you can.
The Zi8 records in .mov format, which is great for Mac users. Quicktime deals with these files without a problem and in Snow Leopard, lets you trim the ends off before uploading to the web. If you buy this camera solely for putting silly snippets on YouTube and don’t want to spend hours sitting in front of iMovie, you’ve made a good choice.
Equally, it’s a good choice if you want to get more from your video recordings. A metal tripod mount, an audio-in port for an external microphone, HDMI video-out, and of course the HD recording function make it usable for more “pro” recording situations.
Criticisms: well, there’s a few. I think the power button is awkwardly placed and too smudgy – I have to look at it to be sure that I’ve switched the device on. It would be better to have something that gave a satisfying, feedback-providing click.
Kodak generously includes 128MB of flash memory built into the device, so you can capture a few seconds worth of footage as soon as it arrives. (Seriously, Kodak: what’s the point? Either don’t include any memory at all, or include an SD card that’s worth having and put up the price to cover it. Really. You’d be saving everyone just that little bit of extra hassle.) The Zi8 supports SD cards up to 32GB.
Overall this is a fine pocket video camera that produces excellent results and is well suited to use with your Mac (although if you like to zoom in and out of your subject all the time, it’s no good for you). If you’re looking to buy a video device as a gift over the festive season, you’d do well to pick up one of these; and because it was first released back in the summer, you can already benefit from some price reductions.
