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Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera Raspberry NEWEST MODEL specifications:

Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera (Raspberry) NEWEST MODEL Description:
Define yourself in high meaning.

It&rsquo,s small enough to fit in a pocket, but why could you ever want to put it there? If out on the town or just hanging with friends, the Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera captures every experience in stunning 1080p HD video. Stay in concentrate while you&rsquo,re on the move with integrated image stabilization. Then kick back and watch all the action on your HDTV or share your scene on YouTube with the fitted USB. The Zi8 pocket video camera has all you have to define yourself in high meaning.

Product Features
Take full HD 1080p videos wherever you go Get sharper videos and less blur thanks to fitted image stabilization Premiere your videos in the palm of your hand with the vivid 2.5 inch color LCD No cables to worry about&ndash,just swing out the USB arm to upload, share and charge Get a new perspective&ndash,take amazing five MP 16:9 widescreen HD still pictures Share on Facebook and YouTube with ease&ndash,built in software makes editing and uploading simple matched with PC and MAC Use with Apple iLife Suite of products operating systems matched with iTunes for syncing with Apple TV, iPhone and iPod Devices lots of room for more&ndash,record up to ten hours of HD video Record 20 min per one GB at 720p HD at 30 fps with the expandable SD/SDHC Card slot that can hold up to 32 GB catch your friends in their best light with smart face tracking technology See more details and correct colors in low light Make audio awesome&ndash,the external microphone jack allows you to record in stereo Be prepared for the big screen right out of the box with complementary HDMI cable Record from a distance or play back on your TV with ease with available remote control Grab attention and define your style with the ultra compact design, stunning looks, and a range of colors What’s in the Box:
Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera KLIC 7004 Li Ion Rechargeable Battery Adapter and cable for battery charging HDMI and AV cables Wrist strap User&rsquo,s Guide ArcSoft MediaImpression Software for Kodak on camera

Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera (Raspberry) NEWEST MODEL Reviews:

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546 of 566 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of five stars
Best camcorder if you are on a budget and need external mic input,
August 22, 2009

By&nbsp,Derrick A. Jeror Corning, NY USA See all my reviews
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Check out my sample footage video on Youtube. On Youtube search “djeror zi8 low light”

In my last review of the Kodak Zi8 I was pretty irritated at the fact that whenever I used the fitted microphone the recorded videos had an annoying high pitch whine that made the audio from my videos nearly unusable. Kodak recognized that this was an issue and produced a firmware update that fixed the problem. It also fixed some other things like the last issue of the image to get darker as you zoomed in. They seem to fixed all of the big problems with this firmware fix.

I do tech product reviews so I need the following things:

External mic input most of my videos are shot wearing a lapel mic

Macro mode I have to get close to little tiny screens

SDHC memory I go to all day trade shows, I need 10+ hours of video

Power alternatives I have to be able to shoot while AC power is plugged in or use a big external battery.

Under $200 I am poor.

Because of these prerequisites no other camcorder can fit my needs. One cool thing about this camera is that it’s more upgradable than the other pocket cameras on the market.

Con:

The fitted microphone is OK now that they fixed the whining sound, but it is still not amazing.

Work around:

Do not use the interior mic. I use an Audio Technica lapel mic for one person interviews.Audio Technica ATR 3350 Lavalier Omnidirectional Condenser Microphone For events I ordered a Sony stereo mic to use instead of the fitted mic. Sony ECM DS70P Electret Condenser Stereo Microphone . Though I wish that Kodak made the interior mic better, for the most part I’m kind of excited that the Sony stereo mic will give me much better sound than any of the standard interior mics that any of the pocket cams have.

Con:

Electronic Image Stabilization EIS sucks many of juice. Also the Zi8 uses a proprietary battery rather than cheap swappable AA’s. Battery life when shooting continuous is 1hr 16min in 720p 60fps with EIS on. If you turn off EIS you get about 1hr 41min at 720p 60fps.

Work around:

Use the USB to power cable that comes with the camera in conjunction with an external battery source. This is a must if you’re going to be recording for more than an hour with EIS, cause that is about what the interior battery will give you. Tekkeon TekCharge Rechargeable Li Poly Battery you may be able to just stick this battery pack in your pocket and connect the charging cable to the Zi8. This will let you to record for a super long total of time. I have not tested to see what my total record time with the battery pack will be but it should be around 5X the standard recording time. About six hours with EIS on, nearly nine with it off This gives you the best battery life of nearly any camcorder. Sure it is another cost, but when you are at an all day trade show you do not have to worry about running out of juice.

Con:

Image stabilization can not rescue video you shoot while moving around. Any camera motion makes video terrible.

Work round:

Accept the fact you may want to most likely be using a mini tripod with this camera or at least stand still. As well, though it takes a bunch of time to procedure if you have the new iMovie the image stabilization processing you may be able to do is light years beyond what the EIS in the Kodak Zi8 can do.

One more vital note. Be sure you purchase quick SDHC memory cards for this thing. If your SD card isn’t fast enough the camera will record for like two seconds , then stop with an error. It took me a while to figure out why the camera kept stopping recording when in HD mode but worked good in SD mode. It was because of my old SD card. You have to be sure your SD card has a write speed of at least 9MB/s if you want to record in 1080p. These quick cards cost more, but you need them for any camcorder that’s going to record HD video to them, it is not just the Zi8. I think most Class six quick SDHC cards should work.

If you want to get the most out of this camera plan on spending another $100 $150 to purchase upgrade things. Personally I have come to the conclusion that the extra costs were worth it. It depends on what you plan on using the camera for. For a common mom purse cam this could not be my recommendation, I could say go with a Flip super HD. But for someone with specific needs like mine this camera can be the only one that fits the bill.

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164 of 171 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of five stars
Great Value, awesome! But do not expect it to compete with $3000 camera,
October 12, 2009

By&nbsp,R. Vernon See all my reviews
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I rarely will type/review merchandise but I have been a little irritated reading the reviews of this product on and by users at other sites. Many users seem to think that this camera was intended to compete with costly, professional cameras that cost thousands of dollars and produce full HD quality video. That is not what this is. As well, while my camera has not had the ‘noise’ issue from the Mic, i have seen a camera that had the issue and its BARELY obvious. Its nearly like a calm background sound from a Florescent light or something.

Kodak has intended, marketed, and built a camera to compete with FLiP and has obviously made a FAR better product.

I’ll keep it short and sweet and 1st explain who I’m and what I’m using this camera for. I use it for:

Home Videos/Fun stuff with old buddies and friends

For work when I need many fast video that is easy to upload online, or put in iMovie and edit

For work when I need more complex videos that may require editing, or somewhat lengthy video but I want the easy use/portability.

I have seen many of the problems stated with the interior Mic and I have had none of them I do have the upgraded Firmware that’s now standard 1.03, and Kodak says this totally removes the issue.Again have never had the issue on my camera. A relative of mine was lucky enough to buy this product when Kodak did an ‘early’ release some months ago and sometimes his videos will have some a higher pitched background sound, but it does not get in the way with the sound from the video its just a light background sound that, honestly, I have heard on dozens of cameras. Do not forget, without an external Mic the camera only records mono so the sounds quality is not going to be great anyway!

The video is great, image stability is not as advanced as those available on costly cameras but it’s better than anything I have seen in a FLiP or another Kodak model. It does work and you may be able to see a difference, if its not big. Its SO easy to flip between video modes. The 1080p is awesome, but on occasion its nice to move back down to 720 and the 60fps to catch ‘action’ footage.

One negative which majority of people may see as a positive i do wish there were more settings, or at least the capability to play around with more features/edit modes. Its GREAT easy to use, its a point and shoot video camera but with the great lens and abilities, it looks like Kodak may have pretty easily had this camera competing with much higher class cameras. If all the hardware was put to great use this could compete with $500+ cameras. But I understand wanting to keep it simple.

I like having the SD card. Many people could favor the interior memory, and yes by the time you purchase a decent sized SD card the camera is costly than the FLiP, but, the FLiP has a restricted memory. This camera is restricted only by the size of the card.Definitely a positive!

Finally, I know people that are both in the TV business and do many of Video blogging and they’re drooling over this camera due to external mic potential. One reason lots of ‘pros’ did not like FLiP was due to audio issues. Kodak solved those, not to talk about better quality video.

Again this is not something to shoot with if your a young film maker or a die hard amateur cinematographer. But if you need something cheap to get many great quality video, or need something super easy to use that’s really movable..Take the plunge. And if your considering FLiP do not annoy.

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118 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of five stars
Actual footage in different lighting conditions,
December 3, 2009

By&nbsp,Richard C. Drew “That which doesn’t kill us . Oak Lawn, IL USA See all my reviews
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