The Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera
was written up as my top choice in Flip-style cams a year ago and for a while, the price was tumbling.
Now, you have no excuse! It’s time you started adding video blogging to your agenda. With the Kodak Zi8 falling to less than a hundred dollars (black model only) at Amazon, you really should begin making moving pictures. The Zi8 records high definition video (1080p at 30 fps with 16:9 aspect ratio). If you have already started creating video content, you can put this discrete, inexpensive mini-camera on a tripod to get that 2nd POV for professional productions.
Not sure why, but soon after Flip announced the discontinuation of their popular pocket cam, Amazon’s prices on the Kodak Zi8 started rising… to well above the former list price. This is disappointing, but if you shop hard you can still find them at a discount. Or, you can buy refurbished for less than a hundred dollars
The Kodak Zi8 has…
- a swing out USB arm, that’s flexible
- a removable lithium-ion battery that can be charged in or out of the camera
- expandable SD/SDHC card slot for up to 32 GB, so you can swap and keep shooting
- a large 2.5″ color LCD screen
- built in electronic image stabilization
- 5MP still photo capture
- improved low-light performance
- smart face tracking technology
The biggest flaw with most pocket cams up until the release of the Zi8 was poor sound quality. Users had been pleading for someone to add an external mic jack. Thanks to Kodak for listening!
“With the Zi8, Kodak finally surpasses Flip Video’s video quality and feature set.” – David Carnoy, CNET Review