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11/18/09
11/18/09
Some people like not having a contract with their camera.
11/18/09
Thanks for the homework; I'm sure this will help many a holiday buyer.
11/17/09
11/17/09
(Disclaimer : I got it with BicCamera gift cards, and that's the only mini cam they have).
The feeling is awful, buttons are indeed very confusing and unpractical, making the interface nothing short of crap-tastic.
Besides, any shot in darker than daylight conditions is barely watchable.
It does the job somehow, but there is so much better out there (...unless by out there you mean Japan. The mini cam market is inexistant here) #pocketcamcorderbattlemodo
11/17/09
11/17/09
11/17/09
As cool as the flips are, they were premium priced and only had integrated memory. I like flipping cards in and out, having the flexibility instead of always having to download files to a computer (usually huge files) before you can shoot again. #pocketcamcorderbattlemodo
11/17/09
11/17/09
You might want to look at cameras with a different form factor (think Sanyo Xacti with 5x optical zoom), which are not that much pricier and much more feature-rich. #pocketcamcorderbattlemodo
11/17/09
I bought it from Newegg (it's currently on sale at Target for $150) and a 16GB SDHC card.
I normally record at 720P/60FPS with image stabilization and face tracking on. The battery lasts for about 40-45min at a time. That length of video on the stated resolution takes up just over 2GB of video. (I've not yet recorded one big video. I've been meaning to hit record and let it go until the battery runs out to see the limits.) If you purchase the Kodak Zi8, you shouldn't need more than a 4GB card (to have a little extra space).
The video quality, while watching it on my MBP, looks OK. The color reproduction looks nice and it runs smooth (60FPS). When I attach it to either my HDTV or my parents LDTV, the video looks great. The built-in mic isn't the best, but, as stated in other comments, you can plug in an external mic (I'm using the mic from my Singstar game on my PS3). #pocketcamcorderbattlemodo
11/17/09
11/17/09
11/17/09
11/17/09
11/17/09
I do most of my shooting outdoor during the day and sometimes at night. And most of my video is of action sports like wake boarding, skiing, motocross, stuff like that. The Zi8 does perform better in perfect lighting conditions but the image is soooo shaky, almost making the video unwatchable. The funny thing is, I think it has an image stabilizer. #pocketcamcorderbattlemodo
11/17/09
11/17/09
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11/17/09
Aside from that. The Zi8 seems to top the charts in all of the performance tests. As far as size is concerned, I like large and slim over short and fat. By far, the Zi8 appears to have the largest screen, not to mention, it fits flat in my pocket, like a cell phone. It's a good shape, IMO.
The Zi8 is extremely light and plasticy. It *feels* very cheap in your hand because you expect a good gadget to be heavy and dense. Despite that, I still think it leads the entire category, it's brilliant, IMO.
2 more things: It currently goes for $149.99 everywhere I looked, including my local CompUSA, which makes it an extremely good value, and it has a microphone input which makes up for the internal speaker. #pocketcamcorderbattlemodo
11/17/09