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Kodak Zi8 Camcorder Review
by Leland Richardson on 0

Kodak Zi8 Camcorder Review

Kodak’s Zi8 is a high definition pocket camcorder that records 1920 x 1080p video at 30 frames per second (fps) in the H.264 format. The Zi8 competes with products such as Pure Digital’s Flip UltraHD and Sony’s Webbie HD. Kodak’s pocket camcorder has a few tricks that the others don’t – such as digital image stabilization, face detection, and an external microphone input.

Kodak Zi8 At a Glance

The Good:[ Excellent video quality, easy to use, strong feature set, large LCD screen.

The Bad: Slightly clumsy user interface, little internal memory.

Video & Photo Quality

Using a 1/2.5-inch, 5-megapixel CMOS sensor, the Zi8 records 1080p HD video.This is one of the first 1080p pocket camcorders on the market and the video quality is definitely impressive for a model in this class.

If you want to extend recording times, you can opt for one of three lower resolution settings: 720p/60fps mode (the faster frame rate is good for shooting motion), a 720p/30fps mode or a WVGA mode.

A nice addition to the Zi8 is face detection, which, when activated, can improve exposure around a face it detects in a frame. This function can be disabled as it will draw down the battery faster when it’s used.

The Zi8 also snaps 5-megapixel still photos when set to photo mode (it can’t snap them while you’re filming).

You shouldn’t expect much from these stills – with no flash and a fairly slow performance, it’s not going to wow you.

Design

Like other models in the pocket camcorder category, Kodak kept the functionality and buttons to a minumum. Four dedicated buttons on the back of the unit let you access menu settings, delete videos and still photos, return to filming and play back stored videos.

The menu, and quality settings, are navigated using a joystick at the center of the unit. All-in-all, a very intuitive design that just about anyone can figure out in short order, even if the buttons could stand to be a bit larger.

The Zi8 weighs in just shy of a svelte five ounces with battery. At 2.4 × 4.5 × 0.9 inches, it’s the size of a nice, lean point-and-shoot digital camera. You’ll have your choice of red, black and blue.

Removable Battery

Another nice design touch is a removable lithium ion batter (accessed by removing the unit’s faceplate). For longer trips where you can run low on battery, you have the option of swapping in a new one rather than finding a spot to recharge. You can charge the battery when the Zi8 is connected to a PC via its flip-out USB connector or by using the supplied AC adapter.

Menus

The menu in the Zi8 consists of nine icons for switching off image stabilization, engaging face detection and accessing other functions. Unfortunately, while Kodak had ample room to add some descriptive wording above each menu icon, in most cases they choose not to. None of the icons are that mysterious, but still, for a novice user it would be nice to use the generous LCD screen to its fullest potential.

Memory

The Zi8 comes with a meager 128MB worth of internal memory – barely enough to record a few seconds of HD video or a couple of still images. To enjoy recording of any length, you’ll need to use an SDHC memory card (not included). The Zi8 supports SDHC cards up to 32GB, which would give you close to five hours of recording at the highest quality setting.

The use of flash memory cards helps keep the price of the unit down, but that only helps if you already own a memory card.

Optics

Like all pocket camcorders, the Zi8 does not offer an optical zoom lens. Instead, it features a 4x digital zoom. The zoom itself is of limited utility and when it’s engaged, it isn’t terribly smooth.

The Zi8 also packs digital image stabilization. Again, it’s not as effective as the optical variety, but it’s also not as important a feature in a pocket camcorder because you don’t have an optical zoom lens. You can see it in action here. On the whole, it’s better to have some form of stabilization than none, so Kodak gets the thumbs up for adding it.

Kodak Zi8: A Powerful Pocket Camcorder

Kodak’s Zi8 manages to outdo most of its rivals in the pocket camcorder market by adding some feature-enhancements without burdening the camcorder with complexity. It could stand to tweak its interface, build bigger buttons and make the exterior more resistant to finger prints. If you have no interest in anything but the simplest pocket camcorder for creating Web-friendly videos, the Flip UltraHD would still give you the best bang for your buck. But if you’re thirsting for a pocket camcorder with equal (and in some cases, better) quality than the Flip with more features to boot, the Zi8 is the model for you.

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Samsung HMX-Q10 Camcorder Review
by Leland Richardson on 0

Samsung HMX-Q10 Camcorder Review

The Samsung HMX-Q10 is a high definition camcorder that captures 1920 x 1080 video in the H.264 to SDHC memory cards. It offers a 2.7-inch LCD display, 10x optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization and a unique grip which lets you flip the camcorder to film with both the right and left hands.

The Samsung Q10 retails for $299. Full specifications can be found here.

Samsung Q10 at a Glance

The Good: Strong video quality, responsive touch-screen, nice design

The Bad: Awkward zoom lever, no automatic lens cover

Samsung HMX Q10 Video Quality

Samsung’s HMX Q10 records 1920 x 1080 video in the H.264 format. It’s also capable of recording at 720/60 frames per second for capturing fast-moving subjects and at VGA resolution.

Given its lower price tag, the Q10 is competing more with pocket camcorders and it clearly exceeds them in the quality department. While there were instances of over-exposure, with bright sunlight washing out highlights, the Q10 captured mostly crisp, color-accurate video. It did well indoors as well. I took it into a dimly lit aquarium and after a second or two of blur as it sought to establish focus, the Q10 was able to resolve the scene quite well considering the challenging environment.

You can also snap 4.9-megapixel still photos with the Q10, although you should steer clear of taking stills with the Q10 as the results were unimpressive.

Optics

The Q10 packs a 10x optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization – a nice plus not usually found on lower-cost camcorders. There’s also a digital zoom, which, fortunately, can be deactivated. All-in-all, a nice optical package. The only draw back is that there’s no automatic lens cover. However, there is a built-in cover that flips open and closed using a switch on top of the lens barrel – that’s a far better option than a lens cap, but not as good as an automatic cover.

Samsung HMX Q10 Design

The design of the Q10 is pretty spartan, with few external controls outside of a zoom lever/shutter button on the back of the camcorder. Flip open the 2.7-inch display and you’ll see only a home button, which brings you into the camcorder’s internal memory.

With the Q10, Samsung introduced a design innovation called the “Swithgrip” – which essentially lets you film using either your right or left hand. When you switch from right to left, the menu items on the display will automatically orient themselves correctly. Since there are no external controls on the top of the camcorder to operate, the transition from right-handed to left-handed filming is seamless. Left-handed users, rejoice!

Thanks to the use of flash memory, the Q10 is quite light and compact, weighing in at .4lbs and sized at 4.7 x 2.1 x 1.7 inches. It certainly won’t be a drag to carry the Q10 around with you on long trips. Aesthetically it won’t turn many heads but is available in your choice of black and blue. The only real knock on the design is that wrist strap, which is kind of flimsy.

Q10 Features

You’ll find a nice selection of shooting options on the Q10, despite its budget price tag. You’ll have time lapse recording and a selection of digital effects to apply various filters to your video including black and white, sepia, negative, art, noir, western, dazzle, and ghost. You can switch between automatic and manual recording, where you’ll have the ability to focus manually, set white balance, adjust exposure, night mode, and backlit compensation. All in all a very strong feature set for a camcorder at this price.

The Q10 is loaded with Samsung’s Intelli-Studio software, which installs automatically whenever you connect the camcorder to a computer via USB.

Menu and Display

The Q10 offers a 2.7-inch touch screen LCD display. It’s quite responsive and it’s helped along with an icon-driven menu interface. Pop open the display and you’ll see a row of icons indicating your scene mode and then controls for switching between still and video capture, zoom and playback. It’s always better to have more real-estate on a display when working with a touch-screen, but Samsung keeps the number of icons on the display to a minimum so it’s easy to hit the ones you need with your finger. At any point you can hit the “home” key on the exterior of the display and get back into the main menu.

Samsung HMX-Q10 Memory

The Q10 records directly to SDHC memory cards, so you’ll need to factor in the cost of a memory card into your equation. The Q10 cannot record to newer, higher-capacity SDXC cards so you’re memory capacity is limited to 32GB (or eight hours of HD recording).

Bottom Line

If you’re in the market for a low-cost HD camcorder but are leery about the quality and limited feature-set of a pocket camcorder, the HMX-Q10 is definitely a solid choice. It’s slightly more expensive than most pocket models on the market at $300, but delivers a better zoom, better video quality and a more robust feature set. It’s unique “SwitchGrip” design gives both left and right-handed users the ability to hold the Q10 naturally and comfortably. All-in-all a good choice in the budget-end of the HD camcorder market.

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