Kodak Zi6 review

What do you do after you've captured your video? Well, like most of these types of mini camcorders, Kodak loads software into its memory. Windows-only ArcSoft MediaImpression is included with the Zi6 and it automatically installs when you plug the Zi6's USB connector into your desktop or laptop PC. There's the usual shortcut upload to YouTube, as well as some editing features that allow you to trim your clips, adjust contrast, colour and brightness, and splice you clips into a cohesive movie, complete with customised background music and titles.

If you own a Mac, you can copy your video and still images to your computer by dragging and dropping the files from the camcorder as you would with any USB storage device, and then edit your video using iMovie. So, all is not totally lost.

Performance
The Zi6's extra resolution helps when comparing its video with that of the Flip Mino and Ultra, but image noise and lack of sharpness keep it from overshadowing those models. Though the video looks softer overall, it looks that way at a larger size, which some people may find an ample compensation. Typically, you only view these video files in a small window on your computer. However, with the Zi6's footage you can actually blow the video up full screen and it retains more detail. Video shot in the Zi6's VGA-resolution mode does look comparably sharp to that of its competitors. In low light, however, the Zi6's footage looks perceptibly noisier than that of the other camcorders. But it remains usable.

The Zi6 delivers reasonably accurate colour and exposure, but performance feels slow. While it adjusts properly, moving from brightly lit environments to darker scenes and compensating for overly backlit subjects, it doesn't do so particularly quickly and its autofocus is relatively sluggish. When you pan and move the camera around, things tend to go in and out of focus. For rock-solid video, you really have to keep the camera still.

Conclusion
When you factor in that you have to buy an additional memory card, the added cost puts it up against a whole other class of products, such as the Aiptek Go-HD, which offer features like higher resolution stills and optical zoom rather than digital zoom. Despite its problems, we generally liked the Zi6. The video is pretty good and plays at larger sizes than what Flip Video's current lineup offers. With its big screen, support for removable memory and the ability to use AA batteries it all adds up to an attractive package.

Edited by Marian Smith