Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera

This is a great little video camera to shoot YouTube videos on but it is not perfect.

First the downsides: It sucks up AA batteries like a fish sucks up water. I do a lot of recording of festivals, shows, etc and after 4 or 5 songs, those AA batteries are done. The rechargable batteries last a little longer, good for up to 7 to 8 songs maybe. Also the battery indicator signal is not exactly accurate, you have to turn the thing off and on again to find out what's really left on the battery life.

So the fact is, you can't shoot more than 45 minutes or so straight through. But again, for YouTube, you probably wouldn't want that anyway.

Also if theres any wind around, forget about it. Like most video cameras, the noise is very distracting if theres any significant breeze at all. Theres no way to plug in an external mike (check out the Zi8 for that) so you're just out of luck with that.

Other than that, the obvious advantage the Zi6 has over Flips is the Memory Card. At the last festival I went to, I used up 12gb of memory over 3 days. About 6 hours of videos or so. You can't do that with a Flip. So when you compute the cost of the camera, be sure to add $50 for Memory Cards.

I would also highly encourage you to get a tripod, a real tripod. Try holding a pack of cigarettes out at arms length for 5 minutes as steady as you can. It can't be done. If you shoot music like I do, get the tripod!

Other than that, it works like a champ and I've had no problems with it. Not perfect but for the price, you can't beat it, IMHO.

We bought this camcorder after our brand-new, much-pricier Panasonic's sound quit working right after the second use. (Our saga with Panasonic and their unresponsive customer service is detailed in one of my other reviews.) This camcorder is extremely easy to use, and it makes good, clear, consistent videos for the price. The image and sound quality are very good. My husband loves to study every feature and trick of an electronic gadget, but the zi6 was simple enough that I could take it out of the box and shoot some nice, clear video with sound, zooming, and a few other basic videographic elements, all without reading the manual. I love that I can just pick it up and start shooting when my daughter's doing something cute or funny -- it's that easy. The large-ish LCD display made it very easy to see exactly what I was shooting. If you need really steady shots, a tripod would be in order -- the image can shake if I don't pan carefully and my hand wobbles. The still photography is not high-quality; the results are similar to photos from a basic cell phone camera, but I didn't buy it as a still camera, and for great still photos, I use a digital camera created for the purpose. The zi6 is not a fancy, high-end, "serious" camcorder, but if you're looking for a camcorder that shoots great, basic video on the fly with little to no learning curve involved, this is a wonderful choice for the money.

Bought this little guy because of the $80 deal I saw. It's got expandable memory, different video settings up to 720p 60fps (Shot 2min worth of 60fps 720p and came out to around 180MB). I dropped an 8GB SD card and for the battery I used Duracell rechargeable 2650mAh(?) (I think that's right...it's better than what came with the camera so) No comment on the battery life of the stock ones.

I agree with the reviewers who mentioned low lighting lag. Natural ambient lighting or bright environments work very well.

I also mentioned this is durable. I went snowboarding with this little guy in my pocket. I took a spill and landed right on top of this camera. How do I know this? because I have a black&blue with the shape of the camera on my chest. I turned the camera ON and surprisingly, it worked! I weigh 190lbs.

This is definitely a better deal than the FlipMino cameras because of one simple aspect: EXPANDABLE MEMORY!!! even if I didn't get great HD quality, I'd still get this one because I have the option to use more memory...

I was and still new in this field of handy cams, pocket cams and so on!!! but I like a lot this cam! small, easy to carry everywhere! easy to use!! the video quality and sound is just perfect!! considering that I payed less than $99 USD - I think the newst models must be better related with the image stabilization function! but out of that! I was a excellente choice to record daily episodes of life!

I bought this without ever having seen one in person based on reviews and pictures online. I must say it has a quality look and feel to it that is missing in the other typical low resolution video recorders I have seen. In addition to all the nice features that make it user friendly and fun to use, I like the soft draw string carry bag that it comes with that allows me to put it comfortably into my pants pocket without fear of scratces to the outer shell and LCD screen. The larger than normal LCD screen is great for watching the videos too! A great value. For the price - you won't be disapointed!