Kodak Zi6 Camcorder Review

by David Kender
Published on Oct 12, 2008 5:00 PM

 
Intro Performance
Format
Auto / Manual Controls
Still Features Handling and Use
Audio / Playback / Connectivity Other Features
Conclusion & Comparisons Photo Gallery
Specs and Ratings


Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (3.0)
The auto performance of the Kodak Zi6 is everything, because there are no manual controls if you don't like the look of your shot. Case in point, the white balance was complete off during our normal, bright light testing, despite the fact that every other camcorder we've ever tested has performed adequately under the same conditions. So we threw our hands up and said, "Okay, that's that." We can't change our testing to suit a camcorder's inability to adjust, and the scores suffered accordingly. A manual white balance would have helped immensely.

The auto exposure, on the other hand, it good. Adjustments were smooth and fast. For whatever reason, the Zi6 seemed to adjust from dark to bright faster than from bright to dark. Panning across areas with varied highlights and shadows posed no problem. The Zi6 could keep up just fine.

Auto focus is not an issue, as the Zi6 has a fixed focus lens. You can shift between a macro or a tele mode via a small switch on the side.  

Overall Manual Control (0.25)
In short, there is no manual control, except for a 2x digital zoom. The Pure Digital Flip really set the trend by omitting nearly everything but the power button. Now everyone else is rushing in to get a piece of the new "dead simple" market, including Kodak.

The Zi6 does up the stakes in one area, offering a switch toggle between tele (normal) and macro shooting.

Zoom (2.5)
The 2x digital zoom on the Kodak Zi6 is controlled by pushing up and down on the joystick while shooting. When you zoom, a scale appears along the right edge of the screen. The video quality setting has a substantial effect on the smoothness of the zoom. When the camcorder is in HD60 mode, the zoom stutters from one increment to the next. It gets better when you reduce it to HD mode, then even better in VGA quality.

Zoom Power Ratio (0.0)
The Kodak Zi6 has no optical zoom, because there are no moving parts in the lens. You do get a 2x digital zoom, but be aware that any digital zoom will significantly decrease the quality of your video.

 
  The macro / tele
focus switch

Focus (1.0)
There is no manual focus on the Kodak Zi6, because as we stated above, there are no moving parts in the lens. You do, however, have one thing here that can really beef up your shooting repertoire. On the right side of the body is a small switch with a picture of a mountain on one side and a flower on another. This switch shifts the focus between a fixed tele setting (the mountain) and a macro setting (the flower). The latter is for shooting things up close to the lens, like bugs, fine print, or... you guessed it, flowers.

Exposure & Aperture (0.0)
There is no manual exposure or aperture setting on the Kodak Zi6.

Shutter Speed (0.0)
There is no shutter speed control on the Kodak Zi6.

White Balance (0.0)
There is no white balance control on the Kodak Zi6. 

Gain (0.0)
There in no gain control on the Kodak Zi6. 

Other Manual Controls (0.0)
There are no other manual controls on the Kodak Zi6.

 



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