Kodak Zx1 Camcorder Review

Low Light Performance Summary
• Low light performance is much better than its performance in bright light testing • Excellent low light sensitivity • Colors in low light were strong and more accurate than the competition. • Noise levels were good in low light, but not much better than the competition.
	Motion & Sharpness Performance	(Page 5 of 17)	Compression & Media

Low Light Sensitivity (9.66)

The Kodak Zx1 performed well in our low light testing, which may come as something of a surprise when you consider how poor it did in our bright light color and noise tests. The camcorder did especially well with low light sensitivity as it required only 6 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on the waveform monitor. This is a very strong showing and it equals the performance of the Kodak Zi6. When looking at these low light results, however, it should be noted that the Kodak Zx1 utilizes an automatic slow shutter  (likely 1/30 of a second) when shooting in low light conditions. Normally, we turn off slow shutters when we do our testing, but since we can't do so with the Zx1 we had to do our testing as is.  (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)

Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

The Flip UltraHD also did quite well with low light sensitivity, making the Sony MHS-PM1 the big loser in this test. The Sony needed more than 3x the amount of light as the other camcorders in this set to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor. When shooting in the Zx1's 30p setting (HD mode) the camcorder also recorded a low light sensitivity of 6 lux.

Low Light Color (9.42)

The Kodak Zx1 did much better in our low light color test than it did under the bright lights. The camcorder managed a color error of 3.21 with a saturation level of 97.67% when we shot our 60 lux low light test. These are strong numbers, and they are similar to the results we obtained last year with the Kodak Zi6. (More on how we test low light color.)

Auto Low Light Color Performance
Color Test Chart (above), Color Error Map (right)
The Kodak Zx1 produced a color error of 3.21 and a saturation level of 97.67% in our low light color testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular color.)

The Kodak Zx1 was clearly able to white balance properly in our low light test—a fact that is obvious when you look at the sample image of the test chart above. The camcorder was particularly accurate with blue colors, but it had more trouble with greens and reds. Overall, this is an impressive performance for the Zx1 and it is one of the best low light color scores we've seen in the ultra-compact, budget-camcorder market.

Low Light Comparison
Kodak Zx1	Sony MHS-PM1
Flip UltraHD	Kodak Zi6

The Kodak Zx1 does appear to have a darker image in low light than the other budget cams we used as comparisons in this review. The colors also appear richer and deeper, which is something that is also noticeable with the Kodak Zi6. In addition to producing accurate colors in our low light test, the Zx1 also registered low noise levels. Continue onto the low light noise section for the full data.

Low Light Color Score Comparison

Low Light Noise (9.16)

The Kodak Zx1 averaged 1.2975% noise in our low light testing. While this is a very good score, it most of the ultra-compact budget camcorders we test do well with noise in low light. All the camcorders we used as comparisons in this review measured below 1.4% noise in low light. (More on how we test low light noise.)

Noise at 60 lux Auto
Kodak Zx1 100% Crop	Sony MHS-PM1 100% Crop	Flip UltraHD 100% Crop	Kodak Zi6 100% Crop

Besides giving you a visual representation of noise levels, the crops above also show how much detail each camcorder is able to capture in low light. The Kodak Zx1 has a rather blurred image from the noise (which is normal in low light), but it maintains some sharpness and detail. The Flip UltraHD has the lowest noise levels and the cleanest image in this set. The Sony MHS-PM1 recorded nearly the same amount of noise as the Zx1, although its image appears a bit brighter.

Low Light Noise Score Comparisons