Kodak Zx1 Camcorder Review

Still Features Summary
• Still features are limited, photos can only be captured at one size: 2048 x 1536 • Still color accuracy is very bad and has the same orange tint as in the bright light video tests. • Still noise isn't terrible, but is still too high • 3-megapixel images are interpolated, which makes the camcorder's real still sharpness values are much lower than you'd expect.
	Manual Controls	(Page 8 of 17)	Handling & Use

Still Features (5.49)

Despite coming from a well-known still camera manufacturer, the Kodak Zx1 offers very little in the way of still photography features. Photos can only be captured at a single resolution: 2048 x 1536. That's about 3 megapixels... interpolated. That's not a great resolution to begin with, but it's very disappointing that your only option is interpolated. Interpolated means that the original resolution was lower than 3 megapixels, then digitally expanded to the larger resolution. It means that the quality is significantly lower than that of a native 3-megapixel still.

These mediocre stills can only be captured when you switch the camcorder into still photo mode; don't expect to do any simultaneous video/still recording. And there aren't really any options to enhance the still photo experience: no self-timer, burst mode, ISO settings, or flash.

Still Color (3.27)

In its still photos, the Kodak Zx1 measured a color error of 10.7 with a saturation level of 120.7%. This isn't quite as bad as the camcorder's bright light video color tests, but it is still unacceptably poor. Again, the camcorder had trouble white balancing correctly, thus all the still images in our color tests had a strong orange tint. Check out the sample images further down for a visual representation. (More on how we test still color.)

The still photography color error map: the length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular color.

When you compare the Zx1 with the Sony MHS-PM1 you can quickly see the orange coloration we are talking about. The still image from the Zx1 almost looks like it was shot in a sepia mode as its brown-orange highlights give the entire photo a murky hue. The Sony MHS-PM1 also did poorly in this test, but it is clear from the comparison images that the Sony is capable of capturing colors in its still images.

Kodak Zx1 Still Color Comparisons
Kodak Zx1	Sony MHS-PM1

The Flip UltraHD cannot take still photos (nor can any Flip camcorder) and we don't have a sample image from the Kodak Zi6 because we tested it last year. The Sony MHS-PM1 offers a variety of still image settings, with a maximum resolution of 5-megapixels.

Still Noise (4.09)

Noise levels were average on the Kodak Zx1's still images. We measured an average of 0.87% noise in our still image testing. This isn't a terrible score, but we'd like this number to be much lower for still images. Still, the Zx1 recorded slightly lower noise levels than the Sony MHS-PM1 in the same test. (More on how we test still noise.)

Still Sharpness (0.0)

Even though the Kodak Zx1 can capture still images, that doesn't mean it's capable of producing sharp, beautiful photos. In our testing, the camcorder measured a horizontal sharpness of 577 lw/ph with 23.7% undersharpening. For vertical sharpness, it measured 797 lw/ph with 1.3 undersharpening. These aren't very impressive sharpness scores, especially when you consider how much better photos a cheap point-and-shoot digital camera will get you. Part of the problem with the Kodak Zx1's still images is the fact that the camcorder captures interpolated 3.2-megapixel stills. The camcorder only has a gross pixel count of only 1.6-megapixels, which means the actual photos aren't anything close to real 3.2-megapixel images. If you want sharp photos with a good amount of detail, you should get a dedicated still camera. Some of the higher-end HD camcorders are also beginning to capture strong still images, but even they aren't yet ready to compete with a good digital camera. (More on how we test still sharpness.)