Kodak Zi6 review

Kodak's budget Zi6 camcorder is a direct competitor to the Flip Mino.

It resembles a mobile phone, though it's chunkier than most of today's handsets. It's been designed for point-and-shoot filming, and the internal memory is pre-loaded with software for uploading clips to YouTube.

The Zi6's main advantage over the Mino is that it can shoot HD video with a resolution of 1,280x720 pixels. Our initial tests, shooting panoramas from the roof of our office, showed incredible results. There was plenty of detail, with crisp edges to objects. Best of all, colours looked natural. In these conditions, it was even comparable with the far more expensive Panasonic HDC-SD100.

Further testing revealed some weaknesses, though. It has a comparatively low bit rate of 7Mbit/s, which is less than half that of more expensive HD models. Panning shots - or simply those with a lot of motion - suffered from compression artefacts that obscured much of the fine detail. On the plus side, it's easily the best video we've seen from a budget camcorder, and when it comes to shooting HD footage, the Kodak is far better than any of the digital cameras we've reviewed.

To keep the price this low, Kodak has sacrificed many of the features that camcorder users take for granted. There's no optical zoom, and the 2x digital zoom sacrifices picture quality. There are also no manual controls, and it's uncomfortable to use for long periods.

There's only 128MB of internal memory, so you will need to use the SDHC slot. An 8GB card, costing as little as £10 including VAT, will store around two-and-a-half hours of video. The Zi6 records QuickTime .mov files using H.264 compression with AAC audio. The Zi6 runs off two AA batteries, making it easy to find replacements. Two rechargeable batteries and a charger are supplied with the Zi6, and we got two hours of continuous recording from them.

AV and component outputs let you connect the Zi6 to your TV for playback. Press a button, and a USB connector flips out from the side. Plug this into your PC and you can install a cut-down version of ArcSoft MediaImpression from the internal memory. This allows you to upload clips directly to YouTube. However, you must first install the full version of the software - supplied on disc - to edit your video.

HD video isn't terribly useful if you're only going to upload your movies to YouTube, as the results will be heavily compressed. However, if you want to enjoy your videos at home on an HD TV, or just on your PC's monitor, then the Kodak Zi6 is a great buy.