Kodak ZX1 Pocket High Definition Camcorder
What would you get if you took an MP3 Player product designer and asked him to design a digital video camera? The Kodak Zx1 Digital HD Video Camera.
The Kodak Zx1 Digital Camcorder is the newest member of Kodak’s family of pocket video cameras. The Zx1 sports a more “rugged” look than it’s predecessor, the Zi6, or at least that’s what Kodak tells us. You see unlike the Zi6, whose interface reminds me of a Blackberry phone, the Zx1 sports a flat interface which I think will reduce the likelihood of buttons being damaged and hence it is more “rugged”.
This interface resembles that of MP3 players than video cameras and is extremely intuitive and easy-to-use, although not right out of the box. Like other reviewers, I also needed to tinker with it a bit with it before I got the controls down, but they weren’t hard to learn. Kodak claims the Zx1’s new design makes it better suited for taking it along and capturing “action” shots and I think so too.
The Zx1 can shoot videos at qualities up to 720p/60 fps HD format and still shots at up to 3 mega pixels. For those who aren’t HD gurus, that means it’s not true HD and you won’t get as-good-as-the-movies type shots with this camera. Then again, you wouldn’t be considering a pocket camera if you wanted such quality. For it’s size, the Zx1 certainly packs a punch. It will capture your videos with great enough quality to edit and share. In fact, the camera comes with editing software and makes uploading to YouTube very simple. The camera can also be set to take lower-quality videos for when you don’t need to take up the storage space (videos are like images, higher quality shots take up more space).
Speaking of space, the Kodak Zx1 does not come with any significant built-in memory, only 128MB. Instead, the camera uses SD or SDHC cards of up to 32GB. I’m on the fence about whether I prefer built-in storage or memory cards. The convenience of built-in storage is nice, you can’t forget it at home or accidentally take the memory card you haven’t yet emptied. On the other hand, the flexibility of memory storage allows you to take infinite hours of video (limited only by the number and size of cards you have) and does not force you to have your computer/laptop on-hand to empty the camera’s built-in storage.
Overall, the Kodak Zx1 offers great value. In addition to a variety of cool designs, the Kodak Zx1 digital HD video camera comes with all the necessary cables, a cool carrying case, has a tripod mount, and even an IR Port. Special thanks to Digital Foto Club for sending us the Kodak Zx1 Digital HD Video Camera for review.
