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392 Posts
Hello
Everything is in the title.....!!!
Vado, flip ultra, kodak zi8, etc...
Which one should I pick?
thanks
Everything is in the title.....!!!
Vado, flip ultra, kodak zi8, etc...
Which one should I pick?
thanks
Looking for a pocket camcorder: which one?
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69 Posts
Watch this video . When a pro site reviews a cheap pocket camcorder, you know you have found a gem.
The only issue is finding one. I got mine at the local Target store for $169.99. Most of the online stores are perpetually sold out.
The only reason not to buy one is if you need a waterproof, extremely rugged camcorder. In that case wait for the Zx3 Playsport coming out next month. The Zx3 doesn't have an external mic jack or a macro switch. If it did I would have waited to buy one.
The only issue is finding one. I got mine at the local Target store for $169.99. Most of the online stores are perpetually sold out.
- External mic input
- Macro focus switch
- Fixed focus eliminates focus hunt
- Accepts up to 32GB SDHC
- Extra batteries are cheap
- Easily fits in a pocket
- Comes with an HDMI cable
- Built in USB connection
- Accepts an external power supply
- Charges the battery in the camera
- 1080P or 720P at 60 frames per second for action footage
The only reason not to buy one is if you need a waterproof, extremely rugged camcorder. In that case wait for the Zx3 Playsport coming out next month. The Zx3 doesn't have an external mic jack or a macro switch. If it did I would have waited to buy one.
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4,299 Posts
Actually, all the camera's you have listed are pretty good ( I own all of them so I speak from hands on experience ).
My two favorite camera's I own are the Zi8,,,,, and one you do not have listed, the Sanyo CG10.
In the end its all about what camera has the features you want or need.
Each one has their pros and cons.
The Vado HD has the killer wide angle lens but the Sanyo CG10 also has a wide angle lens.
The Sanyo has a 3" flip out LCD screen, does great maco shots, does still shots and has stereo mics.
The Zi8 can shoot in 720p or 1080 and even WVGA, also does macro and can take still shots.
The Vado HD does better with indoor low light than the others.
Anyhow, those are just a few examples,, best way to choose is to narrow down what features are most important and go from there.
The other poster said in his headline the Zi8 blows them all away,,,, not true,,,,, the Zi8 is a great pocket cam, but they really all are, and you would be happy with any of one of them if the one you pick has the features you want or need.
Cheers
Davyo
Actually, all the camera's you have listed are pretty good ( I own all of them so I speak from hands on experience ).
My two favorite camera's I own are the Zi8,,,,, and one you do not have listed, the Sanyo CG10.
In the end its all about what camera has the features you want or need.
Each one has their pros and cons.
The Vado HD has the killer wide angle lens but the Sanyo CG10 also has a wide angle lens.
The Sanyo has a 3" flip out LCD screen, does great maco shots, does still shots and has stereo mics.
The Zi8 can shoot in 720p or 1080 and even WVGA, also does macro and can take still shots.
The Vado HD does better with indoor low light than the others.
Anyhow, those are just a few examples,, best way to choose is to narrow down what features are most important and go from there.
The other poster said in his headline the Zi8 blows them all away,,,, not true,,,,, the Zi8 is a great pocket cam, but they really all are, and you would be happy with any of one of them if the one you pick has the features you want or need.
Cheers
Davyo
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69 Posts
From Wired
Review: Kodak's Zi8 Is The Best Pocket Cam We've Seen All Year
Don't waste your time with the Sanyo. It's a decent camcorder that has too many bugs. Most notably is it's power save bug so that you if you want to record over 10 minutes, you touch a control or it goes into power save mode.
See more here .
CNET
@davyo
You must love the Zi8 or why else did you pay $200 just to own a second one?
![]()
Review: Kodak's Zi8 Is The Best Pocket Cam We've Seen All Year
Don't waste your time with the Sanyo. It's a decent camcorder that has too many bugs. Most notably is it's power save bug so that you if you want to record over 10 minutes, you touch a control or it goes into power save mode.
See more here .
CNET
@davyo
You must love the Zi8 or why else did you pay $200 just to own a second one?
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734 Posts
The ZX3 has 8x zoom.
The TZ7 has 12x zoom F4 and is $230 from Amazon and the on board mikes are good, records @ 19Mb/s H264
The Ti8 has no zoom, and (I understand) that the on board sound is so ordinary, that and external mike is a must.
The TZ10 will have bigger zoom again
The TZ7 has 12x zoom F4 and is $230 from Amazon and the on board mikes are good, records @ 19Mb/s H264
The Ti8 has no zoom, and (I understand) that the on board sound is so ordinary, that and external mike is a must.
The TZ10 will have bigger zoom again
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4,299 Posts
Alfmeister:,,, In no way would I agree that the Sanyo is a waste of time, after purchasing it I have been very supprised at what a great little camera it is,, for $150.00 with a flip out 3" LCD and takes great looking video I think its a great bang for the buck camcorder.
You also seem to be one of the few people that dont like the Sanyo CG10, the Sanyo gets some very good reviews by owners as can be seen on BB website, http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sanyo+-+...&skuId=9300678 .
And also, "most" of the user reviews on Amazon are positive,, http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-VPC-CG10...DateDescending .
My opinon, if someone does not need a flip out screen type camera then the Zi8 is the top choice,,,, as far as a low cost budget cam with a flip out screen the Sanyo is my top pick.
Do I think the Sanyo is better than the Zi8,,, no,,, the Zi8 is the better overall camcorder, and that is why I bought two of them, I also bought two Zi8's because some of my video stuff I do, I need two identical camera's for editing and camera angles Im working with.
Of my budget pocket camcorders I own here are my 5 favorites in order:
1: Kodak Zi8
2: Sanyo CG10
3: Vado HD
4: Flip Ultra HD (just sold it)
5: Kodak Zi6
Cheers
Davyo
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alfmeister /forum/post/18247113
From Wired
Review: Kodak's Zi8 Is The Best Pocket Cam We've Seen All Year
Don't waste your time with the Sanyo. It's a decent camcorder that has too many bugs. Most notably is it's power save bug so that you if you want to record over 10 minutes, you touch a control or it goes into power save mode.
See more here .
CNET
@davyo
You must love the Zi8 or why else did you pay $200 just to own a second one?![]()
Alfmeister:,,, In no way would I agree that the Sanyo is a waste of time, after purchasing it I have been very supprised at what a great little camera it is,, for $150.00 with a flip out 3" LCD and takes great looking video I think its a great bang for the buck camcorder.
You also seem to be one of the few people that dont like the Sanyo CG10, the Sanyo gets some very good reviews by owners as can be seen on BB website, http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sanyo+-+...&skuId=9300678 .
And also, "most" of the user reviews on Amazon are positive,, http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-VPC-CG10...DateDescending .
My opinon, if someone does not need a flip out screen type camera then the Zi8 is the top choice,,,, as far as a low cost budget cam with a flip out screen the Sanyo is my top pick.
Do I think the Sanyo is better than the Zi8,,, no,,, the Zi8 is the better overall camcorder, and that is why I bought two of them, I also bought two Zi8's because some of my video stuff I do, I need two identical camera's for editing and camera angles Im working with.
Of my budget pocket camcorders I own here are my 5 favorites in order:
1: Kodak Zi8
2: Sanyo CG10
3: Vado HD
4: Flip Ultra HD (just sold it)
5: Kodak Zi6
Cheers
Davyo
The length of time before Power Save mode starts can be set by the user.
CG10 image stabilization actually works fairly well. So does autofocus except in low light. So I use manual focus. btw, the CG10 has LOTS of manual controls if needed.
But I wouldn't pay list price for a Sanyo CG10 because there's some new models coming shortly which will record 1080i and have hdmi out. The CG20 and CG102.
Personally I have no use for a camcorder with no zoom, like the Zi8. Very limited in it's usefullness, like an Instamatic camera.
The length of time before Power Save mode starts can be set by the user.
CG10 image stabilization actually works fairly well. So does autofocus except in low light. So I use manual focus. btw, the CG10 has LOTS of manual controls if needed.
But I wouldn't pay list price for a Sanyo CG10 because there's some new models coming shortly which will record 1080i and have hdmi out. The CG20 and CG102.
Personally I have no use for a camcorder with no zoom, like the Zi8. Very limited in it's usefullness, like an Instamatic camera.
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69 Posts
@semifast
Hey I'm glad you like your Sanyo. But I need a camcorder that can use high quality microphones. I use an Audio Technica for vocal/musical recordings. No built in mic will do justice to music. I just don't understand why no other manufacturers are providing for external mics. Kodak listened to user feedback on the Zi6 and added an external mic input. With zoom comes autofocus which just doesn't work fast enough for me. If I needed zoom I would buy the Canon HF20 but then that camcorder also records in AVCHD that demands a high end computer with a blazing fast CPU to edit videos.
Hey I'm glad you like your Sanyo. But I need a camcorder that can use high quality microphones. I use an Audio Technica for vocal/musical recordings. No built in mic will do justice to music. I just don't understand why no other manufacturers are providing for external mics. Kodak listened to user feedback on the Zi6 and added an external mic input. With zoom comes autofocus which just doesn't work fast enough for me. If I needed zoom I would buy the Canon HF20 but then that camcorder also records in AVCHD that demands a high end computer with a blazing fast CPU to edit videos.
If audio is important to you, you'll likely be syncing it to an external source anyway. Even with pro mics as input, the camera will likely compress it to MP3 or AAC or AC3, and not really at quality levels that do justice to anything but the spoken word. To each their own though. Each has their benefit. I'll probably get a Zi8 eventually. Rubberband it to a hat and march a parade. Or something less exotic. It depends on what features are important to you. Pocket size, or pro-ish video / audio, or battery life, or record times, or .......?
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392 Posts
Should I buy now the Kodak Zi8, or should I wait for the new model Zx3?
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4,299 Posts
The Zi8 has more features, the Zx3 is an outdoor/waterproof camcorder with less features than the Zi8 has,,,if you dont need a waterproof camcorder then the Zi8 is the best choice.
The Zx3 is not really a "new" model,,,, its just a stripped down version of the Zi8 made waterproof.
Cheers
Davyo
The Zi8 has more features, the Zx3 is an outdoor/waterproof camcorder with less features than the Zi8 has,,,if you dont need a waterproof camcorder then the Zi8 is the best choice.
The Zx3 is not really a "new" model,,,, its just a stripped down version of the Zi8 made waterproof.
Cheers
Davyo
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392 Posts
What's going on with the Zi8: it's unavailable/out of stock everywhere I look....
Where can I find it, and at the best price???
Where can I find it, and at the best price???
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4,299 Posts
You must not be looking in the right places,,,, Amazon.com has them in-stock,, so does Kodak.com,, there's a ton of them on Ebay, Crutchfield.com has them in-stock and BestBuy has them in-stock (online) except for the black one's.
Target most of the time has them in-store but they dont list them on their website.
So I have to ask,,, what are the "everywhere" place's you looked ????
Cheers
Davyo
You must not be looking in the right places,,,, Amazon.com has them in-stock,, so does Kodak.com,, there's a ton of them on Ebay, Crutchfield.com has them in-stock and BestBuy has them in-stock (online) except for the black one's.
Target most of the time has them in-store but they dont list them on their website.
So I have to ask,,, what are the "everywhere" place's you looked ????
Cheers
Davyo
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392 Posts
Well, when I searched Zi8 on the web, it gave me a list of stores where the status was "back order" or "unavailable"....
Anyway, I'll take a look at Target
I've seen the Sanyo cg10 at Radioshack for something like $150.....Cheaper than the Zi8: Should the price difference help me to make a decision?
I've heard about the cg20...IS it much better than the cg10 (and the zi8)?
Thanks
Anyway, I'll take a look at Target
I've seen the Sanyo cg10 at Radioshack for something like $150.....Cheaper than the Zi8: Should the price difference help me to make a decision?
I've heard about the cg20...IS it much better than the cg10 (and the zi8)?
Thanks
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4,299 Posts
From what I have read about the CG20 it does not look like its going to be a big improvment over the CG10,,, the 20 will have HDMI out and a few other up-dates but nothing looks like its going to be a jump in video quality.
As far as the Zi8 vs the CG10,, the Zi8 is my favorite with the CG10 at a very close second place,,,, also, video quality wise the Zi8 is a bit better than the CG10,, but really it's just splitting hairs.
Get the one that has the feature's you need or want and you will be happy with either camera Im sure.
For me, I like the CG10 because it has the flip out 3" LCD screen while the Zi8 can record in WVGA mode (WVGA is great for YouTube up-loads).
Cheers
Davyo
From what I have read about the CG20 it does not look like its going to be a big improvment over the CG10,,, the 20 will have HDMI out and a few other up-dates but nothing looks like its going to be a jump in video quality.
As far as the Zi8 vs the CG10,, the Zi8 is my favorite with the CG10 at a very close second place,,,, also, video quality wise the Zi8 is a bit better than the CG10,, but really it's just splitting hairs.
Get the one that has the feature's you need or want and you will be happy with either camera Im sure.
For me, I like the CG10 because it has the flip out 3" LCD screen while the Zi8 can record in WVGA mode (WVGA is great for YouTube up-loads).
Cheers
Davyo
it´s always a great pleasure to read in this great forum and I learned a lot since a lot of years I look around here. Thanks to all members.
Concerning pocket Cams for Full-HD I looked the last months and decided to get one of the first Sony "bloggies", available here in Germany. I got my hands on it last week.
I tested the new Sony bloggie HD-Pocket-Camcorder. I own a Sony HDR-XR520 and I planned to keep the bloggie as second Cam and to use it as fly-cam in my rc models, because of its ability to turn the lens about 280 degrees.
But I must say, that the movies quality was really disappointing.
The bloggie records in 720-30/60p or 1080-30p, so no interlaced frames, the movie was stuttering at 30p, only 720-60p looked smooth. Colors and sharpness on daylight outdoor recordings looked good, but indoor daylight and lowlight recordings lacked sharpnes, color and showed a lot of artifacts.
The lens has poor wide angle.
May be this gimmick is fine just as bloggie for internet freaks, but thats all. I sent my bloggie back for refund and will wait for next generation of pocket-cams, which may have 1080i, 50i and better lowlight results.
Cheers
Hape
Concerning pocket Cams for Full-HD I looked the last months and decided to get one of the first Sony "bloggies", available here in Germany. I got my hands on it last week.
I tested the new Sony bloggie HD-Pocket-Camcorder. I own a Sony HDR-XR520 and I planned to keep the bloggie as second Cam and to use it as fly-cam in my rc models, because of its ability to turn the lens about 280 degrees.
But I must say, that the movies quality was really disappointing.
The bloggie records in 720-30/60p or 1080-30p, so no interlaced frames, the movie was stuttering at 30p, only 720-60p looked smooth. Colors and sharpness on daylight outdoor recordings looked good, but indoor daylight and lowlight recordings lacked sharpnes, color and showed a lot of artifacts.
The lens has poor wide angle.
May be this gimmick is fine just as bloggie for internet freaks, but thats all. I sent my bloggie back for refund and will wait for next generation of pocket-cams, which may have 1080i, 50i and better lowlight results.
Cheers
Hape
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4,404 Posts
The big advantage of the CG10 is the zoom lens, really missed when you use a pocket HD camcorder like the Zi8.
I have a Zi8 and Canon HDV camcorder that is far superior to the Kodak, but it is ridiculous how often the Zi8 gets used. Having something that can shoot 1080p or 720/60fps (for motion) that fits easily in your shirt pocket or pants is a feature that almotst trumps many others. I've filmed so many events. travel, occasions that I never would have filmed before.
Last week I handed my Zi8 to my son and he filmed ALL of the Paleyfest panels for Lost, Community, and Dexter in HD.
Great little camera, far from perfect, can't wait to see what comes next from Sanyo, Flip, etc...
I have a Zi8 and Canon HDV camcorder that is far superior to the Kodak, but it is ridiculous how often the Zi8 gets used. Having something that can shoot 1080p or 720/60fps (for motion) that fits easily in your shirt pocket or pants is a feature that almotst trumps many others. I've filmed so many events. travel, occasions that I never would have filmed before.
Last week I handed my Zi8 to my son and he filmed ALL of the Paleyfest panels for Lost, Community, and Dexter in HD.
Great little camera, far from perfect, can't wait to see what comes next from Sanyo, Flip, etc...
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69 Posts
Any camcorder in this price range is going to be full of compromises. In fact it's amazing anyone can make a competent camcorder for less than $500. Having a zoom is a great feature but only if you know when to use it. I've seen way too many home videos with overuse of the zoom. With zoom comes the need to have a variable focus. A variable focus mechanism that is fast and accurate is something that is hard to achieve even in expensive camcorders. Kodak choose wisely to omit an optical zoom thus lowering the cost and allowing the focus to be fixed at approx 3 ft to infinity. To facilitate close-ups they added a rather inelegant manual 'macro' focus switch which isn't actually a true macro at all. It's just a close up lens. Also to Kodak's credit they added a stereo microphone jack that is very useful and there are a number of low cost accessory microphones available. It's been said that audio is 2/3 of the 'video' experience. Having good audio can make an interview seem professional even when using a pocket camcorder. See this video about how the Zi8 can be used to make professional video presentations.
I would love to have a pocket camcorder that is even smaller than the Zi8 with an optical zoom lens that was perfect but there are none, at least not in the foreseeable future. One other note is that Kodak seems to be staying on top of their product support in terms of fixing bugs with firmware updates. I really appreciate that. I don't know of any other company making these low cost camcorders that is doing as good a job at that.
I would love to have a pocket camcorder that is even smaller than the Zi8 with an optical zoom lens that was perfect but there are none, at least not in the foreseeable future. One other note is that Kodak seems to be staying on top of their product support in terms of fixing bugs with firmware updates. I really appreciate that. I don't know of any other company making these low cost camcorders that is doing as good a job at that.
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3,075 Posts
If you can stretch the budget, it would be better to get something like the Sanyo HD1010 for $320 which has a mic input. It may not be as portable as a Kodak Zi8 but you get zoom, much better low-light capabilities and better video quality. Theirs nothing cheaper that comes close to it.
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