Can't adjust the lighting, no flash. Performance I can't take very good pictures unless it is in a semi light room. It doesn't have a flash, so you can't use it automatically to take a picture anytime. Battery Life Battery life is good and recharges when plugged into a device. Durability You can use it underwater which I have done and the pics came out good. Ease of Use I have had this for a year now and still can't figure out how to take quality pictures without a flash so i have not used it. I rely on my phone. Design Nice design, compact.

hcurvo11

Livonia, MI

I love this simple little camera. I got it for my wife for Christmas, because she wanted a simple little video camera to take videos of our grandkids, and she uses it all the time. It's a great way to capture the memories of our grandkids growing up. It's small enough that she can carry it around in her purse without being weighed down too much, and it's simple enough that we can use it without much dificulty. We're not every technology advanced, so we just use the basic features of this video camera and it works perfectly. It also takes still shots, so we're able to use this as a video camera and a regular digital camera. I would recommend this for people of all ages who want a nice, easy, video camera.

zazusong

Schenectady, NY

I got this Zi8 camera about 6 months ago to use to capture family moments while on the go. The camera itself is pretty easy to use and is small enough to fit into your pocket. Its pretty durable though just recently the lense cover came off but I just re-glued it on and everything works fine. It has a HDMI output which makes it very easy to plug into my LCD TV and instantly playback movies, which is a ton of fun when making home videos with my son. The software that comes with it is average but does the trick. I use it to primarily upload video's to Youtube, which it does effortslessy. Picture quality wise it is decent. I find that outdoor movies are much better than indoor ones and trying to get closeup videos is not easy. I did buy a small tripod for this which makes it easy to get still shots as I find that holding it with my hand results in somewhat shaky movies. The audio is good but not outstanding. Overall, this is a good entry level portable video camera that works well.

HokuDog

Orinda, CA

I bought this camcorder for myself so that i can take videos of me and my friends and put on facebook.  It's a great size, and it fits in my pocket, so I don't have to carrying some big ole camera bag with me.  That would defeat the point.  This little guys is supposed to be small, and you carry it around with you always so can take spontaneous vids of crazy stuff you get in to.  I LOVE the color.  It's so pretty!  And, it takes really good videos.  Mine are always a little jerky, but I think that's me and not the camcorder.  The batteries seem to last a pretty good time too.  The only problem with it, and the reason I gave it four out of five stars - I had a real hard time figuring out the menus.  This is Kodak right?  It's supposed to be so easy your grandma can use it.  Well, I couldn't figure it out.  That is, until I sat down with the thing and actually read the manual.  Then, I got it working great!

brittypoo

Chester, SC

This is one of the best pocket hand cam you can possibly find in the market currently. I prefer this over Flip Ultra HD due to room for some customization as well as availability of recording videos at 1080. Video quality is excellent in HD mode. Macro mode is very easy to use. External mic input is very useful. I had to record an interview for a class project, and this camera did a great job. Although built-in mic is decent if you are recording something in a close-door environment, you are better-off buying an external mic if you are recording outdoor. Also electronic image stabilization is a great option, although it will suck up lot of battery. Image stabilization is not as effective when you moving around a lot, but it works great if you taking video while just walking slowly. Also I would recommend people get mini tripod, which is one of the best investment you will make. Another thing that is really good about this camera is that you can record video while charging, which means if you have a long conference that you have to record, you can get away with it if you find outlet close to the camera.

Stun

Tempe, AZ

**First of all, the camcorder has at the highest 1080P HD video in it, which should show up amazingly. And at the lowest video quality WVGA, which still is not a horrible quality of a video. And a camera function with 5 megapixel pictures. Well, like I said, you can not find one device with the best everything. And this camera is a prime example. I do have to say the video quality is good, for all the different ranges it has on it. But the pictures just look like a camera cell phone took them. Definitely not what Im looking for. I was so disappointed it the pictures. But the video is good, it has a button on it for macro focus, which is the best I have ever seen on a camcorder. Very nice. The only thing I would have to say about the video is that its really close, and wide screen, so I cant get much background in my video. Which is not the worst thing ever. I delt. ** **As for the overall functions and model of the camera itself: the camcorder is very hand-held, not as small as some others, but I still like it. Im not going to be putting it in my pocket of coarse, since I have a purse. But for men who do stick things in pockets, this wont really fit well. the layout of the buttons ar nice, they are big, spaced right, and work well with each other. The camcorder as a whole looks very nice and sleek. ** **It comes with a built in USB arm and its own software. Let me tell you its the worst software I have ever seen. First of all, it makes my computer run so slow. It lets you edit your movie, but only cut things out and trim the video. And you cant cut more that one little section of the video out, which is very annoying. It also takes forever to save the edited video to computer or upload to anything. It took literally 3 hours for upload to youtube through the software. Also to change formats of the videos to be able to edit it in Windows Mover Maker took about 5 hours. Im not joking. **

dianadams

Arnold, MO

I bought this last year since I hated carrying around a bulky camcorder. I did alot of research and for the quality and the price it was a good deal. Owning in almost a year now, I enjoy taking it with me alot. It works great for videos, and very clear picture quality and sound. The main problem is that it works terrible in dark lighting. There is no area where you can put on a flash. As long as you are mostly looking to take videos in daytime or good lighting, then this is the perfect item for you. Also great that it takes a few minutes to connect the camcorder directly into your computer or laptop and download directly on youtube or your hard drive.

scanna23

Holbrook, NY

When my hubby and I got our tax refund, we decided to invest in a video camera. We have a (then 7 months old) baby boy and we wanted to have the ability to record some of the exciting milestones in his life. We had considered getting the Flip camera, which many of our friends had gotten and really liked, but were also inclined to check out the other options to make sure we were getting the most for our money. After a lot of comparison shopping, we decided to get the Kodak Zi8. We have been nothing but pleased with this little video camera. We have taken our Zi8 all over the USA. It travels very well! The screen is a little venuerable to getting scratched, so we've kept it in a small carrier case when not in use which has kept it in pristine condition. The video that it takes is great. We've been able to hook it into our TV with a HDMI cable (which comes included), and the picture looks great even on our large screen. The Zi8 is very easy to learn to use. It also has We haven't used the photo function, we really didn't get it for that and we tend to bring our camera for photo-worthy events.  We're glad that we bought the Zi8, and have loved using it!

momlalie

Orem, UT

Got the camcorder and absolutely love it.  It is very easy to use and I love the color ( I picked rasberry).  It is almost the size of my cell phone so it is very portable.  The only thing I didn't like about it was for me, since I am not tech savy, it was very difficult to upload the video onto my computer. I chatted on the Kodak website for a while and loved doing that.  They were very patient. My nephew loves stuff tech stuff, so I asked him to try to figure it out.   Not sure if this is necessary or not, but he finally had to go to another program to get it onto a DVD.  That was the main thing I wanted it to do- not really interested in uploading video onto the internet.  I want something more permanent for years to come.  So it was extremely important for me to be able to do that.  I love the fact that it comes with a camera option.  When I took a picture its snapped almost immediately- quicker than my digital camera.  That was very impressive. I checked out the Flip video but I wanted something that had an SD card and was expandable. 

magneticone

Clarksville, TN

I have to start this review with I LOVE THIS CAMERA! I was looking for a small handheld videocamera. My video camera was 11 years old, so you can imagine. Electronics change every day and new products come out just as fast. Over a holiday weekend my uncle had this Kodak Zi8 video camera and it caught my eye. He is pretty technology savvy so I had to be sure to do my research. This camera could not be more simple to use! You simply turn it on and hit the record button! I would recommend this camera to anyone! The Kodiak Zi8 also take digital still pictures. I do have to admit that the still pictures aren't as high quality as a regular digital camera, but I wasnt buying this for that particular option. It was just a bonus for me. There is no flash, so you must have good lighting even for the video option. This camera had a memory card slot to expand the memory of your camera to whatever you need. The Kodiak Zi8 plugs right into your USB to download your videos right to your computer, plus it comes with a cord to plug it right to your TV as well to view your videos. This option was great for me! (my old camera took the 8mm tapes! UGH) Kodak products are always good quality and this product lives up to the Kodak name. I would highly recommend this camera to anyone looking for an easy, small, handheld viedo camera. As always with Kodak, you can't go wrong.  

gerber290

Weedville, PA