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Tech Review: Flip MinoHD vs. Kodak Zi6 – Intro – READ FIRST

Posted by Agent Squirrel on February 22, 2009

I decided to post a review (I guess you can call it that) of two pocket HD camcorders that I bought a few months ago. Since the review is rather long, I’ve broken it up into five parts (you are reading the intro – five more parts to go). You can skip around if you would like, but to get whatever it is I’m trying to say out of this, I suggest you read in order.

Update 3/12/09: This review covers the Kodak Zi6. The next model, the Kodak Zx1 will be released on May 15th. Read the brief post about that one.

Intro

I am a gadget person. There is no denying that. I become like a little kid in a toy store when I walk into Best Buy. My eyes light up and I can easily lose sight of whoever I happen to be shopping with as I wander over to check out some new item they have. I wish that when I said that some of the sales folks over at Best Buy know me by name were a joke – but it’s not.

With all that said, it is no surprise that I wanted to try out the latest pocket size camcorders that hit the market late last year. The Flip MinoHD and Kodak Z6i are the ones that really got me excited. I knew I wanted one. I had bought myself the Aiptek HD 1080P camera a few months ago but didn’t really like it. While the videos were okay, they felt like they were taken with my cell phone more than with a video camera.

Flilp MinoHD

Kodak Zi6

After listening to some reviews of the Flip Mino on some podcast, I thought that was worth taking a look. Turns out that an HD version, the Flip Mino, had just hit the store shelves so my interest perked up even more. While searching for more information, I found out that Kodak had also come out with their own version of a HD mini camcorder. Darn it! That meant time online trying to find out which was better, what features each had, so on and so forth.

I must have spent a good six or seven hours searching for information over the course of two days. Every time I thought I had the one I wanted picked out, I would find some review that made me think the other model was the one for me.

So, what is a squirrel to do when she finds a tough nut like this to crack? Buy both and try them out for herself of course. Yes, I bought both. They even arrived on the same day – that was almost too much for me to handle to get both the same day…whoooo.

Now, I don’t think everyone out there who is interested in these cameras wants to – or can afford to (not that I can but food is really overrated anyway) – buy both. So, I figured I’d give them both a test drive and post my opinions here in an effort to help you decide which is right for you.

Before I go any farther, let me say that if you are reading this in the hopes of my saying that one of these are so much better than the other, you will be disappointed. To be honest, these have more in common then they have differences. Even with that said, the differences between them can be enough to make you want one over the other. As you read this, I suggest you think about what type of footage you think you will want to shoot the most. That might help as you try and decide among the two.

While getting ready to post this review, I created a number of test videos that show the same footage recorded with both the Flip MinoHD and the Kodak Zi6. I strongly suggest watching these videos before you read the rest of this review because I mention them a few times. It also might help you make up your own mind and ignore anything I write . To make this easier, I created a YouTube Playlist. Since I encoded each video in HD, and it just so happens that YouTube is now allowing full HD video, you will get the full effects of the videos if you watch these in HD. Once you click on the individual video, just click the “View in HD” link that is under the video on the right side.

Okay…on to the review.

I’m dividing this review into five different areas.

1. The Official Descriptions of Both Camcorders
2. The Things They Both Have in Common
3. What the Biggest Differences Are
4. A Comparison of the Two Side-by-Side
5. Finally, My Thoughts on Both