As you may have noticed yesterday with the Problogging Is Dead launch, I have stepped into the high def video blogging realm with a new purchase, the Kodak Zi8 pocket HD camcorder. This little hand held unit is about 200 dollars after tax and records in 1080P @ 30 FPS, 720P @ 60 FPS or 30 FPS and WVGA. So as you can see, there are a wide range of options to chose from and record time depends on what size SD card you have inserted into the unit. As you can see by the picture, it is about the size of my iPhone 3GS and it actually weighs less. The 2.5″ viewfinder is good enough and gets the job done, and the Kodak Zi8 also has some cool features that other hand helds don’t like an external mic plugin port and HDMI output (HDMI cable included).
So basically, you get a lot of bang for the buck as a blogger looking to create some HD video online. It even has a macro focus setting if you want to get real up close and personal.
Is it super high quality HD? Not really but who is really going to be able to tell once you compress your footage and put it online? The smaller chip size and cheap lens are not going to have the output of a $1,000 and above video camera, but…for its intended purpose…I think it is the best out there right now. I actually used to do post production editing in Atlanta back in the day, so it is pretty cool to see how far video has come over the years. Who would have thought that for 200 bones you can have high quality video and on a hand held? Pretty cool in my book.
A couple of notes from the video.
- I like Dunkin’ Donuts and they have 0 Trans Fat…so that makes them healthy right?
- You can own two Boxers and grass…just not both at the same time.
- You build a waterfall in your backyard to make it more relaxing only to find that you really built a really expensive water bowl for the dogs.
- Yes…my check engine light is on. It is a stupid valve above the gas tank that I have been too busy (fancy description for being lazy) to spend the 30 bucks to fix.
- Yes…my wife was really laughing at me.
The ease of use and tripod mount for this camera makes video blogging much easier, so expect to see more video on RobbSutton.com and my other sites in the near future.
For the best prices on the Kodak Zi8 HD camcorder…click here.
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