Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera (Black)

I own it, use it, love it. Amazing video, display, macro, ease of use, playback, speed..everything about it is awesome, except two things:
1) it's pretty big
2) Kodak just released the Kodak PlaySport which is the same thing, but much smaller, waterproof, drop proof, and $50 cheaper [it's $149]....

so there's no sense buying this.

The only two differences that I know of:
1) The Zi8 has a switch that allows you to go to macro for ultra close-ups [inches away]...the playsport doesn't.
2) The Zi8 has the ability to plus in an enternal stereo mic or lavalier.

At first, I wasn't so thrilled with it. I ran into a problem where my SD card apparently wasn't fast enough to handle recording in HD modes. It would record for 2-3 seconds and stop. I finally took a guess that it was indeed my card and switched to a spare SDHC card that I had around. That fixed that problem....whew!
Now for the recording. At first, it was a little disappointing. I started testing the camera around 7pm and the light was minimal. My first impressions were not so good. Low light shooting on this camera is not the best in the world. It's acceptable but certainly not impressive.
This morning I decided to give it another go. Am I glad I did! The video quality I am getting from this little Zi8 is VERY Impressive indeed! With the right amount of light you can't ask for better HD video quality from something under $200. It's quite unbelievable how much video taking power one can have in there hands for so little money these days. Colors are vivid and accurate. Sound quality is quite good from the built in mic as well.
I would suggest giving this camera a try for sure. Set your expectations accordingly. I think a lot of hype has been given to this camera since it was first released and possibly too much expectation has resulted from this hype. Keep in mind what you paid and what you're actually shooting video with and I think you'll be just as thrilled as I am with it.

Make sure you have a good quality SDHC card!

First off this thing was sold out almost everywhere for a long time. I almost opted out for the other competitor, Flip. I'm happy that I waited and it was worth it.

Don't expect this camera to be a 3k, 10k, 50k and 100k+ camera that delivers the nice HD picture when you watch a program on TV. If you do you're going to set yourself up for disappointment. The Kodak Zi8 is a good camera for 179.00 and the picture quality is great. I would suggest to shoot things in the 720p 60fps picture. It's very easy to use and is very simple. I call it "The Quick Video Camera" because that's what it is. A quick camera that is small enough to put in your pocket and quick enough to grab and start shooting. This camera does beats out a lot of the other video cams below 3k dollars. If you really want a good camera you might as well just buy something 3k and above.

Oh and for those who complain about the ZOOM function being to slow and going in sections. All you have to do is hold down that button and it will zoom smoothly.

So glad I didn't get a flip camera!
I love this little camera. It's as small as a blackberry (maybe a inch bigger) fits in a pocket and isn't bulky.
I was leary being a mac user to purchase this but it works flawlessly. You just flip out the usb plug (also takes a memory card) and upload your videos, then you can save it to your computer, upload to facebook. flickr, you tube, mobileme, email. The quality is really good and it is easy to hold the camera securely getting no shakes on video.

THIS IS THE WORST CAMERA OF ANY KIND EVER -- IF YOU WANT TO QUICKLY CAPTURE MEANINGFUL AND IMPORTANT SHOTS. Upon each and every start-up of the camera the user is forced to choose the picture quality/mode before the camera will begin recording; with the same exact action, the user is then required to use the thumb joystick to start the recording, which, if you try this, will likely result in a 50% success rate of getting the camera recording.....in any mode But you won't know it until the next time you wanna record. Sounds confusing, it is! I missed a number of what I thought were great recordings of whales only to find out the camera was NOT recording.

THIS IS THE WORST CAMERA EVER TO USE IN ANY KIND OF DAYLIGHT!!!!! The screen becomes invisible with gray glare. You cannot see what you are shooting from ANY angle, even if you try shielding the screen with your hand as you also try to focus on the shot and, god forbid, Kodak, enjoy the moment. My KODAK Zi8 is now at the bottom of Puget Sound, with the fishies. WHERE WILL YOU DISPOSE OF YOURS??????? Man, I'm pissed-off!!!!