Kodak Zx1

Motion (7.8)

Motion isn't a strong point for cheap, ultra-compact camcorders. Artefacting is usually prominent and distracting, trailing and smoothness can be a major issue, and most of these camcorders don't capture full 1920 x 1080 HD video. The Kodak Zx1 does have a significant advantage over the competition, however, as it offers both 60p and 30p HD recording (as well as a standard definition VGA mode). The Kodak Zx1 records HD footage at a 1280 x 720 resolution.

When viewing the YouTube videos below, keep in mind that the clips have been heavily compressed for upload. Also remember, however,  that most users of these camcorders are likely to put their videos up on the internet anyway. So, the sample clips below should give you a good idea of what you're final projects will look like, once you get them off the camcorder and onto YouTube. (More on how we test motion.)

The 60p record mode on the Kodak Zx1 is called HD60 and it is very smooth. Both the Sony MHS-PM1 and Flip UltraHD only offer 30p recording, which has a slower, more jittery effect than 60p motion. For this reason, the Zx1 is a far better camcorder for capturing motion than its Sony and Flip counterparts. Of course, the Zx1 still has lots of artefacting, which is something every low-budget camcorder has problems with. Presence of artefacting is the major difference between these ultra-compact camcorders and the higher-end models that are larger and cost more money.

Above is the Kodak Zx1 recording with its 30p record mode (called HD mode by Kodak), which is what most ultra-compact budget camcorders record with. When viewing the footage on a TV, we noticed the 30p mode was less smooth and offered a different aesthetic than 60p. The 60p mode gives you the same natural motion that you would get from a traditional camcorder, except that it is actually smoother because most regular HD camcorders record in 60i (interlaced) rather than 60p (progressive).

The Sony MHS-PM1 captures video at a 1440 x 1080 resolution using a 30p frame rate. The camcorder also has a 720/30p option as well as VGA recording. The video above was taken using the 1080/30p setting. The Sony's videos are larger than the Kodak's (1280 x 720), but it also showed a lot more artefacting—especially in the colour pinwheel from our test footage. Since the Sony captures 30p footage, the video also appeared a bit sluggish and choppy.

The Flip UltraHD had the least amount of artefacting of the camcorders in this set. Its footage is also captured at 1280 x 720 using a 30p frame rate, but unlike the Kodak and Sony models, the UltraHD offers no alternate video resolutions or frame rates. Because of its use of a 30p frame rate, the Flip UltraHD footage didn't appear as smooth as the Kodak's 60p mode.

While the Sanyo VPC-CG10 can technically record in 60p, the resolution at this frame rate is a mere 640 x 480. By contrast, the Kodak Zx1 has an HD60 mode, which records 1280 x 720 video at a 60p frame rate. Motion captured on the VPC-CG10 has significant artefacting and frequency interference—more so than the competition. The video embedded above was recorded at the CG10's maximum quality setting, in 720p. . The CG10 records video at either 30p or 60p, but only the 30p frame rate is in the camcorder's highest resolution.

Video Sharpness (843)

The Kodak Zx1's video sharpness was measured at 550 line widths per picture height (lw/ph) both horizontally and vertically. This is a decent score for an ultra-compact budget camcorder, although the Sony MHS-PM1 and Flip UltraHD both outperformed the Zx1 by a slim margin. The Zx1 did have a better score than the Sanyo VPC-CG10, however, which measured 500 lw/ph horizontal and 575 lw/ph vertical. While these are decent sharpness scores, most high-end HD camcorders are capable of capturing far more detail and sharpness in their video image. (More on how we test video sharpness.)

Video Sharpness Score Comparisons