Double the blankbaby, double the fun!

Strange how desaturated the colors are on the Flip Mino. It's looks like the white balance jacked or maybe the blue channel is way way down.

Interesting and thanks. Makes me feel good about having bought the Zi6 when it came out. Color balance seems better for sure. My only remaining question is with regard to field of view. I find that the Zi6 isn't wide-angle enough. The main problem with this is camera shake — the wider the field of view, the less you notice camera shake.

Very nice! The Zi6 definitely has a better color space, but I'd expect nothing less from Kodak. :P Thanks for the video!

Thank you for posting this. I greatly appreciate it. Man you are on your game.

Good job Scott, Kodak much superior IMHO. Image stabalization not to good on either. I'm still leaning toward xActi waterproof show I can shoot in the rain and watersports.

Another question, can the new Flip HD do macro shots? There was one shot there of the cookie you had but both seemed out of focus. I know the Zi6 should be able to handle that close a look. Would love to know about that.

The Zi6 has a physical switch that you need to toggle in order to shoot macro (I didn't do it for that shot because it is a pain if you want to switch between macro and normal during the same shot). The Flip can't do macro, is it just fixed focus.

Thanks! This is a great video. I purchased two Kodak Zi6s in the past two months, and when I got word that Mino HD was on the way I was pretty concerned about whether I had made my purchases too hastily. My company is in the market for two or three more cameras of this type. I didn't know if I should be sticking with the Zi6 or picking up Mino HDs instead. This is exactly the type of comparison I wanted to see. Now I'm confident in knowing that the Zi6 is what we'll be using for the foreseeable future.

Here's a trick: Cross your eyes so the two videos converge into one, and you can see Scott eat a cookie in 3D!

Great work! I don't have either -- sorry to ask the obvious but are the WB settings equiv on both? Do either even have that option? the Flip is clearly outmatched here aside from that in terms of natural contrast and shading.

It seems not only is the color balance better on the Zi6, but the image is sharper as well. Seems like it might be a tad noisier in the night shot of the building, but neither really *excels* there. Excellent comparison, thanks for doing this, Scott.

The mino HD is definitely more pocketable, but it looks like the Zi6 beats it in white balance, sharpness, and even audio. I have a Flip Ultra and its audio is actually really good. The Zi6 did seem a little noisier in the indoor lower-light shots, but as some have said, neither really excels there.

You mention in the blog that Marisa found what you were doing ridiculous, but what you said is true: What you put together here IS an important public service. I have been researching both cameras for a few days now, weighing the pros and cons, trying to figure out which one I want, and this video scratched me right where I itch. What's funny is that my girlfriend has also been rolling her eyes at my obsessive research on the subject. I think men enjoy the "due diligence" portion of purchasing technology, the research, as much as actually owning the product. So, thank you for posting this.

Andy Ihnakto goes for the Mino: ihnatko.com/index.php/2008/11/16/showcase-showdown-flip-mino-hd-versus-kodak-zi6/

Interesting how the two reviews and the accompanying films are different!
I have to say, watching this, I was wondering if the Kodak wouldn't be better (I was thinking of upgrading my standard-def Flip to HD as it's come in so useful) until you showed the two side by side. The size is important to me, so the Flip wins. But then looking at Ihnakto's review just confirmed it...

He says the Mino works as an "occasional" camera - I use it to catch teaching, talks, openings etc. For longer events he says the Kodak's the one, for obvious reasons. )Plus the sound's better which is kinda important for me, but my current Flip's sound is good - is the new one worse in some way?)

But I think if I were recording something as precious as a wedding I'd go for something a little more pro. Personally speaking.

What I like about the Flip's 1 hour limitation is that it makes me think about what I film, and what I keep. Reminds me of working with U-matic cameras and Betacams back in the day and hearing stories from editors who got too much stuff back from news crews when they suddenly had no limitations - took longer to put stories together!

I think if I got the Kodak and a whopping card I'd never edit anything. In all the years I've had my digital tape camera I've never put anything on YouTube or, in fact, really used it at all beyond capturing loads of stuff that I was then too busy to go through.
Since getting the Flip I've been videoing everything!

I wonder what the word is on a Zi6 underwater enclosure like the Flip Ultra's. That'd be sweet.

Now, *this* is how science is done. Thanks!

Nice test! Thanks....

Like others have mentioned, this is exactly what we needed to get a better idea of the difference between the MinoHD and the Zi6. It's what I would've done if I could afford both. From your video, the Zi6 is the clear winner, though the MinoHD's video is slightly more stable.

I took a look at Andy Ihnakto's comparison and he makes it seem like the MinoHD is the real winner here, though I'm not convinced at all. The audio of the Zi6 is clearly better (but not great) & the colors feel more rich.

What it comes down to for me is quality, price, and storage. Even if the MinoHD and Zi6 produced the same quality video, the Zi6 has a larger LCD screen (the 1.5" screen on the MinoHD is just poor judgement), expandable storage (SD cards are cheap), and a better price tag (Walmart has it for $159 with extra batteries, an extra bag and a tripod). Sure, you have to buy an SD card for it where the MinoHD comes ready to record, but last I checked a 4GB card is only around $15 these days.

I know what to buy now, so thanks for your help.

What I have noticed is that no one has really mentioned battery life for the Zi6 in these. I'd like to know more about how many minutes of recording you can get with a full charge of the batteries Kodak sends you. And then also I'd like to know how many minutes you can when rolling entirely in HD60 mode. Because I assume that the HD60 mode uses more battery. Any insight, Fork?

Can any of these be used as a web cam? I'm looking for a way to record directly to my macbook...

Thank you! I have been doing extensive research on these. Had a hard time deciding 'cause the advertisements for the MINO HD is crazy!.. Celebrities use Mino HD, it was being used on this Travel channel on TV.. So I thought that they would be better. Nobody really talks about the Zi6 and are harder to find in the stores. Kodak needs to be advertised more. People have no idea unless they take the time to do a little research such as this one.. Thanks again.

I have the Zi6 and get just about 20 minutes of HD60 on a 2gb card. Ill try HD and SD and let you know. I would like to see someone compare this to a Z or V series EasyShare. Maybe the lense and stabilization would tip the verdict.

Great comparison! I also viewed Andy Ihnakto's comparison and the skin tones were worse for the Zi6 in his film. I've got to go with the Zi6 because I'm going away on vacation and I don't want to bring my computer - which would be required with the Mino, as I plan to shoot more than an hour of video.

Nice job with the video comparison. Lots of people will be buying these as gifts for relatives. Which cam provides a simpler/easier/better user experience for a non-technical person?

Also, I haven't seen any info on typical battery life for the Zi6 yet or if either cam can be used directly as a webcam.

I'm thinking of getting one of these to Record Ariel Rebel from ArielRebel.com But then I fell onto the Vado HD... and this is the reason for my post!

"For those special moments a Big Camera can't be seen you need pocket HD"

Anyone Should be able to get some good Hidden in Store footage with the Vado its small and has a Wide lens that will help... The Wide Lens.. Lacking in the Flip Hurt Alot...!!!

I've looked at the Kodak Zi6... But the Colors are too Punchy, The lens is decently wide.. Sound is too Aggressive.. you hear every motor humm and the skin looks off... not good for Sexy Videos! And were all going to use it once or twice for some sort of Sexy Nude Video. It has a very good screen size 2.4" and the external SDHC cards is a plus... on board memory is almost non existant 128 megs.

The MinoHD... Has better neutral colors and shadows, that you can punch up later and a microphone jack for better sound... but the screen is to small, battery life is only 1 hour. I would need 2 of these to be able to shoot outdoors... imagine your, shooting the perfect hot scene, and "NO MORE BATTERIES" that would suck!

So i'm waiting on the Vado HD, It has a Wide Lens...YAH... so you get more in the shot when closer to the subject, good screen size helps to see what your getting in the shot. 2 hours of battery time is excelent.
Also has 8 Gigs of internal memory. I've scene some vids of it online.. they look good but there's no proof it came from the Vado.. it could have been recorded by anything or anyone... you need to see the setup to have the proof. ;) The only down side is it doesn't have 720p60 only 30 frames/sec. But then again the Zi6 which has 60 frames... automaticly switches to 15 frames per sec in low light.. not to smart.

amazon.com/Creative-Labs-Camcorder-Storage-Digital/dp/B001LK8P14/ref=dp_return_2?ie=UTF8&n=502394&s=photo

Here's a link to Amazon of all places with some specs and Pre-Order... for USA Only.. so No Help For Me.

Ill post reviews when I get one in my hands... and you all can go see ArielRebel.com so see the new footage.. lol

I'll also post video reviews on Myspace ArielRebelonline or
TheAdventuresOfArielRebel.

Take Care
Hope you all get one for X-Mas!

I recently purchased the Kodak Zi6, and came up with a simple solution to the image stablization and wide angle lens attachment. feel free to check out this link for details on how to put together an amazing wide angle lens for this little device!



video.yahoo.com/watch/4081917/11017298

I have the Zi6 and love it. It recordes in .mov not .avi with a special codec that has to be downloaded from the camera. The AA batteries last fine for me and the great part it that if they do run out you can slap another set of AA batteries in there and you are set.
I work in TV News and I show people all the time at work and they are amazed. We sent a crew out with a flip video to do some hidden camera in a store and two problems came from the Flip. First the video was a strange AVI and we had to get the IT guy to download it with the special codec because we needed admin to load it . Also they had a hard time shooting price tags the Flip has not macro. I showed them my Kodak after the shoot the were amazed and the macro they said would have saved the shoot. We pluged mine in from the test and the .mov files went right in with no special codec. The 720p 30fps and 60fps are a nice touch.
Zi6 has better features and is a great buy. I think most poeple who buy the Flip are buying a name or just don't know about this great camera at a great price. Every time someone brings in their Flip to show off I blow them away with flexability of the Kodak Zi6. I am a big guy 6'2" but I can put it in my front pocket it the gray bag it come with. The larger case wont fit in my pocket but that is ok.

cool dude, thanks!

Hey what did settings did you use to import the kodak Zi6 into Final Cut Pro @ 60 fps?

Thanks - Pike

Thanks for the video, I purchased the Zi6 yesterday

Thanks for doing this I know it took a little work. Appreciate it. Thanks.

thanks so much for stopping me from making a mistake! I have the flip hd in a basket in another tab on this browser ready to buy, might have to change my mind and go for the zi6 now.

Great video, thank you for doing this. My question is on the software side. How do they compare in ease of use in getting the video off the camera and to the computer? Do they both have the same type of edit software? I always here that a selling point to the FLIP is it's ease of use and software. How does the Kodak compare?

Great work man. I'm running Final Cut Pro 6.0.5 on a (non-Intel based) Mac G5 10.4.11. When I import the Mino HD files into an FCP project and lay on the timeline I keep getting stalled with the dropped frames message. Can you please detail for me exactly how to get these files into FCP, and have them run properly. Clearly you got it to work. And I hope that these files are workable on this older non-Intel Mac.

Thank you for this it really helped!

I've been going back and forth on which one of these to buy. With this video, and the recent price cut of the Zi6 to only $130, I'm totally going Kodak baby!

EXCELLENT COMPARISON! Thanks!

The Kodak definitely has supreme quality in all areas - escpecially sound !

In my experience, the MinoHD's color reproduction is actually quite accurate, even in low light conditions where it's head and shoulders above the other ~$200 pocket HD cams. The deal breakers for me are the very narrow field of view and its ridiculously long minimum focusing distance. I found the Kodak to have the same limitations, albeit somewhat better than the MinoHD's.

I ended up going with the Sanyo VPC-CG10 as I found it to be the best set of compromises at the $200 price point.

Thanks for posting this!

awesome video. thanks much for this. i'm thinking about picking up a zi6 used....great help this is.