If you think you've seen a slew of manufacturers horning in on the camcorder market lately, you're not mistaken. The Pure Digital Flip created enough waves with its winning combination of "easy meets dirt cheap" that companies are climbing over each other to get a piece of the action. Some have tried to improve, like Kodak, which offers high definition. Kodak is certainly no dark horse when it comes to photography, having been in the business for over 100 years, but the Zi6 ($179 MSRP) is the company's first camcorder. Despite that history, the Kodak Zi6 is certainly not breaking new ground, but the effort is pretty good.

The Kodak Zi6 keeps the Flip's familiar form factor – an ultra-compact, upright body that is slim enough to fit in most pockets. The design similarity to a Blackberry cellphone is hard to miss, and perhaps not accidental. The Zi6 and its kin are lifestyle products rather than an old school video enthusiast's device. Why not shape the camcorder to blend in with other accouterments of the modern technophile?

There are no manual controls on the Kodak Zi6, save for a 2x digital zoom and a small, plastic switch on the side to toggle between tele (normal) and macro (up-close) focusing. As with other ultra-compacts, the lack of controls or even a menu is an intentional strategy to simplify the shooting process as much as possible.

Of course, the biggest distinction between the Kodak Zi6 and the Flip is the Zi6's ability to record in HD (1280 x 720). Naturally, the picture is bigger and sharper, but take a moment to question the necessity before you leap to checkout counter. YouTube, that goliath of a website, is the inciting factor for this new category of camcorders in the first place. The Flip simply capitalized on it first (and best). And while Kodak is clever enough to try and lure your dollars with the promise of HD, be aware that YouTube doesn't even support HD. Its last major upgrade increased the player window from 320 x 240 to a measly 480 x 360, not even close to HD.

You need not rely entirely on YouTube, of course. The Kodak Zi6 ships with ArcSoft MediaImpression Light software, a rudimentary but effective tool that allows you to import clips, piece together little movies out of those clips, and output them into other media formats. From there, you could send them to friends, or burn them to a DVD on your own. The whole software experience does feel pointedly geared towards YouTube upload, however, so if you want more advanced functionality, you'll want better software.

Performance (read in-depth lab performance at Camcorderinfo.com)
The Kodak Zi6 records HD video in a 1280 x 720 format. By comparison, every traditional HD camcorder (meaning the expensive camcorders) records in a larger 1920 x 1080 format (these are the 720p and 1080i figures you see so frequently in regards to HDTVs). The enormous price gap between the Kodak Zi6 and upper-tier HD camcorders probably tipped you off, but in case in didn't, please be aware – all HD is not created equal! Although the Zi6's video is technically HD, it contains a heaping helping of compression artifacts and poor color rendering.

Outdoor shooting brought out the best qualities of the Kodak Zi6. The camcorder's tendency to inaccurately "warm" the colors – pushing colors towards yellow-red, the same way an incandescent lamp does – actually produced some great results under the sun. However, it cost the Zi6 points in our lab tests, where inaccuracy is nothing to brag about. The low light performance was excellent, by and large. The Zi6 tended to sacrifice brightness and detail in order to produce vivid colors. By comparison, the Flip Mino lost color, but could faithfully reproduce more fine detail. Neither is strictly better, in that regard. It's just nice to know that there are two cheap camcorders that can do well in low light.

Comparisons (read in-depth lab comparisons at Camcorderinfo.com)
The Kodak Zi6 has stiff competition. Primarily, people will be looking to the Pure Digital Flip Mino, which has big numbers and celebrity endorsement behind it. If your intention for the video is limited strictly to YouTube, than HD video is no meaningful upgrade. We would have to side with the Flip, which offers a significantly smaller, sleeker body and solid performance (for the price, of course). However, the Kodak Zi6 does indeed produce better looking video, and if you intend to take advantage of the HD content, opt for Kodak.