Kodak's Zx1 camcorder is about the size of a 2001 Nokia candy bar cell phone, but it squeezes a lot of moving pixels into such a tiny box. Like the Flip MinoHD, a similar product that we had positive things to say about in a review a while back, the Zx1 records 720p video with the press of a single button.

Unlike the Flip MinoHD, it can accept SD cards of varying sizes for storage, and it's designed to be weather proof so you can take it on that camping trip. But are its video quality and ease of use on par with the other candy bar HD camcorders on the market? We decided to find out.

The Hardware

The Zx1 comes with a minor plethora of shooting modes. It can do 720p at either 30 or 60 frames per second. Using the 60 fps setting will fetch you silkier video, but the 30 fps setting will save you storage space and battery juice, allowing you to shoot for almost twice as long.

In case you're just planning to upload the video to YouTube in standard definition with little concern for quality, there's also a standard definition VGA video mode that uses even less space. Lastly, there's a still image mode, but it's hardly worth mentioning. Same goes for the 2x digital zoom mode.

The camera accepts SD and SDHC cards for storage, but doesn't ship with any, so you'll have to pick them up yourself. Up to 32 GB is supported.

Ports include the SD card slot, HDMI for connecting to an HDTV, a proprietary USB plug for connecting to a computer, and a 5V DC jack for power. It also has a threaded tripod mount and an infrared receiver for operation by remote (sold separately). Open up the box and you'll find an HDMI cable, a USB cable, and a proprietary USB - standard definition composite video cable, along with the batteries and battery charger.

The model we received came with two Kodak-brand rechargeable AA batteries and a wall charger to put them in. We didn't do any hard tests of the battery life, but we weren't disappointed so long as we charged the batteries fully before going out. We never ran out; in each evening of sporadic shooting, we filled up our 4 GB SD card (24 minutes at 60 fps HD) long before juice would have become an issue.

There are five buttons (including the power button) along with a directional pad, and it can be difficult to figure out what they do at first. We recommend reading the manual rather than trying to figure the interface out yourself, lest you accidentally delete your videos. Once you've learned what the buttons do, though, it's easy to use. It has a 2-inch LCD screen for navigation and for monitoring the video capture, and it has internal speakers for playing back the audio. No headphone jack for audio monitoring, though.

The body is made out of a combination of rubber, brushed metal, and sturdy plastic. It feels weighty and secure, and it's designed to withstand dust, water, and other elements, but it's not waterproof. It feels much more dependable than the other pocketable camcorders on the market, and that's arguably the Zx1's big selling point.

The Software

Again, comparisons to the Flip MinoHD are difficult to avoid. The software that comes with the Zx1 (called ArcSoft MediaImpression) is very similar, even in its interface, albeit a bit less pretty. It'll get the job done, though; it even lets you edit the files before saving them, and it can directly upload to YouTube. We didn't encounter any bugs and found everything very easy to use.

Our biggest complaint is that the software doesn't work in Mac OS X; you'll need Windows or some sort of Windows virtualization software to run it. If you're a Mac user, that won't prevent you from getting some use out of the Zx1, though. You can still pull your videos off the device by navigating to them and copying them to a local folder.

And OS X comes with a lot of tools—like iMovie—that will do the same things as the bundled software just as well or better.

The Pros

The Zx1 is, as advertised, sturdy and resistant to the elements. We didn't try to immerse it underwater (we wouldn't advise it; the ports are protected by rubber covers, but those covers are not airtight) but we did use it in the rain and drop it a half dozen times. The worst thing that happened was that the battery cap popped off when we dropped it five feet onto concrete, but nothing broke.

We should also note that those drops were usually intentional; the grip feels very solid, and we only dropped it by accident once during the week we took it everywhere with us.

Image quality is impressive for a device this size and price, so long as you have a good light source and you're able to keep the camera still. It won't beat a full-sized or even regular hand held camcorder, but the colors seem quite natural, and the image is sharp, with deep dark and light levels. We also love that, unlike some competing products, the Zx1 can accept SD cards of varying sizes.

While low light performance is very far from pro quality, it isn't terrible for a consumer camcorder. We didn't see a lot of graininess; the light problems we had came from myriad, high contrast light sources like bright city lights against a dark backdrop. Those tended to bleed out the image.

Like its less rugged predecessor the Zi6, the Zx1 can shoot at 60 frames per second, making for snappier, smoother images than you'll get from camcorders that only do 30. But that also means you'll use up more storage space.

Lastly, it's hard to argue with the price; $150 is very low for an HD camera.

The Cons

You must keep this camera absolutely still to get good videos out of it, and doing so is extremely difficult because it's so small. As you can see in the video we've included with this review, low light, quick movement, or even unnatural light like city lights or signs can wreak havoc on the image and make it unwatchable.

The Zx1 sometimes struggles to maintain a consistent capture framerate when there is a lot of detail in the frame. The strange thing is that it's difficult to predict what sorts of scenes will cause it to become choppy. We had no problems when riding an elevated train through the north side of Chicago at 70 mph, with a whole new street down a deep plane populated with cars, signs, and people being captured every few seconds, but something about a view of the stairs in the foyer of this Obsessable editor's home caused the video to lag terribly.

We recognize that these problems are common to all relatively cheap, pocketable HD camcorders like the Zx1, the Zi6, or the Flip MinoHD, but they still bear mentioning. Also, we didn't encounter quite the same sluggishness in high detail scenes with the Flip MinoHD as we did with the Zx1. It was somewhat rare, though.

It's also worth noting that the Zx1 is quite a bit bulkier than other pocket cameras, but there's still no misnomer here; it can still fit in your pocket.

The lack of Mac compatibility for the software could be a cause for concern for some users.

The most severe problem we observed was with the audio; loud or incessant noises caused the audio capture to crackle. Watch the video we've included for an example of this. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, it can be very annoying.

The Obsessable Recommendation

You'll want to consider Kodak's Zx1 if sturdiness and weather resistance are very important to you. We'd feel comfortable taking it hiking, or even river rafting, so long as it we didn't drop it in the water completely. That's what sets it apart from most competing cameras.

That said, if you don't need weather resistance or a very solid body, there are probably slightly better alternatives in terms of video quality and features. They might be more expensive, though. One of the great things about the Zx1 is its $150 price point. The Flip Mino HD comes in at $220. Just remember that you'll have to drop a little bit extra for a decently sized SD card for the Zx1, too.

Now that YouTube, Facebook, and other video hosting sites host HD video (or something close to it), it makes more sense than it used to to go HD with these small camcorders, but you can get much better performance in the $200 range from standard definition cameras, so be sure and ask yourself if you really need all 720 lines of resolution.

If the answer is yes, and if you want something sturdy rather than flashy, we can recommend the Zx1. It's not the best choice for everyone, but it satisfactorily fills its niche for adventurous offroaders. Check out the video below if you need to see some footage for yourself.

Obsessable Rating: 6.5 out of 10