9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Bad Pixels, Non-Service, and Horrible Customer Relations
Date of Review: Aug 18, 2009
The Bottom Line: Buyer beware of the Zi6 and Kodak support.
Three months ago I held Kodak products in reasonably high regard and I was excited to have purchased my Zi6. As of today, I will never by any Kodak product again. Here's the story...
Early May 2009: Purchase a brand new Zi6 video recorder.
Late May 2009: Take Zi6 on vacation. Upon returning home, I discover that there are several bad (hot) pixels that light up like X-mas lights in the videos I take and are terribly evident in moderate to low-light conditions. Although disappointed, I realize that issues like these can be mapped out in software/firmware and plan to contact Kodak to have it serviced.
Early June 2009: I contact Kodak to provide me software to map out the bad pixels; they indicate that they do not offer end users the ability to map out pixels themselves. I ask the online rep to assign me an RMA number to have the bad pixels mapped out; they indicate that I should go to their main support page and use the automated services there. I go to the automated page and there is no category for bad pixels. I have to contact a rep (again) to request an RMA; finally I am sent the information after some toil.
Early June 2009: I send out the Zi6 for service to one of Kodak's subcontractors. I include the actual pixel location areas in my documentation that went out with the unit (no ambiguity here... I want bad pixels mapped out. Period.)
Late June 2009: I receive my Zi6 back and the service memo indication is that the unit was "calibrated"; I was suspicious as to why it was recalibrated and no mention of pixel remapping. I take the Zi6 on a mini-vacation over a weekend. Upon returning home, I discover that the bad pixels are still there.
Late June/Early July 2009: I contact Kodak again and complain that the unit was not repaired as I wanted; the bad pixels were not remapped. I explicitly request that the service request indicate that I want bad pixels mapped out and the rep writes it up that way. I package up the unit and send it off to the same Kodak service contractor (Precision Camera) in CT with documentation indicating where the bad pixels are located and again emphasize that I want pixel remapping service.
Late July 2009: I receive the unit back a second time and the service memo indicates the was issue and the unit checked out; I cringed that nothing was done again.
Early August 2009: I went on a late summer vacation trip and took the Zi6 along to try taking more videos (oh yeah, I took a spare camera too as my trust in Kodak had already been heading South).
Early/Mid August 2009: I review the vacation video taken with the Zi6 and yes, the bad pixels again had not been repaired by Kodak or its service subcontractor.
Mid August 2009: I contact Kodak one final time and rehash all the trouble they've put me through and the fact that they don't listen to their customers. For three months all I wanted was to have the bad pixels mapped out of the unit and instead got a huge runaround. Kodak's final reply... the unit checked out okay with the service company. (Did I mention they don't listen to their customers?)
Buyer beware if you plan to purchase a Zi6 or any Kodak product based on this experience. My opinion is that they just don't care about their customers, their service repair providers are a joke, and they don't stand behind their own products or warranties. If you have a functioning Zi6 and enjoy it, then good for you. I'll never buy Kodak again after this waste of time and money.
