INTRODUCTION

   I've always found camcorders to be one of the very few fascinating electronic devices around since they can hold all your precious memories unaltered forever or at least for as long as you'd like. Surveillance cameras may not be exactly the same as camcorders but they too have their purpose and who can deny the significance of letting you keep an eye on things even if you're far away? So it's not really surprising that when the first action cameras started to emerge a few years back i also developed an interest in them although i can't say i was really impressed by the first few attempts. Quite a few years have passed since then and now action cameras have not only gotten smaller in size but they also feature higher grade hardware components allowing them to record up to FullHD 1080p resolutions with bitrates that in some cases rival the ones of regular handheld camcorders. Not everyone however has use for 1080p and so Zetta has introduced an SD (Standard Definition) intelligent security camcorder the Z12 which we took for a ride to see what it can do.

   Zetta is founded by a group of research engineers specializing in areas from large-scale system integration to embedded system engineering, through the use of advanced digital, wireless and multimedia signal processing technologies. Zetta’s business strategy is to design, develop, manufacture and market electronic products and systems in exceptional quality but yet at affordable low prices. The ultimate objective is to use necessary and minimum materials to create truly great electronic products. We want to enable people over the world to readily experience the happiness and satisfaction of using our products. We are committed to successfully bringing our digital video recorder, DVR, to the world by inheriting the mentality that stresses diligence and teamwork, with the passion for making products and the premium placed on customer service.

   Although the Z12 can be used as an Action Camera the SD resolution of 640x480p was something we didn't really like from the get go since we all felt that this was bringing back memories from a long time ago. Of course Zetta is quite clear that they didn't release the Z12 as an action camera but rather as a security camcorder which consumers can use for surveillance purposes, while driving to record any unpleasant situations and why not even just for fun so the lack of a higher resolution may not be such a bad thing after all at least not for such use. There are however two features present in the Z12 that are enough to separate it from the crowd its very compact size (and low weight) which makes it possible for it to get mounted virtually everywhere with just the use of a 3M double side adhesive sticker and its motion sensor recording. Whether or not these two features can negate the low resolution issue is something which we will see later on in this review.