Sunday, March 20, 2011

Toshiba Camileo S30 Camcorder - Is It Too Thin?

I'm looking at the unboxing video from Toshiba. The Camileo S30 camcorder is one of the thinnest models I've seen. If you have large hands I'm not sure you would be comfortable with this model.

Check out the video:

 

The LCD is a touch screen. This might be a good thing if you didn't want to fiddle with the buttons, which in case you had not noticed, are small. So yeah, I get it that it might be perfect for those folks wanting something better than a cell phone video but does it have the chops? Let's looks at some of the specs:
  • Lens - Fixed f/2.5 good for outdoor video and very well lighted indoor videos
  • Image Sensor -8MP CMOS sensor, in other words, the sucker is so small they don't want to talk about it.
  • Expansion - Up to 64GB SD/SDHC/SDXC
  • Video Resolution Options HD (720p/30fps), VGA (480p/30fps), HD (720p/60fps), FHD (1080p/30fps)
  • File Format (video)MP4 - I checked the site, I believe it is .avi
  • Approximate Video Recording Capacity - MPEG4VGA (480/30fps)=60 min, 1GB SD: FHD (1080) = 10 min, HD (720p/30fps)=20 min
Ok, that last item is a head scratcher. I'm not clear if they mean per GB or per clip. If I understand correctly and 8GB card would allow me to record 140 minutes of 720p video. That is ok, that would be standard. I've been looking at some test videos. 

It is ok, nothing to spark up the imagination but I'd put it in the class of function camcorders. Outside it should be fine. Inside you are going to need supplemental lighting. The price at $159 is about right for a new camcorder but I'm a tech frugalista, 

I think I can get a camcorder with more features at the same price. If the price was $130 and this was a person's first camcorder then, maybe. It is a compact as you are going to get with 1080p HD video. It would be a good day to day camcorder.

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