As somebody who is fond of dropping a small camcorder in her backpack just in case something interesting happens, I was very eager to try out Toshiba's recent entry, the $180 Camileo S20 camcorder. While this feature-filled camera offers 1080p HD video and, at 3.5 oz, is eminently portable, its design is too complicated to allow most users to take full advantage of its better qualities.
I have to admit, at first look, the camera is highly attractive. Unlike most low-cost camcorders such as the Flip UltraHD, the sleek Camileo S20 features a more traditional 3-inch display that pulls out (automatically turning the camera on) and swivels around, allowing you to view what you're filming whether it's above, behind, above or below you. Fold it up again, and it's about the size of the Motorola Droid, which means it fits nicely in a pocket.
The Camileo S20 offers a wide variety of features to enhance your videos. For example, besides settings for different types of environments and lighting, there is an LED light to help in low-light situations, picture stabilization (helpful for such a lightweight device), and even settings for motion detection and time lapse photography. Unfortunately, the camcorder's confusing system of rocker-switches, buttons and menus make it extremely difficult to figure out how to change which settings.
For example, in order to change a relatively simple feature -- to switch, say, from 1080p video to 720p (which you have to do in order to use the image stabilization or the zoom), you have to press on a rocker switch, then push it up or down to find the Resolution menu, hit another button (that has an arrow pointing right) to get into the menu, use the rocker switch again to highlight "HD (720p30)," press in the switch again, and then press another button to exit the menu system. This is not an easy system to navigate; it took me quite a while to figure some of it out.
(Incidentally, the digital zoom doesn't work in 1080p, so unless you know that you're not going to need it, you're probably going to do most of your filming in 720p rather than 1080p.)
I found that the quality of the video varied greatly, depending on the circumstances. At a reasonable distance of at least a couple of feet, I got clear video both indoors and out, although a few of the indoors shots were muddy. If I tried to zoom in too close, though, the images became pixilated and choppy, especially in low-light situations. The Cameleo S20 records in .AVI format, which can be a problem for some computers.
As a still camera (there is yet another switch that takes you from video to still photography and back again), the Camileo S20 leaves something to be desired -- under ideal conditions in good sunlight I was able to get some decent shots, but anything I shot indoors was grainy. You'd be better off simply shooting some short video and then pulling out any stills you wanted.
The camera lets you save your videos on an SD card (it does have some memory of its own, but not enough to really be useful). Unlike other low-cost camcorders such as the Flip, which come with pop-out USB connectors, you connect the camera to your PC with a separate (included) cable.
In short, the Camileo S20 offers a lot for under $200 -- H.264 Full HD resolution, an LED flash, an SD card reader -- and could suit more experienced photographers who want something low-cost and lightweight to slip into their pocket just in case. However, a large part of the market for these small, inexpensive camcorders are people who simply want to be able to pull a camera out, catch a video, and upload it online or to their PCs with a minimal amount of fuss and bother. For these people, Toshiba's Camileo S20 is probably not the right gift.
I have to admit, at first look, the camera is highly attractive. Unlike most low-cost camcorders such as the Flip UltraHD, the sleek Camileo S20 features a more traditional 3-inch display that pulls out (automatically turning the camera on) and swivels around, allowing you to view what you're filming whether it's above, behind, above or below you. Fold it up again, and it's about the size of the Motorola Droid, which means it fits nicely in a pocket.The Camileo S20 offers a wide variety of features to enhance your videos. For example, besides settings for different types of environments and lighting, there is an LED light to help in low-light situations, picture stabilization (helpful for such a lightweight device), and even settings for motion detection and time lapse photography. Unfortunately, the camcorder's confusing system of rocker-switches, buttons and menus make it extremely difficult to figure out how to change which settings.
For example, in order to change a relatively simple feature -- to switch, say, from 1080p video to 720p (which you have to do in order to use the image stabilization or the zoom), you have to press on a rocker switch, then push it up or down to find the Resolution menu, hit another button (that has an arrow pointing right) to get into the menu, use the rocker switch again to highlight "HD (720p30)," press in the switch again, and then press another button to exit the menu system. This is not an easy system to navigate; it took me quite a while to figure some of it out.
(Incidentally, the digital zoom doesn't work in 1080p, so unless you know that you're not going to need it, you're probably going to do most of your filming in 720p rather than 1080p.)
I found that the quality of the video varied greatly, depending on the circumstances. At a reasonable distance of at least a couple of feet, I got clear video both indoors and out, although a few of the indoors shots were muddy. If I tried to zoom in too close, though, the images became pixilated and choppy, especially in low-light situations. The Cameleo S20 records in .AVI format, which can be a problem for some computers.
As a still camera (there is yet another switch that takes you from video to still photography and back again), the Camileo S20 leaves something to be desired -- under ideal conditions in good sunlight I was able to get some decent shots, but anything I shot indoors was grainy. You'd be better off simply shooting some short video and then pulling out any stills you wanted.
The camera lets you save your videos on an SD card (it does have some memory of its own, but not enough to really be useful). Unlike other low-cost camcorders such as the Flip, which come with pop-out USB connectors, you connect the camera to your PC with a separate (included) cable.
In short, the Camileo S20 offers a lot for under $200 -- H.264 Full HD resolution, an LED flash, an SD card reader -- and could suit more experienced photographers who want something low-cost and lightweight to slip into their pocket just in case. However, a large part of the market for these small, inexpensive camcorders are people who simply want to be able to pull a camera out, catch a video, and upload it online or to their PCs with a minimal amount of fuss and bother. For these people, Toshiba's Camileo S20 is probably not the right gift.
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