Toshiba is heading for the U.S. compact digital camcorder market with the introduction of the full-HD Camelio range. Due to hit stores on April 19, the new line is made up of the pocket-sized, 3.5 ounce S20 and two compact touch-screen models – the H30 and X100. All units include HDMI output, 3-inch LCD monitor, Internet upload hotkey and support for SD/SDHC memory cards.
The CAMILEO S20 is a 2/3” thin, Flip-like compact captures H.264, 1080p video and 5 megapixel stills, has a swiveling 3” LCD, a built-in LED flashlight and charges via USB. There’s no optical zoom and the 4X digital zoom works when recording at 720p, but not at 1080p. There are four built-in record settings – Macro mode, Motion Detection, Slow Motion and Time Elapse mode – and video stabilization for 720p and 480 modes. One 32GB SD/SDHC card leaves enough room for up to 5 hours recording at 1080p. The S20 costs $180.
The Camileo H30 weighs in at 8 ounces, has a 3-inch LCD touch-screen, 5x optical zoom and takes 10 megapixel digital still photos. Like the S20 it has four recording modes, HDMI output and built-in flashlight . The H30 costs around $250.
At the top-end of the Camelio line-up is the X100. Weighing 9.5 ounces, the X100 shares the same 3-inch LCD touch-screen and 10 megapixel digital still capabilities as its sibling, but ups the optical zoom to 10x optical and features a 4 GB internal solid-state memory. The X100 shoots 1080p at 30fps and 1080i at 60fps resolution video and video stabilization works in all modes except 1080i. The X100 will hit shelves at $400.
