Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19894 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Toshiba
• Model: PA3620E-1CAM
• Released on: 2008-06-26
• Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, .45 pounds

Features

• Camileo Pro HD

Manufacturer's Description
Capture every moment with the latest in pocket sized camcorder technology--the multi-functional Toshiba Camileo Pro HD. Offering high-definition digital video and still-image photography, this handy SD based product can go wherever you go and makes capturing clear and colourful memories simple. Record hours of video and take still pictures up to 8-megapixel resolution and easily view them on the 2.4-inch colour TFT LCD screen. The Camileo Pro HD is everything you need for home movies.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Does what it says on the box
First - excellent delivery. Ordered Friday, delivered Monday morning.
First impressions are excellent. Video quality is super - indoors as well as outside, but I need to try low light. And still photos are good as well. I am using HD video and 5mpixels - the default settings. The 3x optical zoom works smoothly - even while filming (despite other reviews) Playback through my 1080p LCD was super, using the supplied composite video cable. The little remote control made this easy to manage and can make the thing record and take stills as well - handy if mounted on a tripod. Playback using Media Player didn't work, despite installing the codec from the supplied CD. But both QuickTime and RealPlayer worked well, with QT being a bit smoother. It charges from the supplied mini-usb charger and will also charge from a computer's USB socket - despite reports to the contrary in a forum. So - excellent so far.
There are several different Camileo models - so just to be clear, this is the Pro HD. What you DON'T get with this model is:- a tripod, mp3 playback, movement sensing, web cam capability, digital zoom and ebook reading. But the HD quality more than makes up for these. One thing I would like is to be able to load MP4 files and JPG files from other sources onto the SD card and then use the Camileo to play them back - but I can't make it do that.
P.S. loaded the K-lite set of codecs - Media Player works well now.

Can't beat the price
The video quality is superb, you can't possibly expect better for the price. Artificially lit indoors movies are very nice! When the snow hit London recently, I took it outside around 11pm, and it recorded quite well, even in my poorly-lit street (you can use a video editing software to brighten up the video as well)... when It's complete darkness you can use the 2 very bright leds in front of the camera to record some "blair witch" type videos... had a lot of fun with that....

The only thing you have to bear in mind before buying this camera is the absence of stabilisation device, meaning that the videos will be VERY shaky if, for instance, you film while walking... however if you stay very still (there is a special stance used by photographers) and pan slowly it will be very fine, once again what do you expect for this kind of price? If that's you budget than I would more than recommend this camera but if you have some spare money I would advise to spend just a bit more towards a camera with stabilisation... I know I will in the future...

There is a 3times optical zoom which is very silent while recording.
The audio is great, I didn't expect it to be so good in my wildest dreams!
Still picture is really impressive, there is even a somewhat decent flash, the only thing is that it seems that the shutter speed is quite slow so it wouldn't take clear pictures of quickly moving objects such as cars, however it is great for souvenir pictures and look really nice on my 32" TV.

The nero video editing software is hopeless and will only allow you to do some very basic editing, also if you don't pay attention while installing it will force install every single product from NERO, so make sure you only select the video editing software if that's what you only need, although I would simply advise you to use Windows movie maker HD (bundled only on top of the range vista versions). Talking about PCs editing bear in mind that it will require a very powerful PC (2.7Ghz and lots of RAM) to edit HD video comfortably... Don't expect to be the next quentin tarantino with your 1.7Ghz... I know it's something I overlooked while buying this camera, since I wanted to do some more advanced editing, now I have to buy a better PC for that purpose... I can still merge/cut the videos, however my PC is not powerful enough for advanced effects...

In conclusion: Amazing camera for the price, however buy one with stabilisation software if you can afford it.

Hope this helped.

Camileo Pro HD
I bought this little camcorder (as an alternative to a web cam) primarily to record myself delivering tutorials. Having acquired it, however, I find it is so small and light that I put it in my pocket when we go out and it has been invaluable.

I am a keen amateur photographer and have all the semi pro kit but find that this little device is a fantastic option to carting all my gear around.

Pros: small, light, excellent quality HD video in good light, fantastic value for money.
Cons: sound quality isn't great, very grainy in poor light, autofocus is slow, needs a tripod/monopod for stability when panning.
Verdict: The Sony equivalent is better built and superior all round, but over four times the price - for sheer value, this gets my thumbs up.