Everyone gets to that point in life when they realise they are never going to be the natural successor to Steven Spielberg, but that doesn’t stop us trying every time we get our hands on a camcorder. Be it the family holiday, to preserve a child’s birthday for posterity or even in the hope of capturing that magic moment that a certain ITV programme will pay you £250 for, camcorders have their uses and the Toshiba Camileo S10 is no exception.
The camcorder was very user friendly, and as I’m one of those people who will play with something prior to going anywhere near a manual, I found I had it up and running very quickly and within seconds had captured some not so flattering close-up footage of the office.
While it is not going to allow you to rival Hollywood’s best, it is perfect for the average user’s day to day needs. It coped well when filming the family, the dog and the local canal with good contrast and detail. I would suggest that it’s at its best when used outside and in the daytime. Despite having a ‘night mode’ for low light conditions, it did lose an element of contrast when used in artificial light, or when it was late afternoon. I wouldn’t even bother to use the camcorder in evening-outdoor conditions. But as it records in 1080p resolution the image quality is superb for close-up shots, and as long as you don’t try to film intricate detail at a distance of more than a few metres you wont be disappointed in standard mode.
It’s also incredibly small and light so won’t take up valuable hand luggage space - It’s no bigger than the average person’s palm and only 18mm thick.
The Camileo S10 comes with all the standards you would expect from a video camcorder these days: 1080p HD ready, 4x digital zoom (2x for 1080p), video stabilisation, expandable storage and an HDMI port.
At £129.99 it’s worth having in your bag or briefcase for that impromptu “wish I had a video camera” moment. Who knows, it could earn you £250 and pay for itself.
Pros Compact and light, great quality image
Cons Fiddly buttons and no lens cap (must be kept in its case)
Price £129.99
Contact toshiba.com
Andrew Gough
