Toshiba Camileo P30 1080p High Definition Camcorder
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at
12:22 pm
Toshiba Camileo P30 Camcorder 25 LCD Display 1080p PX1497K1CAM Cameras Video Camcorders… more >>
Rating: 
(out of 7 reviews)
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Review by Emma O. Reilly for Toshiba Camileo P30 1080p High Definition Camcorder
Rating:
I was really happy when i opened the box and picked up the P30 for the first time. It looks great and is very lightweight, the controls are fairly easy to use with the one hand and the screen is nice and bright. Having said it is lightweight, it could certainly not be classed as rugged. The build quality isn’t fantastic especially the flip down cover that hides the cable ports, this was a bit loose from the off. Onto videos, having used a friends Toshiba Pro HD camcorder at my daughters first birthday party, i was expecting great things as the video quality from the Pro HD was excellent, albeit outside in near perfect lighting conditions. I thought i’d get straight onto a tough test by taking some full HD footage indoors in dim light as realistically these are the conditions it would mostly get used in at family gatherings, weddings etc. I was actually pretty shocked when i watched the video back, firstly on my TV then on my laptop. The picture was VERY grainy and dark, detail was missed and colour definition was very poor, in fact the video i’ve filmed on my old LG KC 550 mobile phone was substantially better quality than this. The auto focus really struggled in these conditions and constantly adjusted itself even when looking at static objects and the video light doesn’t help with objects over a metre away. Over the next couple of hours i tried various setting changes including filming in 720 HD, WVGA and VGA and with image stabilising turned on and off (stabilisation not available in all modes). The footage taken at 720 HD with stabilisation turned on was the best of the lot but still disappointed. In brighter settings the performance is much improved but unfortunately this was too little too late to convince me to keep the camera and i’m afraid it is currently on it’s way back to Amazon!!
Review by Graham Hogben for Toshiba Camileo P30 1080p High Definition Camcorder
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Bought for christmas holiday in Florida results were ok for family holiday vid. Found mov. format files not compatable with any of my editing software – could only upload direct to bundled movie software which is very limited – so had to download file converter (free from Prism ) Low light video was poor, Otherwise would recomend if you want low budget very compact camera
Review by G. Chin for Toshiba Camileo P30 1080p High Definition Camcorder
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When faced with multiple choice and lots of different models and specifications to look at, this was attractive because it was reduced from £179 to £114.
With an 8Gb card (not supplied) it can take 1.5hrs of video clips.
The quality is not broadcast quality but what would you expect for the price .. not bad for YouTube and email as it also takes stills as well as video. Not too good in darkly lit scenes.
Simple and easy to use with no complicated instructions to remember .. just push the buttons and it does the job.
Perfect for the non-technically minded video maker. Attractive slim metallic design which fits neatly into a handbag or jacket pocket.
Review by I. Flinders for Toshiba Camileo P30 1080p High Definition Camcorder
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I would only buy this camera if:
1. You are not planning to do much low-light filming. It is OK indoors on a bright day, but as soon as the sun goes down, this camera is next to useless. Apparently all cameras at this price point suffer from the same problem.
2. You don’t mind tinkering with video editing software to remove the shakes and sharpen things up a bit. I found some free software (Virtualdub, Avisynth and Deshaker) that do the job nicely and you end up with superb shake-free footage, that looks better than stuff captured with a high-quality camera with optical stabilisation built-in (I jest not – something to do with the “smoothness” of the low-frequency camera motions makes it look like movie footage).
3. You are aware that it records in 1440×1080 not full 1920×1080 resolution, so you don’t feel cheated. Apparently 1440×1080 is a valid “full HD” resolution so Toshiba aren’t making any false claims. It is “anamorphic” video so it still displays widescreen on your TV or computer.
One strange thing I noticed that isn’t mentioned in any of the reviews that some may be interested in is that the camera seems to switch to a wide-angle mode when taking still images. This is great for me (off to Switzerland next month!), but its a shame that the same wide angle isn’t available in movie mode.
At this price it is an absolute bargain – provided you are happy to accept the shortcomings above.
Review by Mrs. Pa Young for Toshiba Camileo P30 1080p High Definition Camcorder
Rating:
after reading other reviews I did wonder if product would for me. When a neatly package arrived I was impressed with quality. Then after a short 2hr charge was able to take photos. Even got a macro setting and the quality is much better than expected. OK when in movie mode you cannot expect to pan without blurring. Thats a small handycap the photos are brillant. Its like anything else practice makes perfect. I love it and small enough to pop in pocket or bag and go anywhere with it. Battery life is impressive. Movies when held steady outstanding. Yes would recommend.