Get a Toshiba HD camcorder for $129.96
The Camileo H30 is no wussy little pocket cam; it shoots 1080p video and comes with a folding 3-inch touch screen and 5x optical zoom.
Much as I'm a fan of little pocket camcorders like the now-discontinued Flip and the Kodak Playsport series (most notably the new Zx5), there are times when I want a full-size, full-featured camera I can grip.
Like this one: TigerDirect has the Toshiba Camileo H30 1080p camcorder for $129.96, plus around $4 for shipping. (Wal-Mart has it for $135.54 with free site-to-store shipping, but you're on the hook for sales tax.)
As you can tell from the photo, the H30 is no pocket cam (though it's still fairly compact). But that extra size brings a few worthwhile videography benefits, starting with a roomy 3-inch LCD.
That's a touch-screen LCD, by the way, which should make menu navigation quite a bit easier than on most button- or joystick-based camcorders. (That's a guess, however; I haven't used a Camileo myself. If you have, let me know if my theory's correct.)
The H30 also features a 5x optical zoom, image stabilization (but only when shooting at 720p), an HDMI port (and cable!), an Internet-share button for easy uploading to the Web (via USB), a remote, and a rated battery runtime of 2 hours, 30 minutes.
What you don't get here is a lot of manual controls. In fact, you hardly get any. This model is really for moviemakers who want the simplicity of a pocket camcorder, but with the benefits of a big viewscreen and a decent optical zoom.
Also, the H30 has only a paltry amount of internal storage, meaning you'll need to BYO memory card. Newegg has a Centon 32GB SDHC card for $37.99 shipped; it should be good for about 5 hours' worth of HD recording.
What do you think? Are camcorders like this still attractive, or do you get most of what you need from your smartphone and/or pocket cam?
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