Toshiba Camileo S20: 1080p camcorder so slim, it should have its own workout DVD

And one and two and reach... Hello, you find us working out with the high-definition Toshiba Camileo S20. And one and two and reach and thrust!

Richard Trenholm

Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.

See full bio

Richard Trenholm

Jan. 25, 2010 4:44 a.m. PT

1 of 9

We may have become rather fond of our post-Christmas paunches, but being hypocrites of the first water, we want our high-definition camcorders to be ultra-slim. The Toshiba Camileo S20 sports the sort of svelte waistline even Gok Wan couldn't achieve without six months with a personal trainer, or six seconds with a chainsaw.

Many mini-camcorders such as the Flip Video UltraHD or the Kodak Zi8 go for the candybar format, but that puts a severe crimp in your screen size. The S20 goes for the trusty pistol-grip form factor, allowing for a much bigger 76mm (3-inch) flip-out screen.

It's extremely thin, even compared to the candybar camcorders. Inside the slimline frame, the S20 shoots Full HD 1,920x1080-pixel video in H.264 format.

Click 'Continue' for a quick tour of the S20. It's available in ivory white, midnight black, brown, ruby red, silver, blue and pink. Ours is black.

2 of 9

The S20 is very pocket-friendly, measuring just 17mm thick. Side-on, it's the same size as an iPhone, less a millimeter or two. Most of that is the flip-out, 76mm (3-inch) screen.

3 of 9

The S20 comes with a neat little flexible tripod and soft-lined pouch, with a belt-loop if you're that sort of cove.

4 of 9

The slimline frame means a slim battery. It's enough to drive Hannah Waterman back to the burgers.

5 of 9

We suggest you do what this useful sticker says. Otherwise you might look silly. Underneath the lens is a video light, which is all too easy to cover with your finger. Keeping the light uncovered moves your hand a little further down the frame than we'd like -- or maybe that's just our weird fat fingers.

6 of 9

The record button and 4x digital zoom rocker sit under your thumb at the back of the camcorder. Also at the back are the buttons for playback, changing resolution, scrolling menus and switching on the video light. Underneath that lot is the plastic hatch covering HDMI, USB and TV-out sockets.

7 of 9

The button on the side switches between 5-megapixel stills and HD video. SD cards slot in the top, while a switch at the front toggles between macro and landscape focus.

8 of 9

This button fires up the pre-record function, which temporarily records whatever the camcorder is pointed at. When you press the record button, the previous frames are saved, so you don't miss any action.