Toshiba Camileo S20: Pocket camcorder

I am self-professed urban backpacker. It is because I always bring all my essential elements of my digital lifestyle with me. Plus, I am not an advocate of all-in-one devices, because of the inherent tendency that one feature is a trade off of the other.

So the trick is to would be to bring devices with light and compact components, from mobile phones to digital camera to laptop. So you figured already why I have 13" MacBook Pro instead of the 17", and I lug around a digital camera instead of a dSLR kit. Although I have cellphones of the three networks, this is more like having no choice. I don't think Apple or Samsung or Nokia will ever create a triple-SIMed iPhone or Galaxy S or N8.

Talking about light and handy devices, how many of you brings camcorder. I know what you have in mind, camcorders are even way heavier than dSLR and if the latter can already shoot full HD video, why bother right?

If you're like me who is an adversary of bringing multifunctioned devices, fret not. Toshiba has a rather smart solution against full-pledged, heavy camcorders with the advent of Toshiba Camileo S20.

The white S20's body is reminiscent to the Sony Ericsson Z800. But more than that, it has a fairly nice compact feel, small enough that it can even fit in your pocket. No more unsightly bulges.

Let's throw in the specs:

It has a 5MP CMOS sensor, but Toshiba had done a hefty job in interpolating the still images up to 16MP resulting in somewhat lack-of-details. It records H.264 video, with four different quality options. The three operates at 30fps including 1080 full HD, 720p, and VGA. A further mode runs at 60fps with a lower resolution of 848x480. Invest an SDHC media to ensure that you have enough storage though for your optimal settings. Software and button controls are pretty much intuitive.

The only letdown I see is some detail compromise when running at low light condition. The 4x optical zoom works except in 1080p, probably because it requires surplus pixels on sensors which are not available in this resolution. Similarly, IS(image stabilization) doesn't work at this setting too.

Not available in the Philippines but you can always order online for $150 US.