Looking for a low-cost camcorder? Toshiba called, they want your money. In return, they’ll give you one of these two newish 1080p camcorders. I say “newish” because not only were these released in Europe back in April, but because one of them is nearly identical to one I have sitting next to me. The news is they’re finally coming to the US, so you can buy ’em all day long with real live American dollars. Here’s the skinny in case you missed them the first time around.
The newer one is the P100, a pistol-grip in the true Toshiba style, which does 1080p, has a 5x optical zoom, and a 3″ touchscreen of unstated resolution. The sensor is 8 megapixels, but they claim they can produce 16 with “interpolation,” which I doubt has a positive effect on image quality. If you’re taking pictures with your camcorder, you’re probably not too worried about the megapixel count anyway. It also will do 720p at 30 or 60fps, and 640×480 at 30. Plus there’s a slow-motion mode, which only gives you 960×540 but (I’m guessing) ups the framerate to 120.
That guy will set you back $180, though there’s a deal where you get $20 off if you order one before June 30th. Act now!
The B10 is just the BW10 without the W, which is to say without the waterproofing. Why these weren’t released simultaneously is beyond me, but at $120 ($100 if you buy this month) it is significantly cheaper than its cousin, though of course less rugged.
Both come with software that lets you immediately upload to your favorite sites upon plugging in, and you can also choose to record sequential shots to a single video file to simplify the process.