Toshiba Camileo P20 review

Toshiba's Camileo range is a departure from the traditional flip-style camera, and its roots are firmly in the camcorder rather than the phone. The Camileo P20 benefits from a pistol-grip form and fold-out screen, which make it feel natural to use.

With excellent image stabilisation built in, it isn't a victim of the shake associated with many models.

While the P20 is much larger than the MinoHD, it has that pocket feel, and is easily transported without you being bothered by its bulk.

In recording mode the screen flips out like that of a traditional camcorder, but it folds back for playback, so you feel like you're watching on a dedicated video device. The extra size means that Toshiba has been able to use a 3-inch touchscreen, which makes filming and watching comfortable and puts the Kodak PlayTouch and Sony Bloggie MHS-PM5K to shame.

Video quality is excellent, and recorded footage looks crisp and clear. The image stabilisation is fantastic: even in the middle of crowds our subjects were still and the footage wasn't ruined by shaking.

One of the most noticeable assets is lightning-quick focusing, which left the Samsung HMX-U20 for dead. The Camileo handles bright light poorly though, and subjects are often overexposed in places.

However, if you're looking for quality beyond what the Toshiba can offer, you should be looking at a full form, high-def camcorder.

The biggest weakness is the sound from the internal microphone, and there are no provisions for using an external one, which rules the P20 out for anyone wanting to add a more professional touch to their home movies.

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