Toshiba launches hi-def Gigashot camcorder range

Toshiba has announced the launch of its all-new Gigashot camcorder range, with two of the world’s smallest and lightest hi-def camcorders: the Gigashot A and Gigashot K models.

Both cameras record content directly to an in-built hard drive, with the more expensive Gigashot A model benefiting from either 100GB or 40GB of storage while the Gigashot K is available in 80GB and 40GB versions.

True HD or not?

Unfortunately, the press release Toshiba has sent out is a little misleading as regards the highest definition each camera is capable of recording.

Whereas the Gigashot A model is proudly described as “full 1080 HD” in the release’s headline, it’s then described as “1080i” in the specs detail, alongside a claimed resolution of 1920 x 1080i pixels.

1080i is not 1080p

Now, the pedants in us feel that it has to be pointed out that 1080i is not the same as 1080p, and that as far as we’re aware only 1080p qualifies for the official ‘Full HD’ badge. No such problems with the Gigashot K model though, which claims a top resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and passes itself of as a ‘HD’ model.

Either way, both models are in some way capable of recording hi-def material in either MPEG-4 or H.264 format. The A sports a 10x optical/80x digital zoom lens, while the K gets a 10x optical/30x digital zoom. Both camcorders employ CMOS sensor technology and can be used to take still pictures with.

Both models are available now, priced £849 for the 100GB A and £499 for the 80GB K.