Toshiba has done a terrific job of destroying their name.

cjmoran wrote:Toshiba has done a terrific job of destroying their name.

One camcorder won't do that. The laptop I am typing on is a Toshiba gem and my 47 inch flatscreen is awesome. But go ahead, bash away based on an item you don't own, and have never used because 10 people didn't like it on Amazon....

GrammarYahtzee wrote:The name reminds me too much of the great tragedic play "The King's Cameleopard, or The Royal Nonesuch." It was a tragedy alright, and I reckon that buying this camera is about as much of a value as attending that play was.

I can't help being reminded of CAMEO:



Well, that, and the Caramello...

stefanmoyer wrote:The mic input definitely made this tempting since I have a Sennheiser MKE 400, but I think I'll have to save up my pennies for one of the Canon Vixia camcorders.

I am in exactly the same boat. I think I even have the same microphone.

I have one of the early Samsung HD camcorders because I wanted to use an external microphone, but 720p is underwhelming nowadays, plus the camcorder would flake out regularly. I updated the firmware recently, and it seems to have helped, but it's too soon to say.

I and I alone have boycotted Toshiba since they were thrown off USA military contracts when they were caught selling our submarine secrets to the Soviets(!) in the '80s.

I took the chance on this because all I intend to use it for is one-person, talking-head shots in reasonably good lighting. I need the external microphone input. If it can't maintain focus in good lighting, back it quickly goes. I have to admit to being extremely leery of Toshiba products since the Thrive Tablet fiasco. But the price is right and the need high. Won't take long to see if there is a problem.

[quote postid="5286705" user="shaikt"]I am in exactly the same boat. I think I even have the same microphone.

- snip -

I purchased with one day shipping, The total included one day shipping. I noticed last night my invoice says standard shipping, I emailed customer support last night, no response yet. I need it by Christmas, what happened to the one day shipping?

nancybaker wrote:I purchased with one day shipping, The total included one day shipping. I noticed last night my invoice says standard shipping, I emailed customer support last night, no response yet. I need it by Christmas, what happened to the one day shipping?

Let's find out.

Update: Turns out they mailed you back! Could you check your spam folder for us?

inkycatz wrote:Let's find out.

Update: Turns out they mailed you back! Could you check your spam folder for us?

They did, and Adam said one day shipping was not available on this item. However, look at the first post in this forum which is a copy of the sale item, one day shipping was available for $12. Seems like woot wrongly advertised this item, won't admit it, or correct it and now I am screwed. The solution would be to ship it today with one day shipping.

Hi,staff
why I choose $5 ship fee,after I click place an order ,it spent me $9?

can you guys refund me for $4?

Okay, first of all, these are INITIAL impressions. I just wanted a cheap camcorder with a mic jack and a non-digital zoom, and this filled the bill. For reference, I've been shooting video since I started in High School in 1976, am online/multimedia editor for a newspaper website, and regularly use some pretty decent (DVCPRO/Betacam) gear, so I do have some idea what makes a decent camcorder.

Video quality is about average. The shots seem decent, but not spectacular. Low light performance I'd give it about a 5. It does have a gain up setting, which they call a "digital" light for some reason that does help some, but, as you'd expect, adds noise to the image. For a 500 dollar camcorder, I'd give the video quality a 6 or 7 out of ten. For less than a hundred fifty bucks, it's a 10.

Build quality seems fine. The zoom on mine is smooth, the LCD opens/swivels with no problem, and the fit/finish on the one I got is superb. I especially like the grippy rubberized housing around the hand grip. I once had a JVC that had this, and loved it. The LCD monitor is a bit low rez, but it seems to work okay. I didn't notice muc focus hunting on mine-maybe some others got bad units?

Audio quality is good on mine, and, as mentioned, the mic jack is my main reason for getting this thing. I never have expected much out of an on-camera mic, and my personal opinion is that I won't use a camera without one except as a last resort.

I also noticed some complaints about battery life. Hey, it's a small battery, just get a spare. http://us.toshiba.com/accessory/PA3985U-1BRS/ is the factory version. You can get an off-brand for less than 20 bucks, and a separate charger on ebay for about 22 dollars.

The only thing to keep in mind with that is that you may have to take it off the tripod to remove the battery, since it's under a door on the bottom. That's the only time I could see the battery life being an issue, since it's doubtful that many people will use this for long-form recording.

If I'd paid 500 bucks, I probably wouldn't have been thrilled, but for a hundred bucks, I'm one very happy camper.

Excellent review, though I don't share your feelings. I'm seeking to return the one I bought primarily because of the auto-focus, which is beyond awful, the zoom on the remote which zooms in steps - multiple presses required for the full range and battery life, which is atrocious. (I immediately purchased a second battery from Toshiba, which I will be returning as well.)

I just wanted a unit with decent HD video (which this has), an external mic and decent audio quality (which this has) for doing one-person talking head stuff.

But the unit really isn't usable just for those purposes with the crippled remote zoom function and lack of external power.

Very poor design, though the video and audio performance are okay.

But the auto-focus on this unit is beyond awful.

Jerry

[quote postid="5291588" user="newsshooterjim"]Okay, first of all, these are INITIAL impressions. I just wanted a cheap camcorder with a mic jack and a non-digital zoom, and this filled the bill. For reference, I've been shooting video since I started in High School in 1976, am online/multimedia editor for a newspaper website, and regularly use some pretty decent (DVCPRO/Betacam) gear, so I do have some idea what makes a decent camcorder.