Toshiba Gigashot GSC-R30 30GB 2MP Hard Disc Drive Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4 x 8.6 x 7.8 inches ; 5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000EH6F12
• Item model number: GSC-R30
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,807 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)

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  Camera & Photo > Camcorders > Hard Disk Drive

• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 9, 2006

Product Description

From the Manufacturer
With the Toshiba gigashot GSC-R30 digital camcorder, it's advantage Toshiba, thanks to a variety of features that make it simple to capture important moments on the go.

Advantages of the Toshiba gigashot GSC-R30

No tapes or discs to buy
Record video and stills directly to the built-in 30GB HDD.

High-quality video
The 2-megapixel CCD and MPEG2 recording combine to create DVD-quality home videos.

Choose from movies or still photos
So flexible, you can even shoot still photos during video recording without having to pause video.

Record to DVD
Transfer your movies quickly and easily to DVD through the USB 2.0 high-speed interface, to a PC or a Toshiba XS series DVD Recorder.

Images to go
The built-in SD card slot lets you quickly move images from the camera to a compatible TV or DVD player.

Key Features

• 30GB hard disc drive
• 2-megapixel CCD
• SD card slot
• USB 2.0 high-speed interface
• 2.5-inch diagonal TFT LCD monitor
• Electronic Image Stabilization

Product Description
Toshiba gigashot digital camcorder combines a high quality video camera and a still camera into one easy-to-use compact design. It features a built-in 1.8-inch hard disk drive, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, a 2 Mega Pixel color CCD Sensor and a SD memory card slot. In addition, an electronic image stabilizer to correct hand movement while filming and a gravity sensor for hard drive protection in case the camcorder unexpectedly falls to the ground.GSC-R30 offers an intuitive menu system and the jog control on the camera corresponds with on-screen menus. It comes with a docking cradle that includes a USB port, Ethernet connectivity, an AC adapter and an A/V output. It enhances transfer of content by including USB 2.0 and Ethernet/S-Video/AV interfaces. Gigashot includes AC/DSEE and PowerProducer software allowing instant recognition of the camera, still image editing, video editing, DVD authoring and burning. It even offers a 3-button burn to DVD option for the ultimate simplicity. With the capability of snapping digital photos while continuing to shoot video, gigashot makes it exceedingly simple to catch those special moments in either still images or video. This is the camcorder that is technologically advanced yet so very simple for you to operate.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good first camcorder, October 13, 2006

By	K. Meyer (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Given that this is my first real camcorder, outside of the digital cameras I own that support 20 second video clips, I have little to compare it to. That being said, I've seen people with stacks of DV tape that they never convert to DVD, and consequently - never view again. I received my Gigashot from Amazon yesterday and was for the most part very pleased. It took very little time to understand how to use, the functions and menu items were relatively self-explanatory. I'd give Toshiba an A- for the design and ease of use; within five minutes, I was able to shoot a few clips, view on the LCD screen, hook up to my TV and computer to play back videos.

I really enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to install additional software to download clips to my PC - the USB cable, included, was inserted and drivers were automatically installed; the Gigashot then appeared as an external drive that I could drag and drop files to my desktop - piece of cake. Although, there was software provided, it appeared as though they were only trial versions - (leaving the only option to buy more software when the trial expired). Needless to say, I did not install either software bundle: ACDSee v7 (photo edit) or PowerProducer v3 (DVD editing and writing/authoring), but I'm sure this could be helpful for some who do not already own a DVD authoring program.

The only bad thing about this camcorder, in my opinion, was that it had a tendency during low-level sound (e.g., no one was speaking) to amplify the background noise. I didn't notice this very often, so probably nothing to worry about - in fact, this may be normal for camcorders, but then again - I don't have much experience. The problem with this, leads to what sounds like a few small rapid-fire clicks every so often (presumably as the Gigashot writes data to the hard-drive). It sounds just like a hard-drive, so may not even be noticeable to some, but it could be an annoyance for those who listen in great detail. I doubt this would be even audible at a party or event, but just thought others might like to know. Overall - great product and I'm happy with my purchase (especially since it seems Amazon's price was the lowest at this time!)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent ! Decent buy, November 5, 2006

By	A Paul (santa clara, california USA) - See all my reviews

I did lot of comparisons with similar PRICED camcorders sony/Canon ($500) and here are my finding

The factors need to be considered in any digital photo/video are
1. CCD size
2. MP
3. Filter Size - Lense dia - big means more light goes in to CCD
4. Lense Quality

I like this camcorder because
1. Price - 375 for a 30 GIG HDD camcorder
2. CCD size 1/3.6 compared to sony/Canon which has 1/6
3. Filter size is 30.5 sony/Canon 30 or 27
4. 2 Megapixel sony/canon 0.7 MP
5. No need to carry any media
6. Free case


Cons:
Spare battery is expensive $80 at bhphotovideo

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Camera Value - Quality Product, November 18, 2006

By	J. A. Gatti (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an amazing little camera. If you edit your movies on a computer you will LOVE this camera because it stores files on the built in hard disk drive instead of tapes. It can record for more than six (6) hours on the hard disk drive (at the HIGHEST quality setting). The videos are automatically saved as MPG2 files which are recognized by almost all video editing products inclding Adobe Premiere and Adobe Premiere Elements. MPG2 is also the current standard for DVD movies, so you can burn your movies onto a DVD. The audio and video quality is excellent.

The camera has a bright white, built-in LED light which allows the auto focus to work in dim light. It also has a built in flash for still pictures. The still pictures can be stored on the built-in hard disk drive, or optionally on a small memory card. The camera supports WIDE SCREEN videos as well as standard video formats.

Downloading the movie files to your computer is amazingly simple. Just connect the USB cable and the camera is recognized as an "external storage deveice" so you can simply drag and drop the files from the camera to the computer.

The automatic mode for most settings like FOCUS, WHITE BALANCE, SCENE SELECTION, etc. works fine. When taking stills the camera will beep twice to indicate a clear focus. When the camera is charging the battery LED shows amber and later green (when fully charged).

While the built-in condenser microphone with multiple settings offers excellent sound quality, a plug-in microphone jack would have been preferred.