Although Canon’s line of Vixia camcorders has been quite popular for some time now, not everyone wants to cart around a full-sized video camera – even a relatively small consumer model. For those folks, Canon has now introduced the Vixia mini compact personal camcorder. It still shoots 1080p HD video like its larger siblings, but also offers features such as multiple shooting modes and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Measuring 3 x 0.9 x 3.8 inches (76 x 22 x 96 mm) and weighing in at about 6.3 oz (180 g) with battery, the mini does indeed live up to its name. It features an f2.8 fisheye lens that has a 160-degree field of view in movie mode (170 in picture mode), along with a 2.7-inch capacitive touch tilting LCD screen, a 12.8-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CMOS image sensor, and a stereo microphone.
There are a variety of preset video and audio recording modes to choose between, depending on what sorts of sights and sounds users are trying to capture. If that seems like too much to think about, users can also opt for Smart Auto Mode, in which the camera automatically chooses one of 38 different video/audio mode combos that it thinks will work best for the situation.
Two speeds of both fast and slow motion recording are also available, as are Wide and Close-Up lens settings. Other features include an integrated adjustable stand, and a tripod mounting socket.
Footage and stills are recorded to a removable SD card or can be wirelessly transmitted to the user’s mobile device or PC, via the camera’s built-in Wi-Fi – this additionally allows footage to be streamed live from the camera, plus it lets users remotely control the camera using their smartphone or tablet.
There’s also a USB port, for good ol’ hard-wired data transfer.
Depending on the shooting modes used, one charge of the mini’s 760 mAh battery should be good for around 45 minutes of recording time. A maximum of one hour of 1080p MP4 footage can be squeezed onto one 8GB memory card, or up to four hours and 20 minutes if shooting at 720p. Both figures jump dramatically if higher-capacity cards are used.
The Vixia mini should be available as of September in black or white, at a price of US$299.99. More specs are available via the link below.
Source: Canon
