Canon is betting that smartphone users—despite their outward enthusiasm for the all-in-one convenience of built-in cameras and camcorders—are privately pining away for a genuine, dedicated camcorder. On Wednesday, Canon comes to the rescue with the 12.8-megapixel Vixia mini compact personal camcorder—6.3 ounces fully loaded.
With a handprint roughly the size of a smartphone, this camcorder packs some serious specs, targeted to the blogger crowd. In Canon's estimation, these users seek superior video, image, and audio quality, along with greater shooting flexibility than smartphones can deliver. The Vixia mini's built-in Wi-Fi lets you upload video to YouTube and Facebook (of course), as well as to your computer. Canon's free Movie Uploader app for iOS, meawnhile, lets you post your Vixia mini movies from your iPhone or iPad.
What makes the Canon Vixia mini better than an iPhone or the veritable army of Android smartphones? "The pictures from this camera," says David Porter, Canon's marketing manager.
"We're looking at the sensor in the camera, as well as the Digic 4 processor being able to give you a good hands-free type application," Porter says. While designed for stress-free operation in one's hands, the Vixia mini can also "stand and be mounted on a table or attached to a tripod, and give you that great angle of view," said Porter. "The way that the screen tilts and rotates allows the users to get live feedback and see what they're recording, and get a great view of what's going on in their surroundings."
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon