ARsignup

Panasonic HX-A1
Panasonic HX-A1

To capitalise on the growing action cam market Panasonic has unveiled a new light-weight, rugged gadget for adrenaline junkies with a love of home video.

“In Australia we have seen some incredible growth in the action cam market in the last three years,” said Doug Campbell, senior product manager, Imaging.

Available in orange or black, the HX-A1 will be available in late June. The HX-A1 Kit is RRP $299 and includes multi mount, tripod mount and a mount adapter for GoPro accessories.

“The HX-A1 is built for action. Its cylindrical shape and lightweight 45 gram form factor means it’s truly wearable. Users can take advantage of a range of Panasonic accessories to mount it on their head, cap, back strip or sports gear from bikes to kayaks, and shoot exciting Full HD screens,”  Campbell said.

The action cam’s construction keeps out water and dust without the need for an external casing. It is waterproof down to 1.5 metres (IPX8), shockproof up to 1.5 metres, dustproof (IP6X) and freezeproof down to -10 degrees Celsius. Campbell also pointed out the lack of housing means the audio the action cam records is a higher quality than rival models.

It has a Night Vision Mode which requires the infrared lens to be attached and an infrared light source to record clearly in the dark.

The HX-A1 records to a microSD card and shoots is Full HD 1080p video at 30 frames per second. It has Wi-Fi capability that allows you to monitor what is being shot from you smartphone or tablet using the Panasonic Image App.

Market leader GoPro also has a new product on the way, the Hero+ LCD (RRP $429) which shoots in 1080p60 Video and takes 8MP photos. It has a touch display for easy shot framing, settings control and access to the new in-camera video trimming feature. It is being marketed at first time GoPro buyers as well as veteran users who might be looking for extra cameras. It will be available 12 July 2015.

GoPro Hero+ LCD
GoPro Hero+ LCD

The new model sits above the entry level GoPro Hero (RRP $129), but beneath the high-end Hero4 Black and Hero4 Silver cameras. Like the Hero, the Hero+ LCD is built directly into the waterproof housing and is waterproof to 40 metres.

It has highlight tagging to bookmark key moments while recording to make them easier to find when editing, video trimming to create short clips in-camera and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for easy sharing and editing.

“Hero+ LCD illustrates that even as we push the limits of life capture with bleeding-edge devices like the Hero4 Black, we’re also focused on delivering accessible, high-quality capture solutions to anyone wanting to GoPro,” said Nick Woodman, founder and CEO of GoPro.
ARsignup