Canon Vixia Mini X Camcorder Review

Buy it on Amazon - http://lon.tv/hvc5j (affiliate link) I am generally a fan of Canon's consumer camcorder products, and in fact I use three of them in my home video studio for my YouTube channel and other various projects. But this one is a bit of an odd release for Canon as the Vixia Mini X is not what one would expect from a traditional camcorder. First things first: this is mostly a fish eye camera with a very wide angle lens. It lacks the ability to zoom although it has a mode to switch off the fisheye image to get a 'zoomed' image - but that comes at the expense of image quality. It also lacks easily accessible manual controls for exposure, and it currently isn't possible to control focus manually. I had a very hard time determining what was in focus in Macro mode as I couldn't control the focus myself nor could I see the screen well enough while outside to make a determination. Even a 'touch to focus' feature that's now common in most camcorders and smartphones would have been more useful. As others have noted, the camera is potentially useful for vlogging and musicians - especially given that the audio hardware is decent on the camera. Compared to similar super wide angle action cameras the audio is light years better. It also has an external microphone port for bringing in other audio sources. Image quality is ok, but not game changing. Low light performance is behind that of other camcorders and gets worse when switched out of the fisheye mode. The bottom line? I'm really not sure who this camcorder is for. It will be of use to a very small market segment that is looking for very specific features. But it's not an alternative to a traditional camcorder for most consumers. Visit the Lon.TV store to leave a tip or purchase some of my previously reviewed items! http://lon.tv/store Follow me on Facebook!   / lonreviewstech   Follow me on Google+ http://lonseidman.com DISCLOSURE: I received this product through the Amazon Vine program to review on Amazon's site.