Panasonic has announced a new wearable action camera, the Panasonic HX-A1.
Far more so than the boxy GoPro series, the HX-A1 has been designed to be worn on your person, with an elongated torch-like shape making it suitable for strapping onto your head.
As you might expect, the HX-A1 is also a tough piece of kit. Despite weighing just 45g, it’s waterproof to a depth of 1.5 metres, shock proof from a height 1.5 metres, and freeze proof to minus 10 degrees Celsius.
The Panasonic HX-A1 also has IP68 certification, meaning it’s well protected against dust ingress.
As for its camera credentials, the Panasonic HX-A1 can capture 720p video at 60fps, or 480p video at 120fps – the latter of which will enable those super slo-mo shots that have been popular in the mainstream since the launch of the iPhone 5S in 2013.
The HX-A1 also has built-in Wi-Fi, so it can be hooked up to a smartphone using the Panasonic Image app. Wi-Fi can also be used to link the HX-A1 to one of Panasonic’s 2015 range camcorders, providing a wireless twin camera set-up.
In the latter scenario, the HX-A1’s view will be portrayed in a sub-window on the camcorder. The usage scenario provided by Panasonic is a snowboarder being captured by the camcorder while his point of view is being simultaneously captured.
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The camera comes with a multi-mount and a tripod mount, but there are plenty more optional mounts and accessories available depending on your extreme activity of choice.
Pansonic hasn’t given any word on pricing or availability for the Panasonic HX-A1 just yet.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
