JVC enters action cam market with rugged Adixxion camcorder
The waterproof, shockproof, dustproof, and freezeproof little camera does everything expected for the category and throws in Wi-Fi for good measure.
- More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
People must really want to record a lot of first-person videos while being active because there seems to be a new "action camera" every day.
A couple days ago it was the Liquid Image Ego, before that was Pivothead, and, today, it's JVC's turn to join in on the, um, action, with the GC-XA1 Adixxion.
Without the need for an additional housing, the XA1 is waterproof to 16.4 feet, shockproof to 6.5 feet, dustproof, and freezeproof. It records MP4 video in HD at 1080p30 and 720p60 resolutions (WVGA is available, too) and 5-megapixel photos.
It has a 1.5-inch LCD, but its built-in Wi-Fi can be used to connect to a smartphone (iOS and Android) so you can use that as a viewfinder. The Wi-Fi can also stream live video via UStream or you can send video to a PC or mobile hot spot for sharing.
Along with not needing an additional housing, the Adixxion comes with two mounts: one for goggles and another flat mount that can be used on a helmet or surfboard. Specialized mounts and other accessories will be available, too.
The camcorder does have digital image stabilization , but it has rolling shutter cancellation as well to correct for skew that commonly happens with CMOS image sensors.
Video is recorded to SD/SDHC/SDXC card (not included) and you can connect to an HDTV with its built-in HDMI jack.
Look for it late summer for $349.95.