Canon's Vixia Mini personal compact camcorder (pictures)

The Vixia Mini is what Canon calls a compact personal camcorder. Part HD minicamcorder and part Webcam, the Mini is primarily designed for those who like to be in front of the camera.

The camera fits in the palm of your hand measuring just 3 inches wide by 3.8 inches deep by 0.9 inch thick. It weighs in at 6.3 ounces with its battery and a microSD card.

While the camera folds down to almost nothing, the 2.7-inch touch screen is attached to the camera by two parallel hinges, letting you flip the screen to different angles. It also has a built-in stand for tilting the camera up about 60 degrees. If you'd rather mount it on a tripod, there's a receptacle for that, too, on the bottom.

If off chance you're recording someone else, you can always tilt the screen back or keep it flat for shooting low. Canon doesn't mention, but it's likely that you'll be able to shoot with the camera upside down, like the PowerShot N.

Between the stereo mics (there is no mic input) is a Canon f2.8 fish-eye lens (160-degree movies/170-degree photos). That's pretty much what you'd find on a lot of action cams, but unusual for something you'd most likely be using to shoot people and not scenery. There is a Close-up mode, though, that will kill the distortion, turning the ultrawide-angle 16.8mm lens to 35mm (35mm equivalent).

The camera does have built-in Wi-Fi for wireless sending and sharing, and a live-streaming feature that will allow you to record to an Android or iOS device as well as control the camera remotely.

It will be available in black and white versions when it arrives in September priced at about $300.