Extending its range of premium consumer camcorders, Canon has announced the launch of the new Legria HF M41, Legria HF M46 and the Legria HF M406. These touch-screen camcorders use AVCHD (Advanced Video Coding High Definition) technology to capture images in the crispest 1080p. The cameras feature a 10x optical zoom and a maximum f/1.8 aperture provides faster shooting.

 

All these models feature Canon's HD CMOS Pro sensor, a technology adapted from the company's professional camcorder range. Thanks to this each camera has a 160% increase in its light sensor, meaning footage can easily be captured even in low light. 

 

The days of trying your best to keep those hands steady may also be past thanks to Canon's Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) technology, which greatly aids in capturing shake-free footage.

 

An interesting new feature lauded by Canon is the new Story Creator mode. This allows the user to create great home movies, with the Story Creator advising you on what type of scenes to pick, be it for a holiday or family gathering. The Story Creator mode is also handled completely in-camera, so you can truly make your movies on the go.

 

Aspiring directors can now also film for much longer at a time as the new Canon models feature dual memory card slots supporting the latest SDXC cards. Relay Recording enables users to continue shooting by automatically switching to the next available storage source when one becomes full.

 

 

 

Aimed at the more professional users, Canon also unveiled the new XA10. The XA10 is the first model in the company's new XA-series, a range aimed at users seeking the best performance in a mobile body.

 

This camcorder features Canon's HD CMOS Pro sensor, 10x zoom, f/1.8, AVCHD video, 64 GB memory and 2x SDXC slots, IR shooting mode, professional audio, full manual control, 3.4” LCD, Dynamic OIS, Powered IS and Instant AF. 

 

 

 

Canon also launched the new Legria HF G10, a consumer-friendly camcorder with a combination of professional features, full manual control and creative tools to make shooting even easier. 

 

The camcorder features Canon's HD Video Lens, HD CMOS Pro Sensor, AVCHD video, 32 GB memory and 2x SDXC slots, full manual control, 3.4” touch-screen LCD, Instant AF, Face Detection, Dynamic Optical Image Stabiliser, HD-SD conversion and some creative cinematic features.

 

 

Forging onwards (we told you this was a big reveal), the company also launched the new Legria FS400 series, Canon's smallest ever Standard Definition (SD) camcorders. The Legria FS46 and Legria FS406 joins the party offering a host of advanced imaging features.

 

The FS400 series models all feature 41x Advanced Zoom with Dynamic EIS, Dual Shot mode, 2.6” Widescreen LCD, Video Snapshot, Night Scene mode, intelligent Li-ion battery, Pre Record feature and included PIXELA software. The only difference between the FS46 and FS406 is that the FS46 comes equipped with 8 GB of dual flash memory while the FS406 makes use of dual SDXC and Eye-Fi card slots.

 

 

 

And last but not least, Canon unveiled a slew of new entry-level High Definition (HD) camcorders with the launch of the enhanced Legria HF R-series. The new models include the Legria HF R28, Legria HF R26 and Legria HF R206. These camcorders are aimed at entry-level users who are tired of using their phone camera to capture those special moments.

 

The Legria HD R-series models feature 3.2 MP (megapixel) full HD CMOS sensors, 2.9” touch-screen LCD, 28x Advanced zoom, smart auto with tele macro, dynamic image stabiliser, 24 Mbps image quality, face detection and an included HDMI cable. 

 

As far as storage goes, the HF R28 can support 32 GB of flash memory and two SDXC slots, the HF R26 features 8 GB of flash memory and also dual SDXC slots while the HF R206 is equipped with two SDXC memory card slots.

 

 

These new models are expected to become available from March 2011, so take this time to start saving up.