New Canon compact should delight vloggers (but there's a catch)

Recently, we ran a story on Canon’s very solid financial results, with the Japanese camera giant saying it was looking again at compacts to help it hit even more ambitious sales targets.

Canon has now announced the PowerShot V1 compact, aimed at vloggers and content creators – a key demographic for camera makers these days. But here’s the kicker – the PowerShot V1 is only available in Asia, and Canon has not confirmed it will be released into other global markets at this stage.

Canon PowerShot V1: what’s new?

What makes this camera different to video-centric rivals such as the Sony ZV-1 Mark II is the inclusion of a new 22MP, Type 1.4 CMOS sensor. Type 1.4 sensors are similar to Micro Four Thirds chips, but have a wider 3:2 aspect ratio.

Specific video features include 4k video recording at up to 60p (from a 1.4x crop, 1:1 pixel capture), a built-in fan and a choice of ‘moods’ for movie shooting. Users can also record 10-bit Canon Log3 footage. The relatively wide fixed lens, equivalent to 16-50mm, is also video-friendly, and a small ‘dead cat’ mic is provided.

Canon PowerShot V1 rear — There is a fully articulated rear touchscreen. Image credit: Canon

There is also plenty to keep stills photographers happy. Raw capture is available, and in terms of autofocus, the AF system appears to be inherited from the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, so includes pupil detection, animals and vehicles, such as cars, trains and planes.

There is also subject tracking IS, which uses both 5-stop optical and digital stabilisation to keep the subject in the right position in the frame and correct any blurring when it moves.

Note, however, that the Canon PowerShot V1 comes without an electronic viewfinder (EVF) or built-in flash.