By - Canon rumored to reenter the compact camera game with new Powershot V1
- Announcement of new camera tipped for March / April
- Recent viral model Powershot G7 X Mark III could be discontinued
Point-and-shoot digital cameras making a comeback wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card – after all, smartphones pretty much killed off that market many years ago. However, several models went viral last year, none more so than 2019’s Canon Powershot G7 X Mark III, so it seems there’s life in the pocket snapper yet.
I’m all for it, but as I previously wrote about point-and-shoots for 2025, no leading brands are actually making new models, and so those looking to buy are left to choose from models several years old, increasingly secondhand. That’s fine in a way – the quality of popular and well-reviewed cameras from years back still holds out today. But, let’s be honest, new tech would be very welcome, too.
Now it appears that Canon will be the first of the big names to step up and recommit to making new point-and-shoots with meaningful upgrades after CanonRumors posted a couple of stories with a fair bit of info about what it says is an upcoming new Powershot V1. It’s tipped to be announced sometime between March and May this year, with pretty exciting specs and an estimated price of $600-800 (around £650-850).
What’s expected to happen concurrently is the discontinuation of the popular G7 X Mark III, and if that’s the case, Canon must be all-in with a new and improved Powershot compact – why else discard a winning horse? Here’s what’s being said and why Canon recommitting to compact cameras makes sense.
A new dawn for Powershot?
It looks like Canon is set to start afresh with its Powershot compacts, ditching the G-series nomenclature to make Powershot V-series models. It already launched the Powershot V10 vlogging camera in May 2023 and showcased two Powershot concepts: a 360-degree camera and a 180-degree camera with VR capabilities. However, a new Powershot V1 will be a proper point-and-shoot for photographers, and I’d expected it to garner the most interest of all, especially if rumors of its specs and price turn out to be on the money.
Highlight features supposedly include a Canon-made 24MP CMOS sensor of a size ‘close to Micro Four Thirds,’ and a 3x optical zoom lens (16-50mm approx). It’ll likely shoot 4K video with a slight crop and include Canon’s C-Log3 and HDR PQ color profiles. Additionally, it might include a standard 3-inch screen, though it’s not clear if this is a fixed, tilting, or vari-angle screen. There’s no proper word on the rumored V1’s design either, but mockups suggest a camera that looks similar to the G7 X III.
Much of those key specs tally with certain existing Powershot G-series cameras. So, will this just feel like a rehash, like Panasonic did with the recent Lumix ZS99 / TZ99? I hope not and that Canon will also put newly developed features from its mirrorless cameras in the V1, such as its latest autofocus system.
What’s most exciting of all, though, is the prospect of Canon launching a new compact camera that’s readily available to buy at a very reasonable price. There are simply not many high-quality options available today for the $600-800 mark. Sprinkle in a few new features, and I expect the Powershot V1 to be one of 2025’s most popular cameras.
There’s even some suggestions that Canon could spring a suprise reveal or two at CP+ in Tokyo at the end of February – might the Powershot V1 be the star of the show?
