Canon reveals PowerShot V1 Compact Camera

[starchild237]

So I am (pretty much) the exact target demo for this camera and I’m curious if anyone else is having the same first impressions as me. I’m getting caught up with the size, did anyone else think it was going to be smaller than it is?

Compare camera dimensions side by side

camerasize.com

It’s about the same size as the ZV-E1, the Fuji X-M5 is smaller than it. Of course you need to factor in the lens which is a big consideration, but there are actually good pancake options now, and the kit zoom the X-M5 comes with is very competent and small.

I’m strictly a video shooter and have been chasing the dream daily carry/travel pocketable video camera for a long time: as good of IQ as I can get in as small a form factor as possible. Every mm counts here. I’ve been waiting with bated breath and constantly checking for the newest rumours in anticipation of the V1 as it was seemingly on track to check the most of my boxes. Now that it’s here, it’s actually exceeded expectations - not only does it have everything that was rumoured, it also has ND?! And a cooling fan?!

So all of that makes me very happy. But leading up to the release, the rumours were framing the V1 as a replacement to the G7 series, so I was expecting a body that would be a similar size to that. Retroactively I can see how this was super misguided with the bigger sensor and everything. But I feel the size makes it a harder choice for people like me.

I’m putting aside price considerations here, the V1’s big strength is clearly how competitive it is at its price point. For almost the same price though, and some trade offs, you have the X-M5 - you get an APS-C sensor, smaller body, interchangeable lenses, open gate 6k. If you don’t mind the size of the V1, you can carry a ZV-E1 instead and get full frame, keep ibis. Of course you need to either carry more lenses or live on a fixed focal, that’s obviously the big con.

Am I thinking about this wrong? Just curious if anyone else is thinking along these same lines and what your thoughts are!

 

[John Wilde]

An interesting read.

What I find curious about the sensor is what Canon's future plans are for it. I doubt that they would spend all that R&D money for a sensor that only ships in one camera model.

 

[Bob Howland]

FWIW, this isn't what I want. I want something equivalent to the Sony FX30. Maybe later this year?

 

[jam05]

thanks, I'll add that.

this is the strangest release ever, having to go to multiple canon sites to yank what I can find there.

Actually it's really not. If you are the present target consumer there's nothing strange at all. There have been plenty region releases of electronic devices. Social media has simply made it easier for you to find out about them. Nothing new. And with the new western Tariffs, expect more often for western regions to not be first. Obviously Japan and Asia felt they would deal with themselves and put themselves first at the moment. Deal with the West later

 

[John Wilde]

I’m putting aside price considerations here, the V1’s big strength is clearly how competitive it is at its price point.

Don't do that.

 

[jam05]

Amusing how some EU and Western block citizens are surprised about Asian countries puting their region first. After the last decade or so of extreme nationalism. You'll get product info when you get it. They don't have to put up with Tariff policies and trade embargos. Maybe a few in the Asian block is a little tired of the West putting a boot on their neck and willy nilly doing things in the interest of themselves.

 

[David - Sydney]

Is that flash sync speed accurate? 1/2000? If so that poses an interesting portrait option, especially with a 3 stop ND and a 50mm lens on the long end.

DPR reports that the shutter is lens-based so somewhat similar to a leaf shutter with the high flash sync speeds available. ND takes the place of the shutter assembly in the body I guess.

 

[David - Sydney]

Today, the first camera that photographers use is a no-EVF smartphone. That's what they are used to.

I read today that manufacturers have stated (I can't find direct information) that users demand an attachable EVF but they rarely buy one. Might be similar to battery grips in that case where they are less used now vs carrying a spare battery or using USB powerbanks.

 

[David - Sydney]

Amusing how some EU and Western block citizens are surprised about Asian countries puting their region first. After the last decade or so of extreme nationalism. You'll get product info when you get it. They don't have to put up with Tariff policies and trade embargos. Maybe a few in the Asian block is a little tired of the West putting a boot on their neck and willy nilly doing things in the interest of themselves.

Not announced in Australia at the moment either.... are we in Asia or Europe or?

 

[josephandrews222]

So I am (pretty much) the exact target demo for this camera and I’m curious if anyone else is having the same first impressions as me. I’m getting caught up with the size, did anyone else think it was going to be smaller than it is?

Compare camera dimensions side by side

camerasize.com

It’s about the same size as the ZV-E1, the Fuji X-M5 is smaller than it. Of course you need to factor in the lens which is a big consideration, but there are actually good pancake options now, and the kit zoom the X-M5 comes with is very competent and small.

I’m strictly a video shooter and have been chasing the dream daily carry/travel pocketable video camera for a long time: as good of IQ as I can get in as small a form factor as possible. Every mm counts here. I’ve been waiting with bated breath and constantly checking for the newest rumours in anticipation of the V1 as it was seemingly on track to check the most of my boxes. Now that it’s here, it’s actually exceeded expectations - not only does it have everything that was rumoured, it also has ND?! And a cooling fan?!

So all of that makes me very happy. But leading up to the release, the rumours were framing the V1 as a replacement to the G7 series, so I was expecting a body that would be a similar size to that. Retroactively I can see how this was super misguided with the bigger sensor and everything. But I feel the size makes it a harder choice for people like me.

I’m putting aside price considerations here, the V1’s big strength is clearly how competitive it is at its price point. For almost the same price though, and some trade offs, you have the X-M5 - you get an APS-C sensor, smaller body, interchangeable lenses, open gate 6k. If you don’t mind the size of the V1, you can carry a ZV-E1 instead and get full frame, keep ibis. Of course you need to either carry more lenses or live on a fixed focal, that’s obviously the big con.

Am I thinking about this wrong? Just curious if anyone else is thinking along these same lines and what your thoughts are!

I don't think you are thinking about this 'wrong' or 'right'. You are just thinking about it.

And my own thoughts are consonant with yours, in a number of ways.

For example, you wrote this:

"I’m strictly a video shooter and have been chasing the dream daily carry/travel pocketable video camera for a long time: as good of IQ as I can get in as small a form factor as possible. Every mm counts here."

Let me modify what you wrote, as it applies to me:

For example, you wrote this:

"I’m mostly a stills shooter and have been chasing the dream daily carry/travel pocketable video camera for a long time: as good of IQ as I can get in as small a form factor as possible. Every mm counts here."

More than a decade ago, I posted a sentence like this on CR.

It is why I (still) shoot M, especially while traveling.

 

[John Wilde]

Amusing how some EU and Western block citizens are surprised about Asian countries puting their region first.

Perhaps they are only putting CP+ first. That's in Japan, and it makes sense to give attendees something to talk about.

"PowerShot V1 *Scheduled for release in late April 2025" (Canon Japan), so it's not currently shipping anywhere.

 

[Navism]

I read the Japanese canon. the camera can charge by USB.
They release the package with mobile battery.
Here has the full information

仕様 PowerShot V1

キヤノンコンパクトデジタルカメラPowerShot V1の仕様について紹介しているページです。

personal.canon.jp

 

[usern4cr]

The lens shows it is 8.2-25.6 f2.8-4.5.
That means it is an 35mm equivalent of around 16-50mm f5.6-f9 !
So the original post should have mentioned that, or else don't bother mentioning the original f#s right after the equivalent 16-50mm which is intentionally misleading. I feel like we're back on the Olympus M43 website!

 

[Navism]

One Japanese Youtuber has long review

Canon PowerShot V1ç»å ´ã軽ãã¨é«ç»è³ªãå¼ãåããã³ã³ãã¯ãVlogã«ã¡ã©ãå¾¹åºã¬ãã¥ã¼ï¼

Sponsored by ãã¤ãã³ãã¼ã±ãã£ã³ã°ã¸ã£ãã³â¼WEBã³ã³ãã³ããRec Go! My story of "V1"ãã¯ãã¡ãããhttps://personal.canon.jp/articles/interview/my-story-v?utm_medium=social&utm_source=oka...

www.youtube.com

 

[Richard CN]

Actually it's really not. If you are the present target consumer there's nothing strange at all. There have been plenty region releases of electronic devices. Social media has simply made it easier for you to find out about them. Nothing new. And with the new western Tariffs, expect more often for western regions to not be first. Obviously Japan and Asia felt they would deal with themselves and put themselves first at the moment. Deal with the West later

i'm in asia, and it was still a challenge at the start of this to get all the information together. some information was on canon china, some was on canon japan. and dpreview for instance had even more information that no one else did at the time.

We edited and revised the article around 20 times in the first 2 hours of the V1 being announced. Even dpreview was adding information after the announcement - and they usually have an NDA for things like this.

So yes, it was a weird release.

 

[Richard CN]

I read the Japanese canon. the camera can charge by USB.
They release the package with mobile battery.
Here has the full information

仕様 PowerShot V1

キヤノンコンパクトデジタルカメラPowerShot V1の仕様について紹介しているページです。

personal.canon.jp

"

The continuous shooting time is shorter when using USB power than when using batteries (heat-generating batteries < USB power)."

nice catch - i missed that. I'll add that into the article, thanks!

 

[Richard CN]

Not announced in Australia at the moment either.... are we in Asia or Europe or?

the last time I went to Australia, i kind of wondered exactly where I was too

 

[Richard CN]

So I am (pretty much) the exact target demo for this camera and I’m curious if anyone else is having the same first impressions as me. I’m getting caught up with the size, did anyone else think it was going to be smaller than it is?


It’s about the same size as the ZV-E1, the Fuji X-M5 is smaller than it. Of course you need to factor in the lens which is a big consideration, but there are actually good pancake options now, and the kit zoom the X-M5 comes with is very competent and small.

the X-M5 is much thicker and you are't going to get a 16-50 equiv lens on that without adding a fair amount of bulk. there's only so small you can make these, and still have decent cooling and battery performance.

none of those cameras can shoot 4K without overheating fairly quickly.

 

[jim]

24-105 is really, really, really, REALLY hard. Consider even the consumer 24-105 RF lens; it has 11 groups and 13 elements. You have to squish all that down to less than 20-30mm thickness.

there is a limit unless the camera also ships with its own specific micro tear to the fabric of the universe or something, especially if you are shoving a micro four thirds sensor into there.

 

[jim]

Canon managed to put a 24-120mm lenses in G5X Mark II. And with a decent aperture on a camera that is ~45mm deep when the lens isclosed. Look at the G1x Mark II. Similar lens in an 1.5” sensor. Maybe Canon can tear the fabric of the universe but designing a 24-105mm lenses is not that hard. Far more likely is Canon determined the focal length for this camera based on what they think their target market wants.
I don’t shoot video outside my iPhone but I’m trying to justify to myself why I need this camera. Focal length is okay but hope for some close-focus capability at the 50mm. Biggest drawback for me is the sparse number of dials. Is it weatherproofed and just how sophisticated is the auto-iso? And they could have throw a few more dots/pixels on that screen too.