Verdict
Regardless of some spectacular features, Canon’s first vlogging digicam seems like a white elephant. Its high quality and options aren’t ok to persuade budding content material creators to exchange their smartphones, whereas these seeking to produce professional-looking movies will do much better by saving up slightly extra for a mirrorless digicam.
Execs
- Light-weight pocket-sized construct
- Good construct high quality and durable stand
- Picture high quality beats telephones in sure situations
Cons
- 9:16 capturing requires rotating the digicam
- Very small LCD display screen
- Patchy autofocus efficiency
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Large-angle lens:19mm equal fastened focal size lens with most F2.8 aperture -
1-inch sensor:15.2MP 1.0-type back-illuminated CMOS sensor for images and video -
Small, light-weight constructWeighs simply 211g and is compact sufficient to slot in a trouser pocket
Introduction
Canon isn’t about to let Sony hog the vlogging digicam market. The Canon PowerShot V10 is the corporate’s first digicam designed particularly for vloggers; it’s tiny and light-weight, comes with a wide-angle lens, face-tracking autofocus and picture stabilisation and offers customers the power to document 4K video at as much as 30fps (or 1080p video at as much as 60fps).
The factor is, a lot of the above are traits shared by a good smartphone – one thing that I think about nearly each potential vlog celebrity already owns. To succeed, the PowerShot V10 must be markedly higher than a telephone, as a result of regardless of being an entry-level product it’s nonetheless a sizeable money funding. Does it achieve this? We’ve been placing it by its paces for a couple of days, so let’s dive in and discover out.
Design and Dealing with
- Palm-sized construct
- Constructed-in kickstand
- Tilt-and-flip LCD touchscreen
Pulling the PowerShot V10 out of its field, I used to be instantly impressed. Its total design is uncommon however genuinely intelligent: the stable and durable built-in kickstand for example, which lets you prop it up on a desktop for filming to-camera items (or to be used as a webcam).
The V10 could be very light-weight, sufficiently small to slot in a trouser pocket and a cinch to carry one-handed, though a tripod mount on the underside means you possibly can simply connect a vlog deal with if you would like a bit extra stabilisation. It’s chunkier than a smartphone, however not as tall and total it feels extraordinarily moveable. It’s additionally solidly constructed – if not waterproof or rugged. Thus far, so good.
The touchscreen is the primary purple mark towards it, although. Whereas I appreciated that it flips up 180 levels, permitting it to face forwards, backwards and someplace in between, at 2 inches in width it feels very small in comparison with different cameras (which usually provide 3-inch shows) and telephones (that are normally a lot bigger). Meaning you possibly can generally battle to see it from a distance as quick as an arm’s size, significantly if you’re open air on a sunny day. Greater than as soon as this left us with footage that was unfocussed or poorly framed, so it’s actually a problem to pay attention to.
There’s a minimalist management structure, with a single giant document/shutter button on the entrance and a number of other smaller buttons on the again for controlling the ability and settings. The display screen additionally provides a bunch of contact controls, and total I discovered utilizing the digicam to be a pleasing course of. That’s to not say it couldn’t be improved, and a bodily button to immediately change between nonetheless and video capturing was a lot missed – because it stands, you might want to use the touchscreen to do that and it takes far too lengthy.
Connectivity is easy however satisfactory. Wi-fi duties are dealt with nicely sufficient by 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 (and given the vlog-first nature of the digicam, I believe numerous patrons shall be making use of them to maneuver content material onto telephones after which social media), whereas on the wired entrance there’s USB-C (which can be utilized for webcam streaming in addition to charging and knowledge switch), micro HDMI and a 3.5mm mic enter. There’s additionally a slot for a microSD card, and with no on-board storage you’ll want one – ideally a quick one (V30 or extra) in the event you’re capturing 4K video.
Options
- Face-tracking autofocus
- Two-level digital picture stabilisation
- Webcam performance
Vloggers spend a lot of the time filming themselves whereas strolling round, so it’s little surprise that Canon has geared up the PowerShot V10 with options to help this particular kind of capturing. We’ve already talked about the light-weight, palm-sized construct, the front-facing display screen and front-mounted document button, however there’s additionally digital picture stabilisation to counteract digicam shake and autofocus that may be set to recognise and observe human faces.
Whereas these may sound like killer options, in apply they’re a contact undercooked. The stabilisation works nicely at instances (when filming your self) however could be jerky in different moments (if you flip it round and movie ‘POV’ content material whereas strolling), and at its handiest setting the body is cropped fairly severely, leaving you with much less house to work with. The autofocus was additionally patchy, at instances recognising faces and at others deciding the background was extra fascinating, leaving the topic fuzzy and gentle.
Even when they’re not resounding successes, these options are arguably one space the place the PowerShot V10 does beat or a minimum of match most smartphones. One other level is that it capabilities surprisingly nicely as a webcam: hook it as much as your laptop by way of USB and you may instantly use it for Zoom calls and Twitch streaming classes, with minimal fuss concerned.
Lastly, it incorporates a built-in rechargeable battery that gives about an hour of video recording time. You may also use the USB-C port as a everlasting energy provide, so in the event you’re filming longer clips take into account hooking up a large-capacity energy financial institution or related.
Video and Photograph High quality
- 4K at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps
- 15.2MP nonetheless images
- Constructed-in ND filter
With its 1-inch back-illuminated CMOS sensor, the PowerShot V10 has better uncooked imaging energy than most smartphones. That’s the idea anyway, however I discovered the efficiency to be a combined bag. In the proper lighting situations, footage and images look impressively sharp and wealthy, however the lack of on-board lighting means you might want to watch out when and the place you’re filming if you wish to preserve this degree of high quality.
Some form of LED gentle would have been a helpful addition to the options checklist, as would the power to rapidly shoot 9:16 portrait content material with out turning the digicam 90 levels. With TikTok and its imitators arguably being the most well-liked vlogging platforms in the meanwhile, together with it will appear to be a straightforward win which means that Canon doesn’t actually perceive its goal market.
The wide-angle lens seems like a good choice for essentially the most half, because it supplies a superb field-of-view for selfies and vlogs. It’s not versatile although, and when capturing smaller topics past a metre or two away I discovered that they tended to really feel misplaced within the vast body, so that you’ll have to work inside the V10’s limitations to get respectable outcomes. One good function nevertheless is a built-in ND filter for out of doors filming in direct daylight.
The dual, top-mounted microphones do an appropriate job in most circumstances, seeming significantly adept at choosing up voices. They do undergo from wind noise open air, however fortunately some fuzzy stick-on windshields are provided within the field; these aren’t as safe because the one you discover on Sony’s vlogging compacts, nevertheless.
Newest offers
Do you have to purchase it?
Your smartphone isn’t as much as scratch: In case your smartphone’s digicam is poor and also you want an inexpensive gateway into vlogging, the V10 isn’t a foul one. It’s small, light-weight and total efficiency is satisfactory.
You personal a high-end handset: For those who already personal a superb high quality smartphone, it makes extra sense to stay to utilizing that and save your cash for a digicam that represents a real improve.
Last Ideas
The Canon PowerShot V10 seems like a digicam out of time. Had it been launched a few years in the past, it may need had some real enchantment however right now – with the likes of Sony and GoPro having already cornered the small vlogging digicam market – it’s too quirky and underpowered to exchange a good smartphone, not to mention a mirrorless digicam.
It’s uncommon that Canon delivers a foul product, and I believe the corporate could produce other, extra highly effective and versatile vlogging fashions within the pipeline. Nonetheless, it’s price remembering that you just don’t want a ‘vlog digicam’ to make vlogs: you should use any digicam, and most cameras on the market will do a greater job than the V10. Our recommendation to would-be vloggers: save up slightly extra money, purchase an inexpensive mirrorless digicam as an alternative – or in the event you should get a compact all-in-one vlog machine, check out both the GoPro Hero 11 or the Sony ZV-E1.
How we take a look at
We take a look at each digicam we overview completely. We use set assessments to check options correctly and we use it as our fundamental system over the overview interval. We’ll at all times let you know what we discover and we by no means, ever, settle for cash to overview a product.
Used the digicam for per week
FAQs
Sure, you possibly can join the PowerShot V10 to a pc or a laptop computer and use it for video calls or livestreaming.
There’s a 3.5mm jack for connecting and utilizing exterior microphones.
Sustainability
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