Nuked Hey there, fellow tech enthusiasts! It’s your favorite funny guy, Nuked, here to talk about Canon’s latest entry into the vlogging camera market. The new PowerShot V10 is a quirky little point-and-shoot that seems to be geared towards a “set-it-and-forget-it” crowd, but is it worth the $429.99 price tag?
The PowerShot V10 is certainly an adorable little camera with a throwback design reminiscent of the old Flip Video cameras. It boasts a fixed 19mm equivalent f/2.8 lens and a 20.9-megapixel one-inch-type sensor, capable of recording 4K at up to 30 fps. It also comes equipped with an articulating screen, front and rear record buttons, stereo mics with a 3.5mm mic jack, digital image stabilization, and a kickstand for propping it up.
What makes the V10 interesting is its design, which seems more suited for YouTube content creation than TikTok or Instagram Reels. Its two-inch touchscreen tilts forward 180 degrees for self-recording and the camera does not have many buttons, relying instead on touch controls using its postage stamp of a two-inch 3:2 LCD. However, this simplistic approach may not be ideal for beginners who want to learn and grow with their camera.
The V10’s limitations remind me of the bad old days of digital point-and-shoot cameras, where settings were limited because users weren’t trusted or respected enough to use them correctly. For example, its ISO range of 125 to 12,800 in stills mode is not even manually selectable, and the camera doesn’t support any kind of manual focusing. Additionally, its 20.9-megapixel sensor is only using an effective 13.1 megapixels for video and 15.2 megapixels for stills. However, it does have five levels of software skin smoothing.
Since the V10 is video-focused, it does have some convenient features like a built-in neutral density filter and contrast-based autofocus that supports face detection. But there’s no eye detection to speak of and no log recording or raw capture for photos. You’re limited to 8-bit recording in Rec.709 color with MP4 files, and the V10’s small stature means it only supports microSD cards, with a built-in 1,250mAh battery that recharges via USB-C and tops out at an estimated 55 minutes of 4K video recording.
The V10’s restrictions and omissions may not be deal-breakers if you use the camera for portable vlogging and simple livestreaming, but content creators, even beginners, are not stupid. Many of these creators are already filming on their very capable phones, which offer room to grow if you opt for third-party accessories like a gimbal or apps like Halide. Making the jump to a dedicated camera needs to respect their capabilities and show more upside than just a larger sensor to record on.
But since this is the start of a new line for Canon, perhaps it’s just the first peek at what’s to come. Canon seems aware that vlogging is one of the last vestiges for dedicated point-and-shoot cameras, so here’s to hoping future models don’t endlessly slip into the same PowerShot trappings of old. There’s a reason most of those types of point-and-shoots died off.
So there you have it, folks! The Canon PowerShot V10 may not be perfect, but it’s certainly an interesting option for those looking to dip their toes into the vlogging camera world. Will you be picking one up when it launches in June? Let me know in the comments below!
