Canon’s first serious compact camera in years is finally here – but is the Canon PowerShot V1 just the start?

As the compact camera makes a comeback, Canon is finally poised to bring its PowerShot line into 2025. The brand has just announced the Canon PowerShot V1… again. After announcing the camera with Asia-only availability last month, Canon is now launching the V1 in additional markets, including the US and UK.

Announced alongside the video-focused mirrorless Canon EOS R50 V, Canon’s young V line now includes the PowerShot V10, the V1 and the R50 V. But during a press conference, Canon’s product planning senior manager, Andrew McCallum, indicated that the company is “looking to expand” that V line – which currently is largely geared towards entry-level video and hybrid shooters.

But while the PowerShot V1 is video-focused, it could be considered Canon's first serious point-and-shoot camera in more than five years, depending on if you consider the PowerShot V10 (which was introduced in 2023) an advanced compact camera or a vlogging camera.

Rather than update the form factor of the popular G7 X series, the V1 sits in an entirely different category as a compact vlogging camera with an entirely new sensor.

The V1 uses a 1.4-inch sensor, which is nearly twice as large as the 1-inch type found in cameras like the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III and the Sony ZV-1. It’s smaller than an APS-C sensor and is wider but shorter than the Micro Four Thirds format.

That larger sensor complicates adding a zoom lens without negating the compact form factor, so the Canon PowerShot V1 has a 16-50mm equivalent zoom rather than the longer 24-100mm lens found on the G7 X Mark III. That lens can shoot at f/2.8 at the widest angle and at f/4.5 at full zoom. Optical stabilization is included and rated at 5 stops.

But other hardware is borrowed from other Canon cameras, including an autofocus system derived from the Canon EOS R6 Mark II. The AF has human and animal tracking but lacks the vehicle detection option. The V1 also has a movie close-focusing mode that’s designed to switch focus from the face to a product for demo videos, along with a skin-smoothing video mode.

The PowerShot V1 is video-focused, but a photo-video switch – a first in the PowerShot series – enables users to flick back and forth between the two.

For stills, the V1 boasts 22.3MP including RAW, JPEG and HEIF shooting, while full-sensor video tops out at 4K 30p. A faster 60p frame rate is available for 4K as well, but it crops the sensor. FullHD can shoot up to 120fps for slow-motion shots, and 10-bit files are also available in Canon Log and MP4 formats.

A built-in cooling fan enables the V1 to shoot without any heat-related recording limits, but with the fan off records for 40 minutes in 4K 30p or 25 minutes in the cropped 4 K60p.

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Those features are all crammed into a body that weighs just 15 oz and measures just a touch over 2 inches deep.

The design includes a vari-angle LCD screen that rotates out to the side, along with Canon’s Multi-Function shoe that works with the DM-E10 stereo mic and most Canon EL-series Speedlites (although some flashes will need the AD-E1 adapter, as the shoe doesn’t have the traditional flash sync contacts). The design does not include a viewfinder, however, nor weather sealing.

While Canon is calling the V1 a vlogging camera, the photo-video switch, manual modes with RAW shooting, and larger sensor could potentially also attract some stills photographers, at least while Canon’s PowerShot G7 X III remains difficult to find in stock at list price.

The Canon PowerShot V1 is expected to list for $899.99 / £959.99 / AU$1449, with shipping expected to begin on April 08 in the US and on April 10 in the UK. Notably, that list price is slightly more than the new Canon EOS R50 V, a mirrorless camera in that same video-focused V lineup.

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