The Canon PowerShot V10 combines a 1-inch type sensor similar to the one in the popular PowerShot G7X Mark III with a bright, wide lens and a host of useful features for vloggers wanting to step up from a smartphone to get better image quality and audio without the complications of some other cameras. Its tilting screen, upright design and fold-down stand make the V10 easy to use out and about or at home.
The Canon PowerShot V10 is a new addition to Canon’s series of compact cameras aimed at vloggers and it sits below the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III.
It’s intended as a step up from a mobile phone and is designed to be easy to use and suitable for people wanting to vlog or create videos on the hoof. It can shoot stills, but it’s really designed for shooting video and therefore doesn’t have some of the features that dedicated stills photographers may want.
Inside the Canon PowerShot V10 is a 1-inch type BSI CMOS sensor similar to the one in the PowerShot G7X Mark III. It can shoot in 14 different aspect ratios to suit a range of platforms and has a total resolution of 30 million pixels. However, it only uses between 15 and 20MP for stills.
Unlike the G7X Mark III, which has a zoom lens with an effective focal length range of 24-100mm, the Canon PowerShot V10 has a fixed lens with an effective focal length of 19mm. This produces a wide angle of view that is ideal for vlogging at arm’s length while the f/2.8 maximum aperture should enable some separation of the subject from its background.
The PowerShot V10 can shoot 4k video at up to 30p with a maximum sensitivity setting of ISO 3200, and Full HD video at up to 60p with a maximum sensitivity setting of ISO 6400. It’s also possible to record for up to an hour at a time.
As you might expect, Canon’s Movie Digital IS onboard and is joined by Auto Level to help produce more stable footage with a level horizon. There’s also a Movie Auto ND filter which can give up to three stops of light reduction. This can be set to ‘off’, ‘auto’ or ‘on’, it’s a useful feature for controlling shutter speed.
Although the PowerShot V10 is designed to be easy to use and has lots of automated features, including a skin smoothing option for video and 14 colour filters, it’s also possible to take control of the aperture and shutter speed and shoot in manual exposure mode.
While the camera is designed to be held upright like a mobile phone, it can detect when it’s being held horizontally and will record landscape orientation video and images.
There’s no viewfinder built into the PowerShot V10 but it has a 2-inch tilting touchscreen that can be flipped up through 180° for viewing from in front of the camera. There’s also a red box that appears around the image on the screen when the camera is recording to make it obvious that the camera is running.
Audio can be recorded via the two comparatively large onboard stereo mics or using an external microphone connected via the 3.5mm stereo jack input. There’s also an electronic wind filter on board but there are optional fluffy windshields available. These are magnetically mounted once sticky magnetic rings are attached around the camera’s onboard mics.
The Canon PowerShot V10 has a microSD slot to accept a card for recording video and stills. It’s also possible to live-stream to YouTube, Facebook or a URL via the Canon Camera Connect app on a smartphone. This app also gives remote control over the camera.
Thanks to UVA/UAC support, the Canon V10 can be used as a webcam via a USB-C connection.
The Canon Powershot V10 looks like a small compact camera rather than an action camera. However, the record button, which has a red ring, is on the front, making it easy to use when you’re in front of the camera. It’s also convenient when you’re behind the camera, but recording can be started and stopped with a tap on the screen.
To help when someone is presenting to the camera, the PowerShot V10 has a tilting stand that can be pulled down and angled away from the body to hold it at a range of angles. There’s also a tripod thread in the base of the camera, but the stand is quicker and easier to use if there’s a convenient table, wall or other surface to place it on.
If you want to support the PowerShot V10 in horizontal orientation, you’ll have to invest in the optional SmallRig cage (available as a kit with the camera) which has a tripod thread on one side.
Although the V10’s menu system will seem familiar to Canon photographers, Canon has developed the user interface specifically for it. It’s easy to navigate and gives quick control over the key features.
There are only five buttons and a navigation pad on the back of the camera. However, the screen is touch-sensitive so adjustments can be made with a tap. Helpfully, there’s a dedicated button for connecting the camera quickly to a smart device running the Canon Camera Connect app. That means you can soon be controlling the camera remotely or streaming live.
According to Canon, the PowerShot V10 has a similar sensor to the one in the PowerShot G7 X Mark III. This should mean that noise is kept under control well up to around ISO 3200, possibly higher.
It also means that the autofocus system uses contrast detection rather than phase detection. However, my experience in the gloomy conditions of Canon’s briefing room indicates that the focusing is snappy. The face detection also seems very good indeed, it was very quick to spot my face in the frame.
Canon’s PowerShot G7 X series of compact cameras have been popular amongst vloggers yet it wasn’t until the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III was in development that Canon really woke up to that fact and introduced features like a 3.5mm microphone port and the ability livestream, plus the video capability was boosted to 4K. Now Canon has taken features such as the 1-inch type stacked CMOS sensor and bright lens that attracted vloggers to the G7X series and put them in a body that is better suited to vlogging by those who are used to using a smartphone.
The live-streaming seems simple to set-up and use but it’s only with extensive use that we’ll know if it’s consistent and reliable.
