Should we call it a monocular? Should we call it a camera? I’m not sure, but I know that it’s an interesting concept as a birdwatcher. The PowerShot ZOOM is an imaginative product that couples telescopic viewing with digital imaging.
The electronic monocular features 100mm and 400mm optical focal lengths, plus the ability to use an 800mm digital focal length (in 35mm equivalent terms). The PowerShot ZOOM cycles through each focal length by the press of a single button. The lens has optical stabilization and the aperture range is f/5.6-6.3.
On the camera side of things, it features a 12-megapixel 1/3-inch CMOS sensor with ISO capabilities of 100 to 3,200. It can shoot JPEGs up to 10 frames per second, and the camera even has autofocus with face tracking. Video recording is also possible at Full HD 30p. There’s a built-in microphone and media is recorded to a microSD slot.
Canon claims the battery charges in 1 hour and 20 minutes, and allows for up to 1 hour and 10 minutes of viewing through its 2.3-million dot EVF or 1 hour of video recording. For stills, a charged battery should last for up to 150 photos. Charging is performed through the USB-C port.
The Canon PowerShot ZOOM will be priced at $299 and be available in November 2020.
This is so interesting yet so far outside of my realm that I am genuinely looking forward to what birding enthusiasts and amature voyeurs have to say.
I am not sure about this one but if they want to stay relevant camera manufacturers have to get creative and do new things. Otherwise cell phones will eat them up. They can’t just keep creating SLR style cameras forever.
Interesting idea, but if I were in the market for a long lens on a tiny sensor I would get a super zoom bridge camera. Sure it's a little larger to carry, but still fairly small and much more versatile.
Unfortunate that it's JPEG-only (according to DPReview), though this could be a nifty little camera to throw in my bike bag along with my Olympus TG-5. There's plenty of times when the 100mm equiv on the Olympus isn't enough when I see something cool out in the distance on my rides, so I still might pick this up once I can rummage through some sample images and see how the quality is.
I know who this camera is for. Parents in stadium situations!
My niece plays soccer for her high school and her dad would love something like this. Its cheaper, lighter, and smaller than a zoom point&shoot camera, and cheaper than a zoom lens for my APSC camera... think early generation go-pro but with zoom.
I would rather use a NikonP950, because even though the shots aren't all that good, I can at least rescue some of them since it can shoot RAW.