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Just Posted: Canon PowerShot N first impressions

Jan 7, 2013 at 15:22:15 GMT

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Canon's PowerShot N, with its 'either way up' design and Creative Shot processing filters, is one of the most unusual cameras we've seen for some time. Canon's talking about it as a companion to a smartphone, and to this end it includes Wi-Fi connectivity and the ability to upload photos and videos to social media. We've had the chance to handle one briefly, and have prepared a quick first impressions article to give an idea of how it works.

Cick here for our Canon PowerShot N hands-on first impressions

PREVIEW CANON POWERSHOT WI-FI

Canon PowerShot N

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Canon PowerShot N 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 8x Optical Zoom and 28mm Wide-Angle Lens (White)	Too low to display
Canon PowerShot N 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 8x Optical Zoom and 28mm Wide-Angle Lens (Black)	$264.00
Canon PowerShot A2300 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Black)	$84.99
Canon PowerShot A2500 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 720p HD Video Recording (Black)	Too low to display
Canon PowerShot N Wi-Fi Digital Camera (White) with 32GB Card + Battery + Case + Accessory Kit	$299.95
Canon PowerShot S120 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 1080p Full-HD Video	Too low to display
Canon PowerShot ELPH 520 HS 10.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom 28mm Wide-Angle Lens and 1080p Full HD Video Recording (Bllue)	$109.95
Canon PowerShot A4000IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom 28mm Wide-Angle Lens with 720p HD Video Recording and 3.0-Inch LCD (Blue)	$94.99
Canon PowerShot A4000IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom 28mm Wide-Angle Lens with 720p HD Video Recording and 3.0-Inch LCD (Silver)	$89.98
Canon PowerShot ELPH 330 HS 12.1 MP Wi-Fi Enabled CMOS Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom 24mm Wide-Angle Lens and 1080p Full HD Video (Silver)	Too low to display

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Comments

Total comments: 29

I don't want this Powershot N 'smartphone companion'.

What I want are interchangeable "Ricoh GXR" components that can be slapped into the back of my Samsung Galaxy SIII phone.

1 upvote

Most hand phone users are happy with their instagram picture junk, and this is far not enough to entice the crowd. Canon has become a complacent company.
Peter Kroll, Singapore

0 upvotes

"Instagram picture junk"...spoken like a true photo snob. In the real world, there's more to photography than just pixel peeping. There are moments, emotions, sentiments, memories, fun, sharing etc. behind photos. Unfortunately, all the technophiles care about is all the technical stuff and elitism.

Sure, people can take great, super-high-res photos with their DSLRs, and make a 50x60" print that maybe a couple dozen people might see. Heck, I love my DSLRs and they serve me well. But there's a whole other world of photography where images are taken, uploaded, shared, and seen by 100's, 1000's, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people, throughout the world, in a matter of days.

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

4 upvotes

Nonetheless, most Instajunk pictures look exactly the same.

0 upvotes

Is this the best Canon can do at this year CES? Unless I missed something, they gotta be kidding....

0 upvotes

The world of photography is changing. Connected cameras will be the future. Also, a break from the standard camera form factor is definitely a welcomed change. The whole notion that a shutter button and zoom toggle has to be at a specific spot on a camera is very archaic and limiting.

1 upvote

The only thing missing is a detachable LCd display,wireless between camera and display, and a release button on the display. Then you don't need an spacious hinge and get all the freedom in the world. Idea for N2

0 upvotes

'either way up' design requires square (6.17 x 6.17 mm) sensor.

0 upvotes

What are the dimensions of this camera?

0 upvotes

79 x 60 x 29 mm (3.11 x 2.36 x 1.14") http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_n/specification

Comment edited 51 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Thanks Andy !

0 upvotes

If this camera is even a minor hit among the Instagram crowd, then watch the other manufacturers copy it almost line for line, just like they did with the original Canon Elph, in six months or less.

1 upvote

why canon came out with 10 new compacts this year is beyond me.

seriously, are they even making any money off these? it's like they're stuck in the cycle or clutching to the past.

just cause you make a camera smaller doesn't mean people are going to want to carry it around.

bigger sensors and zoom are the right decision- image quality is the only reason anybody's going to still buy a compact alongside a smartphone, along with the ability to zoom farther. smartphones have everything else and do it better (stupid scene modes vs actual apps? 3g connection w/out having to pay for an extra device?).

what companies need to figure out is how to advertise this information to consumers so they become educated about what's important and what's not.

1 upvote

Last March Pew did a survey and reported that 45% of cell phone owners said that their phone is a smartphone. So, yeah - I'm guessing that they still make money on compact cameras because many people still use them.

Comment edited 55 seconds after posting

1 upvote

You're really don't know how many regular people in the world who don't even know about quality or something else. Sister of my wife, just purchased a piece of crap(camera) after the cool compact that I bought to them(broken now). He is Ph.D (economics).

1 upvote

Have you seen smartphone quality? Its actually, except for a few premium models, incredibly sheet!

0 upvotes

This could have been a great camera for a teenage girl who wants a small camera to keep in her bag and take pics of herself and friends when she goes out and gets hammered. Instantly on facebook/instagram and no further.

Where it fails as a good camera for doing that is the tiny LED flash. Harsh horrible unflattering light. I don't know why no one has tried to do anything different in this area. Perhaps an LED ring around the lens or two flashes that pop out from either side.

A more limited zoom range and a fast lens.

I think it's great that canon are trying something new at least.

0 upvotes

To take pictures of herself, a screen that tilts more than 90 degrees would have been useful... Dunno why they didn't hinge it like the other flip out screens that Canon makes.

2 upvotes

So what is it good for?

1 upvote

Nex + Eye-fi is infinitely better than this.

Comment edited 13 seconds after posting

2 upvotes

Hmmmm and a nex with an eye fi and lens = over a $1000 vs $299 hmmmmm...

2 upvotes

I wish manufacturers wouldn't use clueless market researchers to determine camera specifications.

This camera, and many others (samsung galaxy camera) would have been much better if they had smaller zoom ranges and larger sensors. But because optical zoom is a key spec that the average consumer looks for, we have to be content with suboptimal products.

I wish sensor surface area was a spec listed on every camera, and every cellphone camera ever sold.

2 upvotes

Cameras must appeal to buyers on terms they understand. Megapixels, zoom, and WiFi are all understood, at least vaguely. The sensor size nomenclature (ASP, etc) or odd-ball ratio calibrations are harder to explain. Sensor size, alone, does not guarantee anything but perhaps higher cost and confusion. Buyer: "Gimme a $200 pocket camera with a big sensor and 20X zoom!" Clerk: "It doesn't exist." Buyer: "Huh. You must be dumb. I'll try the next store."

0 upvotes

Did it ever occur to you that sensor surface area doesn't really tell you that much, it's what they do with the sensor? If not, how is it that a camera of today with a smaller sensor can run circles around a camera of 5 years ago with a bigger one?

0 upvotes

If it has a sensor size less than 1" it's DOA anymore for an enthusiast's point and shoot.

However, for a toy camera like this one, I don't think the target demographic cares. It just has to be something they'll buy in addition to their cell phone camera. And I'm not seeing that with this thing. It's gimmicky for sure, but what does this have over the cell phone? A zoom lens? If it had a real flash that could be a boon. But it's another thing to charge and carry. And for the group their targeting, I'm not sure there's a market for point and shoots anymore. Most of the time when I go out with the "instagram generation" if they have a camera along with their phone it's a film camera ... How about releasing a $100 AE-1 MkII Canon?

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

How about a smart phone with a side-load SD card reader, instead? That way if I want to share a photo I can pop my card out of my camera and upload it from the SD card in the phone. A phone that was optimized to take advantage of this kind of functionality would be sweet and would work with any camera.

Comment edited 37 seconds after posting

1 upvote

Actually, you can connect your camera to some android smartphones with a USB host adapter. You can then copy your pictures to your phone like you want to. I use a small Lexar SD card reader with my galaxy S II so that I don't drain my camera's battery.

0 upvotes

Nice to see something new. Reminds me of looking down into a Rolleiflex.

Too bad there's no way to properly hold this. So that's that.

0 upvotes

Ludicrous- VRR

0 upvotes

Total comments: 29

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