With the recent advancements in smartphone camera technology, the popularity of digital cameras have continued to decline. However, the sales of portable sports cameras and special cameras have soared in recent years. Just recently in Japan Canon unveiled a telescopice camera dubbed the Powershot Zoom. The camera went on sale immediately after the launch through crowdfunding. The camera must have been an impressive one as the crowdfunding target was accomplished within 13 hours after it was launched.
The Canon Powershot Zoom mini telescope
camera is a little lighter than a cell phone weighing 145g and can be held in
one hand due to its small size. It looks similar to the traditional monocular
telescope. The eyepiece is an electronic viewfinder. On top and at the bottom
of the camera are physical buttons to adjust the focus and start shooting. In
Canon’s official promotional video, a scene of a football match is depicted.
People in the audience can easily see the movements of the legs of distant
players through Powershot Zoom.
It also supports real-time focus
adjustment and taking of pictures while recording a video. It supports two
optical focal lengths equivalent to 100mm and 400mm, and a digital focal length
equivalent to 800mm. From the promotional video, it seems that Smooth zoom is
not supported.
The camera has a built-in 12.1 megapixel
1/3 inch sensor. This sensor is very small compared to the current mobile phone
lens. The lens size should be related to the size and cost of the body. In
terms of shooting specifications, Powershot Zoom supports continuous shooting
at 10 frames per second and video recording up to 1080p/30fps, as well as
facial recognition. The camera also comes with a waterproof, dustproof and
drop-proof build making it suitable for use during outdoor sports.
At present, the price of this camera on
the crowdfunding platform is 31460 yen (2030 yuan, US$ 300). It is
currently only available in the Japanese market.
