Canon PowerShot V1 Review

The Canon PowerShot V1 is the answer to the "How do you fix bad phone camera image quality" question. While your phone pictures often look nice on your phone, they fall apart when displayed large on a computer monitor, especially those captured in low light. This realization and dissatisfaction are driving a resurgence in the popularity of fixed-lens cameras with larger imaging sensors.

This initial demand caught manufacturers by surprise, with many current models going out of stock. Thus, introducing the Canon PowerShot V1 made perfect sense.

While the initial Canon PowerShot V1 announcement was regionally targeted, including only Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, that disappointment is behind us, and this camera is now available worldwide.

While the compact PowerShot V1 produces excellent still image quality, the "V" in the name emphasizes its video capabilities. The number "1" is reserved for Canon's flagship models, denoting this camera's superior overall performance within the PowerShot fixed-lens lineup.

Summary of Canon PowerShot V1 Features

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• 22.3 megapixel 1.4" (18.4 x 12.3mm) CMOS imaging sensor for high image quality (not stacked, 18 megapixel for video)
• 8.2-25.6mm (16-50mm full-frame equivalent) F2.8-4.5 integrated wide-angle zoom lens with 5-stop optical IS
• Dual Pixel AF II for PowerShot with speed and tracking inherited from the EOS R6 Mark II (outstanding)
• DIGIC X processor
• ISO 100-32000 (expandable to 51200) for stills, up to ISO 12800 (expandable to 25600) for video
• Up to 30 fps high-speed continuous shooting
• Up to 1/16000 with electronic shutter, 1/2000 with mechanical
• 4K 60P video (1.4x crop), 4K 30P (uncropped, 5.7k oversampled), FHD 60P, Canon LOG 3
• Cooling fan for extended video recording (greater than 2 hours of record time with Auto Power Off set to High)
• Smartphone integration via USB cable, Wi-Fi (2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n), or Bluetooth 4.2 via Canon Camera Connect app.
• Video calls and live streaming support
• Internal 3-stop ND filter, tally lamp
• Movie shooting moods, including "Smooth skin movie", "Movie for close-up demos" (tracks the product instead of eyes when the item is held forward), "Movie IS mode"
• Multi-function shoe, X sync to 1/2000 sec
• Mic and headphone jacks, stereo mic, and mono speaker
• Dead cat windscreen is provided
• Subject tracking IS, with crop position determined by camera shake and subject position (not available with 4k 60P)
• 3" vari-angle 1,040,000 dot LCD
• UHS-II SD card slot
• Canon LP-E17 Battery Pack
• Stills/video switch with a full array of mode dial options for each
• Compact 4.65 x 2.68 x 2.09" (118 x 68 x 53mm) size

Focal Length Range

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When the lens is permanently mounted on the camera, the lens's focal length range becomes a critical camera selection decision factor. If the needed focal length is unavailable, this is the wrong camera. However, the 8.2-25.6mm (the crop factor is 2x, making the full-frame angle of view equivalent to about 16-50mm) is a great choice for general-purpose needs, including arms-length self-recording.

The V1 provides ideal angles of view for landscapes and people compositions. This range is not usually a good choice for wildlife and sports, and tightly framed headshots will have a strong perspective.

The angle of view range is useful for street and travel photography.

The following images illustrate the 8.2-25.6mm focal length range:

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The 8.2mm end is ultra-wide, and the 25.6mm end covers the beloved normal/standard focal length.

Keep the V1 in a convenient location for use around the house.

Max Aperture

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When the lens is permanently mounted on the camera, the lens's max aperture, which determines how much light is transmitted to the imaging sensor and the shallowness of the depth of field, is another critical camera selection decision factor. The V1's lens provides F2.8-4.5, which is only moderately wide.

Because this lens's maximum opening does not increase sufficiently with focal length increase to maintain the same aperture measurement ratio, the max aperture is efficiently variable, ranging from f/2.8 to f/4.5 as the focal length range is increasingly traversed. The Canon PowerShot V1 has all those attributes.

While the aperture value reduction is continuous, narrowing as the focal length increases, the camera rounds the reported aperture to the nearest 1/3 or 1/2 stop. Here are the focal length ranges for the Canon PowerShot V1's reported 1/3 stop apertures.

8.2 - 9.4mm = f/2.8
9.5 - 11.4mm = f/3.2
11.5 - 14.5mm = f/4.0
14.6 - 25.6mm = f/4.5

While not remarkably wide, these apertures are sufficient for the typical uses of this camera.

As a generalization, a larger imaging sensor requires a longer focal length to create the same composition at the same distance, and the longer the focal length, the shallower the depth of field at the same aperture. While this camera is modestly disadvantaged compared to the larger APS-C imaging sensor models, it is highly advantaged over the tiny phone imaging sensors.

These examples illustrate the maximum blur this lens can create:

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A strong background blur makes the subject stand out, a differentiating image feature, and this camera, with a close subject, can make that happen.

Sensor and Image Quality

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For a point-and-shoot style fixed-lens camera, the V1 has a large, high-resolution Canon CMOS imaging sensor, a key to the excellent image quality it delivers.

Model	FOVCF	Sensor	Pixel Size	Pixels/Megapixels		DLA*
Canon EOS R10	1.6x	22.3 x 14.9mm	3.72µm	6000 x 4000	24.2	f/6.0
Canon EOS R50	1.6x	22.3 x 14.9mm	3.72µm	6000 x 4000	24.2	f/6.0
Canon EOS R50 V	1.6x	22.3 x 14.9mm	3.72µm	6000 x 4000	24.2	f/6.0
Canon EOS R100	1.6x	22.3 x 14.9mm	3.72µm	6000 x 4000	24.1	f/6.0
Canon PowerShot V1	2.0x	18.4 x 12.3mm	3.2µm	5760 x 3840	22.3	f/5.2

The V1's 22.3 MP resolution is substantial, nearly as high as Canon's highest performing MILC, the EOS R1. Here is a look at the Canon PowerShot V1's 22.3 megapixel resolution, and here is a comparison between the PowerShot V1 and the 24 MP EOS R10 (tested with a high-end lens).

Here is the V1's imaging sensor size illustrated in relation to other standards.

"Compared to a 1.0-inch sensor, the 1.4-inch sensor has approximately twice the area, delivering higher image quality and higher sensitivity." [Canon Japan]

The V1 has ISO 100-32000 available in the normal range, with the expanded ISO 51200 setting available in still image mode. Up to ISO 12800 (expandable to 25600) is available for video capture.

PowerShot V1 noise test results are available in the site's tool, providing comparisons with many other cameras.

The smoothly-colored ColorChecker patches combined with no noise reduction processing (a key point) make noise especially noticeable compared to detailed scenes that better hide noise levels. Noise reduction processing, though it is sometimes destructive to image details, can significantly reduce the noise level seen in these images. However, noise reduction can be applied to images from every camera, reducing its differentiation. The Canon RAW-captured noise test images were processed in Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP) with the Standard Picture Style and Sharpness = "1" (0-10 scale) applied.

Basically, from a noise perspective, a lower ISO setting (the lowest non-extended setting on some cameras) always produces the cleanest image quality. Noise levels increase as the ISO setting is increased, and by ISO 1600 and 3200, V1 noise levels become noticeable. The levels increased to strong by ISO 6400, ugly at ISO 12800, and the best use of ISO 25600 and 51200 is for marketing purposes.

How does the PowerShot V1 noise compare to that of an APS-C camera model? Here is a PowerShot V1 vs. R10 comparison (the R10 performs the same as the R50). While the R10's larger imaging sensor has the advantage, the difference is not big at ISO 1600. The difference at ISO 6400 is more substantial.

Exposure latitude is another image quality factor, and test images under- or over-exposed up to 3 stops are available in the tool. The V1's +2 EV samples hold up well and show about 2 stops of ISO noise improvement. As usual, the +3 EV examples are showing data loss, but performance is close to that of the R10.

Similarly, the -2 EV results show little degradation at ISO 100, and they are nearly equivalent to the correspondingly higher ISO setting. The -3 stop results begin to show data loss.

Anchored by the large imaging sensor, the Canon PowerShot V1's image quality is especially impressive for the camera's class.

Image Stabilization

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Subject motion blur, unless used for effect, is detrimental to image quality, and camera shake is a primary source of that deficit. The V1 features a 5-stop optical image stabilization system to avoid that problem.

"We’ve also introduced Subject Tracking Image Stabilization, which prioritizes stabilization at the subject’s location when it’s off-center." [Canon]

Don't expect to achieve the 5-stop difference, but IS is helpful, and the assistance spec is useful for comparative purposes.

Lens Image Quality

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The lens's optical quality is always critical to image quality, and when the lens is fixed to the camera, the lens review must accompany the camera review.

Wide-open, the PowerShot V1 produces excellent the center of the frame sharpness through the entire focal length range. Stopping down does not provide noticeable center-of-the-frame image quality improvement (and rapidly encounters the softening effects of diffraction), and no sharpness improvement is needed.

Often, subjects are not placed in the center of a composition, and lenses typically produce decreased sharpness in the periphery of the image circle, where light rays are refracted to a stronger angle than in the center. This lens shows a gradual sharpness decline from the center to the corners, producing wide-open aperture corners that are slightly soft. Outdoor testing at longer focus distances (shared below) shows the corners rendered sharp. Stopping down yields little corner benefit.

Here is a comparison with the R10 and a high-end lens.

Here is a series of center-of-the-frame 100% resolution crop examples. These images were captured in RAW format by a Canon EOS R5 Mark II and processed in Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP) using the Standard Picture Style with sharpness set to 1 on a 0-10 scale. Note that images from most cameras require some level of sharpening; however, too-high sharpness settings are destructive to image details and mask the deficiencies of a lens.

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These results look great.

Next, we'll examine a series of comparisons that show 100% resolution extreme top-left corner crops captured and processed identically to the above center-of-the-frame images. The lens was manually focused in the corner of the frame to capture these images.

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Count on samples from the outer extreme of the image circle, full-frame corners, to show a lens's weakest performance. Especially the wide and long results show slight softness.

Corner sharpness is not always crucial, but it can be important, especially when photographing landscapes and architecture.

A lens is expected to exhibit peripheral shading at the widest aperture settings. At 8.2mm, this lens shows about 1.5 stops of shading at f/2.8. The amount drops to about 1 stop from 16mm through 25.6mm. At f/8, the shading reduces to just over through just under 0.5 stops.

One-stop of shading is often considered the number of visibility, though subject details provide a widely varying amount of vignetting discernibility. Vignetting is correctable during post-processing, with increased noise in the brightened areas the penalty, or it can be embraced, using the effect to draw the viewer's eye to the center of the frame. Study the pattern shown in our vignetting test tool to determine how your images will be affected.

Lateral (or transverse) CA (Chromatic Aberration) refers to the unequal magnification of all colors in the spectrum. Lateral CA is characterized by color fringing along lines of strong contrast that run tangentially (meridionally, at right angles to radii). The mid and especially the periphery of the image circle exhibit the most significant amount, as this is where the greatest difference in wavelength magnification typically occurs. Lateral CA is usually easily correctable, often in the camera, by radially shifting the colors to coincide.

Color misalignment can be seen in the site's image quality tool, but let's also look at a set of worst-case examples. The images below are 100% crops from the extreme top-left corners showing diagonal black and white lines.

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The color separation ranges from minor at the wide end to modest at the long end.

A relatively common lens aberration is axial (longitudinal, bokeh) CA, which causes non-coinciding focal planes of the various wavelengths of light. More simply, different colors of light are focused to different depths. Spherical aberration, along with spherochromatism, or a change in the amount of spherical aberration with respect to color (looks quite similar to axial chromatic aberration but is hazier) are other common lens aberrations to observe. Axial CA remains somewhat persistent when stopping down, with the color misalignment effect increasing with defocusing. The spherical aberration color halo exhibits little size change as the lens is defocused, and stopping down one to two stops generally removes this aberration.

In the real world, lens defects do not exist in isolation; spherical aberration and spherochromatism are generally found, at least to some degree, along with axial CA. These combine to create a less sharp, hazy-appearing image quality at the widest apertures.

The wide-open aperture examples below compare the fringing colors of the defocused specular highlights in the foreground to the background. The lens has introduced any differences from the neutrally colored subjects.

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The color separation is mild at the wide end and slowly decreases to strong at the long end.

Bright light reflecting off lens elements' surfaces may cause flare and ghosting, resulting in reduced contrast and sometimes interesting, but usually objectionable, visual artifacts. The shape, intensity, and position of the flare and ghosting effects in an image are variable, dependent on the position and nature of the light source (or sources), selected aperture, shape of the aperture blades, and quantity and quality of the lens elements and their coatings. Additionally, flare and ghosting can impact AF performance.

At wide apertures, this lens produced practically no flare effects in our standard sun in the corner of the frame flare test. Fully stopped down, the lens produced modest flare effects, primarily at the wide end.

Two lens aberrations are particularly evident in images of stars, primarily because bright points of light against a dark background make them easier to discern. Coma occurs when light rays from a point of light spread out from that point instead of being refocused as a point on the sensor. Coma is absent in the center of the frame, gets worse toward the edges/corners, and generally appears as a comet-like or triangular tail of light that can be oriented either away from the center of the frame (external coma) or toward the center of the frame (internal coma). The coma clears as the aperture is narrowed. Astigmatism is seen as points of light spreading into a line, either sagittal (radiating from the center of the image) or meridional (tangential, perpendicular to sagittal). This aberration can produce stars appearing to have wings. Remember that Lateral CA is another aberration that is apparent in the corners.

The images below are 100% crops from the top-right corner of images captured at the widest available aperture.

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The stars in these examples show some stretching, but the amount is comparatively good.

This lens produces mild pincushion distortion that is strongest at the long end.

As seen earlier in the review, it is easy to illustrate the strongest blur a lens can create. Due to the infinite number of variables present among available scenes, assessing the blur quality, bokeh, is considerably more challenging. Here are some f/11 (for diaphragm blade interaction) 100% crop examples.

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The 8.2mm magnification is low, which doesn't create the ultimate defocused highlight blur. The 25.6mm results have enlarged blur that appears nicer. The outdoor longer distance samples are nice.

Except for a small number of specialty lenses, the wide aperture bokeh in the frame's corners does not show round defocused highlights, instead showing cat's-eye shapes due to a form of mechanical vignetting. If you look through a tube at an angle, similar to the light reaching the frame's corner, the shape is not round. That is the shape we're looking at here. These samples are upper-left quadrants.

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The 8.2mm corner shapes show strange stretching, but the other examples are good.

A 9-blade diaphragm will create 18-point sunstars (diffraction spikes) from point light sources captured with a narrow aperture. Unfortunately, a narrow max aperture lens does not afford much stopping down before reaching apertures where diffraction causes noticeable softening of details, and these lenses typically do not produce the biggest or best-shaped sunstars.

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The examples above were captured at f/11.

I usually evaluate a lens's parfocalness in the focusing section, but I'll save that section to focus on the camera's attributes. Non-cinema lenses typically require refocusing after a focal length change. As illustrated in the 100% crops below, the reviewed lens does not exhibit parfocal-like characteristics. When focused at 25.6mm, zooming to wider focal lengths results in focus blur. However, the blur is only at the wide end.

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With the Canon PowerShot V1 being so highly optimized for video recording, it seems that Canon should electronically adjust the focus distance during the focal length adjustment.

This lens has a minimum (tested) focus distance of 4.3" (109mm) at the wide and 8.3" (211mm) at the long end.

At 8.2mm, a subject measuring approximately 4.8 x 3.2" (122 x 81mm) fills the imaging sensor at this lens's minimum MF distance. At 25.6mm, a 4.3 x 2.9" (109 x 73mm) subject does the same. Here are maximum magnification examples.

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The individual USPS love stamps measure 1.19 x 0.91" (30 x 23mm). The gray tree frog measures close to 2" (50mm).

The frog agreed to some modeling time in return for the pool rescue and freshwater rinse.

While this lens produces sharp center-of-the-frame details at minimum focus distance with a wide-open aperture, expect the image periphery to be soft due to field curvature. F/11 brings on increased depth of field that improves corner image quality.

This lens features power focus and power zoom, both controlled by the camera. The unclicked lens ring adjusts camera settings, such as aperture or shutter speed, by default. This lens does not feature filter threads, and a lens hood is not available.

Overall, the Canon PowerShot V1 delivers the high-end image expected from a compact flagship camera.

File Size and Media

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The Canon PowerShot V1 writes image files to an SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) memory card. This long-established card format is compact, affordable, highly compatible, and ubiquitous.

Frame Rate, Buffer Depth, Shutter

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The Canon PowerShot V1 provides up to impressively fast 30 fps continuous shooting, a rate that supports nearly all subjects this camera is suited for.

Here is a table showing the available frame rates.

	Electronic	Mechanical
High+	30	15
High	16	8.2
Low	5	3

The V1's buffer reaches capacity after about 30 RAW or 45 JPG shots captured at 30 fps. The mechanical shutter at 15 fps captures about 61 shots in RAW, and the camera was still going strong after 400 JPG images, when attention deficit kicked in, and I moved on. These are tested numbers, not specs.

While 30 RAW files may seem reasonable, that is only 1 second of time duration, meaning that careful shutter release timing is needed to capture the peak of action.

Model	FPS	Max JPG	Max RAW	Shutter Lag	VF Blackout
Canon EOS R10	15/23	460/70	29/21	50-100ms	n/a
Canon EOS R50	12/15	42/28	7
Canon EOS R50 V	12/15	95	36
Canon EOS R100	6.5 (3.5)	100	6
Canon PowerShot V1	15/30	>400/45	61/30

Here is a comparison table showing the tested imaging sensor readout speeds.

Model (times in ms)	Electronic	1st Curtain Mechanical
Canon EOS R10	35.0	2.8
Canon EOS R50	35.3	2.4
Canon EOS R50 V	33.0	2.4
Canon EOS R100	78.0	2.4
Canon PowerShot V1	23.0

The V1's readout time is reasonably short and quite short relative to the other cameras in this table.

Autofocus

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The PowerShot V1 has an impressively high-performing AF system, with speed and tracking inherited from the high-performing EOS R6 Mark II The V1's AF system features outstanding people and animal (dogs/cats) eye, face, and body detection (bird and horse eye detection is not provided). This camera locks onto a tiny in the frame eye and tracks it.

Zoomed to the wide end, the V1 provides excellent low-light AF performance. Zoomed to the long end, the bright AF assist lamp is more readily needed.

The EOS Canon PowerShot V1's AF Area options are Spot AF (reduced size single point, with 3431 available positions for stills, 3139 for Movies), Single-point AF, Flexible Zone AF (Left/right width is adjustable: 3–25, Top/bottom width is adjustable: 3–17, Zones: 9 (3×3) – 425 (25×17)) 1, 2, and 3, and Whole area AF (all 425 AF zones active).

Manual focusing involves pressing the AF/MF side of the rear controller, selecting MF, and then using the up and down cross key functionality to make a change. The M-Fn button enables x5 and x10 zoomed views. The selections can also be made using the LCD's touch capability. While the adjustments are granular, the system works fine for most uses of this lens's focal length range.

Movies

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The V1 was designed with the video content creator in mind. It records uncropped and oversampled from 5.7K MP4 movies at 4K UHD (3840x2160) or Full HD (1920 x 1080), with 10-bit Canon Log 3 supported.

The options are:

4K (cropped), 59.94/50.00, IPB (Standard): 230 Mbps
4K (cropped), 59.94/50.00, IPB (Light): 120 Mbps
4K, 29.97/23.98/25.00, IPB (Standard): 120 Mbps
4K, 29.97/23.98/25.00, IPB (Light): 60 Mbps
Full HD, 119.88/100.00, IPB (Standard): 120 Mbps
Full HD, 119.88/100.00, IPB (Light): 70 Mbps
Full HD, 59.94/50.00, IPB (Standard): 60 Mbps
Full HD, 59.94/50.00, IPB (Light): 35 Mbps
Full HD, 29.97/23.98/25.00, IPB (Standard): 30 Mbps
Full HD, 29.97/23.98/25.00, IPB (Light): 12 Mbps
4K timelapse, 29.97/25.00, ALL-I: 470 Mbps
Full HD timelapse, 29.97/25.00, ALL-I: 90 Mbps

Recording for up to 6 hours is supported (up to 1:30 for high frame rate recording). When not under continuous power, a single battery, rated for a 1:10 duration, becomes the limitation.

The built-in stereo microphone records at 48 kHz, 16 bits. A shoe-mounted dead cat windscreen is included.

A built-in menu selectable 3-stop (not variable) ND filter is provided, enabling wider aperture use in bright environments, which can enable a stronger background blur.

"The PowerShot V1 features a cooling fan to keep internal components from getting too hot, allowing for unlimited continuous shooting at 4K60P. The fan pulls heat from the sensor and vents it out the side to prevent overheating, which extends recording times and ensures consistency during long shoots." [Canon]

With the auto power off temperature set to high and the fan rotation speed set to auto or high, the V1 has "No restrictions due to overheating." [Canon] The standard auto power off temperature setting results in the following durations:

Fan	Off	Auto	High
4K (cropped) 60p	25 Min	35 Min	45 Min
4K 30p	40 Min	55 Min	-
4K 30p (Smooth skin movie)	-	50 Min	-
Full HD 60p	-	-	-

Consider the fan noise when recording audio.

The V1 features special shooting modes, as described by Canon:

• Smooth Skin Movie applies smart corrections to an individual shot.
• Movie Close-Up mode will automatically focus on products or items brought closer to the camera to highlight them in the shot before returning to the original subject when moved out of view.
• Three customer shooting modes can be registered for stills or video shooting.

A modest rolling shutter effect is created when panning with the V1.

A horizon level is available before video recording, but not during.

This camera features power zoom, with the lens focal length adjusted via a lever surrounding the shutter release or remotely via Bluetooth, including with the Canon BR-E1 Remote. When the camera is set to still capture, the single speed adjustment rate is fast and harsh, making it difficult to fine-tune composition. While the lever maintains a single speed in movie mode, the speed is considerably slower and useful for video recording.

Viewfinder and LCD

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Small camera viewfinders are infrequently used during video recording, this camera has "V" in it's name, and it lacks an EVF. And, I miss it for still use. The LCD is difficult to see under bright outdoor light, and some of us require reading glasses for that purpose.

An optional Multi-function Shoe EVF is not available.

The rear LCD is a 2.95" (7.50cm) Vari-angle touch screen, with approx. 1.04 million dots. While this screen rotates for easy front viewing, the opening is just short of a full 180°, which is slightly annoying.

Physical Design

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Canon does not hesitate to adjust camera control layouts, and the V1 gets a new variation. Those making the jump from a smartphone will appreciate this camera's controls and their layout, but those of us familiar with other Canon models encounter a learning curve.

Use the site's camera product image comparison tool to visually compare the Canon PowerShot V1 with many other camera models.

Back of the Camera

A control featuring a dial, cross keys, and a set button contains a lot of directly accessible functions in a small space. Four additional buttons surround this control.

I often complain about Canon's camera buttons being flush, making them more difficult to find and adjust, but that design is welcomed in this case. The V1's compact grip places the thumb over some of these buttons, and the low profile design avoids inadvertent button presses.

Note the cooling fan port on the upper left.

Top of the Camera

The Multi-function shoe gives this camera access to Canon's flash system and more. Next to the right is the stereo mic.

The power switch, above the mic, is recessed, requiring a deliberate press for big fingers. The shutter release is surrounded by the zoom lever, and the movie record button is next to it. The record button's top location makes starting movies easy from any side of the camera.

The option-laden mode dial and separate stills/movie switch provide superb control.

Side of the Camera

The left side of this camera primarily features cooling ports.

The right side of the V1 provides mic, headphones, USB (Hi-Speed USB 2.0, charging and powered use provided), and HDMI Micro out (Type D, HDMI-CEC not supported) ports.

Front of the Camera

Aside from the lens (note the convenient shutter cover), the front of the camera features tally and AF assist lamps.

Bottom of the Camera

The battery and memory card door is spring-loaded, but the switch is not.

The tripod port is immediately next to the battery door. All tripod adapters will block access to the memory card and battery. If using the USB port for image access and battery charging, this limitation is a non-issue. If frequently swapping either, removing the adapter quickly becomes an annoyance.

Five screws are the other bottom-of-the-camera feature, inviting the intrepid (and trouble).

Size of the Camera

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The V1 is a flagship model in the PowerShot series, and it is built like such. Still, the compact size fosters a light weight.

Model	Body Dimensions		CIPA Weight
Canon EOS R10	4.8 x 3.5 x 3.3"	(122.5 x 87.8 x 83.4mm)	15.1 oz (429g)
Canon EOS R50	4.6 x 3.4 x 2.7"	(116.3 x 85.5 x 68.8mm)	13.3 oz. (375g)
Canon EOS R50 V	4.7 x 2.9 x 1.8"	(119.3 x 73.7 x 45.2mm)	13.0 oz. (370g)
Canon EOS R100	4.6 x 3.4 x 2.7"	(116.3 x 85.5 x 68.8mm)	12.6 oz. (356g)
Canon PowerShot V1	4.7 × 2.7 × 2.1"	(118.3 × 68.0 × 52.5mm)	15.0 oz. (426g)

Ergonomics, Build Quality, and Durability

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Despite its small size, the V1 is comfortable even in a large hand.

The grip feels most natural in the right hand, but it works fine for selfies with the left.

This camera is solid, and the controls have a high-quality feel.

Additional Features

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The Canon PowerShot V1 has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, providing easy remote control of the camera, along with viewing, transferring, and sharing of images and movies to compatible mobile devices using Canon's free Camera Connect app (iOS | Android).

USB or Wi-Fi support Full HD streaming, and the V1 is compatible with the Canon Live Switcher Mobile app, which allows wireless connect, control, and switching between up to three cameras.

The Multi-function shoe enables accessories in addition to flashes, including the Canon DM-E1D Stereo Microphone.

The WS-DC12 Wrist Strap is included.

Battery

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The V1 is powered by the Canon LP-E17 Battery Pack, which powers numerous other compact Canon cameras. The small LP-E17 is CIPA rated for 400 stills and 1:10 video.

The compatible Canon LP-E17 Battery Charger, interface cable, and AC adapter are not included. You likely have the last two in abundance.

Optional Accessories

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Utilizing this camera's Bluetooth capability is the Canon BR-E1 Remote, which is capable of zooming, initializing AF, and controlling the shutter, including starting and stopping video recording. The BR-E1 is available with another useful accessory, the Canon HG-100TBR Tripod Grip.

Price

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The V1 has a high price for a PowerShot model. However, it is a feature-laden and high-performing camera. Those looking for high-end results from a compact camera will find the V1 easily worth the price.

Wrap Up

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Keeping a review of the incredibly feature-laden V1 concise but complete is a difficult balance to find, and this review does not cover every V1 feature available. Canon published an extensive 722-page owner's manual (a link to the manual is provided with this review) that highlights all the features found on this camera and explains their use. Read the manual, use the camera, repeat.

Owning a Canon product provides access to Canon support, and the support Canon's USA division has provided me is excellent (sorry, I have no experience with the other Canon divisions). When I call for support, I get an intelligent person who sincerely wants to help with a question or problem. Canon repair service, though I seldom need it, is fast and reliable.

The V1 used for this review was sourced online/retail.

Summary

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The Canon PowerShot V1 became a camera I took everywhere, just in case, and to add entertainment to everyday tasks, such as trail running.

With the camera in hand, the mundane tasks of life become subject searches.

For those looking for compact high-performance stills and video performance, the V1 is a superb option. Its image quality is great, and the video capabilities are worthy of the "V" and flagship "1" in its name.

The V1 is a great choice for those stepping (leaping) up from a phone camera, and it is a great choice when convenience is needed by those having an extensive kit. This camera wants to go everywhere with you.