In today’s video-centric world, it’s no surprise that there are several options for people looking to start or improve their vlogging and social video content creation workflow. Whether the goal is to get a million subscribers on YouTube, go viral on Tik Tok, or simply have a far more discrete way of capturing life’s moments, the Canon PowerShot V10 aims to do it all. Here’s how it stacks up.

Canon PowerShot V10 Features (via Canon)

• Compact form factor and ease of operability
• Built-in stand
• 1” CMOS sensor
• 4K Video
• High-quality stereo microphones
• Ease of use/all-in-one UI
• Fixed 19mm (35mm equivalent) wide-angle lens
• Vertical mode
• Autofocus / Face detection
• Beautiful skin tones
• Filters
• Still image capture
• Live Streaming & UVC support

Design & Ergonomics

The Canon PowerShot V10 is one of the most compact 1-inch-type sensor cameras that you can get, and it’s dedicated to video creation. Unlike many of the other cameras in this category, the PowerShot V10 skips traditional camera design – a thin rectangle laying on its side with a lens in the front and a screen in the back – for a more squat, vertical “bar of soap” style that I honestly thought would be uncomfortable to use. Surprisingly, I was wrong by my initial assessment and here’s why: a lot of thought went into the squat design; by removing many of the manual controls you might find in a traditional point-and-shoot camera design, almost all functions of the camera are handled by the single button at the front of the camera just below the lens. This is also where your pointer finger will sit naturally when holding the camera. At the rear, you have a d-pad-styled navigation pad with a quick menu button in the center, and four function buttons – including a Power button, a Menu button, a customizable function button (preset to wireless transfer), and a Preview button. The screen also functions as a touch screen that you can use to access in-use menus like adjusting ISO sensitivity or switching between video and still capture.

One of the more interesting design touches of the PowerShot V10 is the built-in kickstand that allows for one-person use without a tripod (you’ll still probably need one). It’s a neat feature that will get a lot of use if you’re a solo video creator or simply using it instead of a traditional webcam on your desk. It folds into the body seamlessly and isn’t difficult to flip out in a pinch. Combined with the high-fidelity stereo mics at the top of the PowerShot V10, this setup is perfect when you need a discrete camera and audio setup for vlogging without fear of muddled audio or needing a corded/wireless mic system (which, I will constantly leave at home).

In terms of ergonomics, the Canon PowerShot V10 is a delight to handhold. Although my descriptor – a squat, vertical bar of soap – may not sound like something easy to hold it is very comfortable in the hand. Unlike some slimmer device designs, like your phone, the PowerShot V10 felt not only comfortable to hold for extended periods, but I also never felt unsure or worried that the camera would slip out of my hand. That’s in large part thanks to the 1.35-inch depth of the camera. When comparing the PowerShot V10 to a phone, the camera seems like chonky device to have to lug around, but when you consider that you’ll be using the PowerShot V10 for extended use you’ll be grateful for the additional thickness, making handhold use far more natural.

Canon PowerShot V10 IRL Use

During my review period, I was a little hesitant to give the PowerShot V10 a real shot. For starters, I’m not much of a vlogger (my life just isn’t that exciting, sorry not sorry) and secondly, I wasn’t all that sure that this little brick would make an enticing second-camera option. It was during my review that I came across an epiphany of sorts, I shied away from videography because there were just too many options to sort through in my head for creating a short piece of usable video.

That’s really where the PowerShot V10 shines! Like your phone without the distractions, the PowerShot V10 takes away a lot of the guesswork behind creating videos – don’t worry about which lens to use, you only have the 19mm fixed lens. Don’t worry about settings because you won’t have too many manual controls begging for your attention. Sure, if you want to dive in deep you can, there are multiple exposure settings, color settings, filters, etc. but the beauty of the Canon PowerShot V10 is that it pares down the technical aspects and keeps the end goal front and center – creating videos. The fact that it can be fully operated one-handed is helpful whether you’re doing product videos, food reviews, or talking-head-style videos. And if it’s more your thing to do live streams, the PowerShot V10 will allow you to connect to your social media platform of choice – I’ve never done a live stream to Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter/X and I didn’t try it for this review.

Canon PowerShot V10 Sample Video

That said, I wouldn’t necessarily call the PowerShot V10 perfect by any stretch. One of my biggest issues is that the battery life on the camera isn’t great. Realistically, you could get a solid 2-3 hours of intermittent use out of it but expect that figure to drop if you’re using it consistently. When using the PowerShot V10 as a webcam, I found that the battery would die after about an hour of continuous use. Worse still is the fact that although the battery is charged through a standard USB-C port, you cannot simultaneously use the camera and charge the battery at the same time. Speaking of the battery, a removable battery would be great in a version 2 of this camera. Plugging in and recharging might be an option if you’re close to home or if you have some downtime between shots but if there’s no quick way to get back to shooting it makes it hard to rely solely on this camera. As the saying goes, the best camera you have is the one that’s with you – let’s also add to this that it’s fully charged and with you.

Lastly, one of the things that didn’t quite make a lot of sense to me when reviewing the PowerShot V10 was the default orientation of the images captured. Although the PowerShot V10 is built like a vertical candy bar, the default orientation of the videos captured was landscape. If you hold up the camera and began recording, you will get a 16:9 aspect ratio image straight out of the camera. The PowerShot V10 will allow you to get native 9:16 by simply turning the camera and recording, however, the kickstand will not be as usable when doing this. To me it seems it’s counter-intuitive to its design and probably to the intended user of this camera.

Should I Buy One?

 Let’s get a few things out of the way first – if you’re not interested in handheld, vlog-style videos then this camera is probably not right for you. Unlike action cameras, this camera sports a bigger sensor which means you’ll get better overall image quality and the ability to do that quick focus/de-focus effect you see in a lot of product YouTube videos. And unlike it’s much bigger, more professional cameras (like a DSLR/Mirrorless camera) the PowerShot V10 is discrete enough where you don’t look like a knob at dinner pulling out the full rig. (As someone guilty of doing this, it’s terrible. We should stop.) That said, the PowerShot V10 is great for someone that’s looking for a fun way to create video-first content, capturing your latest trip, or having a backup video camera that ACTUALLY fits in your pocket. While this camera isn’t for everyone, I was impressed enough to pick one up for my wife when she said she was interested in a video camera for trips and her cooking videos.

At $349, the Canon PowerShot V10 is a solid vlogging/pocket video camera that travels easy and can become your primary travel camera. Check one out via our Amazon link.