I’ve wanted this retro camera feature to come to digital compacts for ages, but this is the last brand that I expected to make it happen!

Canon Analog Concept Camera at CP+ 2026 — (Image credit: Future)

In my collection of retro cameras, the boxy classics with waist-level viewfinders sit among my favorites. I’ve been asking for the retro waist-level finder to come to digital cameras for a long time. I just never expected that Canon would be the first major camera brand to try it.

Many of the digital cameras made to look old are modeled after a 1970s SLR style. But between the 1930s and the 1960s, a number of film cameras weren’t held up to our faces, but at waist-level. The waist-level finder creates a lower perspective that I think would be fantastic for photographing kids and pets. But, it also makes it easier to remain aware of your surroundings without any gear pressed up to your face.

Wasit-level finders aren’t totally extinct in the digital world – there’s the toy Chuzao, and some Hasselblad digital backs are compatible with waist-level finders. But those two cameras are on utterly opposite ends of the price spectrum. I want a retro compact camera with a waist-level finder that’s not a toy, but that also doesn’t cost as much as medium format.

With how well the Chuzhao has sold on Amazon, I’m not surprised that there’s finally a major, mainstream camera brand that could be turning my waist-level dreams into reality. I just never expected that brand would be Canon.

During the CP+ show in Japan, Canon unveiled a digital compact camera with a waist-level finder. The camera is just a concept camera for now, with no guarantee that it will ever come to the market. It doesn’t even have a real name, unless Canon plans to actually go with the title “Analogue Concept Camera.” But I’m hoping that if the prototype receives enough attention, Canon will make the waist-level finder digital camera. A DCW reader poll so far indicates that 40 percent of readers are interested, and 33 percent are a maybe, with only 14 percent calling it a gimmick.

The concept camera has a waist-level finder, but there’s also an LCD at the back. The camera is manual focus, and Canon is trying out two different designs, one with the focus dial around the lens and one with a focus wheel at the side. I’m rather jealous that Editor-in-Chief James Artiaus was able to try it out at the CP+ show.

But while I find the camera exciting, I’m a bit surprised that the idea that I’ve wanted for so long is coming from Canon. Don’t get me wrong, Canon makes some of the best mirrorless cameras, but the brand isn’t exactly known for making retro cameras.

Rumors have been flying for a while now that perhaps the camera-maker could finally create a retro mirrorless modeled after the A-E, a popular film camera that turns 50 years old later this year. But I don’t think anyone expected this unusual concept camera – which is not an easy task in the modern era with all the camera rumors flying around.

Design-wise, the Canon PowerShot V10 is arguably the most unusual shape among Canon’s modern lineup, a vertically-oriented point-and-shoot with a built-in kickstand. But, look at Canon cameras of the past, and it’s easy to spot a few oddballs. I’m excited to see the brand take a risk with another unusual design.

There’s a lot that could go wrong, if the camera ever becomes more than a concept. I can see the camera failing spectacularly if it doesn’t at least have the one-inch sensor from inside other cameras like the PowerShot G7X Mark III, though naturally, a mirrorless-sized sensor would be even better. Then again, the strange, time-traveling Instax Mini Evo Cinema has a tiny sensor, and it’s on bestseller lists.

The manual-only focus may be a deal breaker for some, never mind that manual focus is more historically accurate. Box cameras were popular before autofocus went mainstream. Another drawback? Classic waist-level finders were mirrored views that looked flipped in the viewfinder over the real scene. But then again, what’s the point of main a classic camera format into digital if you don’t use new tech to fix some of the annoyances?

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