The Canon PowerShot name conjures up images of the viral G7 X Mark III, or perhaps the new PowerShot V1 – but the very first PowerShot had less than 1MP and stored photos on PC cards. The Canon PowerShot 600 marked the beginning of an iconic compact camera line that now has nearly 30 years of history.
The PowerShot 600 isn’t the only unusual retro compact camera in Canon’s past. The PowerShot history spans more than 230 cameras, from high-end models to experimental oddities. As the 30th anniversary of the PowerShot approaches in July of 2026, I think these are some of the most iconic digital point-and-shoots that have shaped Canon’s history.
The Canon PowerShot 600
Canon launched the PowerShot line in July 1996 with the PowerShot 600, a little silver digital camera that didn’t even breach 1MP. The camera was Canon’s first attempt at creating a digital point-and-shoot, and, like others launched at that time, was considered more of a proof of concept and still inferior to film.
The camera used a 1/3-inch CCD sensor that captured images that were just 832 pixels wide and 0.57MP as a whole. Introduced before SD cards were even invented, the camera could save those files to its 1MB of built-in memory, which filled up after just 4 full resolution shots – or it could use a PC Card (Type II or III).
The lens had no zoom but was a 50mm equivalent. The camera also lacked any sort of screen at the back to view the files.
The similar PowerShot 600N launched in 1997, bringing an early version of uncompressed RAW in a proprietary Canon file format.
The Canon PowerShot 350
Canon’s digital point-and-shoots wouldn’t feature screens until 1997, when the oddly shaped Canon PowerShot 360 launched. This camera featured a 1.8-inch LCD and still had an optical viewfinder, but had even less resolution with just .35MP.
Canon PowerShot A5 Zoom
Zoom wouldn’t come to Canon’s small digital camera series until the fall of 1998 with the PowerShot A5 Zoom. The A5 Zoom launched a few months after the original A5 with a fixed lens, and both cameras used a motorized retracting lens to make the body smaller when powered off. The PowerShot A5 Zoom had what amounted to a 24-70mm 35mm equivalent optical zoom, though its resolution still didn’t breach the 1MP mark with 810,000 pixels.
Canon PowerShot Pro70
Canon’s PowerShot series pixel count finally breached a million pixels at the end of 1998. The Canon PowerShot Pro70 had 1.68MP, but also increased the sensor size to a half-inch CCD format. The camera had a 2.5x optical zoom and even supported burst modes up to 4 fps, along with supporting external flashes. The Pro70 was considered Canon’s first attempt at a bridge camera, though later cameras like the 2011 PowerShot SX40 HS would feel far closer to the modern definition with its 35x zoom lens.
Canon PowerShot G1
Canon began shifting towards larger sensors with the introduction of the PowerShot G series in 2000. The PowerShot G1 upgraded to a 3.34MP 1/1.8-inch CCD sensor. Canon said at the time that the camera realized high-speed processing, which at the turn of the millennium was a 1.7fps burst and shutter speeds of up to 1/1,000 seconds (which was ironically only available when shooting at f/8). The G series focused on more serious photography, extending beyond the sensor, as the G1 also includes manual exposure modes.
Canon PowerShot S100 Digital ELPH
The ELPH name from Canon’s film point-and-shoots didn’t migrate to digital until May 2000. The PowerShot S100 Digital ELPH promised a “look that makes a distinct fashion statement.” The camera mixed a 2x zoom lens with a 2.11MP 1/2.7” CCD sensor. The number of autofocus points? Just three.
Canon PowerShot Pro90 IS
Fans familiar with Canon’s nomenclature may know just by the name what Canon first came with the PowerShot Pro90 IS: Image stabilization. That’s not the only PowerShot first that the Pro90 IS brought; however, it was also the first PowerShot with a 10x zoom lens and the first to use an electronic viewfinder rather than optical. That was all fairly unusual when it launched in 2001.
Canon PowerShot SD100 / Digital IXUS II
Canon wouldn’t use SD cards inside the PowerShot series until May 2003. At the time, the SD100 (also called the Digital IXUS II in Europe and the IXY Digital in Japan) was the lightest PowerShot yet. The camera weighed just 165g / 5.8 oz.
Canon PowerShot G7
Making digital cameras look like film cameras isn’t just a fad of the 2020s. Canon said the 2006 PowerShot G7 “achieves a new look for digital devices with its stylish, retro design resembling classic film camera models.” Resolution finally hit double digits with a 10.0MP CCD sensor, and the lens was also stabilized.
Canon PowerShot TX1
Canon experimented beyond the traditional rectangular camera shape a few times over the PowerShot history. The 2007 TX1 looked more like a camcorder than a point-and-shoot. It boasted a 7.1MP CCD sensor and a 10x zoom lens and could also shoot HD video (1280 x 720 pixels), though it wasn’t the first PowerShot with video.
Canon PowerShot G1 X
As the PowerShot line grew, Canon began using an X to mark compacts with larger sensors – like the 2012 PowerShot G1 X. This camera used a 14.3MP 1.5 inch sensor, which was 6.3 times larger than the PowerShot G12 released just two years before.
Canon PowerShot N
Canon’s point-and-shoot cameras started to show the influence of the social media revolution with the PowerShot N. Taking on a more square body, the N had a Creative Shot Mode that saved five additional images with edited colors, along with the original. It wasn’t Canon’s first with Wi-Fi though, that title goes to the 2005 PowerShot SD430.
Canon PowerShot G7 X
Canon introduced the one-inch sensor that now defines the viral G7 X Mark III on the first edition G7 X in 2014. The camera mixed that larger 20.2MP sensor with a 4.2x optical zoom, along with tools for advanced users, including manual modes.
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After that blast from the past, take a look at Canon's best cameras today, or the best compact cameras. Or, browse used Canon PowerShot cameras at MPB.
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