The size of a packet of cigarettes, the Canon PowerShot V10 vlog camera for beginners wins an international design award
(Image credit: James Artaius)
The Canon PowerShot V10 – a vlog camera for beginners that's the size of a pack of cigarettes – has won an international design award in the category of Production Design.
I've previously called the Canon PowerShot V10 the most revolutionary camera that Canon has ever made, and it appears that Switzerland agrees. The super-compact camera picked up a prestigious Red Dot Design Award 2024, handed out by the Swiss design competition that has been recognizing outstanding design since 1955.
This isn't the first time that the Canon PowerShot V10 has been recognized by the world of design, either; it also received a Good Design Award 2023 in Japan in addition to the iF Design Award 2024 in Germany.
So what makes this little camera so special? Well, as noted, it's the size of a pack of smokes. If you're not a smoker, here's another scale reference: it's about the size of the rear LCD on the back of your camera, as you can see in the image below.
The rear screen of my Canon EOS R5 next to the Canon PowerShot V10 – this thing is tiny! (Image credit: James Artaius)
But it's more than just a case of compactness. Unlike every other vlogging camera on the market, which is essentially a standard mirrorless camera body with a few more video specs and the record button in a more prominent place, the Canon PowerShot V10 has been designed from the ground up for the sole purpose of being a vlog camera for beginners.
You don't need a normal mirrorless camera body, with a viewfinder and a handgrip and all buttons on the back, for vlogging. That's lazy design, simply taking an existing product and tweaking the specs rather than creating something from scratch that's truly fit for purpose – which is exactly what Canon did here.
The V10 is basically a camera that mimics your phone and adds some useful features. Namely a screen that pops up, so you can use it for filming yourself or others, and a kickstand so that the camera is totally freestanding – no need to buy additional accessories or prop it up against something when you want to film.
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It's a brilliant little camera that I personally love, even if it feels like I'm in a pretty small club in the photographic community… but then, this isn't a camera designed for the photo community. It's designed for people outside it. So I love that all these design bodies are putting some respect on its name.
The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photo and lighting tutorials, as well as industry news, rumors and analysis for publications like Digital Camera Magazine, PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine, Digital Photographer and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and talks at The Photography Show. He also serves as a judge for the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest. An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.
