Despite the Compact Camera Boom, Canon is Approaching Reentry Cautiously
The compact camera market is white-hot right now. Compact camera sales more than doubled in Japan in 2025, and many of the best-selling cameras last year at Map Camera, a major Japanese photo retailer, were compact models. Canon is no stranger to compact camera success and is committed to giving people what they want.
However, when it comes to new compact cameras, Canon has been pretty quiet in recent years, even while the popularity of compact cameras resurged. The company released a “new” PowerShot ELPH 360 HS A, which didn’t make any meaningful improvements. More recently, to celebrate the PowerShot brand’s impressive 30th anniversary, Canon unveiled a limited Anniversary Edition PowerShot G7 X Mark III. It will be a highly coveted collector’s item, but is just a visually distinct version of a camera from July 2019.
Then there is 2025’s PowerShot V1, which is not only an impressive vlogging-focused compact camera that gives the competition a run for its money, but it is also perhaps the best indication of how Canon views the future of the compact camera market.
As Canon explained to PetaPixel at CP+, it recognizes the growing demand for compact cameras, including all-new ones.
“The fixed lens camera market is much more invigorated thanks to the boom in video shooting, and also thanks to the support from young people,” says Manabu Kato, Executive Officer, Unit Executive, IMG Business Unit 1, Imaging Business Operations.
“Image rendering that cannot be done by smartphone — we consider that this is totally a new need from when fixed lens cameras [had their] peak in the past, because the current young people have started to cherish and understand the value of what they cannot achieve through smartphones. So we expect that this market will grow even further,” Kato continues.
“There are differences in the preferences among young people — particularly between potential users and existing ones. Specifically, the key difference is whether they find joy in owning a camera or simply in using one. We believe that the young potential users put importance on experience. That’s one of the things we are keeping in mind when developing new products right now.”
However, Canon doesn’t foresee the compact camera market ever reaching its past heights.
“We are currently considering what are going to be the succeeding models after this as well,” says Kato. “So please keep an eye out for what’s coming next.”
PetaPixel‘s Take
A new compact, photo-focused camera, a true PowerShot G7 X Mark III successor rather than a new limited edition color, would be a very welcome addition to Canon’s lineup. The company has a rich history of great, fun-to-use compact cameras.
While the PowerShot V1 is a very good camera for what it is, it caters very heavily toward video users. Canon may very well be correct in its assertion that the biggest potential in the current compact camera market is making cameras for content creators, but as some of its competitors have shown, there is still very real demand for photo-first and even photo-only compact cameras, even in a premium price range.
The booming compact camera market is not solely about nostalgia or about having slightly better photo and video quality than a smartphone; it is also about having a fun-to-use camera that captures nice photos. People enjoy taking photos, so the act of taking photos itself should be enjoyable. This is an area where a modern, well-designed compact camera can make some serious noise.
Image credits: Canon. Header photo created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos.com.
