Last week, Nikon executives said in an interview that they see smartphones as an opportunity in the compact camera game. By integrating more connectivity features, they seem to believe they'll make the point-and-shoot relevant again.
Last night was packed full of announcements from Canon, as the Japanese company saw fit to announce four new point-and-shoots (including a new flagship), update the PowerShot N and release a new lens in one fell swoop.
As smartphones have risen to compact supremacy, slowly killing the point-and-shoot market as a result, every company has tried one thing or another to somehow save the compact. Now, it's Canon's turn. But instead of adding a gimmicky feature, or doing away with compacts all-together in favor of mirrorless systems, the company has decided to re-invent the wheel... okay, the point-and-shoot.
The result is the new PowerShot N, a compact camera that has no top, bottom, left or right -- it's an incredibly thin square with a center-mounted lens and articulating screen you can use however you see fit.