Canon's engineers didn't stick to the script with the PowerShot Zoom ($299.99), a new concept for a compact camera, one that entirely skips wide-angle coverage—think of it is as a digital spyglass for capturing distant subjects. It's more useful than a smartphone for catching shots of the local fauna and outdoor sports, and offers some appeal to family photographers who use an iPhone for most snaps, but want a bit of extra zoom power from time to time. But it takes more than innovation to recommend the PowerShot Zoom emphatically, as its image and video quality lag behind modern smartphones.

Digital Spyglass

The PowerShot Zoom is comfortable enough to hold, even if it's a bit awkward to actually use. A one-handed device, the Zoom rests in your palm, measuring 2.0 by 1.3 by 4.1 inches (HWD). It's about as heavy as a phone at 5.1 ounces, and you can tell that most of the weight is in the optical block—the chassis itself is light, but not flimsy, plastic.

Controls are all placed around the eyepiece. Power, zoom, and menu buttons are on top—the Zoom button is bigger and oblong, which is important as it's the one you'll want to find by touch.

The shutter and record buttons, for photos and videos, are below, accessible with your thumb. They're at a slight angle, and there's a raised plastic ridge around the video button so you can tell them apart.

Still, I found myself fumbling on occasion, starting a video when I meant to snap a photo or vice versa. It's something you'll need to get used to with time. You'll also want to take care not to bump the diopter control wheel. It's adjacent and turns pretty easily—you'll see a blurry viewfinder if you don't have it set to match your vision.

Bring the camera to your eye and you're greeted with a large, sharp EVF (2.4 million dots). It offers a clear view of the world. The lens is a telephoto, swapping between 100mm and 400mm optical zoom views (in full-frame terms), and delivering an 800mm digital zoom. If you're coming from the smartphone world, where 25mm is "1x," you can think of the Zoom as a 4x and 8x companion to your mobile device.

I don't want to pigeonhole this as a camera that's only for smartphone photographers, but in 2020 that's most everyone shy of enthusiasts and pros. Demanding photographers may still enjoy using this when they don't want to carry a heavy kit, but let's be frank: The actual images this camera captures are more on par with midrange smartphones, and lag behind what flagships can do. Results are a little muddy, even in bright light, and you can forget about using it after the sun sets.

We've seen smartphones add a bit of zoom power, either through multi-lens arrays, folded optics, or algorithmic means, but they're still a bit short for trips to the zoo or getting action shots at a soccer match. And, with its own viewfinder, the Zoom is a much more sensible device to use than the spattering of lens cameras we saw a few years back.

It's a bit of a chore to navigate the menus—the photo and record buttons are used to scroll through menus, and the zoom button doubles as OK. That's fine, but keeping those straight while also having the camera to your eye requires some concentration.

Connectivity and Power

The PowerShot Zoom's built-in battery is good for just 150 images per charge, so don't expect to use it all day. It's easy enough to charge, even when on the go, via USB-C, if you do run out of juice.

Images and videos are saved to microSD memory. The card slot supports all formats, including SDXC, but you don't need a big, expensive card. The 12MP stills and 1080p footage aren't huge—a 32GB card holds more than 5,000 photos

The Zoom pairs with Android and iOS devices via Bluetooth. You'll need to install the Canon Camera Connect app, a free download, and run through a quick setup process, just a few minutes.

Once connected, you can use the app to download media from the camera to your phone, for edits and social shares, or to use your phone as a remote viewfinder. The Zoom doesn't have a tripod socket, but will sit level on a flat surface, so there is a benefit to remote control.

Canon advertises the feature as being useful for twosomes at sporting events—one sees a closer view through the finder, the other on the phone's screen.

PowerShot Zoom Image and Video Quality

Telephoto lenses tend to be big, and there's a reason for that. Interchangeable lens cameras have big image sensors, and that means long lenses with lots of glass to net narrow angles of view.

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To net its small size and $300 price, the Zoom uses a much smaller image sensor, a 1/3-inch-class chip with 12MP resolution. It's smaller than in ultra-zoom cameras, including Canon's own PowerShot SX70 HS, and imaging chips in smartphones.

The small sensor and the lens' modest aperture (f/5.6 at 100mm and f/6.3 at 400mm) limit you to using it in daylight. Image quality falls apart quickly in dim light, and while the autofocus holds up at the 100mm setting, I found it nearly impossible to get focus to snap in low light at 400mm.

In bright light the focus is snappy though, even at the telephoto end. There's no lag once you've locked in, and the electronic shutter captures photos without any vibration or audible noise.

Under the sun, images show decent, but not magnificent detail. I don't mind that feathers on the ducks swimming in a local canal aren't exquisite—the photos are absolutely fine for email, Facebook, and the like.

Using the 800mm digital zoom drops photo quality a bit further, but you might find the extra magnification power to to be worth it. It will help you fill the frame with smaller subjects when working at 400mm—if you're setting up near a bird feeder, you'll need to be about 15 feet (4.5m) away to get it in focus.

I'm a bit disappointed by the dynamic range, as highlights blow out pretty easily. Smartphones avoid this effect with automatic HDR processing, but the Zoom doesn't benefit from the computational help that makes phone cameras so good. You can dial back the automatic exposure a bit to curb this via EV adjustment, but it's not something that's easy to do on the fly—menus are a pain to navigate.

Video is 1080p, locked at 30fps, and absolutely serviceable. You'll need to take some care to hold the camera steady, but the digital stabilization nets decent handheld footage. There's some evidence of jitter, especially at 400mm, but it's not surprising—it's much harder to stabilize telephoto video than it is with wide-angle footage.

A Concept Worth Exploring

Let's give credit where its due—Canon has delivered a camera that is, conceptually, quite useful and sensible in today's world.

Most of us have a world-class compact camera in our pockets all the time—the latest multi-lens iPhones, Galaxies, and Pixels deliver killer image quality, even in very dim or dramatically mixed lighting situations—at wide angles. But they're not great for distant subjects. You don't want to rely on your iPhone camera, even its 2x lens, to capture those images of your child playing in a little league game, the deer visiting your backyard garden, or a trip to the zoo.

The PowerShot Zoom dedicates its lens to distant subjects, with a 100mm setting that's a good fit for mid-range and portraiture, and 400mm for those times when you just can't get closer to the action.

It gets there in a package that's decidedly pocket-friendly, and at $300, as affordable as a dedicated camera gets. But there are some obvious downsides—image quality is just okay, and the 1080p video resolution is out of place in our 4K world.

I think the concept here is a sound one. This is a better smartphone companion than failed efforts like the clip-on Sony QX and Olympus Air. For starters, it's practical to use as a standalone device, and just as importantly, it doesn't try to cover the same ground as your phone's camera. It just needs to deliver better images to net a stronger recommendation.

If you want a camera to get those telephoto shots, the Zoom's price is compelling, but we recommend bridge-style compacts more strongly. The Panasonic FZ80 sells for the same price and has a lot more zoom power, while the Canon SX70 HS and Panasonic FZ1000 II are step-up options, and more practical for modern imaging needs.