Canon offers a range of PTZ cameras & remote network cameras designed to fit in with a variety of productions and applications, both indoor and outdoor, from broadcast and TV studios to live events or house of worship, among many other uses. Those high-end pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ) cameras are part of a remote 4K production package for all situations, offering smooth pan and tilt functionality along with exceptional image quality. Canon’s hardware controller and free of charge software controller provide the means to control and adjust from a remote location those 4K cameras.
It’s not common to see PTZ cameras used at home, but that’s what the Canon PowerShot PICK Active Tracking PTZ Camera is designed to do. It’s a new approach for those candid photos or videos at home, but the idea is interesting: being able to capture the moment without anyone being aware of it. We’ve seen this done before, with compact cameras mounted on tripods able to start capturing stills or video with a simple voice command. With the PowerShot PICK, Canon takes the idea further.
This portable camera offers a hands-free solution for capturing candid photos and videos automatically. All it requires to work is a smartphone with Bluetooth and iOS 12 or higher, iPadOS 13 or higher or Android 8.0 and up. Phone pairing through Canon MiniPTZ App required initial setup and access to certain features.
Canon says that while “many of us find that capturing content can interrupt the moment, resulting in a forced posed look”, the PowerShot PICK can be the solution. Its face-detecting and tracking technology helps ensure that smiles and more can be detected, when set up through the corresponding app, and the PowerShot PICK will automatically move its camera to capture it all.
As we noted above, the product saw great success, previously, with a leading crowdfunding platform in Japan. Due to that success, Canon collaborated with Indiegogo, a similar platform in the United States, which now leads to the official introduction of the PowerShot PICK in the United States.
The PowerShot PICK offers a wide range of features, including:
- Approximately 340 degrees of Pan movement and Tilt capabilities between -20 to 90 degrees
- 3x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom
- 19-57mm focal length (35mm equiv.) and automatic image stabilization
- Active Tracking with Auto Capture
- Battery Powered
- Select Voice Commands
- 7MB photos and Full-HD 1080 60p video with movie rates of 59.94, 29.97, and 23.98 frames per second (FPS)
A portable PTZ camera for content creators
The PowerShot PICK requires the MiniPTZ mobile app for compatible iOS, iPadOS, and Android devices. The app includes capabilities like configuration settings, manual remote control of the camera, automatically generated highlight videos (iOS only), and the ability to browse through and select favorite moments for download.
The PowerShot PICK may be adopted by those who want a more sophisticated way to capture both stills and videos during family reunions or other social events, but the PTZ characteristics of the PICK make it a solution that content creators might want to add to their kit. Whether you want to film a cooking tutorial or dance video, the PICK can easily record them. The PowerShot PICK is equipped with select voice commands. Let’s say you want to record a dance video. Say, “Hello PICK, record a video!” It’s as easy as that. The PICK is compact and convenient. Lightweight and battery powered, this product is great for everyone who wants to easily capture candid photos and videos almost anywhere.
The PowerShot PICK will be available for an estimated retail price of $499.99. Shipping is currently scheduled to begin late summer 2022.