PowerShot is a line of consumer and prosumer grade digital cameras, launched by Canon in 1996.[1] In 1996 the first model was introduced to the market, the PowerShot 600, which came shortly after Canon released and subsequently discounted its SV series in 1992 and switched to digital cameras. The PowerShot line has been successful for Canon, and is one of the best-selling digital camera lines worldwide. The PowerShot's success comes from its marketing to the general public as a compact and easy to use digital camera.[2]
Free software from the Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK) project allows nearly complete programmatic control of PowerShot cameras, enabling users to add features, up to and including BASIC and Lua scripting.[3]
In 2005, certain models of PowerShot A-series and S-series cameras were affected by third-party CCD sensors with a design flaw, which caused them to fail and display severely distorted images. Canon offered to repair affected cameras free of charge.[4]
waterproof, freeze-resistant, and shock-resistant
design-oriented budget cameras
flagship cameras with advanced features
ultra-zoom cameras("IS" and "HS" are not a series; they are suffixes that denote "image stabilization" and "high sensitivity" respectively.)
originally a series of compact point-and-shoot cameras, currently a series of prosumer cameras slotting beneath the G series
"Easy and Fun" budget cameras ranging from point-and-shoot to prosumer cameras
hybrid camera–camcorders
| PowerShot 600[5] | 13 June 1996 | 1 MP (832×608), 1/3" CCD | 50 mm, f/2.5 | No LCD | Optical | PCMCIA Type II / III (1 MB internal memory) | 460 g | Canon's first consumer digital camera, has RAW | ||
| Pro 70 | Early 1999 | 1.68 MP (1536×1024), 1/2" CCD (CYGM) | 28–70 mm (2.5×), f/2–2.4 | 2" vari-angle | Compact Flash Type I / II (2 slots) | 800 g | Added hotshoe | |||
| Pro 90 IS | February 2001 | 2.6 MP (1856×1392), 1/1.8" CCD (CYGM) | 320×240 at 15 FPS | 37–370 mm (10×), f/2.8–3.5 | 1.8" vari-angle | Electronic | Compact Flash Type I / II | 680 g | Added video mode | |
| Pro 1 | February 2004 | 8 MP (3264×2448), 2/3" CCD | 640×480 at 15 FPS | 28–200 mm (7×), f/2.4–3.5 | DIGIC | 2" vari-angle, 235,000 dots | 640 g | Has built in ND Filter |