With smartphone cannibalizing point-and-shoot camera’s market, camera makers are struggling to convince potential buyers to open their wallets for actual cameras. While some companies like Ricoh carved a niche in 360-degree photography and videography, Canon has other idea: a telescope camera.
Canon Japan has taken to Japanese crowdfunding platform, Makuake, to market a new kind of camera called Canon Telescope Camera Powershot Zoom. As the product name implies, the camera is kind of like a monocular telescope but with imaging function. It looks very much like the monocular used for wildlife spotting.
It is has one-handed design and packs a 12.1 MP 1/3-inch CMOS sensor, paired to a DIGIC 8 image processor which would allow it to capture FHD videos through its 100-400 mm equivalent optical lens.
It has 2x digital zoom too and it can work with an app for reviewing recorded images, or allow two person to see the same things through the lens at the same time.
Other notables include a max ISO of 3200, built-in image stabilization, Face AF, USB-C port, and a microSDXC card slot.
Canon Telescope Camera Powershot Zoom is a Japan-only product for now. At present, the only way to secure one is via Makuake where it can be pre-ordered by backing the product for 31,600 yen (about US$301).
It’s not just for capture soccer games 
You can use it for bird watching too 
Review your images and footage on a dedicated app 
The Powershot Zoom campaign’s target funding goal is a million yen (around US$9521), but it blew past that. At the time of this post, it has secured over 31 million yen (some US$295,000+) in backing.
This is not the first time Canon dabbled in non-traditional digital camera in recent times. Just last year, the camera maker introduced Canon IVY REC, fun point-and-shoot camera in a stick and with an integrated carabiner-like clip.
Images: Canon [JP].
Source: PetaPixel.
