Canon PowerShot PX Uses AI To Be Your Robot Photographer
Canon will not allow the always-watching, always-shooting camera dream to die. Today they revealed a device called the Canon PowerShot PX, a camera that captures moments in your life without your input. This camera sits on a base on which it can rotate, and its head can move up and down, giving it a large area of potential coverage, so it can watch you whenever you are near.
Canon PowerShot PX is a self-motivated go-getter of a camera that uses artificial intelligence to operate. You'll power the device up, turn it on, and leave it to move around on its own. The camera's default protocol has it search for human faces and snap photos at the most optimal moments.
Ths PowerShot PX works with 110-degrees of vertical movement and 340-degrees of horizontal movement. Together these areas of movement allow the camera to deliver its pan-and-tilt feature with aplomb. This camera works with a 19-57mm (35mm equivalent) focal length range, with the ability to capture 11.7-megapixel photos or 1080p 60fps video.
The camera works automatically but can be operated with voice commands and on-screen controls (with a connected smartphone and the official app). The PowerShot PX app (for iOS or Android) also allows the user to select photos and video to keep and store on the camera's memory card.
Canon suggested this week that this version of the camera works with both WiFi and Bluetooth for wireless connectivity, in addition to USB-C. The camera also charges using a USB-C cord.
If you have the Canon webcam utility app, this camera can be used as a webcam. That might be the low-key best part about the device, barring the relatively massive price for the camera's next-generation features and AI capabilities.
The Canon PowerShot PX is the latest iteration of a device they first introduced earlier this year. Back in February of 2021, Canon revealed the Canon PowerShot PICK. That device was first released with Japanese crowdfunding platform Makuake, and released only in that one country. That device – which you might find very familiar – had an initial release price of 40,900 JPY, roughly $390.
Now the form of the device – if not basically the same device in a new package – is ready for Europe. Canon Europe has the PowerShot PX ready for release with a price of approximately £500/€500. That's a bit of a bump from its original price under a different name in Japan, mind you. Canon has not yet announced any sort of availability or pricing for a version of this camera for the United States.
The idea of an always-watching, always-snapping camera also appeared in a device released by Google and discontinued as of October of 2019. That device was Google Clips. That device could be placed on a flat platform to take photos straight forward, or attached to a necklace or "clipped" to a user's clothing for on-the-go snapping.