Canon PowerShot N

The Canon PowerShot N ($299.99 direct) is an odd camera. Its square shape is different from traditional point-and-shoots. It packs a unique control scheme that, while different, makes it awkward to hold and difficult to operate, and it can be set to apply a series of filters and crops to each photo you take?think of it like Instagram in your camera. There's built-in Wi-Fi, so you can share your photos online with ease. If you aren't a filter fanatic, a more traditional Canon camera, our Editors' Choice Elph 330 HS, is a better buy if you're in want of a point-and-shoot with Wi-Fi. It's less money, and it's more comfortable to hold and use.

Design and Features
The N doesn't have a traditional shutter button or zoom rocker; instead you control both functions using a pair of rings around the lens. The camera itself measures 2.4 by 3.1 by 1.2 inches (HWD) and weighs 6.9 ounces. It's not quite square, but it is narrower than most cameras. The svelte Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX80 feels smaller in your hand, but is actually wider?it measures 2.1 by 3.8 by 0.9 inches, and is lighter at 4.4 ounces. It's available in white or black. There is a flash, which doubles as the focus assist beam. It's an LED design, and as such its effective range is only about three feet.

The N's shape does not make the camera difficult to hold on its own. It's compounded by a touch-screen display that occupies the entirety of the rear of the camera. Typically I'd put my right thumb on the back of a camera to get a firm grip. Doing so virtually ensures that I'll accidentally trigger a function on the touch-sensitive display. The screen does tilt, so it's possible to angle it up and put my thumb behind it, but that introduces its own problems. The zoom function can only be controlled by a narrow ring around the 8x (28-224mm equivalent) lens. It's difficult to adjust this when holding the camera with your right hand, so I resorted to using my left hand to zoom.

But then when it comes time to take a photo, the shutter control gets in the way. It's another ring, directly in front of the zoom ring, and you have to push it down or up from the top or bottom in order to snap a photo. It's simply too narrow to comfortably actuate with my fingers. This led me to use the touch screen to snap photos?the camera can be set to fire the shutter when the screen is tapped. But it's so sensitive that I found myself rattling off accidental shots when picking up the camera or simply trying to adjust its position in my hands.

The display itself is 2.8 inches in size and features a 460k-dot resolution. It's not the sharpest we've seen in a compact; premium cameras like the Nikon Coolpix P310 often features 921k-dot displays. The touch input is quite responsive; menus come up instantly, and it's easy to scroll through photos in order to review them or get them ready for online sharing.

There are three buttons and a toggle switch on the camera, all located on the sides. The On/Off switch is by itself on the left. On the right you'll find a toggle switch to change between standard and Creative Shot shooting, as well as a button to activate Wi-Fi sharing and one to switch from shooting to image review.

While Canon doesn't advertise it as such, Creative Shot mode is the company's answer to Instagram filters. When it's enabled, the N rattles off three shots in rapid succession, and outputs the one that it considers the best in six distinct versions. One of those is untouched, but the others have each had a distinct crop and filter applied. The effects vary from shot to shot?the camera picks them based on the content of the photo?and can be either very effective or head-scratchingly odd. But you get multiple ones to choose from, so if you are into the filtered image look, there's a good chance that you'll like one. If you don't, you can add your own filter?but you can't do it from within the camera. You'll first need to download the photos to your computer, or, the more likely scenario for this type of camera, transfer them to your smartphone over Wi-Fi.

And that's a big problem for a camera that bills itself as delivering images with different filters. You have options for a handful of filters when you're not shooting in Creative Shot mode. You can choose from Toy Camera, Monochrome, Miniature Effect, Soft Focus, and Fish-Eye; but you'll have to do it before you take a photo.

The N should be designed so that you can apply any of the effects that it is capable of from within the camera itself. If there's a specific filter or look that you love, you're at the mercy of Creative Shot mode; it may apply it, it may not. This is where the Samsung Galaxy Camera has a huge leg up. It runs the Android operating system, so you can use Instagram, Paper Camera, or the filter app of your choice to take photos and apply filters as you see fit; and if you buy a version of the Galaxy Camera that has 4G connectivity you'll be able to post them online immediately, regardless of whether or not you're near a Wi-Fi hotspot.

The PowerShot N does have Wi-Fi, so you can post photos and videos directly to sharing sites, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube when connected to a hotspot. You'll need to set up a Canon Image Gateway account and plug the N into your computer via USB to set this up, but that's a one-time step. You can also transfer images directly to another Canon camera, print to a wireless printer, or transfer photos to your computer over Wi-Fi.

If you aren't near Wi-Fi but would still like to get a photo online, you can transfer photos directly to your iOS or Android device. Just download the free Canon Camera Window app from the iTunes store or Google Play store. The camera can set up a peer to peer connection to your phone, and once images are transferred over you'll be able to post them just as you would a photo you took with your phone's camera. This isn't as smooth as the always-on 4G connectivity that the Galaxy Camera offers, but it also doesn't add anything to your monthly phone bill.

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