Customer Ratings & Reviews

A great concept that needs more work. I love the idea behind the Canon Pick Active, because I think candid photographs are the best and it’s nice to be in some pictures as I’m usually the photographer. The Pick Active is a tiny pan/tilt/zoom camera that rotates a full 360 degrees and can automatically identify and track up to 12 “registered” people at a time. The idea is that you place it in your desired vantage point and it will automatically snap photos and record video as if it was your own Ai photography assistant. It’s small and stable enough to put on most level surfaces, but there’s a threaded tripod mount on the bottom if you need a more specific angle. In typical Canon fashion, the fit and finish is excellent and it’s remarkable how small the camera is. The pictures made it seem like it was the size of a 12oz soda can, but it’s actually even smaller than a mini soda. This makes it easy to carry and less conspicuous for the best candid photos. The size and build quality are all excellent, which gave me high hopes about what this little Pick Active camera could do. It’s a Canon, after all… The picture quality is about on par with a compact snapshot camera. They reminded me of shots from my old PowerShot SD1100IS, which was no slouch either. It does a good job in bright settings, but it’s the low light where this camera struggles. In darker settings, the photos have less grain than my old SD1100, but it’s the person tracking, focusing, and auto-shooting that have a hard time keeping up. Even in a room with moderate ambient light, it had a hard time recognizing people and recording them. I had about 3 people over to watch a UFC fight and it was only able to “register” one person. Mind you, as far as I can tell, the software seems to take photos of people it wants to register automatically, so while I can pick who among the list I want it to focus on, I still have to wait for the camera to find and take a photo of the person before I can do so. I even tried to do a manual shot of a person to see if it would add them to the list, but it didn’t, so I’m not sure what the trick is yet. Speaking of which, you’ll need to download the Canon MiniPTZ app to use the camera. It’s free for Android and iOS, so no worries there. However, I’d gladly pay if it would help the app work better. The user interface is fairly straightforward, but it frequently disconnects from the camera after about 10 minutes or so. What’s an even bigger issue is the lag time between the app and the camera. Trying to pan, tilt, or zoom manually is extremely hard to get right, because there’s about a full second of lag between the controls. I found it a little easier with the digital joystick, but the lag causes you to guess where the camera will stop versus seeing it quickly and accurately. A lot of missed photos from this, which makes the manual mode essentially useless. So far, I find the best way to use the Pick Active is in auto-shoot mode, even though that is highly flawed as well (person identifying and tracking). Battery life is a reported 3.5 hours, which seems on point, but I think it sometimes shuts down when it disconnects from the app, so I haven’t gotten an accurate gauge of it yet. Photo and video storage comes via a micro SD slot with a 16GB card included. All that said, when the Pick Active does work properly, it’s pretty awesome. I love reviewing what photos and videos it’s taken at the end of the day and thankfully the app makes them easy to download. As it stands now, I can’t recommend the camera for most people, unless they don’t mind taking chances on something new and hoping a firmware or software update alleviates the issues. I love the concept of the Canon Pick Active and the hardware itself is great, but the software leaves a lot to be desired.

At first I was hesitant, but now that I have it I cannot imagine without it. The videos pick up on audio so well, the photos look so good, and it’s fairly easy to mess with the settings to your liking. So very user friendly. Def recommend if you like to take pictures on your phone. It easily and quickly transfers to your phone or any other devices too. I’m obsessed

I absolutely ADORE this camera and it's family of cameras. I have previously owned the SX700HS powershot and ran that into the ground. 40x Optical zoom in a tiny point-and-shoot is a big deal. A compact camera that packs a punch. The moveable Screen is great for firing from the hip, discreet shooting to capture candids, ease of shooting when you don't want to crane your neck, and even selfies if you're into that. I hope that Canon produces more cameras of this caliber.

I love this camera. Easy to use, great zoom feature, nice clear pictures and I love the flip up screen for selfies. We do group bike rides and we always "missed" someone in the pictures or had to sit out the person taking it. Not any more. Small enough to carry in my pack. I just love it.

I purchased this camera as a beginner friendly option and have been really impressed so far. The photo quality is excellent, especially when using the flash setting. Although I initially experienced a few issues, I’m incredibly appreciative of Jumbo Buys for their support. They did an outstanding job repairing my camera the process was seamless, communication was clear, and the turnaround time exceeded my expectations. My camera now works like new again. I truly value their professionalism and would absolutely return or recommend them to others.

I love this camera! So easy to work with, and I highly recommend. I love the pics it creates

Canon released this interesting new camera idea where the camera is also the cameraman. Great for those times when you're having a party and want to take candid shots, but also want to be in the shots. So now, with the Powershot Pick, you won't need to hire a photographer to cover events. A couple of these in strategically placed spots will take care of your event for you, right? Not so fast; AI works, but has caveats. Unboxing this from what was a festive looking box to reveal the camera box, a 16GB microSD pack, and an Anker 20W charge adapter. I find it strange for them to add to the camera's package with basic battery charging ability rather than have them included from Canon. Especially considering the camera requires a 20W charger that may not be already available to you since most USB ports offer only 10W. I thought the addition of a 16GB card to be a bit paltry until I realized the 11.7MP resolution of the pictures and videos were rather small, I guess it was a nice touch. The camera itself was a lot smaller than I expected simply because the form factor is akin to a typical PTZ security camera, being about twice the size. If it wasn't so delicate and strange, would've been a nice pocket camera. I needed a specific app rather than the Canon Connect app I already had. In order to connect to the camera, it first needs to connect through its own Wi-Fi, then with Bluetooth. This is what it does every time. If you're like me and don't like having apps running in the background, you have to connect the same way, kicking you off internet access. I found the app to be good for programming the shooting modes and seeing a playback of the media. The live view of the camera was laggy and controls only worked intermittently which made positioning for a picture quite difficult. The camera's AI tracking mode only works if you stand within 3ft of it and it registers your face. Not something you can place at a party to take random candid shots of guests that are not registered. And even then, you need to be within 3ft of it to enable it. I find it difficult to determine the battery's charge level in the app as there is only an icon and no percentage. Canon says you should get between 2.5 to 5hrs of operation per charge. I'm only getting about an hour and almost nothing to show for it. I had a party this past weekend and thought this would be a great way to test the camera. I placed it in the dining room and turned it on about 20 minutes before sitting down. After the party, I checked the camera to find 1 picture and 1 video at the same time as the picture. That was it! It got nothing else for over an hour at the party. I think the camera is a great idea, it's just half baked. The lenses and image chip are of low quality attributing to the grainy pictures. Better lenses might allow the AI to recognize faces at a further distance. If they can release some firmware updates to correct these issues, it might be passable. For now, it would be good for a quick vlogging session or solo recording.

Excellent value. This camera has 40x optical zoom yet is compact enough to put in my jacket pocket. Great all around camera, I take it on road trips to capture scenery, family portraits, and close-ups of wildlife and birds.

Takes good pictures. Light weight, fits in pocket. Easy to go from still pic to video mode. Several negatives: Flash has to be activated manually, Flash mode reverts to Auto when turning off. Video button very small and difficult to turn on and off.

Wrote this for my SX730, but the specs for the SX740 are similar for still photo. Love this thing! Most concerts don't allow cameras with removable lenses. This one is the best as it has a 40x OPTICAL zoom....(don't fall for cameras that boast digital....you will NEVER get a clear pict using digital zoom) You can be the envy of your concert going friends using their iPhones trying to capture an image like this....! Last pict at The Stones concert shows how far back I was and still got some incredible photos no phone camera would achieve. Stop relying on your phone for everything!!!!!

This camera was everything and more! My daughter is an avid photographer for her sorority and this has been an amazing purchase. Great quality and great price.

We bought this to replace a larger camera that we really liked but are tired of the bulk. This one fits the bill with enough features to get comparable photos, 40x zoom & adjustable rear screen. Really easy to use camera and the software is easy to use also. Seems well built and very well designed. Getting great shots so far and don't anticipate having any problems. Nice to be able to put this in a pocket or small case to have it ready for an opportunity that comes about.

Definitely had to mess with the settings for the look I wanted but once I did, I was obsessed with the photos. Very light and compact to carry around in my purse. Great flash. If you can find it for retail price, definitely worth it.

I love this camera! I take it every where with me. Simple and easy to use. Great quality photos and I love that I can get them via Bluetooth/wifi right away in my phone or laptop. Battery last quite a while. This is like the little sister to the Cannon G7X.

This camera has by far been my best purchase. Quality is amazing and is very easy to use and get nice pictures each time. Small and easy to carry as well. Overall, such a good camera!

Image quality is pretty good to my eye and the 40x lens is ridiculous. When you're that zoomed in, you're going to have trouble keeping the shot steady with such a small and light camera. I'm a total air show junkie and was hoping this would work well for that kind of photography. Well, at this price point it was unreasonable to make that expectation. The autofocus can't keep up with something moving as fast as a jet at an air show. It did OK at an auto race with a bit of planning and pre-focusing. Battery lasts just fine and the user interface is pretty easy to navigate. It's a decent little camera, just be sure to calibrate your expectations against the price.

this camera is very easy to use and takes great pictures! It's very light and small enough to carry easily.

The perfect gift for my gf. This has been in her list for months and it is exactly what she expected. User friendly, crisp clean photos, and stylish!

I cant say enough oodf about this camera. Out of the box its an excellent YouTube videos, with supplied lenses. Comes with a very nice telephoto len as well in this bundle. This camera is so versatile that with all of its abilities kinda seems like a new camera every time you get a new app! The camera apps work great! The apps alone are awesome! Things you just cant do with a regular camera. Because it’s mirror less it can shoot up to 11 FPS! The apps also help beginners get the exact settings correct for a certain type photo. Now the software. The PlayMemories app lets say, is terrible. I got a Nikon a month ago. This camera takes better pics and video. But the PlayMemories app is the worst. Thank goodness once you get to know the camera you can get around some of it. I have a Cadillac camera with Edsel software. It’s really bad. I wont say it doesn’t work, but what should be minutes turns into hours. It’s almost like after they got done designing the camera, the app was just slapped together. This software, (PlayMemeries) should be recalled. I sure hope Sony is working on the problems. Right after I got it there was an upgrade, made it a tad easier but way short of plug and play. More like plus and pray it works this time. With it Ipad, Android phone and PC, the software flaws are even more appearent. I cant say enough good about the camera. Weather your a pro or amature,m your will love this camera! You may cry however every time you have to use PlayMemories. You will have memories alright after using this garbage, truly sad garbage software. Really disappointed in it t say the least. It takes it from fun, to a nightmare of searching the internet for the same problems everyone else is having. I literaly found out to make it work from a photography studio. Sony has got to be aware of this! With the other manufacturers are catching up with mirrorless, Sony really needs to get on the ball with this mess or it will cause a huge Loss in sales from word getting out. Just read everything and expect some hiccups when trying to set up WiFi. Truly a nightmare. The camera is so good at its price though I would still recommend. You will know more about photography by the time your hooked up. I’m speaking of the Playmemories app that has all the problems. The camera apps are great however. Playmemories is the software that communicates with the cam and computer. Really bad!!!!

Love the build quality and EVF. The picture quality equals dslr results within a compact travel size format. Fast aperture and lens performance in low light and looking to achieve great bokeh (blurred background) is easy to achieve. I mostly shoot in Aperture Priority mode with Auto ISO. Photo quality right out of the camera is amazing. 5X lens and EVF were the decision makers for me as a PHOTOGRAPHER to choose this model over the G7x mark iii. That camera with external mic input and streaming capabilities to You Tube makes that camera a better choice for vloggers and video enthusiasts. Highly recommend my Canon G5x Mark ii. Price is premium and so is the image quality under all lighting conditions...Highly recommend!