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Canon Sure Shot Max/Prima 5/Autoboy Mini review & test

The Canon Autoboy Mini (other names for the European and American markets) a compact autofocus film camera released in 1991 by Canon. The entire SureShot series was a success and includes many models, including one of the first point-and-shoots AF35.


More about features:
Lens 38mm/3.5
Exposure 1/8 - 1/250
Shutter 3.5 - 22
Powered by one CR123 battery.
Flash modes - auto, off, red-eye mode.

This machine caught my attention because of the fix lens with a good aperture ratio for a compact. I used the Fujifilm Superia X-tra 400 and the Fujifilm Reala 100 which was 13 years out of date.

[Reala is a film with qualities close to those of a professional film, fine-grained, good color reproduction in daylight, discontinued.]

The camera itself has a plastic body, brick shape and not the smallest size, it feels in the hands good and is well controlled. The interface is a switch on the lens and the flash control on the top of the body.

One of the main conveniences is the parallelism of the flash modes with the power on, that is, you can save the flash off mode after you turn off the camera. Honestly, it's spares the nerves.

I would call the viewfinder a bit awkward because it is small and you have to navigate inside the frame. I personally have ruined some of my photos through it, though this could be attributed to my lack of experience with this camera.

Exposure metering is good, easy to shoot in a lack of light without a flash, the shots are dark enough to get shadows and contrast.

RATE: 7.5/10
The camera, cause of it's fixed lens, shows quite good sharpness, not razor-sharp of course, but there are hints. I was confused by the auto mode's constant tendency to open the aperture in the dark and focus past the target, which causes blur on the result. I would put it down to the uncomfortable viewfinder and not obvious focus preservation system.