CanonSure Shot Ace / Supreme (Autoboy 3)

Released into 1987-89, when plastic bodies got better lenses than the metal ones they replaced, the Canon Sure Shot Ace / Supreme (Autoboy 3) is a autofocus compact built around a Canon 38mm f/2.8. For context, one camera, three names: Sure Shot Supreme in North America (1986), Autoboy 3 in Japan, Top Shot in Europe — with the 1988 Sure Shot Ace revision adding a moulded grip while keeping the same 38mm f/2.8 lens and IR AF module.

Format

35mm

Year

1986

Lens

Canon 38mm f/2.8

Shutter

1/8 – 1/500 s

Min. focus

0.8 m

Flash

Built-in auto

Battery

2× AA

The Canon 38mm f/2.8 doesn't chase exotic specifications; it just renders cleanly, focuses predictably, and gets out of the photograph's way. On the film-availability spectrum, plain 35mm is as easy as it gets in 2026. It runs on common AA batteries — you can resurrect one on a Sunday afternoon with whatever the corner shop has in stock. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 0.8 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. A quirk worth flagging up front: the smooth, rounded Supreme shell earned it the 'soap bar' nickname; the Ace facelift added the ergonomic grip most shooters actually preferred. The mild-normal focal length flatters faces and street scenes alike without either looking forced.

The Canon Sure Shot Ace / Supreme (Autoboy 3) sits exactly where you want a sleeper to sit: low prices, working examples plentiful, and a spec sheet that holds up against far pricier rivals. One last detail: that red-ringed 38mm f/2.8 is a genuinely sharp lens — one of the last Canon compacts before the AF35 line pivoted entirely to zooms.

• §1One camera, three names: Sure Shot Supreme in North America (1986), Autoboy 3 in Japan, Top Shot in Europe — with the 1988 Sure Shot Ace revision adding a moulded grip while keeping the same 38mm f/2.8 lens and IR AF module.
• §2The smooth, rounded Supreme shell earned it the 'soap bar' nickname; the Ace facelift added the ergonomic grip most shooters actually preferred.
• §3That red-ringed 38mm f/2.8 is a genuinely sharp lens — one of the last Canon compacts before the AF35 line pivoted entirely to zooms.
• §4A proper sleeper: overshadowed by the AF35M and later Sure Shot zooms, but optically it punches well above its used-market price.