CanonPrima 4

Place the Canon Prima 4 in context and you land in the early 1990s, when premium compacts and motorised zooms split the market in two. Catalogued as a autofocus compact, it pairs the Canon 35mm f/4.5 with a 35mm film path. Worth knowing up front: sold as the Sure Shot Ace in North America and Autoboy 3 in Japan.

Format

35mm

Year

1991

Lens

Canon 35mm f/4.5

Min. focus

1.0 m

Flash

Built-in auto

Battery

2× AA

Don't expect heroics in low light from the Canon 35mm f/4.5; expect a tiny camera that drops into a coat pocket and never argues about it. Standard 35mm keeps it compatible with whatever Kodak, Ilford, Fuji or CineStill stock you find on the shelf today. 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 1.0 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. Worth knowing in the field: a simple, no-frills AF compact from the early Prima lineup. Best for street, travel and environmental portraits — 35mm is the all-rounder documentary photographers default to.

The Canon Prima 4 hasn't been swept up by the algorithm yet, which is the entire window — get one before the rest of the internet catches up.

• §1Sold as the Sure Shot Ace in North America and Autoboy 3 in Japan.
• §2A simple, no-frills AF compact from the early Prima lineup.