CanonPrima AF-7

The Canon Prima AF-7 is a product of the early 1990s, when premium compacts and motorised zooms split the market in two — a autofocus compact paired with a Canon 35mm f/4.5. Some backstory: sold as the Sure Shot AF-7 in the US and Autoboy Mini T in some markets.

Format

35mm

Year

1994

Lens

Canon 35mm f/4.5

Min. focus

0.9 m

Flash

Built-in auto

Battery

2× AA

The Canon 35mm f/4.5 is on the slow side, so it rewards good light or a roll of ISO 400 — but the body shrinks accordingly into something you'll actually carry every day. 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 0.9 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. Something that catches new owners off guard: the chunky rubberised grip makes it feel more like an SLR than a point-and-shoot. Best for street, travel and environmental portraits — 35mm is the all-rounder documentary photographers default to.

The Canon Prima AF-7 hasn't been swept up by the algorithm yet, which is the entire window — get one before the rest of the internet catches up. File away for later: a perfectly forgettable 90s compact — which is exactly why nobody has bid it up on eBay yet.

• §1Sold as the Sure Shot AF-7 in the US and Autoboy Mini T in some markets.
• §2The chunky rubberised grip makes it feel more like an SLR than a point-and-shoot.
• §3A perfectly forgettable 90s compact — which is exactly why nobody has bid it up on eBay yet.