CanonPrima Super 115u
Zoom Compact
The story
Place the Canon Prima Super 115u in context and you land in the post-millennium hangover, when production lines wound down and unsold stock filled department-store shelves. Catalogued as a zoom compact, it pairs the Canon Zoom 38–115mm f/5.6–12.9 with a 35mm film path. Worth knowing up front: sold as the Sure Shot 115u in North America and the Autoboy N115 in Japan — same camera, three names.
Specifications
- Format
- 35mm
- Year
- 2001
- Lens
- Canon Zoom 38–115mm f/5.6–12.9
- Shutter
- 1/2 – 1/360 s
- Min. focus
- 0.6 m
- Flash
- Built-in multi-mode with red-eye reduction
- Battery
- 1× CR123A
Notable features
- 3× zoom, 38–115mm
- AiAF three-point autofocus
- Sliding clamshell lens cover
- Date back on some versions
- Self-timer
Shooting it today
The Canon Zoom 38–115mm f/5.6–12.9 is the convenience play: a single optical formula that handles groups, snapshots and tighter portraits without ever leaving your hand. On the film-availability spectrum, plain 35mm is as easy as it gets in 2026. A single CR123A lithium cell powers everything including the motor; still cheap and stocked at most camera shops. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 0.6 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. Worth knowing in the field: the 'u' badge marked Canon's turn-of-the-millennium rounded design language, shared with the ELPH/IXUS line. The zoom range covers the obvious bases: groups at the wide end, half-length portraits at the long end, no lens changes ever.
Who it's for · Verdict
The Canon Prima Super 115u won't impress at the pub, but it'll cover a holiday end-to-end without ever asking you to think about glass. A footnote that often comes up: at 115mm the lens slows to f/12.9, so it really wants 400-speed film or the flash for anything indoors.
Fun facts
- §1Sold as the Sure Shot 115u in North America and the Autoboy N115 in Japan — same camera, three names.
- §2The 'u' badge marked Canon's turn-of-the-millennium rounded design language, shared with the ELPH/IXUS line.
- §3At 115mm the lens slows to f/12.9, so it really wants 400-speed film or the flash for anything indoors.
- §4One of the last Prima zooms before Canon shifted its compact energy entirely to digital IXUS bodies.
Field note
The lab rang with that careful voice people use for bad news — something about a light leak on the roll from the Prima Super 115u. I never left my chair — the Canon Zoom 38–115mm f/5.6–12.9 on the Prima Super 115u covered everything from the awning to the bell tower. She declared film "slow but better", which from a teenager is a rave, and the Prima Super 115u is hers now on permanent loan.
Creative field note — inspired by this camera's character, not based on real events.
Find one
Most copies turn up second-hand on eBay. We've linked a saved search so you can see current listings.
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