CanonSnappy 50

The Canon Snappy 50 is a product of the peak of bubble-economy Japanese design, when every brand had a flagship compact and the engineering budgets to match — a compact paired with a Canon 35mm f/4.5. Some backstory: that distinctive OPEN/CLOSE rotating lens cover is the Snappy 50's calling card.

Format

35mm

Year

1985

Lens

Canon 35mm f/4.5

Min. focus

1.2 m

Flash

Built-in

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. Film supply is a non-issue: any 35mm cassette from any lab works. 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 1.2 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. Something that catches new owners off guard: part of Canon's mid-'80s Snappy family of fuss-free point-and-shoots. The 35mm field of view sits halfway between observer and participant; it suits anything where you want the viewer to feel in the scene.

Quietly underrated, the Canon Snappy 50 is the kind of camera people brag about owning five years from now and ten times the price.

• §1That distinctive OPEN/CLOSE rotating lens cover is the Snappy 50's calling card.
• §2Part of Canon's mid-'80s Snappy family of fuss-free point-and-shoots.