Cheap but interesting Canon street shooter

[Luminousoctaves]

When camera hunting on flea markets I rarely even examine point & shooters if they say "Canon" on the front. As far as I know Canon never produced any quality point & shooters like the affordable Olympus Mju/Stylus Epic, Konica Big Mini, the Yashica T-series etc.

But the other day I ran into the Canon Prima Shot a.k.a. Canon Sure Shot Ace a.k.a. Canon Autoboy Prisma.
It's a very plastic thing with rounded corners, about the size of Nikon L35AF, too large to call a pocket sized camera but small enough to carry around freely. The ergonomics are actually quite good, the camera lies great in the palm of my hand.

The Canon Prima Shot has a couple of interesting features. The lens is a 35mm f.3.5 (not tested yet), the camera body has a brilliant prism viewfinder on top (just like the Yashica T4) and there's a detachable infrared remote shutter release on the side of the camera. I like!

But when using the camera I immediately felt that this isn't a quality camera at all. The shutter and film advance mechanism are very noisy. But, if you hold down the shutter button you delay the film advance from moving until you release it. Nice feature that removes most of the noise.

There's no way to turn on/off the flash and there is now ISO-control,

Finally, there's a strange unidentified mechanism underneath the camera, a TILT-wheel.
First my heart missed a beat... "Is this a tiltable lens?" But I guess that the TILT-function is just something to help positioning the camera on a table for example...or? Anyone?

Anyway, read more about it here:
http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Canon_Sure_Shot_Ace/Prima_Shot/Autoboy_Prisma

 

[Ko.Fe.]

It isn't street shooter if "There's no way to turn on/off the flash".

 

[Luminousoctaves]

It isn't street shooter if "There's no way to turn on/off the flash".

Your own humble opinion or one of the universal laws issued by the Street Shooter Association?

 

[pentaxuser]

Luminousoctaves, thanks for the thread. It has extended my knowledge of cameras.

pentaxuser

 

[AgX]

That accessory finder is very interesting.

That swivelling knob underneath is kind of subsitute to some extent to a tripod head or rather a bean bag.

 

[Luminousoctaves]

That accessory finder is very interesting.

To my knowledge there's only one other p&s, the Yashica T4/T5, that has the same prism. I find it very useful.
Great feature for a street shooter (or whatever you choose to call a compact camera with a 35mm lens).

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Your own humble opinion or one of the universal laws issued by the Street Shooter Association?

You are getting bike rider towards you. Where is car behind approaching, but both of you can't see it yet. You SS flashing into the rider eyes, he gets blind or distracted, crashes into the car, because you are the moron who think it is ok to use camera with unpredictable flash for street photography.

 

[TheRook]

It isn't street shooter if "There's no way to turn on/off the flash".

A strip of black electrical tape covering the flash window can take care of that. Now you have a street shooter.

 

[AgX]

No, that won't work.

The camera got program automatic. It sets on flash exposure from a certain luminance. That likely means for short distances a small aperture is set automatically too.
Taping the flash reflector in such situation likely will result in quite long exposures.
If not the the camera sets a fixed exposure time anytime the flash is set on. Then you even would get an underexposure.

 

[blockend]

Canon made very useful cameras for street shooters, the Snappy LX and SureShot AF-7 (UK market designations, Owl elsewhere) feature huge viewfinders and manual flash controls. The LX is fixed focus, the AF-7 is autofocus.

 

[AgX]

But these all lack this waist-level (rather chest-level) finder.

 

[blockend]

But these all lack this waist-level (rather chest-level) finder.

That's true, but the viewfinder is no better than a box camera type, and if stealth is an issue the winder will wake the dead. It may be prejudice on my part but I never saw the point in 35mm top finders, too small without magnification, hard to focus manually and not very accurate for framing.

 

[darkosaric]

Cheap canon for street: Canonet 28. I have bought one (and sold for the same price) recently: 5 euros plus shipping.

 

[Luminousoctaves]

Canon made very useful cameras for street shooters, the Snappy LX and SureShot AF-7

How are the lenses on those two? I've found that the Achilles heel on most Canon compacts are the cheapish and not so bright lenses.

But these all lack this waist-level (rather chest-level) finder.

That's true, but the viewfinder is no better than a box camera type, and if stealth is an issue the winder will wake the dead.

I disagree, the waist level finder on the Canon Prima Shot is way better than those on old box cameras. I find it quite useful actually. Big, bright and clear borders.

The film winder is indeed very loud. But it's only activated when releasing the shutter button, so keep the shutter pressed and you get around this as well.

I wouldn't say that the Canon Prima Shot is up there with Olympus Stylus Epic or Ricoh GR1v, but it's definitely an ok street camera. I'll make a test roll and show some results here. The lens quality is of course key.

 

[gone]

"It isn't street shooter if "There's no way to turn on/off the flash".

"Your own humble opinion or one of the universal laws issued by the Street Shooter Association?"

Really uncalled for snarky comment. Common sense would tell anyone that a flash is the last thing you'd want on a street camera. Just cover it w/ tape. In any case, cutie though it may be, it isn't suited for decent street shooting. Oh sure, you could use it, be my guest. But there's a lot of better suited cameras out there for small money. Bing will bring up a lot of them.

 

[Luminousoctaves]

Common sense would tell anyone that a flash is the last thing you'd want on a street camera.

Bruce Gilden?

 

[TheRook]

That's true, but the viewfinder is no better than a box camera type, and if stealth is an issue the winder will wake the dead. It may be prejudice on my part but I never saw the point in 35mm top finders, too small without magnification, hard to focus manually and not very accurate for framing.

But as the Prima Shot is an auto-focus camera, manual focusing isn't an issue anyway. And there's no reason a top finder should be any less accurate for framing than standard viewfinders.

Sometimes I wish I had a compact top finder camera, as it would allow me to take photos so much more discretely in public settings, while still have control over framing.

 

[darkosaric]

Bruce Gilden?

He is only an exception that confirms the rule . Find us additional 2 street photigraphers that are famous and using flash .

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Cheap canon for street: Canonet 28. I have bought one (and sold for the same price) recently: 5 euros plus shipping.

Yes - my experience with the Canonet 28 is good. Very inexpensive and capable camera.

 

[Luminousoctaves]

He is only an exception that confirms the rule . Find us additional 2 street photigraphers that are famous and using flash .

How about one of the grand fathers of street photography, WeeGee… or the Japanese 60’s movement, Daido Moriyama etc?

As I see it, flash is an integral part of Street Photography. Not always, but sometimes… sometimes by necessity, sometimes for aesthetic reasons.

From a strictly technical point of view, several of the AF-compacts we all consider ”classic street shooters”, like the Olympus Stylus Epic/Mju-II and the Konica Big Mini etc, all have Auto-Flash as a default. In a typical ”snap shot” street situation they would react just as the Canon Prima Shot.

So, keep an open mind here guys, just because this camera doesn’t fit you own requirements of what a ”real street shooter” is doesn’t mean it applies to everyone else. Just saying.

WeeGee
http://www.penccil.com/gallery.php?p=358085959533

Daido Moriyama
http://www.moriyamadaido.com/english/

Anders Petersen
Dead Link Removed

J.H. Engström
http://www.jhengstrom.com/

Charlie Kirk a.k.a. Two Cute Dogs
https://www.instagram.com/twocutedogs/

Ola Billmont
www.olabillmont.com/portfolio/C0000j38CGiHgy_8/G0000e2mLRkcFjZE

 

[Luminousoctaves]

or the Japanese 60’s movement, Daido Moriyama etc?

Mustn't forget this raw and gritty gem from the 1970's. Get this book if possible, it was beautifully reissued in 2013:
Seiji Kurata - FLASH UP Street Photo Random Tokyo 1975 - 1979

 

[darkosaric]

I stand corrected . Also I remembered that Brassai used flash - a lot !

 

[Luminousoctaves]

I stand corrected . Also I remembered that Brassai used flash - a lot !

True! Didn't he even get a nickname from this? He used some extreme powder flash.

EDIT: Yes, Picasso named Brassai "The Terrorist" (FACT 9)because of his dreaded flash techniques...

 

[Theo Sulphate]

EDIT: Yes, Picasso named Brassai "The Terrorist" (FACT 9)because of his dreaded flash techniques...

In that link, the photo at the bottom of the page showing the steps and lightposts, who made that photo? Brassai?

I gots to know.

 

[MattKing]

That is indeed Brassai.