Canon AF35M ("Sure Shot", "Autoboy")

Canon AF35M was a point-and-shoot, viewfinder 35mm camera made in Japan in 1979-1983. It was also marketed as "Sure Shot" and "Autoboy". This camera was the first fully automatic Canon camera, including autofocus. It was the world’s first Lens-Shutter 35mm autofocus camera at the time. It used a triangulation system with a near-infrared emitting diode (IRED). Two years earlier Konica had launched the first actual camera with autofocus and the other companies, like Canon, followed immediately after with models like the AF35M here.

Through the viewfinder you can see the focusing scale with markings helping you understand where the camera focuses on. The AF35M also has a very useful Pre-focus function. This is very handy when you need to focus on a subject which is not in the centre of your image, or when the autofocus misses the target. Using the lever on the front of the camera, you can focus on your subject by pressing the shutter release button and the camera will memorise the distance. Then, you can reframe your image as desired. When you press the shutter button again, you'll take the photo.

Apart from the autofocus, Canon AF35M is fully automatic, including exposure, film advance-rewind and self-timer. You can activate the flash when needed. When pressing the shutter release button half-way, you will see indications in the viewfinder which will tell you if the scene is dark and you'll need more lights or flash (a red circle appears on the left). The camera is powered by two AA batteries. The only thing you need to remember to do before using it, is to set the ISO of the film you use, because on this depend all the automatic exposure settings of the camera. It supports ISO from 25 to 400. If you use higher than 400 you will result with overexposed images, unless you use it in a darker environment.

Canon AF35M is a very good camera, though very noisy (which adds to the fun using it). It is generally well made and the images turn out sharp. While using it, you'll need to keep in mind that it is an old camera and the autofocus, while a breakthrough back in 1979, is not as "smart" and accurate as modern ones.

Canon AF35M was followed by AF35ML and was finally replaced by AF35M II in 1983.

Note: In self-timer mode, do not cancel the process if you have already pressed the shutter release button or it might damage the camera.