Funny I forgot about this camera... yet in a corner of my mind, I remember it very well because of its unusual form factor !

1986 - a time which for me was confusing in the world of photography I started with. I didn't have a darkroom yet, didn't know much about developing films either. Didn't know very much at all - but was all mega passion about photography.

I had just moved out from my boyfriend's apartment at Odenplan in the city core of Stockholm. For the first time in my life, on my own feet in life, moving to a youth hotel at Nybohovsbacken near Liljeholmen - with a window high up on a hill - with view over entire City of Stockholm.

It felt a bit strange; on one hand moving into a very simple youth hotel - while at the same time, having a view like that of a prince. I got to see fantastic skies, weather and colors during that time.

View from Nybohovsbacken street towards Stockholm City • Oct 1986

Bizarre cold winter down to at times -25°C • Jan 1987

Nails in the Wall

We were forbidden you use nails in the walls (for images and other things), but I did it anyway... (and when i moved out i just painted Tipp-Ex over each hole). Case solved. Outside next to my room, in the hall there was a telephone booth.

There was no kitchen, but a nice bathroom with bathtub - which in Jan 1987 provided a great way to start my first darkroom. I bumped into the elusive, fascinating Cibachrome De Luxe Glossy paper, which was a way to make prints from color slides ! Such vibrant colors I had never seen in my life - at times shimmer metallic. What a joy ! And what a difference compared to dull prints from the consumer photo labs.

I was 20 years old - and had moved to Sweden only 2 years earlier. Now with a permit for work and residence in Sweden.

Camera of the Year - 1986

Ah yes. The camera was rewarded as "Camera of the Year" in Europe. The form language was special with its discreet rounded lines. Reminds me a bit of the top model Canon T90 - which was revolutionary like the photo world never had seen before. (I so felt in love with the T90, and it would become my main camera for many years to come).

I never bought the Canon Top Shot, though - but don't remember what the reason was. Perhaps the price around 3000 SEK was far too steep - which would be like 9000 SEK today (800 €) ? And i had no fixed employment yet... so expensive compact cameras really wasn't on my list.

Generally, I wasn't into compact cameras - and never had owned a fully automatic AF back then, either. I did however get a Rollei LED 35 from somebody who didn't want it anymore. A truly tiny thing, like a manual mini Leica. Yet, i often focused wrong when using the lens wide open at aperture ƒ2.8

Today

I got a nice offer from an UK seller, and bought the Canon Top Shot for a good price around €80, shipping and 25% tax included.

The camera features a bright 38 mm f 2.8 lens - So, it isn't as wide like the Pentax Espio 120 SW lens that has a 28 mm lens, nor is the Canon as tiny as the Pentax.

A simple snap-shot camera.

Canon Top Shot
Specifications

A 1986 model from Canon's phenomenally successful Sure Shot range, this compact 35mm film camera - known as the Top Shot in continental Europe and Autoboy 3 in Japan - was voted European Camera of the Year for putting some very advanced features into an ergonomic package at a reasonable price.

The slanted hand grip means the viewfinder can be held flush with the eye as fingers and thumbs aren't in the way. It's also comfortable for shooting one- or two-handed.

A special feature is the tilting foot on the bottom of the camera, which allows you to place the camera on the floor while shooting upwards at an angle. One minor annoyance with this camera is that the battery compartment does not pop open normally, but is screwed down, so a mini-screwdriver is needed to replace the 2CR5.

Another is that the flash disable button is a tiny rubber button on the bottom of the camera that must be held down. This is quite difficult to do quickly.

• Autofocus is via a near infra-red triangulation system, with focus lock available.
  
  
• Lens is 4-element glass with a 38mm focal length, and is fast at f/2.8.
  
  
• Automatic exposure with a shutter speed of 1/8 - 1/500 sec. DX-coded film between ISO 50-1600.
  
  
• Uncoded / non-DX coded films revert to ISO 100
  
  
• Auto flash (Guide number: 8 meters at ISO 100) fires in low-light and backlight situations. Can be disabled.
  
  
• Galilean viewfinder with framelines, in-focus lamp, "too close" warning lamp, flash-ready and camera-shake warning mark, and parallax correction marks. 0.45x magnification.
  
  
• Self-timer.
  
  
• Film advance: Auto-loading, advancing and rewinding.
  
  Weight: 315g without 2CR5 battery.