This was one of the last cameras I bought at the end of 2024. I had always wanted to try it as it can switch between full and half-frame. However, the frame size has to be set before you load the roll and there is no switching mid-roll unless you take out the film first. It is possible with careful counting and a film picker of course.

As you can see in the photos, there is a little yellow switch above the film plane that closes some gates to create the half-frame window. It must also alter the film advance length.

Everything on the camera is automated, the film loading and advance, the rewind, DX coding and the flash. The latter cannot be turned off from automatic, it can only be forced on. Even the lens cover is automated. I was looking for a switch to open it and in the process flashed myself in the eyes. The cover retracts when taking a photo as you can see in the video below. Excuse the plaster, I cut my thumb trying to fix a toaster.

The specs for this camera from 1988 are pretty basic. It has a dual focal length switch, swapping between f3.5 35mm and f5.6 60mm. It uses a 6V 2CR5 lithium battery which is not exactly convenient these days. The DX decoding accepts films between 50 to 3200asa with non-DX film exposed at 100asa. You can find more information and specs at the Canon website. It does have a close-up mode where the lens shoots right out from behind the cover.

I set the camera to half-frame and loaded it with Heart ECN2. I shot it around Norfolk, including Norwich, Wymondham, and Fakenham where I found the crinkle-crankle wall.

Here are some of the results.

The results are pretty good for a half-frame point and shoot. These were all shot in the wide format.

Of course, I wanted to try the full-frame setting and loaded it with a short roll of Ilford Pan 400. I shot that over a few days around Yorkshire. As recently usual, the weather sucked but the results were underdeveloped by accident. I forgot how cold it was and the chemicals didn’t hold their temperature for the whole of the process. I quite like the results though, especially the shot of the train station.

The last two shots show the difference in the focal lengths of 35mm and 60mm. For a point and shoot the results are good, the ability to switch frame sizes takes this camera out of the basic class.

At this point, I wondered if I could somehow rig a way to switch the frame sizes mid roll, after all the small switch has a hooked end. I tried wrapping a piece of cotton around it and pulled, yeap with the door open it wasn’t a problem. You could switch from half to full, but not the other way around. OK, could I pull the thread with the closed door?? YES, but I could not switch it back due to the shape of the switch. I would prefer the switch the other way around. That way if I was running out of film I could switch to half-frame to squeeze in more shots. I don’t want to ruin the camera by permanently attaching a cord to the lever and damaging it. So I left it at that simple experiment.

So there you have it, a lovely point and shoot that can switch frame sizes.

Am I going to keep it? No. I have other half-frame cameras I prefer and definitely full-frame point and shoots I like more. So what to do with the camera? I have decided to give it away. If you have noticed the hit counter at the bottom of the page, you may have seen that it is about to roll over to two million hits. I don’t want to link this to Instagram, but keep it to readers of this blog…that is where the hits are. So if you see the hit counter at two million hits or over, send me a message using the contact form. The first one I receive by date stamp will win the camera. It is open to anyone in the world not just the UK. If it gets lost in transit there will not be a replacement sent though, sorry. This website is a hobby not a business and I am not made of cameras despite what my list looks like 😉

As for the toaster, it is still broken but I will take it to a repair cafe soon. My poor fingers could not cope with another try at fixing it.