This is a small feature packed camera that works well as an all around pocketable shooter. It has the ridiculous long zoom that was common in some models of this era. (I always thought these things looked like Pinocchio's nose. ) None the less, it can produce very good quality images, is easy to handle, seems common in the used market, and is not expensive to purchase.
This is yet another camera that can be commonly found for an economical price but was a higher end and somewhat expensive model when new. Checking ebay, I see a few have sold recently for $10 to $25 with some that didn't sell. I've also seen them more than once in thrift shops. (I paid $3 for the one reviewed...) Add a battery and a roll of film, and off you go.
I used a roll of very cheap expired Kodak 400 for this review. A trip to the beach provided a bit of subject matter for a test run.
The camera has a lot of features, maybe almost too many if you like a simple camera. Having said that, I found the custom functions to be very useful.
Hey, who says the horizon has to be straight?
Features and Specifications
- Zoom Lens 38-150mm f/5.6-11.3
- Focus range:
- Standard 2.6 ft/ 0.8m to infinity)
- Macro Mode 2.0ft/0.6m to infinity Tele: 3.3 ft/1m to infinity
- Selection of shooting modes.(sports, night shot, portrait, macro, and “real-time” shooting. )
- 5 custom function settings.
- viewfinder diopter.
- +/- 1.5 stop ev adjustment.
- Dx code reading for ISO 25-3200 Mid-roll rewind
- Shutter Speeds: Wide: 1/440-2 sec Zoomed: 1/251-2sec
- Self Timer Electronically controlled, 10 sec. delay
- Battery: 1 cr2
A bit about RT (real time) mode and the custom setting. RT mode lets you pre-focus with a half press on the shutter button. Out of the box, this feature only works in RT mode. However, you can change that in custom functions. There are 5, and I found 3 to be very useful.
- CF1 – Sets real time mode all the time.
- CF2 – Stores the last shooting and flash mode at power off. I really like this. You set the flash to off, turn the camera off, and when you turn it back on, the flash is still off! The danger here is forgetting to set things back that you don't normally want all the time, like macro mode.
- CF3 – Disables auto rewind at the end of the roll. For times when you don't want the noisy rewind going off after that last frame.
- CF4 – Center point AF – one of my most used settings.
- CF5 – Continuous shooting. Yep, set this and if the hold the shutter, it'll keep on firing. (Not very quickly mind you) Can't think of when I'd use it personally, but you never know.
I didn't see the owner, perhaps that's just as well.
Things that I really like
- Diopter on the viewfinder is nice for glasses wearers.
- Large easy to find power button. Easy to turn on without looking at it.
- Nice sharp pictures on the wider settings. (I didn't try the longer zoom settings)
- Good sized buttons in general. Case is shaped to promote a comfortable grip.
- Exposure adjustment. This isn't a very common feature on small point and shoots.
- Mid-roll rewind.
- A shutter that is both fast for sharpness and extends into the seconds range for low light shots. Being able to leave the flash turned off.
Things that I like less
- Cr2 batteries are getting a little expensive and harder to find. (Purchase online for a better price. )
- It takes 4 presses on the flash mode button to turn it off. (it has to cycle through red-eye, auto, on, etc)
- This can can dealt with in the custom functions, as noted above.
- Lens protrudes from the case making it a little harder to get in a shirt pocket.
Helpful Links:
Manual: http://downloads.canon.com/cpr/software/camera/SS150umanual.pdf
Here's the sales brochure which shows 4 associated models. (looks very 90's)
http://www.usa.canon.com/app/pdf/compact_film/Useries-BC.pdf
Press release 2004: http://www.photographyblog.com/news/canon_announces_sure_shot_150u_film_compact/
A contemplative sunset.
Conclusion:
I enjoyed shooting this camera. It's light and well shaped to fit in your hands. The overall quality of the camera build and the image quality is very good. I think this would make a good all round shooter and could be good for street shooting as well. The wide iso range means you should be able to use it well into low light situations. I would get an extra battery to carry although it seems unlikely you'd need one often. It would be better to carry the camera in a small case than a pocket due to the shape.