Canon used the Sureshot brand for decades, the first, actually called “The Canon Sureshot” appeared in 1979. The last appeared in 2005, with the last 10 or so models having a “u” added after the name. I have no idea what that stands for! Rather like the Olympus trip range, there were some great cameras, some very poor cheap ones, and some in the middle of the range that just got lost, that actually perform very well. I think the Zoom 60 is one of those. In the Sureshot range people often go for the older cameras with f2.8 lenses, or the “Supreme” while in the Olympus range, the Mju 1 and 2 both fetch stupid money these days. For my money this little gem performs just as well. Ok it’s not as bright a lens, but it’s sharp from edge to edge. It’s not tiny, but it will fit in a pocket. It has a nice big viewfinder, that’s pretty accurate, and has easy on/off and flash defeat options.
The one control dial says it all. The little window lets you remind yourself what film is in, while on the top there’s a small LCD as frame counter, and battery condition.
On the bottom plate, there is also a “film rewind before the end” recessed button, so one can swap out films. If you find one with an original strap (most likely) you’ll notice on the little fob that joins the two strap ends together, and it has a little nodule, that’s for pressing that button – they’ve thought of everything!
The spec is pretty good: Lens: 38-60mm f/4.5-6.7 (6 elements in 6 groups). Close focus: 60cm.
Shutter speeds from 2-1/500s.
5-point autofocusing with Ai-AF.
Dimensions: 121×68×44mm.
Weight: 245g (with CR123A lithium battery)
I used one as a second or third camera while travelling for years – I used black and white, colour neg and slide film, the camera performed well with all, in fact I was always very impressed by the accuracy of exposure – especially for the slide film. I found this one in a local charity shop for £5, and snapped it up! (pun intended).
There was a film inside (Kentmere 100 24 exp) and it was set at 15, so I popped a new battery in, fired off a couple, all seemed fine so I finished the last half a dozen shots off on a trip to Poole park the other day. Unfortunately, obviously someone was either having troubles with another camera or this was a test film as they are all double exposed, I’ll use another film in it soon! Below are the test images so far – more will follow!
S.H.O.U.T. 