The first of the Sure Shot line. This was the successor to the rangefinder Canonets, and their first major redesign since the original Canonet from 1960. This is their first to offer auto-focus, and at the time that was a big thing. Up to that point, autofocus was showing up mostly on Polaroids and the like; low-end cameras were fixed focus (i.e. no focus adjust at all) or zone focused (three settings: near, middle and far). A true auto-focus, where the optics really did focus on something the camera thought was your subject, was a huge thing. Along with auto-exposure, it gave people 35mm quality with point-n-shoot convenience. Even in the 1970s, it was difficult to get both at the same time.

Plus, in many respects this camera was the future: it had an integrated winder and rewinder, but without all the bulk. So you just dropped the film and and that was it. A small convenience, but very much appreciated.

But the price you paid was also in the lens: this had an ƒ/2.8 and that was it, so gone were the days of the fast Canonets, the ƒ/1.7 and ƒ/1.9. And it wouldn't get any better over time.

I finally relented and pick one up after years of passing them by: they sold huge at the time but now they can had by the pound. It fills a hole in my collection and compared to some of the plastic junkers I've acquired recently, it almost looks like a Leica in comparison.