We have been making more of an effort recently to get some great shots from different point and shoot cameras that we stock. This week's chosen point and shoot camera is the Canon Sure Shot Max, an often overlooked member of Canon's popular Sure Shot range. This is our full review of this camera, complete with sample photos.

What features does the Canon Sure Shot Max have?

The Canon Sure Shot Max is relatively simple compared to some of its other Sure Shot siblings, such as the Canon Sure Shot Classic 120. The camera has all the features you would typically need for normal, everyday photography, and this allows the camera to be quite compact for travelling. 

Features of the Canon Sure Shot Max: 

• 38mm f/3.5 lens
• Self-timer (10 seconds)
• Autofocus (3-point)
• Built-in flash
• Flash on/off/auto settings
• Automatic winding
• Automatic rewind

As we have highlighted before, the Canon Sure Shot Max is relatively simple.

The camera is turned on with the small switch on the front of the lens. This turns the camera on and the lens will then extend from the camera body. This takes around one second to complete. Then, your camera is ready to use.

On the rear side of the Canon Sure Shot Max is a switch that controls the flash settings. The flash can either be set to on (meaning it will fire no matter the lighting), off (it will not fire at all) or auto (it will fire if required). Whichever setting is chosen, the camera will remain on this setting until it is changed again. The setting is not reset when the camera is powered on and off.

On the top of the camera is the small self-timer button, shutter button and shot counter. The large numbers on the shot counter make it easy to read, even in low-light. Seriously, some manufacturers made these numbers so tiny that they are hard to read at the best of times!

Using the camera is simple, quick and easy. The Canon Sure Shot Max finds its focus quickly, which means you can take your image within a few seconds of the camera being powered on. This makes it ideal for quick everyday images and snapping your travel adventures with ease.

For these images with the Canon Sure Shot Max, we used Kodak Portra 400 35mm film. Kodak Portra 400 is a popular choice among photographers who shoot portraits or want life-like colours in their images.

We were lucky enough to take the Canon Sure Shot Max to Amsterdam to get these sample photographs taken. As a tip for people travelling through Amsterdam Schiphol, make sure you get your film hand-checked. You can read our guide about this here.

Overall, we were pretty pleased with the results from the Canon Sure Shot Max. The exposures were great and there was a good amount of shadow detail left in the images. We were also impressed with the sharpness at the focus distances, although there were a few images where our subject was too close. 

One thing I would bear in mind in the future would be the parallax lines in the viewfinder. These help you to line up your images as you are not looking through the lens when you are looking through the viewfinder.

For the most part, we really enjoyed using the Canon Sure Shot Max. It was compact enough to fit in my pocket during our adventures and was easy to turn on and take a photo within a few seconds. The flash setting remaining where you set it is also a very helpful feature as you don't need to change it every time you turn the camera on and off. 

The images came out sharp and well-exposed. The 38mm lens is a surprisingly great focal length for these types of images. 

Getting used to the Canon Sure Shot Max, there were a few times we needed to adjust our framing a little to compensate for the parallax. As you are not looking through the lens when you look through the viewfinder, some small adjustments need to be made to make sure your image is framed as you intended. 

In summary, the Canon Sure Shot Max is a great camera to add to your arsenal, especially if you are looking for something to travel with and that will create sharp images. The 38mm lens makes it a great option for street photography too.

What other cameras are in the Canon Sure Shot range?

As we mentioned earlier, the Canon Sure Shot Max is just one of the many great Canon Sure Shot cameras that Canon produced. Here are some of its siblings:

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