This weird Canon 35mm film camera looks like a camcorder

I’m not crazy about camera gear, but I do love seeing unordinary cameras. George Muncey of Negative Feedback found one just like that. It looks like a camcorder from the ’90s, but it’s actually a 35mm film camera. Weird, isn’t it?

George bought a Canon Photura, aka Epoca in Europe, and Autoboy Jet in Japan. It was released in 1990 and as I mentioned, it’s a 35mm film camera. It comes with a 35-105mm zoom lens, and it seems relatively decent considering how gimmicky this camera is. But what’s truly unusual about it is its flash. Or is it a lens cap? Well, it’s both – Canon Photura has a flip-out lens cap with built-in flash.

Camera-Wiki writes that Canon even introduced a follow-up model: the Photura 135. This one was similar, but it came with a 38-135mm lens. I even found the specs on Camera-Wiki:

• 3-point Smart autofocus with the near-infrared beam. Prefocus enabled.
• 35-105mm f/2.8-6.6 (10 elements in 9 groups) with power zoom lever.
• Shutter speeds: 2s-1/250s.
• Film speed range: ISO 25-3200 (with DX Encoding).
• Power: One 6V 2CR5 lithium battery.
• Dimensions: 100×74×156mm.
• Weight: 645g (with battery).

George says that it’s a decent camera, more than capable of taking good photos. However, the more he zoomed in, the more it was likely to miss focus. Still, the photos aren’t bad, judging from his examples. You can find better-quality cameras and lenses, but hey, this one has weirdness on its side. Speaking of weirdness, another unusual characteristic is that you load film from the bottom.

I honestly had no idea that this camera existed, and I’ve sure never seen one like it. What about you? Have you known about it, or perhaps owned one? If you’d like to try it out, you can find them for $50-$70 on eBay.

[unique 35mm point and shoot review via FStoppers]