By launching this small camera, which somewhat resembles the Nikonos, Canon was entering competition with the Minolta Weathermatic, Konica Mermaid, and Nikon Awaf, all drawn to a market now lacking Fuji's Baroudeur.

Using this compact camera is easy because it is fully automatic. The autofocus is controlled by three infrared beams over 415 steps. Exposure is automatic, deciding on the use of the flash whenever the light/sensitivity combination requires a speed below 1/30 of a second.

Underwater use disables the autofocus since infrared light is absorbed by water. Therefore, there is an automatic switch to fixed focus from 1 to 3 meters. For distances from 45 cm to 1 meter, you need to hold the front selector to switch to macro mode.

This camera is rated as waterproof up to a depth of 5 meters. It is also buoyant, making it easy to retrieve if dropped.

The film loading is automatic, with the film advancing to the first frame. Film advance and rewind are also automatic.
Price: 1650 francs in 1994.

Here is a presentation of the optics by the Phot'Argus team in April 1994.

The lens consist of a converging triplet with a focal length of 32 mm and an aperture of f/3.5. The shutter (which also serves as the diaphragm) is located at the back, separated from the dark chamber by a parallel-faced plate designed to protect it from foreign elements (water or sand) that could damage it. A parallel-faced meniscus followed by a parallel-faced plate are initially responsible for protecting the front. But that is not their only role; indeed, when submerged, the front face of the meniscus (with a radius of curvature of 0.37 m) becomes a converging diopter with an object focal length of 1.5 m. It is somewhat like placing a converging close-up lens in front of the objective. The lens then becomes nearsighted: an object placed in the water at 1.5 m from the camera is seen by the optical triplet as being at infinity, and its image will be focused on the image focal plane of the lens. This setup providentially compensates for the autofocus failure since the autofocus does not function underwater (as infrared is absorbed); the mechanism it is supposed to control remains at rest, set to infinity. In this configuration, considering the depth of field at f/8, any object located in water between 1 and 3 meters will be sharp. In atmospheric photography, since the two faces of the meniscus are parallel, it does not alter the system's vergence.
The second plate serves as double glazing to prevent fogging on the inner face of the front meniscus when moving from a warm, humid environment (like a swimming pool) to cold. We tested this, and it worked well for the camera.