View Full Version : Old Canon models
Can someone fill me in on what the model designations of the old Canon RF (Leica copy) cameras were? I know they went up to about 7, but on eBay I've tried all kinds of numbers, both Roman and regular, but not much comes up. What does is largely modern stuff - maybe they ran out of numbers!!
I know that, in their day, those old Canons were pretty well regarded - I think even Sears had a derivative model - but I can't seem to come up with the right model numbers to find much on eBay, etc. Or are they just scarce??
VictorM.
01-08-2005, 11:04
Have a look at the on-line Canon Museum: http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/f_camera.html
CleverName
01-08-2005, 13:53
The canon museum is a great info source.
Does anyone know of similar, all inclusive sites for other brands?
It's good to have these sites handy when browsing the "view seller's other items" :)
I've found pretty good ones for:
Miranda http://www.mirandacamera.com/
Minolta http://members.aol.com/manualminolta/minfind.htm
I used to have a great one for Topcon, but lost it.
st3ph3nm
01-08-2005, 19:12
www.cameraquest.com is where I do most of my drooling.
Karen Nakamura's (did I get that right?) site, www.photoethnography.com is worth a visit, her links are quite comprehensive.
Cheers,
Steve
pshinkaw
01-08-2005, 19:47
I think that Canon rangefinders are generally not as common as many other brands on e-Bay. I searched for quite awhile before I just gave up and BIN'd a Canon 7 a few months ago. There never seemed to be more than 1 or 2 up for sale at a time and so bidding was very competitive. The same seems to apply to the earlier models.
On the other hand I always seem to see at least one on the used shelves when I visit a camera store. They languish there because of the high asking prices. Doesn't $595 seem a little high for a Canon VI-T body? There's one here locally that's been for sale for most of the year at that price.
-Paul
back alley
01-08-2005, 19:54
...BIN'd...
paul, i think you just invented a new verb!
and 595 seems very high for that camera btw.
a canon p in minty shape can be had for half that.
joe
CleverName
01-09-2005, 06:56
st3ph3nm, I have both those sites in my favorites. Karen's site is really great.
I was thinking more along the lines of a "Nikon museum" or "Leica Museum".
User, collector, and fan sites are great but one from the actual manufacturer might be more comprehensive.
VI-T body for 595 USD is quite high. For some or another reason -T(rigger) versions occuring more often at ebay than -L(ever)
and 595 seems very high for that camera btw.
a canon p in minty shape can be had for half that.
"Minty"? You mean it smells like toothpaste?
Anyway, a lot of that price difference has to do with availability.
The P is much more common than the VI (P=nearly 90,000 produced; VI = under 9,000 each of the T and L models) so more examples are available at any given condition level; this produces lower prices.
I'd concur that $595 seems mighty high for a VI-T. Maybe if it were absolutely like new, with perfectly clear finder and framelines, and had a desirable lens on it such as a 50/1.4...
For cameras in more average condition, I'd say that for the 'user' buyer the P is at least as nice a shooter as the VI. It doesn't have the switchable finder magnification feature or the parallax compensation pin in the accesory shoe (does anyone here actually use this feature?) but is otherwise similar.
A lot of people feel its finder is a bit clearer, and I can vouch for the fact that the P is more "diopter-neutral" (the VI has a fairly strong negative eyepiece lens, the P not so much.) This tends to make the P easier to view for eyeglasses wearers, because its eyepiece doesn't "fight" your eyeglasses prescription as much.
back alley
01-10-2005, 10:48
"Minty"? You mean it smells like toothpaste?
you mean there's toothpaste that tastes like mint?
havta try that!
Almost every camera you see on eBay is either "mint" or "minty". It seems to have become a cliche.
Thanks, guys, for the above help. I'll see what I can find.
And what exactly is "minty"? Surely either a camera is mint, i.e. in it's sealed plastic bag, or it is not. Minty just fudges everything.
Originally posted by backalley photo
"Minty"? You mean it smells like toothpaste?
you mean there's toothpaste that tastes like mint?
havta try that!
I think they only claim to make your breath SMELL "minty fresh."
Whenever I read an item described on eBay as "minty," I assume that's what the seller means.
I figure that if it could really be called "mint," he'd call it "mint." Kind of like those "chocolatey chip cookies" at McDumalds -- if they were really "chocolate chip" cookies, they'd say so, right? So, what's REALLY in them...?
back alley
01-12-2005, 15:30
it's part of today's trader language is my assumption as it's used often enough to be understood by most.
my idea of minty is my own canon p, came with the japan ll sticker still stuck on it, some small marks that you need to look for and a single slight wrinkle on the shutter.
not out of the box mint but close enough for a camera almost as old as i am.
joe
Still don't like it because I think it means different things to different people. LNIB is another. I remember reading back in 2003 when I was buying my first RF camera that the KEH grading system (http://www.keh.com/faq/faq_grading.cfm) was the best around and everybody should be using it. That was on photo.net I believe.
I plan to sell some stuff this year and I'll be using their system and linking to it in my text.
Originally posted by peter_n
I plan to sell some stuff this year ......
You wouldn't happen to have an M2 or M3 in that stuff?
back alley
01-12-2005, 17:46
first the p frank then you can squander your cash on the dark side.
The acknowledged bible for Canon rangefinders is "Canon Rangefinder Cameras 1933-1968" by Peter Dechert. If you're thinking of buying more than just one body and lens it's worth looking for a copy
Originally posted by FrankS
You wouldn't happen to have an M2 or M3 in that stuff? I don't Frank, I'm sorry. :( Personally I like the newer cameras and I'm hoping that an M7 will join my M6ttl. I'm planning to sell off stuff I don't use any more, 3rd party Nikon lenses and such to help fund a purchase. :)
Peter: Oh, that's okay. No money right now anyway.
Joe: I was looking hard at Don's post about a Canon P, thinking $350 for a camera just as good as a Leica M, with lens, sounds good. But I already have enough RF cameras. I have a IIIf, a Canon VI-L (needs a CLA BTW for slow shutter speeds), a Hexar AF, 2 Bessa R's (the second once my trade comes through), and a Fed2 (once the mail arrives). What I don't have is a Leica M. I may be stupid for having this desire, but I do. Is desire ever not stupid?
In the case of Leica M bodies, no. They are unlike anything else, no question. :)
back alley
01-12-2005, 21:17
Is desire ever not stupid?
let me check with a couple of my ex wives...
joe
My God, this guy just said he had a camera "nearly as old as I am", and now he's talking about a COUPLE of ex-wives. He must get around!
I have an M4-2, which qualifies as "older" now. I'm a little put off by the current prices of new Leicas.
Since if have no Leica LTMs (I assume that jargon is understood), and going by prices for those too, I've been looking at some older Russian LTM-types such as Zorkis. Of course, they are by no means Leicas, and I don't need them for a lot of picture taking, but they make cute substitutes. Since the older Canons were, after all, copies, they might qualify, too.
(LTM = Leica thread mount a.k.a. LSM or Leica screw mount)
back alley
01-13-2005, 07:05
927, try a canon screwmount, you may be surprised how good they are and not at leica prices.
my canon p cameras were manufactured around 59 or so. i was created in '50.
i do admit to having 'been around' a bit but that was when i was younger. i only mentioned a couple of ex wives, maybe i wont tell exactly how many ex's...
joe
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