Which Canon RF camera to use?

[M like Leica M6]

The only I have is a Vt de luxe with a 2/35... and I love it. The finder is the old-fashioned version before the P and other cameras came, but it has that wonderful "RF" feature: I can enlarge the rangefinder spot and focus very exactly. My camera has a lot of sign of use, but it works like a new camera.

[lawrence]

I have an L and have owned a 7 and a P. I like the L best because it is smallish and quiet. I think the P is over-rated, with an unusable (to me) 35mm finder with too many frame lines and the 7 is just too big. Also, I like the look of the L with its funky slow-speed dial on the front and I like the cloth shutter too. I've got the Canon 35mm f1.8 but tend to use an Ultron instead because it's got better performance at wide apertures, quicker focussing and better balance. The L is a terrific little camera and the best of the Canon rangefinders.

[Bill58]

Originally Posted by lawrence

I have an L and have owned a 7 and a P. I like the L best because it is smallish and quiet. I think the P is over-rated, with an unusable (to me) 35mm finder with too many frame lines and the 7 is just too big. Also, I like the look of the L with its funky slow-speed dial on the front and I like the cloth shutter too. I've got the Canon 35mm f1.8 but tend to use an Ultron instead because it's got better performance at wide apertures, quicker focussing and better balance. The L is a terrific little camera and the best of the Canon rangefinders.

If the Model P is "overrated", it was also oversold w/ 100,000 purchased. There's a reason-it is simply the sturdiest, best engineered, and simplest to use non-metered RF ever made IMHO.

[januaryman]

Originally Posted by rogue_designer

Well, with an RF I currently don't use anything except a 35 or a 50.. so the range isn't as big a deal.

Projected framelines are nice. But I've never had an issue with the ones etched into the P. And the 1:1 viewfinder is a clincher for me.

But that's just me and the way i shoot.

What he said. The 35 is my perfect lens, but I love the 50 as well. So I bought a second P and will mount a CV Ultron 35/1.7 on one and a Canon 50/1.4 on the other. I think it's perfect that way. For me, anyway.

[kansas_parker]

The only 35mm rf I have is a Canon L1, but with a metal shutter. I really enjoy shooting with it, but being a glasses wearer, the viewfinder can be a little tricky. I put some masking tape over the wheel beneath the viewfinder that changes the focal length.
The only lens I've got for it (so far) is the 50/1.2. I would like to find a decent collapsable 35mm lens.

[Bill58]

My L1 VF eyepiece scratches my glasses unmercifully. I've found out that the various Leica M eyepiece protectors on the market don't fit. What can we do? I like my Model P too, but my L1 is my favorite due to a brighter RF patch and vintage looks.

[raid]

Originally Posted by januaryman

What he said. The 35 is my perfect lens, but I love the 50 as well. So I bought a second P and will mount a CV Ultron 35/1.7 on one and a Canon 50/1.4 on the other. I think it's perfect that way. For me, anyway.

Jim,

I have two P's for a very practical set of cameras. I have a wide angle lens on one P and a 50mm lens on the second P. It is just great.

[Sonnar2]

Originally Posted by Bill58

If the Model P is "overrated", it was also oversold w/ 100,000 purchased. There's a reason-it is simply the sturdiest, best engineered, and simplest to use non-metered RF ever made IMHO.

Good said. If you don't like the 35mm finder on a P, or want a 85mm, buy a 7 and don't complain: about size, weight, the 100mm frame too small, or other stuff.

Buy a P as FIRST rangefinder camera with changable lenses. I can highly recommend that. You can buy 10's of other cameras in addition LATER ONE, but you will hardly find a (alltogether) "better" one...

I thought it until I bought my L1 and VI. Both have good finders but smaller eyepiece and eyeglass killers. Alltogether they aren't "better". Different taste, best. And of course, no cloth shutter (my L1) is a match for the metal shutter of a P or VII.

[lawrence]

Originally Posted by Sonnar2

I thought it until I bought my L1 and VI. Both have good finders but smaller eyepiece and eyeglass killers.

The solution to the eyepiece problem for spectacle wearers is to find a small rubber washer:



This works perfectly, though perhaps it is not for the purist...

[N. Bruce Nelson]

Thanks for that, Lawrence. I glued a washer on my L1, and it works great, even with plastic glasses lens. This solves my major issue with the camera.

I have a Canon III that I often use with Voigtlander 21 and 25 mm lenses and the respective external finders.

I have a Canon 7 that I take when I know am going to use an assortment of lenses in one day.

I just got my first parallax corrected 100 mm brightline finder, and if I can find these for my other focal lengths, I may go back to my L1 in preference to the 7 for the longer lenses. I also got the sport finder, but haven't had a chance to use it yet. These appear to be fairly rare, after doing an internet search. Does anyone else use one?

I really enjoy all three cameras.

Bruce

[lawrence]

Glad it works! I hope you enjoy your L1 as I think it's a camera with 'soul'. I've had the P and the 7 but the L1 is the one I kept.

[kkdanamatt]

I vote for the P as a user and the VI-T as a looker.

[rbsinto]

This thread allows me to bring up a question about the Canon rangefinders that no one has yet answered to my satisfaction.
I'm a life-long Nikon manual focus film camera / lens shooter (SLRs and rangefinders) so I know very little about Canon cameras.
In the Nikon world, the SP is/was the epitome of their rangefinder development, and seems to have been (along with some S3s) the choice of the pros.
Is there a similar top-of-the-line, choice-of-the-pros body in the Canon rangefinder line-up?
And did Canon make a motor-drive for any bodies?
Sorry if I'm asking stupid questions, but I am a Stanger in a Strange Land here among the Canonvolk.

[harry01562]

Interesting question, but I don't think Canon pursued this market during most of the RF period. Canon did very well selling to their home market, and through the Military Post Exchange system into the 1950's. When they entered the US market, their emphasis was on cameras like their late Barnack-type, and the huge success, the Canon P.
The closest thing to a pro camera, IMHO, would have been the model 7 and the later 7s, where they featured the unique f0.95 lens. That lens was extensively modified then, and later, to work with the M3 and later models of the M-series. The same lens was also produced for a number of years for the TV and movie industries, with apparent success. It seems to be still a cult favorite, and is a better lens than its reputation.
So, in my considered opinion, the 7s, or last model 7sZ, would probably be as close as they came in the RF era.
Later, of course, they emerged into the SLR's, with the several models of the F-1, another story, for another forum. That was also when they produced their first motor drive, AFAIK. They did make winders for the Barnack tyhpes, and the trigger wind, like the VI-T.
Their lenses were practically all of high quality, and are mostly bargains in today's market, compared to the Leica, especially.
Brian Sweeney, who is a Nikon collector, and quite familiar with many things Canon may have opinions that he will share. Of course, Peter Kitchingman, who wrote the lovely book on the lenses and Peter Dechert who wrote the seminal book on the cameras are also major figures who, hopefully, will give us some thoughts.

Harry

[Pico]

If you get the 7s then you are set to get the 50mm F1:.95 lens.

Man, I wish they had made the .95 in LTM instead of external bayonet.

[raid]

I totally forgot my Canon 7, which I hardly ever use. It looks not as nice as the P or a Leica M.

[Joe AC]

Does anyone know if there is a modification that can be made to the squinty viewfinders of a IIIa

[kkdanamatt]

I'd vote for the Canon P if the 50mm and 100mm lenses were my favorite focal lengths.

I wear glasses and I can't see the 35mm frame of the Canon P.

If the 35mm focal length were my "standard", then I'd opt for the VI-L.

If the 25mm or 28mm were my "standards", then it matters not.

To me, the lens most frequently used usually determines what RF body I choose.

[Red Robin]

The Canon P times three. Next the Canon IIs2 or the III, I also have a 7 and a VI-T but neither of the two get much use. Lens use includes Canon, Jupiter, a single Minolta and a CZJ .

[raid]

Canon P is my choice. I sold the mintish VI-L and kept a user P (chrome). Then came along an olive P, followed by a black P. Life is good. I use all three cameras a lot.

[Mackinaw]

For me, it's the Canon 7s first followed by the L1. I had a P many years back but sold it. Just couldn't stand the viewfinder.

Jim B.

[hausen]

I have a mint Canon P but find myself most often reading for my M6 which currently has Canon 50/1.4, and yesterday with Canon 35/2.8. Maybe I should move 50/1.4 to the P. Is gorgeous and this thread reminds me I should use it more..

[Bingley]

I've been enjoying shooting a IVSB2 recently. It's the same size and quality feel as a Barnack w/ a nicer vf (IMO).

[rcbooth]

It would be any variety of the 7 - the viewfinder is the best for me. But lately I've been using a VT Deluxe quite a bit.

[cassel]

Recently bought a Canon 7. Got a good price on it, but I had to spend another couple hundred to have a CLA. LOVE the viewfinder, nice and bright and the switchable framelines are great. Compares favorably with my Leica M4-P.

Years ago I had a Canon VT deluxe (good cold weather camera- I could operate it with gloves on) and a Canon L1- wonderful, wish I had kept it, I don't remember exactly why I sold it