The Canon 7 was a rangefinder system camera with an integrated

selenium Selenium is a chemical element with the symbol Se and atomic number 34. It is a nonmetal (more rarely considered a metalloid) with properties that are intermediate between the elements above and below in the periodic table, sulfur and tellurium, ...

light meter A light meter is a device used to measure the amount of light. In photography, a light meter (more correctly an exposure meter) is used to determine the proper exposure (photography), exposure for a photograph. The meter will include either a Di ...

introduced by Canon Inc. in September 1961, the last model compatible with the Leica M39 lens mount. Later versions, branded Canon 7s and Canon 7s Type II (or Canon 7sZ), had a

cadmium sulfide Cadmium sulfide is the inorganic compound with the formula CdS. Cadmium sulfide is a yellow solid.Egon Wiberg, Arnold Frederick Holleman (2001''Inorganic Chemistry'' Elsevier It occurs in nature with two different crystal structures as the rare mi ...

light meter. The Canon 7 came when the first Canon

single-lens reflex camera A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system (hence "reflex" from the mirror's reflection) that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin l ...

s were already on the market, but it was felt that there was a need for a fast-shooting rangefinder camera for reportage. In this niche, the Canon 7 came into direct competition with the

Leica M3 The Leica M3 is a 35 mm rangefinder camera by Ernst Leitz GmbH (now Leica Camera AG), introduced in 1954. It was a new starting point for Leitz, which until then had only produced screw-mount Leica cameras that were incremental improvements to ...

. Some Canon 7s were sold in the US branded

Bell & Howell Bell and Howell LLC is a U.S.-based services organization and former manufacturer of cameras, lenses, and motion picture machinery, founded in 1907 by two projectionists, and originally headquartered in Wheeling, Illinois. The company is now ...

, in a partnership that lasted until 1975.

External links

*
Canon RF Camera Price & Info Guide

on cameraquest.com

by Karen Nakamura

on Canon Camera Museum {{Canon Canon rangefinder cameras