The

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

rangefinders of the late 1940s and early 1950s are Leica-compatible screw-mount cameras. Many were brought to the U.S. by servicemen who bought them while visiting Japan during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Typically these were mounted with a 50mm Serenar (later, Canon) lens. Many of these can still be used, and are similar in function to the

Leica III The Leica III is a rangefinder camera introduced by Leica in 1933, and produced in parallel with the Leica II series. Several models were produced over the years, with significant improvements. The Leica III uses a coupled rangefinder distinct f ...

. The top speed is 1/500. Some models are flash synchronized, using Canon's side-rail synch contacts. The lens mount is compatible with all standard Leitz M39 mount lenses The original ones came with a spring-loaded takeup spool that most photographers found easier to use than the one provided by Leica—many are now missing the spool since the spools were taken for use in Leica cameras. Unlike many Leica copies, quality control and finish are fully up to Leitz standards. The noticeable difference between The Canon and other LTM (leica thread mount) rangefinders is the angled cornered casing. Where the Canon cameras surpass the Leica is the finder. Viewfinder and rangefinder are integrated, and a three-way switch allows a view for 50mm, 100mm, and critical rangefinder use. This arrangement made the viewfinders on Canon II/III/IV cameras tend to be dimmer and less brilliant than their counterparts found in Leica or other Barnack-style copy cameras.

External links

Most of Canon Rangefinders
a
www.collection-appareils.com
by Sylvain Halgand

by luis triguez {{Canon Canon rangefinder cameras

Further reading

External links