Episode 109: Canon Rangefinders Part Deux

Episode 109 of the Camerosity Podcast brings back Canon historian and author Peter Kitchingman for a follow-up to his earlier appearance on Episode 18, this time revisiting the deep well of Canon rangefinder history in a "Part Deux" format. Joining Peter and the regular hosts is fellow Canon expert Greg Harp, along with a large group of listener guests. The episode picks up where the earlier discussion left off, tracing Canon's rangefinder lineage from the earliest models—the original Canon, the Canon J and JII—through the historically important S, SII, and IIB, and on to the II, III, and IV series.

The conversation covers a wide range of specific models and mechanical/design details, including the back-loading V, VI, P, and 7 series cameras, and touches on notable lenses like the famous 0.95 "Dream Lens" and a rare original Canon-mount wide-angle lens. Greg and Peter also discuss Canon's lesser-known wartime and postwar X-ray camera production, which helped keep the company profitable during that period. The group discusses distinguishing features between similar models (such as the II, III, and IV, and the 7s versus 7sZ), the role of Nippon Kogaku in early Canon history, and technical questions like the benefits of variable rangefinder magnification ratios and the value of separate viewfinder/rangefinder windows. Fixed-lens Canonet models get attention too, including the trigger-wind Canonet 19, the QL17 G-III, and other budget-friendly QL25/QL28 variants. Tangential topics include identifying repainted versus original black-paint cameras, the unpredictable market forces (including influencer culture) that drive certain lens values skyward, and anecdotes about lenses like the f/0.95 Canon lens's use in Hollywood and comparisons to Kubrick's famous Zeiss f/0.7 lens.

Overall, the episode serves as a comprehensive, largely on-topic deep dive into Canon rangefinder history, mechanics, and collecting nuances, benefiting from the combined expertise of Kitchingman and Harp. It reinforces Canon's rich and often underappreciated rangefinder legacy, spanning from early interchangeable-lens models to affordable fixed-lens Canonets, while also answering practical questions for collectors about identification, values, and camera provenance.

AI-generated summary. May not capture every detail — read the full article below for the complete picture.

Way back in the early days of the Camerosity Podcast, we did a show with Canon historian and author Peter Kitchingman, and recently as the gang looked back at what topics were worth revisiting we decided to come back to Canon rangefinders. But what expert would we get this time? As it turned out, Peter was available and willing to come back so we decided to retread this bountiful topic in Episode 109 and deliver a “Part Deux” to Canon rangefinders.

Joining Peter and the regular hosts were Greg Harp, another excellent resource for these cameras who has a great deal of knowledge, plus listeners A.J. Gentile, Ben Ryerson, Ira Cohen, Jeremy Scott, Joan, John Roberts, Norris Liu, William Smith, and Will Pinkham.

We start off with some brief history and then get into some of the earliest Canon rangefinders like the original Canon and the slightly later Canon J and JII. Moving onto the historically significant S, SII, and IIBs and eventually covering the II, III, and IV series. We move along to the back loaders like the V, VI, P, and 7 series, covering various lenses, including the 0.95 Dream lens, a very rare original Canon mount wide angle lens, and others. Greg and Peter even share a bit of knowledge about Canon’s X-Ray cameras which they made during and after the war.

Although a majority of you probably wanted to hear the most about the interchangeable lens models, we give some love to the fixed lens Canonet models like the trigger wind Canonet 19, the Canonet QL17 G-III, and even some of the more economically priced models.

Unusual to a Camerosity episode, we largely stayed on topic for this one, only slightly veering into one Argus lens (blame Mike for that), but we answer a bunch of questions such as why is having different magnification ratios for the rangefinder useful, why is having separate viewfinder and rangefinder windows better, and what role did Nippon Kogaku play in Canon’s history.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

Our next episode will be number 110, and we listened to you all for a topic and you chose 110 “Pocket Instamatic” cameras. This means the Pentax and Minolta 110 SLRs will definitely make an appearance, but in the event we can’t fill a whole episode about 110 cameras, we are opening up the discussion to all 16mm subminiature cameras. We will record Episode 110 on Monday, June 8th at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 6pm Canada Saskatchewan Time. For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time. Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

Peter Kitchingman is Back / Peter Still has Hundreds of Copies of His Book for Sale
A Show Listener Recently Picked up a Canon JII and Asked What it Was
The Origins of Canon’s Early Models / Rangefinder Less Canon J
Nippon Kogaku’s Role with the Early Canon Cameras / Serial Numbers are Difficult to Track
Canon J-Mount vs Leica Thread Mount (24 tpi vs 26 tpi) / The Canon SII Was the First LTM Canon
Canon Remained Profitable During the War Making X-Ray Cameras
Mike Thinks the Rotating Prism Was One of Canon’s Best Features
Which Canon is Good for a First Time Canon Rangefinder Owner?
Quick Ways to Differentiate a Canon II, III, and IV / Canon IV Sb
The Never Ending Questions About the EP Mark
Some Canon Sleeper Lenses / Canon Often Launched Cameras with Wide-Angle Options
The Canon V-Series / Lever Wind Models and the VT Trigger Wind Models
Japanese Summilix 50mm f/1.4 Canon Lens / Trigger Film Advances
CR Skinner and the Canon 1950 Model / Origin of the Name “Dream Lens”
Canon 7 / Canon f/0.95 Lens and its Use in Hollywood / Stanley Kubrick’s f/0.7 Zeiss Planar Lens
Differences Between the Canon 7s and 7sZ / Lenses with Hoods Which Block the Viewfinder
Why Do Some Lenses Inexplicably Skyrocket in Value? / Influencers
The Helios-44 is Influencer Proof / Getting Stuff from Ukraine
Canon Made Some Decent Fixed Lens Rangefinders Too / Trigger Winds
Canonet 19 / Canonet QL17 GIII / Canonet QL25 and 28 Models
Canon Cameras at the Leitz Auction / Repainted Black Cameras
Tips on Identifying a Repainted Camera vs an Original Painted Camera
What Are the Advantages of Having Multiple Magnification Ratios in a Rangefinder?
Auxiliary Viewfinders / Canon V and VIs Have Built in Automatic Parallax for Viewfinders
Experiences with Canon or Konishiroku Collapsible 50/3.5 LTM Lenses
Keeping a Record of Camera Provenance and History

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

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