Black Canon 7s ???

[lmd91343]

Here is a black Canon 7s.

I did not know Canon made a black 7s. 😕

I don't know if this is factory black. Look at the following details:

o Looks like black over chrome in wear on the top plate
o look at ST lever - no white dot
o look at strap lugs - they are chrome, factory black 7 had black paint
o look at ST screw - all chrome, was all black on 7
o chrome under black on bottom plate
o lever on rewind knob is black, was chrome on 7
o wind lever screw is funny color
o frameline selector has white numbers, 7 had white
o frameline selector ring is black with chrome wear, 7 was chrome

It looks ugly for a $1000+ camera.

-Lance


http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/41...ewItemQQcategoryZ28272QQitemZ6625313354QQrdZ1
http://tinyurl.com/z4tqd
eBay Item number: 6625313354

 

[harry01562]

It's being offered by what I believe is a very respectable firm, who has offered similar items for years. I'd be inclined to think it's OK, but it is also a VERY used camera in UGLY condition. Rare does not make ugly pretty, if you know what I mean.....

Don't forget the 22.5 pct buyer premium! Makes the cheese even more binding, or something like that.

This is the first 7s that I recall in black, so that factor is probably important to the "true" collector. I guess that makes me just an accumulator, but that's OK.

Harry

 

[Mackinaw]

While the prevailing view seems to be that Canon didn't make any black 7s models, I'm not so quick to dismiss this particular camera as being a fake. Dechert, in his Canon SLR book, also suggested that Canon did not make any black-bodied Canonflex (original) cameras. Several years back, while at a used camera show in Detroit, a chap was selling a beat-up but black-bodied Canonflex. I spent a good twenty minutes looking at this camera in great detail and came away with the impression that it was indeed authentic, (the paint job was too professional to be done by an amateur plus the black had a very warm "glow" that resembles other black-bodied Canons of that era). Dechert, in his rangefinder book, also points out that he finds it surprising that Canon didn't make any black 7s cameras considering how popular black was becomiing in the mid-1960's. I guess we'll never know the truth about this particular camera but it just may be the real thing.

Jim Bielecki

 

[jlw]

I can't believe Canon's normal production process would have been to paint black over an already chrome-plated top cover, as seems to have been done here. On the earlier black Canons, the black finish was applied on the unplated brass cover; this sticks better and gives a better appearance, and of course it would have been easy to do the same for a custom-ordered factory black 7s simply by pulling a top cover off the production line before plating.

So I'm inclined to believe this camera was painted black after completion, although WHO painted it (Canon or someone else) would still be an open question. I suppose it's possible to imagine the factory receiving a special order from an important customer for a black 7s (maybe to replace a black 7 that expired in the line of duty) and, informed that looks weren't as important as inconspicuous appearance, simply disassembled and painted a chrome one.