Canon LTM Canon P Manual Online?

Canon M39 M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
Fausto

Fausto

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I just received my Canon P from Japan, what a beautiful machine!

Does anybody know of a manual for this camera available as a PDF?

Thanks!
 
If you haven't checked Mike Butkus' site yet, that should be a good place to start. He should have it--I mailed him my manual so he could scan it for his collection of manuals.
Hmm, just checked there and it isn't listed. Maybe you can ask him about it? There is contact info on the page.
Here is the link:
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/
I don't have the manual anymore so I can't help directly.
Any specific questions? I'm no expert but there are at least few around here!
Enjoy the P!
Rob
 
Michiel Fokkema said:
Hi,

You really don't need a manual for this camera

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema
Click to expand...


Yes you're right, I'm just treating it kind of gingerly because I'm afraid of breaking something. Although it seems to be quite a sturdy little mother.

On the exposure meter, how do I use the little half-moon switch on the left side?
It has two settings but I don't know what they're for.
 
HI,

A canon P doesn't have an exposure meter. Or is it one like the Leica M meter that goes on top of the camera?

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema
 
Fausto said:
Yes you're right, I'm just treating it kind of gingerly because I'm afraid of breaking something. Although it seems to be quite a sturdy little mother.

On the exposure meter, how do I use the little half-moon switch on the left side?
It has two settings but I don't know what they're for.
Click to expand...

Hi,

I just found a picture of your meter. The switch is undoubtedly to switch between two ranges of the meter. One for high levels of light and for lower levels of light. Use the same colour of apertures on the dial as the switch says.

Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema
 
Meter manual

Meter manual

I can't help you with an online manual for the Canon P (it really is very straightforward) but here are some scans of the manual pages for the Canon-Meter 2. These pages are from the VI-T/VI-L manual, but the exact same meter was used on both the VI and the P.

Note that the very earliest type of Canon meter doesn't have the swiveling shoe for more convenient rewinding -- so if yours doesn't seem to want to swivel, don't force it! Also, many Canon meters have long since lost their little incident light attachment, so if your meter still has one, count yourself lucky!

(Sorry if the type is hard to read on the attachments, but RFF limits uploads to 900 pixels wide, which isn't much for text.)
 

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Those light meter scans are very helpful jlw, thanks a lot. I do have the incident attachment & I thought it was a protective cap!

Once I get the px13 battery from Amazon I'll see if the old Gossen Super Pilot has any life in it & compare it to the Canon meter. To my eyes the camera seems better without the meter.

Do vintage rangefinder aficionados use handheld meters, or is it more fun to estimate?
 
Fausto said:
Do vintage rangefinder aficionados use handheld meters, or is it more fun to estimate?
Click to expand...

I think the Canon meter is one of the better vintage meters. It does detract from the sleekness of the camera, but it's reasonably sensitive (for a selenium meter) and convenient to use.

Still, a clip-on meter seems to be one of the less-favored options in our group. Others include:

-- Estimating. Personally I don't rely on this, since I often photograph in difficult light conditions, and a meter reading at least provides a starting point.

-- Use a vintage handheld meter with your vintage camera. This is true to the era, since that's what most professional photographers would have done "back in the day." Since I photograph a lot in dim light, for a long time my standard vintage meter was a Weston Ranger 9, which is compact and very sensitive. (I really should send it off to Quality Light Metric to get it calibrated for modern batteries, but the money and the time never seem to arrive together.)

-- Use a modern hand-held meter. I like the little Gossen Digisix, since it can take both reflected and incident readings and is extremely compact. Of course, others might want to use a spot meter, an incident meter, or even one of those combination meters (which might well be larger than your RF camera!)

-- Use a modern clip-on meter. The Voigtlander VCII meter really seems quite slick, and you can either keep it on the camera (convenient when you don't want to carry a bag) or carry it as a hand-held meter.

All these options have their plus points, and there are other alternatives too. Just be careful, or your meter collection may wind up outgrowing your camera collection!
 
I completely forgot about the VCII meter. Good idea.
The old Gossen seems pretty sprightly now with a new battery, so I'll give it a try along with the Canon meter.
I popped into B&H looking for a 48mm filter for the Canon & they didn't hava a single one (what a zoo at 11am on a Sunday!).
So I found apparently the last 48mm UV filter (used as well) in NYC at Adorama, and it took them half an hour to locate it. Camera shops are way too crowded on Sundays.
 
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