Canon LTM Canon P Rangefinder eyepiece frame

Canon M39 M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
Canon P

Canon P

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Joined
Dec 6, 2004
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16
Hi all,

I am desperate in search of an eyepiece frame for my Canon P. The camera is fine, only this part on the back is missing. Any idea of repairman or other sources that may have such a piece?

Cheers
Uwe
 
What are the measurements of the Canon P frame? The Canon 7 eyepiece glass is the same as the Retina Auto 3, but the Retina 3 does not use a frame. If I remember correctly, the Canon 7 is 1/2 Inch.
 
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My L1 and Canon 7 use round frames. Yours looks close to the frame used on the Retina Reflex III and Reflex IV. I do not have a Canon P to compare against, but I do have some spare square frames. Dimensions will help.
 
Welcome Canon P, such a great name ! Just got one a couple days ago and still must arrive. Wait to see the effect your name induces on our moderator, Joe :)

I suppose you've already tried with the eyepiece from a Canonet. Dunno who may have one of the original P pieces but you cold try on www.kyphoto.com/classics/forum lots of useful repair tips and helpful people there who could help finding that piece.

Good luck!
 
Hi all,

eyeframe of Canonet is too small. The eyepiece of Canon P is about 2cm to 1,1cm, the frame is a bit larger. Does not affect any function, but looks like a car without headlight, it can drive, but looks ugly. It is so easy to find parts for Canon II/III/IV or Canon 7, but very hard to find anything for the Canon P. And this baby is really beautiful.

Cheers
Uwe

(who takes photos with Contax when not using Canon RF)
 
The P is in the same family of the VI series correct? It was also built as an "economy" version, which I believe means it shared components with its kin. Have you seen if the the eyepiece frame from another model will work? Of course, the P being the best selling Canon RF model of its time by a huge margin, it probably doesn't make sense that you would be able to find this part from another camera if you can't find it for the P. Maybe you should hunt for a beat up donor P and keep it for its parts.
 
carve the eyepiece out of wood and epoxy it. you could even laquer it nice and shiny. =)
 
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rover said:
The P is in the same family of the VI series correct? It was also built as an "economy" version, which I believe means it shared components with its kin. Have you seen if the the eyepiece frame from another model will work?
Click to expand...

The P's chassis is very similar to the VI-T/VI-L, but the eyepiece frame is unique. It's flush-fitting, rectangular, secured by a slotted screw, and covers a rectangular eyepiece lens. All the others mentioned have a round eyepiece frame that screws into the body and holds a round lens.

Unfortunately, that means your only hope of getting another is to find one that has been, or can be, salvaged off a damaged camera body.

Is yours missing entirely, or just damaged? If damaged, maybe it could be repaired...?
 
Right, it is unique. The frame was missing when I bought the camera. I have been looking around for a while in search of a parts camera, no luck. I looked for camera repairman, that could have parts, no luck. To my mind, the Canon P is not a rare camera, but it is much easier to get parts for the other Canon RF. Don of dagcamera.com promised me he will see to find one, no luck. Posted it on UseNet, nothing. I will not give up, I want this amera to be complete.

Cheers
Uwe
 
You are probably right to post your need at user's boards. I think the best shot you have is to find a non-working P and buy the busted body from someone. The CVUG is specifically for CV products, but very active. You may want to join, hang around because they have very good conversations there, but also post your need to see if you can uncover the eyepiece. There are a few members of that group who live in Japan, perhaps it would be easier to find the part there and they can provide a resource for it.

You can link to the CVUG from cameraquest.com.

Also, maybe
 
If you want it to look original, you can buy a "dead" camera off of EBay for Parts. I have seen dead Canon P's go on Ebay for $100. Pretty amazing, considering there were almost 100,000 made. I saw a Nikon SP with a shattered eyepiece go for almost $1,000! That guy is going to have a hard time trying to find a replacement.

The alternative is to go with something that is close, and use leatherette or something else for filler. Glue would probably be required to hold the piece in. The Minolta Hi-Matic E eyepiece frame looks close, I will measure a few different pieces this weekend.

All in all, your best bet is to search EBay for a dead or ugly Canon P, then part out what you do not need.
 
I think you are right, no ugly Canon P. My problem now is, I swear to myself not to take pictures with this camera before it is coplete.

So i have to go out there with youngster cams like this:
 
The Eyepiece Frame from my Parts Minolta Hi-Matic 11 looks "in the Ballpark". It is plastic, with tabs melted into the camera cover. It has a mask between the frame and eyepiece that could be modified for the Canon P. It would certainly work on one of my Nikon S3's , also with 1x viewfinder and 35mm reflected line frames. It would have to be glued, and possibly sanded down slightly to fit the contour of the top cover.

If you can look at one locally to compare it, that might answer the question of if it will work. A parts Hi-Matic 11 should be cheap. I also looked at the Hi-Matic 9; but it did not have the inside mask.
 
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