Canon Rangefinder Cameras

[brobbins]

Thanks

Thanks

Hi Peter,

Thanks for responding so promptly to my question regarding the use of the CPO designation. I hope you are enjoying the beginning of fall in your beautiful city.

Best regards,
Brett

 

[brobbins]

Canon RF Lens for Black Paint Cameras

Canon RF Lens for Black Paint Cameras

Hi Peter,

I have another question about black paint Canon rangefinders. I understand that some all-black lenses were made by Canon for their black paint cameras, including some 50mm lenses. I unfortunately have not been able to find any literature about these lenses, as to either their history, their purpose or their rarity. Would you be able to provide some insights?

Thanks,
Brett

 

[pdek]

Hi Peter,

I have another question about black paint Canon rangefinders. I understand that some all-black lenses were made by Canon for their black paint cameras, including some 50mm lenses. I unfortunately have not been able to find any literature about these lenses, as to either their history, their purpose or their rarity. Would you be able to provide some insights?
Thanks, Brett

***

Hi Brett,
Canon did make black-finish lenses, but I know of no literature about them unless Peter Kitchingman is going to say something in his forthcoming book. They seem to be much more difficult to find nowadays than the black cameras. This may be because fewer black lenses were made, or else because their original (and also later) owners didn't realize they were going to have collectors' value, and thus used them to the point of no return and then discarded them or traded them in to dealers who got rid of them any way they could. Their original purpose was simply to add to the impact that black equipment has on some folk by enhancing the appearance of the camera with which they were mated, and usually they were boxed together with black cameras rather than being sold independently. And because it was possible to buy a black body without matching lens, this may suggest, as I said above, that fewer lenses than bodies were made and sold in black. Who knows (or ever will)? Best, Peter D