CanonRFinder
Well-known
HI All. I notice a question on the holders and below is a finished but unedited section on the holders I was doing for the accessory book. This is now "dead in the water" due to the cost factor and increasing postage rates.
Any queries drop me a line. Cheers Peter.
Canon’s unique “Camera Holder” first appeared in a November 1950 instruction book as an accessory for the model IV camera. The unit consisted of two individual parts, the Cradle and Bracket. The Cradle is made of aluminum and coated in a glossy black paint, while the Bracket is satin chrome on brass. In the centre of the Bracket is a large rectangular hole which fits over a raised section on the base or side of the Cradle.
The Bracket can be attached to the Cradle either in the horizontal or vertical position and fixed together by a screwing a large Bracket Screw which is located beside the inbuilt spirit level. The camera is then positioned in the Cradle and a large Safety Screw on the base of the holder is screwed into the camera tripod hole. The Camera Holder with camera can then be mounted onto a tripod and leveled by checking the bubble in the spirit level in the chrome bracket.
A Side Lighting Unit X can be fitted to the second unused tripod socket if required but the Main Unit X flash outfit can only be used on the new model IV which has a side rail Flash Mounting Bracket. All other Canon cameras available at that time used the Flash Unit Model B-II.
Once the camera and Camera Holder are mounted on the tripod, maximum results can be obtained when photographing close-up subjects by using a Canon Auto-Up or when using a long telephoto lens for sports photography. Using a cable release to release the shutter will eliminate any camera movement.
Late in 1949 the occupying authorities SCAP, rescinded the requirement that all Japanese exports be marked “Made in Occupied Japan”. It took sometime for Japanese companies to implement this request and Canon did, at the beginning of 1951. It is quite possible that all holders which had the offending MIOJ mark were recalled and the mark was removed. Maybe because of this and there late release is why I have recorded only two Camera Holders with the MIOJ mark on the base of the Bracket. The example in my collection has the MIOJ mark on the base of the Bracket near the Bracket Screw end. On the front of the soft pig-skin case the gold letters of the MIOJ mark are just bellow the Zipper Slider. The Cradle is not marked except with the makers name and “Camera Holder.”
If a carry strap and D-rings were attached to the camera eyelets, then the strap would have to be removed before the camera could be placed into the Camera Holder. Inside the holder’s vertical section was a depression which would accommodate the D-ring while it was still attached to the camera. Black felt on the base and around the upper inside edge of the holder protected the camera from unnecessary wear and tear.
The problem of removing the carry strap was solved when the second version was introduced sometime in 1950. On the first version there was a hole for the camera strap eyelet to fit through, but on the new holder a section which included this hole had been cut out. This made it easier to fit a camera into the Camera Holder while a carry strap was still attached to the camera.
Towards the end of 1951 canon decided to place the country of origin, “Japan,” on all there manufactured items. This apparently took effect at the beginning of 1952 but as there were items still in the inventory ready to be delivered these items may have been sent back to have “Japan” placed on that item somewhere. In the case of the third version Camera Holder the word “Japan” appeared on the back of the Cradle near the large Safety Screw. The only improvement over the previous holders was in the pig-skin case. An internal strap now held the Bracket in place while it sat in its pocket inside the case. The head of a small brown rivet just below the Zipper Slider was the only external indication of this improvement. These particular holders were only on the market for a couple of months.
The fifth version released in January 1952, “Japan” appeared on the front of the holder underneath the company name and Camera Holder. The holder came in a new hard leather; pig-skin covered case with the chrome Bracket fitting neatly into a pocket in the lid and held in place by a strap.
Late in 1953, Canon introduced a new styled camera strap eyelet on all cameras which had serial numbers close to 100000. The old strap eyelet had a half-moon shape while the new eyelet was dog-ear in shape but 2mm wider. To accommodate the new eyelets extra 2mm width, Canon released a sixth version with a small groove in the Bracket. Camera models which featured this new eyelet would fit into the cradle of an earlier Camera Holder and could be used in the horizontal position. But in the vertical this 2mm difference prevented the Bracket from fitting flush with the cradle. Camera cameras that may feature both types of eyelets would be the models IIIA, IID, IID1, IVSB (IVS2) and IIF. This sixth version remained on the market until July 1956 because the late bottom loader models IVSB2, IIS2 and IID2 were still being sold.
Canon released the back-loading Model VT camera in April 1956. The new VT Camera Holder was similar in shape but slightly larger than the previous holder. The Bracket was now finished in the same glossy black paint as the Cradle. Both items came in a soft pig-skin case with a pocket inside in-which the Bracket would fit and strapped in. Missing was the cut-out section on the side which on earlier holders allowed the camera eyelet to protrude through. The eyelets on the Model VT had been relocated closer to the front. When the new camera was mounted in the VT Holder the trigger lever in the base was inoperable and the alternative pop-up wind-on knob on the camera was used to advance the film. This holder accepted any V series camera which had a tripod hole at the rewind end of the base plate.
Thirteen months later Canon released the Camera Holder L for the Model L1 camera and later cameras which had a thumb wind-on lever. It was 6mm longer and had a large Locking Screw at the opposite end to that found on the Camera Holder VT. Simultaneously Canon re-released the Camera Holder VT. The only noticeable difference was in the script style of the company name “Canon”. Both VT and L holders came in hard tan-coloured pig-skin leather case.
These Camera Holders were withdrawn from sale when Canon released the Model 7s camera in February 1965. I cannot find in any of my literature a reference where Canon had produced Camera Holders for the Models 7s and 7sz. The tripod holes on these two models were in a different position and the VT and L Camera Holders could not be secured when fitted.
Any queries drop me a line. Cheers Peter.
Canon’s unique “Camera Holder” first appeared in a November 1950 instruction book as an accessory for the model IV camera. The unit consisted of two individual parts, the Cradle and Bracket. The Cradle is made of aluminum and coated in a glossy black paint, while the Bracket is satin chrome on brass. In the centre of the Bracket is a large rectangular hole which fits over a raised section on the base or side of the Cradle.
The Bracket can be attached to the Cradle either in the horizontal or vertical position and fixed together by a screwing a large Bracket Screw which is located beside the inbuilt spirit level. The camera is then positioned in the Cradle and a large Safety Screw on the base of the holder is screwed into the camera tripod hole. The Camera Holder with camera can then be mounted onto a tripod and leveled by checking the bubble in the spirit level in the chrome bracket.
A Side Lighting Unit X can be fitted to the second unused tripod socket if required but the Main Unit X flash outfit can only be used on the new model IV which has a side rail Flash Mounting Bracket. All other Canon cameras available at that time used the Flash Unit Model B-II.
Once the camera and Camera Holder are mounted on the tripod, maximum results can be obtained when photographing close-up subjects by using a Canon Auto-Up or when using a long telephoto lens for sports photography. Using a cable release to release the shutter will eliminate any camera movement.
Late in 1949 the occupying authorities SCAP, rescinded the requirement that all Japanese exports be marked “Made in Occupied Japan”. It took sometime for Japanese companies to implement this request and Canon did, at the beginning of 1951. It is quite possible that all holders which had the offending MIOJ mark were recalled and the mark was removed. Maybe because of this and there late release is why I have recorded only two Camera Holders with the MIOJ mark on the base of the Bracket. The example in my collection has the MIOJ mark on the base of the Bracket near the Bracket Screw end. On the front of the soft pig-skin case the gold letters of the MIOJ mark are just bellow the Zipper Slider. The Cradle is not marked except with the makers name and “Camera Holder.”
If a carry strap and D-rings were attached to the camera eyelets, then the strap would have to be removed before the camera could be placed into the Camera Holder. Inside the holder’s vertical section was a depression which would accommodate the D-ring while it was still attached to the camera. Black felt on the base and around the upper inside edge of the holder protected the camera from unnecessary wear and tear.
The problem of removing the carry strap was solved when the second version was introduced sometime in 1950. On the first version there was a hole for the camera strap eyelet to fit through, but on the new holder a section which included this hole had been cut out. This made it easier to fit a camera into the Camera Holder while a carry strap was still attached to the camera.
Towards the end of 1951 canon decided to place the country of origin, “Japan,” on all there manufactured items. This apparently took effect at the beginning of 1952 but as there were items still in the inventory ready to be delivered these items may have been sent back to have “Japan” placed on that item somewhere. In the case of the third version Camera Holder the word “Japan” appeared on the back of the Cradle near the large Safety Screw. The only improvement over the previous holders was in the pig-skin case. An internal strap now held the Bracket in place while it sat in its pocket inside the case. The head of a small brown rivet just below the Zipper Slider was the only external indication of this improvement. These particular holders were only on the market for a couple of months.
The fifth version released in January 1952, “Japan” appeared on the front of the holder underneath the company name and Camera Holder. The holder came in a new hard leather; pig-skin covered case with the chrome Bracket fitting neatly into a pocket in the lid and held in place by a strap.
Late in 1953, Canon introduced a new styled camera strap eyelet on all cameras which had serial numbers close to 100000. The old strap eyelet had a half-moon shape while the new eyelet was dog-ear in shape but 2mm wider. To accommodate the new eyelets extra 2mm width, Canon released a sixth version with a small groove in the Bracket. Camera models which featured this new eyelet would fit into the cradle of an earlier Camera Holder and could be used in the horizontal position. But in the vertical this 2mm difference prevented the Bracket from fitting flush with the cradle. Camera cameras that may feature both types of eyelets would be the models IIIA, IID, IID1, IVSB (IVS2) and IIF. This sixth version remained on the market until July 1956 because the late bottom loader models IVSB2, IIS2 and IID2 were still being sold.
Canon released the back-loading Model VT camera in April 1956. The new VT Camera Holder was similar in shape but slightly larger than the previous holder. The Bracket was now finished in the same glossy black paint as the Cradle. Both items came in a soft pig-skin case with a pocket inside in-which the Bracket would fit and strapped in. Missing was the cut-out section on the side which on earlier holders allowed the camera eyelet to protrude through. The eyelets on the Model VT had been relocated closer to the front. When the new camera was mounted in the VT Holder the trigger lever in the base was inoperable and the alternative pop-up wind-on knob on the camera was used to advance the film. This holder accepted any V series camera which had a tripod hole at the rewind end of the base plate.
Thirteen months later Canon released the Camera Holder L for the Model L1 camera and later cameras which had a thumb wind-on lever. It was 6mm longer and had a large Locking Screw at the opposite end to that found on the Camera Holder VT. Simultaneously Canon re-released the Camera Holder VT. The only noticeable difference was in the script style of the company name “Canon”. Both VT and L holders came in hard tan-coloured pig-skin leather case.
These Camera Holders were withdrawn from sale when Canon released the Model 7s camera in February 1965. I cannot find in any of my literature a reference where Canon had produced Camera Holders for the Models 7s and 7sz. The tripod holes on these two models were in a different position and the VT and L Camera Holders could not be secured when fitted.
