Canon Visoflex for Canon Rangefinders

[Steve M.]

This is very interesting. I've never heard of a Canon Visoflex.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160790691774?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

 

[agfa100]

I remember when I had a couple of Canon 7s that they showed that in the lens catalog with lenses from 135 and up. I never got to see one except for the pictures. I sold all my canon stuff in 1972 and switched to Leica M, the only lens I wish I had held onto was the 19mm RF lens I picked up in the PX in Cholon. Someone ordered it in thinking it was a FL lens for the SLR,s and I kept watching the price drop every week until it got down to $75 and I picked it up. It was new in the case with the finder, wish I would have held on to it.
wbill

 

[Mackinaw]

The Mirror-Box 2 was introduced along with the Canon 7 in 1961. The M-135mm and M-200mm were designed to be used with the MB-2 and, with the use of converters, other LTM lenses could be used. Fairly rare, you don't see them pop up too often. I doubt Canon made many.

Jim B.

 

[zeitz]

Canon made three types of reflex housings or mirror boxes. In German Spiegelkasten means mirror box. Visoflex is a Leitz trademark.

The original 800mm lens came with a reflex housing permanently attached. These are ultra rare.

MB-1 was a screw mount reflex housing with 200 and 400 mm lenses. It was slightly thicker than a Visoflex 1. The 200 mm is an LTM screw. The 400mm uses the big two pronge breach on the outside of the mount. The S-series bellows focused lenses were also produced. All of this stuff is rare; the S-series lenses are ultra rare.

MB-2 for Canon 7 has the two lenses, 135 and 200, with the Canonflex breach mounts. The MB-2 uses the same outside mount as the 0.95 lens to connect to the Canon 7. The new R-series lenses introduced with Canonflex could also be used: 400, 600, 800 and 1000mm. The mirror in the MB-2 translates upward in a cage instead of being hinged; it is slightly thinner than Visoflex II/III. This was copied from the Tewe reflex housing from the 1950's.

For completeness there was a prototype MB-2 that was never produced.