Canon LTM Looking for a Canon P - suggestions?

Canon M39 M39 screw mount bodies/lenses

januaryman

"Flim? You want flim?"
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Not sure where to look for a Canon P. Ebay seems a logical choice, but I'm leery. I saw one at KEH but I wonder if oil on the curtains or wrinkled curtains are a problem. Can I get one for around $200?

Does anyone have a good source of such a thing?

Thanks in advance.

Jim
 
Well, thanks for the reply, but I really am looking for model P rather than the earlier models. I'll keep looking, hoping I can get one at leaast under $250... crossing my fingers.

jim
 
$300 is the least I've paid for a good one from a USA dealer. Finding one w/o wrinkled curtains would be a miracle--but that's not a problem.
 
Wrinkles do not matter. Almost all Canon P's have wrinkles on the camera. When you load the film it is easy to poke the shutter with your finger, especially if you don't know that it responds that way. This will in no way effect how the camera works. It is cosmetic. I don't know about oil. I've never see a shutter with oil on it.

Watch for a seller on eBay named jiri_e. I've bought from him and he seems to have an endless supply of Canon RFs that appear in his store. I highly recommend him, great pictures and a reliable seller.

I paid about $300 for mine a few years ago. I think that is about what you should expect. Don't get that one in the classified, it's way too much. You could find a beater M3 for that price.

The cameras are great, I loved mine. Even though the Canon glass is well-respected. I would get Leica screw-mount glass if I was doing it again. I found there was a big difference. Of course, Voightlander screw-mount gear is even better these days.
 
Wrinkles don't matter, but oil on the shutter would worry me.

US 250 should be possible if you are a bit patient. For a while KEH
had several ones - now they are all gone.

Roland.
 
sirius said:
Watch for a seller on eBay named jiri_e. I've bought from him and he seems to have an endless supply of Canon RFs that appear in his store. I highly recommend him, great pictures and a reliable seller.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Jiri. I bought my P from him for 256 USD about a year ago and a few lenses as well. He's great to deal with and is very honest in the descriptions of his items. My P has hardly any wrinkles. For an LTM, the P is top notch. Best build/price ratio by far.
 
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I like this guy:

I like this guy:

Jiri Ecer <jiri_e@yahoo.ca>

He is in Japan... sold me a nice one with dry shutter but he told me it was. He documents down to the last small scratch. He posts on E-bay but will sell directly.

I like my P more than my Bessa R for whatever reason... I guess I like heavy cameras.

-vincent
 
A smudge of oil sometimes accumulates on one of the shutter curtains. No biggie. There's an oil smudge on the curtains of my 7s, and the shutter speeds are all dead on. (I tested them.)

You can buy any of the Canon P's at KEH with confidence, I'd say.
 
Canon P: wrinkled curtain the norm. If you want a good user it is acceptable. Will not affect the process. Unwrinkled is a premium and should be left on the shelf. As for oil on blades: with rangefinders it is okay. I have heard that on SLR lenses it is a problem but I can not verify that.
 
I saw a mint P today at my repairman's shop in Seoul for sale for 700,000 Korean Won ($766). How many do you want at that price? I'm tempted to buy them in the USA for $300 and resell here, but Koreans are so status conscious, they only want Ms.

My repairman's opinion is the P is a better camera than the M2 or 3 (comment will start a controversy here?). He is a Leica trained specialist and does CLAs on both--but about ten Ms to one P.
 
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You should drop by Japan: Ps in good condition go for about $200 in shops (more w/the original meter, but you don't need it.) Don't bother looking for a black-body one; all the f#$% collectors have snapped them up.
 
januaryman said:
I'll just have to be patient and persistent, i guess.

I have a Canon P in the classifieds for $250 US - If you see it in time, this may be you chance.

I'm letting it go with a bit of seller's remorse, but 9 out of 10 times, I grab the Leica M3 when heading out to shoot.

The one thing I have to say about the Canon P, its build is rock solid, old world.
 
Deal with KEH or gamble. I got one from them at $250ish and another from the famously feared Cambridge at around $150...the Cambridge is crudely engraved on back and baseplate, but it's at least as good mechanically as the "Exc" KEH. Cambridge showed the engraving and wrinkle clearly on 'bay (nearly unwrinkled). They evidently thought the engraving hurt the collectible value and priced accordingly ("buy it now"), but I didn't care.

As a former M2 shooter, I think P is far better mechanical design.
 
Another plug for KEH, mainly for the return policy. I bought a Canon 7 from them over a year ago. It was rated Exc, but turned out that the shutter was badly out of adjustment. I returned the camera and they sent me another Exc version that worked and works perfectly. I purchased my P on the 'bay for $275 at the end of 2005, and had to have it CLA'd before it worked properly. Caveat emptor!
 
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