Canon LTM My L3 shouldn't exist?!?!

Canon M39 M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
Peter Jennings said:
Guys, if you don’t have a copy of Peter Dechert’s long out of print Canon rangefinder book, I highly recommend tracking down a copy. Very concise and informative. A good read for any Canon RF enthusiast.
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Yep, I agree. I bought mine back in 1985, when it first was published. It's now tattered and torn, but is my go-to book on anything Canon rangefinder. The best thing out there, by far.

Jim B.
 
Just updated the list to correct VL2 description and perhaps make it a little easier to ID the key differences:
bluesun267 said:
VT--Trigger wind, 1/1000th, FP/X flash sync, rewind KNOB, cloth curtain, self-timer
L1--Lever wind, 1/1000th, FP/X sync, rewind LEVER, cloth curtain, NO self timer, model # on baseplate
L2--Lever wind, 1/500th, FP sync only, rewind KNOB, cloth curtain, NO self timer, model # on baseplate
L3--As L2 but no flash sync of any kind
VT Deluxe--As VT, but with rewind LEVER and metal curtains
VL--Lever wind, 1/1000th, FP/X sync, rewind LEVER, metal curtains, self-timer, NO model # on baseplate
VL2--As VL but with 1/500th and rewind KNOB
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The Mystery Thickens

The Mystery Thickens

I received the VL2/L1 Hybrid camera today...very hazy finder so I immediately commenced to disassembly.

What I found intrigues me:

med_U51666I1519863148.SEQ.0.jpg


As you can see, the last four digits of the top plate serial no are inscribed on the inner chassis. Pretty sure this was done by Canon, as I recall now my VL has the same thing (but it's been awhile since I opened that one up). This serial number corresponds to VL2 range, yet we've got no self-timer, cloth curtain and 1/1000th top speed. The L1s I've seen have lower serial numbers, in the 520xxxx to 540xxxx range approximately.

med_U51666I1519863149.SEQ.1.jpg


The baseplate has no Model # either.

Unfortunately the viewfinder might be a total loss. The beamsplitter is a cemented prism and I don't see how to gain entry to clean the haze. (Anyone know about this? Advice would be appreciated).

I began searching ebay for a donor camera and immediately found an apparent L2 in the VL2 serial# range, but with cloth curtain, FP/X sync and NO self timer! So that's THREE Canon's that shouldn't exist in one week!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-L2-Leica-Screw-Mount-Rangefinder-RF-From-Japan-Very-Good-Condition/273089291278?hash=item3f9563e40e:g:LeoAAOSwWb9aluLP

At this point I'm inclined to conclude that Canon may have put together some cameras from disparate parts and those delineations between L/V series models may be more amorphous than originally thought. (I have Dechert's book on order BTW.)
 
bluesun267 said:
.......At this point I'm inclined to conclude that Canon may have put together some cameras from disparate parts and those delineations between L/V series models may be more amorphous than originally thought. (I have Dechert's book on order BTW.)
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Dechert mentions in his book that Canon made too many top plates for the Vt (with knob wind) so used them on other rangefinders of this time period. Mixing and matching of extra parts was not an unusual practice. Canon (or any manufacturer) wasn’t going to throw away parts (Nikon used extra top plates for the M on early S models). If they made them, they used them.

And you will enjoy Dechert’s book.

Jim B.
 
Mackinaw said:
Dechert mentions in his book that Canon made too many top plates for the Vt (with knob wind) so used them on other rangefinders of this time period. Mixing and matching of extra parts was not an unusual practice. Canon (or any manufacturer) wasn’t going to throw away parts (Nikon used extra top plates for the M on early S models). If they made them, they used them.

And you will enjoy Dechert’s book.

Jim B.
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Thanks for that Jim. That would explain a lot of what we're seeing--as long as they didn't engrave serial numbers ahead of time, nor cut the opening for the frame counter window until the camera was put together (trigger wind models have window at 6 o'clock, lever wind models at 10 o'clock).
 
This is all fascinating and great info. I also suspect, they used what they had. That's a lot easier than believing someone went through the trouble of combining parts from 3 different cameras to make the one that's on my desk right now. Either way, it's fun to dig into this stuff. Maybe I'll buy one or both books.
 
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