I know that it defeats the purpose of defining
the prettiest camera, but I can't help muti-posting on this topic. I guess that is why I'm a sucker for shiny steel & glass boxes!
Although it breaks the rules of form over function by being very functional, the Canonet strikes me as being one fine-looking rangefinder.
I'm sure that its handsome lines contributed to its original success and the current cult status of the GIII QL17.
For me, the original Canonet's looks are damaged a bit by the Selenium meter, but the QL series was extra clean, and it only got nicer when Canon shrunk it in the wash for the "New Canonet" and the GIII.
With its lack of excessive stampings or plastic extrusions, the Canonet led the way in camera styling and features. This from the
Canon Museum:
"The camera industry went into an uproar upon learning that Canon, maker of high-end cameras, was to introduce a mid-class 35mm camera with a fast f/1.9 lens for less than 20,000 yen. However, the Canonet safely went to market in January 1961. A week's worth of stock was sold out in only two hours. It was the start of the Canonet boom. Two and a half years later, a million Canonets were sold. "
I don't think that it is any coincidence that the competition - Hi-Matics, Electros, etc., lost their fiddly plastic extrusions in the early seventies and started taking their styling cues from the Canonet.
The stark simplicity of the original Canon P had become the norm.