Canon LTM Pulled the trigger on Canon VT deluxe!

Canon M39 M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
P

photobizzz

Speak of the Devil
Local time
11:34 PM
Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Messages
538
This will be my first Canon rangefinder and I have a Canon 50/1.2 to slap on her. Bought an everready case as well to keep her pretty. Anything I shoud be wary of or specifically check for when it arrives? I bought if from ritzcamera.com and if it is broken they will take it back, but other than some engraving on the top plate it is supossed to be in good working order.

I was going to buy another M body but these older Canons have the look of quality engineering and nice lines, plus the trigger advance was a nice bonus.

I will post some photos once I get it in 8-10 days.
 

Attachments

  • Canon-VTdeLuxe.jpg
    Canon-VTdeLuxe.jpg
    55 KB · Views: 0
Had one of these from 1985 to 2002. The fast winding and the 35 and 50 finders are great for PJ work. You'll have to compensate at near distances: discount the upper and left sides of the V/F image.
 
photobizzz said:
This will be my first Canon rangefinder and I have a Canon 50/1.2 to slap on her. Bought an everready case as well to keep her pretty. Anything I shoud be wary of or specifically check for when it arrives?
Click to expand...

There's not much to go wrong on these: it's a straightforward design executed to superb engineering standards.

All you should have to check is the usual old-camera stuff: Shutter curtain free of pinholes? (only the very last version had the burn-resistant stainless steel curtains, all the earlier ones are cloth.) Slow and fast shutter speeds and self-timer work without hesitation? Rangefinder alignment accurate at infinity, both vertically and horizontally? (If not, they're user-adjustable without disassembly, but it requires tiny screwdrivers, a pair of square-tipped tweezers, and a light touch.)

If all that checks out, then just stick in a roll of film and go out and have fun!

Tip: Eventually you may want to get in touch with Stephen and order the cylindrical Voigtlander Grip A, which screws into the tripod socket and makes the trigger wind more comfortable to use. Or for more of a collecting challenge, try to find the original metal Canon grip that did the same thing. The Canon grip tightens via a separate knurled section at the bottom, and has a little L-shaped chrome piece at the top that hooks around the edge of the baseplate and keeps the grip from twisting. It also has a wrist strap with a metal reinforcement inside the attaching point to combat wear. It's very typical of Canon's philosophy in that era: "Let's take this simple basic concept and engineer the living heck out of it to make it as elegant and functional as possible."
 
these are nice sturdy Canons that make good street shooters.
that sharp winder lever can be dangerous when extended.
 
I had one back in the early seventies, and probably due to my own inexperience, I got a lot of slippage in the transport. Frames over-lapping. I think I just didn't know how to load properly. Went from that to a Pentax Spotmatic and never had that problem again. I remember the body as kind of large for an RF.
VS
 
This is one of my personal favorites - to my eye prettier than say the Canon P or other later models. My only grumble if I had one would be that I prefer the models with conventional shutter wind lever even more than these, but as I say, apart from this its a favorite of mine and I would love to own one. (I have a IVSB and its one of the nicer early models.) I do not know why I like the separate slow shutter dial found on these and earlier cmaeras. I guess I figure that if I am going to use an older camera, I might as go the whole hog! On the subject of the shutter wind, I could never figure out why Canon did not offer both on their cameras- surely this would ahve been a killer in the market, as sometimes its nice to use the baseplate mounted trigger (shooting sports) and sometimes its more comfortable to wind the conventional way - when using a tripod perhaps or when picking the camera up and putting it down again. One can only suppose it was a price thing but it always seemed a huge risk to me, and in the end it more than likley turned out to be a negative for marketing these fine cameras. While making both options available in the same camera would have been a definite marketing plus.

On the subject of lenses, over the years, I have ended up with a chrome serenar 35mm f3.5, a chrome 50mm f1.8 and a black and chrome later version of the same lens, a black and chrome 50mm f1.4 and both the chrome and black and chrome versions of the 135mm f3.5. I would happily own every Canon screw mount lens I can lay my hands on as my experience wiht them has been good without exception. Several times I have bid on the 100mm f3.5 knowing how good it is and would love to get the 85mm. (I had one, sold it and regret it although it was so damn heavy I never used it. At least I could use it as a pretty paperweight.)
 
Last edited:
both winds.. knob & trigger

both winds.. knob & trigger

Actually the VT and the newer VI-T had both a knob wind capability and the trigger. I've included scans of the 2 pertinent pages of the IB.

Harry
 

Attachments

  • canonVTa.jpg
    canonVTa.jpg
    103.7 KB · Views: 0
  • canonVTb.jpg
    canonVTb.jpg
    124.5 KB · Views: 0
They are fine cameras. The 50/1.2 was introduced with the Vt. The deluxe "I Think" has the stainless steel shutter curtains. My V-t is cloth, the VI-t is stainless steel. The eyepiece unscrews, allows access to the inside surface if there is any haze.

The "RF" setting is the same magnification as a 135mm lens.
 
there was 3 versions of the VT deluxe.
Peter Dechert refers to them as: VTD, VTDZ, and VTDM.
only this last one, VTDM came with the metal shutter curtains.
 
Thanks all for the info, I just recieved an email from ritzcamera (who I purchased it from) letting me know it was shipping today and that they had their tech look at it yesterday to make sure it was in good working order. I guess I will find out if it is metal or cloth shutter in a few days. Looking forward to using it.
 
have DAG do a cla on it. i got my vt back last week (slow shutter speeds sticking), and the thing works and sounds like new. i also had a cla on the viewfinder previously. the finder went from being usable to being a delight to look through. this is one of those cameras that can be easy to dismiss if you don't experience it in very good condition.
 
Well I recieved the camera and case today, shutter speeds seem correct, even the slow speeds. The shutter is wrinkled (Its the last version with the metal shutter) which kind of pissed me off, as all of the other Canon RF's on the ritzcamera.com site state if the shutter curtain is wrinkled and they didnt say anything about it. It does not hurt anything though. Trigger winder works beautifully and the RF patch is good, but when I look in the front VF window it looks dirty. I may take the top off and clean it, DAG wanted $250 to do a CLA, kind of high IMHO. I may email youxin ye for a CLA quote. The 50/1.2 just barely fits but looks good on it, I am kind of anal about my gear and the hand engraved SSN on the top plate bothers me. Why wouldn't you just put it inside the back or at least on the bottom if you just had to mark the camera? I am going to shoot a roll and will report back with a few photos. I am kind of disappointed in the VF, guess I got used to Bessa & Leica's big & bright RF/VF's, and forgot what an old VF looks like.

BTW: check out this VT Deluxe, so nice!
 
Last edited:
The rear eyepiece simply unscrews and you can clean it, and the surfaces of the "multi-finder" from there. Not 100%, but better than nothing. If Youxin will do the work, go with it. He is first class.
 
Youxin won't work on the Canons, sadly. I sent my VI-T off to DAG sometime around Christmas, I think, and I'm still waiting... :( That, plus the Post Office losing the M5 I bought from Leif have left me rangefinderless for too long! :angel:
 
At first Youxin said that he didnt work on Canon's but then said he would give it a try, I am going to send the M3 I bought from Memphis to him for a shutter change and CLA.

I sat down last night with my tiny screwdrivers prepared to take the top off the Canon VT deluxe....no way. I dont want to strip the screws and some just are very, very tight. The VF/RF is not bad really, I cleaned what I could and although it was probably a bit brighter when it was new it is still better than a barnack Leica. I took a few photos of the camera, they are posted here: Canon VT Deluxe - 50/1.2

I am still undecided if I will keep the camera/lens. I do like the 50/1.2 but I really should have not bought this camera and my wife is putting the pressure on to not buy/sell some of my stuff, and pay off some of my credit card. :)
 
I own a straight Canon VT, and I must say it has a certain good feel to use. It really looks good too -- maybe the best looking of the Canon rangefinder series.

They do have a lot that can go wrong however, and parts are scarce. Probably at least half the second hand ones need (at the very least) shutter servicing.

Shoot a roll and be sure to exercise the highest speeds on subjects that are brightly and uniformly lit, e. g. blue sky, a white wall, etc. and check for shutter tapering, a common fault on older Canons in that series. If there are problems, they are worth getting fixed. I had mine serviced and it works well.

Here's a photo of my VT with photo samples using Komura lenses:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54652
 
Tapering manifests itself as a smooth variation of image brightness from one side of the frame to the other. The roll-off is usually rather pronounced near the edge of the frame.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom