Which Canon RF camera to use?

For me the choice is simple; I have only the one P - and I love it. Today I was at a football match, carrying two cameras. M8 on the right shoulder, P on the left, loaded with HP5+. Safe and sound? ;-)
 
The only one I have:

204793891-M.jpg


Love this combo.

Roland.
 
I have owned three Canon RF cameras; QL17 GIII, IV SB(2, I think, based on your book Mr. Dechert:) ), and a P.

The QL17 was nice but I'm not such a fan of fixed lens cameras so I passed it along. No regrets.

The P was a camera I really wanted to like but with my particular eyesight, it was difficult to use. I'd got a good deal on a beater and had it re-habbed so it was a good user though a bit scuffed. I sold that one and, once again, no regrets.

But the IV SB...I found an amazing deal while looking for the 85mm/f2; at some small antiques auction site I found the 85 for very little $, bid on it and got an email from the person selling it that they also happened to have "the old Canon camera that this goes with. How about buying the whole set?" I thought about it for a short while and went for it. Got the kit and that set I really liked. Stupid me, I decided that I didn't want to have the camera sit idle while I saved my nickels for the CLA that it did need, so I sold it.:bang: :bang: :bang: That one I miss. The VF was dusty and a little dim but it "fit" me very well and the rest of the camera was just pleasing to me; great size, beautiful proportions, lovely weight in my hands or around my neck, even the bottom loading wasn't as fiddly as I'd thought it might be.
That one I will have again.

Oh yeah, my vote for "Which Canon to use?": IV SB.:D
 
Honestly, my Kodak camera passion (which includes demonstrating use of those cameras again after as much as a century) consumes most of my film-based picture taking. But of the Canons I own, the IVSB2 that I bought in high school is my favorite. It's not that I love bottom loading, or even peering into the tiny viewfinder hole with glasses, but this was my yearbook camera, so I love it, not for any particular utility of it, but for the history we share.

Not long ago, I bought a Canon 7 in the expectation that I would find liberation in the outstanding viewfinder in that model. Looks matter, however, and whenever I put my older long lenses on that model, it reminds me of a black plank with a candlestick stuck on the side, unlike the form of the older, more slender models.
 
ferider said:
Don't know about the Canon holder and the Chinese copy.
But photovillage still has some of the old GMP grips. B+H has a chrome
one, too.

Best,

Roland.
Click to expand...

The Canon Camera Holder L seems to be meant for Tripod use:
P1010073.jpg


It may provide some assistance with holding a camera.
I will check out photovillage and B&H. Danke.
 
I had one back in the '60s that I thought was called a V-T. Maybe it was a VI-T. Anyway, it had switchable finders for 50 and 35, and a separate RF window, I THINK. Hard to remember, but I know it was LTM and had a trigger winder on the bottom and a knob wind that lifted up. Pretty nice camera, but I remember it being quite large for a LTM RF camera. I had problems loading, but that may have been my fault. Got all my money out of it when I sold, though.
Vic
 
RF Users -- Thanks!

RF Users -- Thanks!

Gee -- I had thought this thread was dying, and suddenly here you all are again!
Actually, I don't see many issues that need responses from me. That handgrip (the silver one) looks neat, if you want a handgrip; I do find them useful these days, since my fingers don't work as well as they used to.
And the Canon Camera Holders were indeed designed to make it easier to use the camera on a tripod or microscope stand, etc., simply by providing a secure and centered tripod socket instead of the offset one, as well as providing additional possibilities for the attaching point (several threaded positions). They were not intended for handheld use.
The L1 was a great camera; but then there were so many great and quite similar Canons in those days that it's hard to pick one over the rest. So far as finders go, the VI models had silver-toned finders that haven't stood up in the long run as well as the gold-toned ones from the V-type cameras. But no question the finders on the 7-types were the best.
For pocketable cameras, the bottom-loading types, I would favor the IID2, IIF2, IIS2, and IVSB2. All four are essentially equal, depending only on what top shutter speed you need and on what type of synch you may want to use, if any (none available on the IID2). The finders are improved over the ones made earlier, especially the larger eyepiece opening; and the fast shutter speed dial doesn't spin when the shutter is released; indeed, the shutter mechanism itself is an improvement on what came earlier. Problem is, the 50/1.8 and 50/1.5 lenses that belonged on these cameras are not retractable, making the camera suitable only for a very large pocket. I used them, when I wanted pocketability, with a collapsible Summicron 50/2 in thread mount: not a totally Canon system, but the Summicron has always been a good lens.
Peter D.
 
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These cameras are all so competently made that its hard to distinguish between them on these grounds. I must admit it would be fun to own a 7 with an f0.95 or f1.2 lens but I must say that this camera looks less elegant than the others although it is just fine in functionality terms. I have several Canon lenses which I happily use on my Leica cameras and must say that the lenses are every bit as good as the cameras. I presently only own a IVSB and like it, having previously owned a IVSB2 which was not in such good condition as the current one. These cameras really give the Leicas a run for their money and are really very well made.
 
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raid said:
How do you differentiate the IVSB and IVSB2?
Click to expand...

The eyepiece on the "2" models is slightly larger. There's also a "scalloped" ornamental trim ring at the base of the rewind knob of the "2" models. If you have Peter D.'s rangefinder book, look at pages 136 and 137.

Jim B.
 
damn, now I want a "P" or 7... (can't decide. any comments?)
Really bad for the purse to hang out with you guys;)
Unfortunately the Canons are extremely rare here in Germany, due to the obvious Leica dominance back in the days. And shipping over from the US costs a fortune in taxes.
Mhm, anybody in Europe selling a P? (love the look of it)
Cheers, Michael
 
raid said:
How do you differentiate the IVSB and IVSB2?
Click to expand...

The high shutter speed dial can be set before or after winding and has a central axis marker, the speed progression is in the modern 1/30 1/60 1/125 etc. fashion. There is the very visable serrated washer under the wind knob that is a dead give away for the so called improved models.

Which brings me to say, that I was out shooting this morning with my IVSb2 and my Canon VT.
The VT is definatley easier to focus than the IVSb2, so called improved model.
It is just my aging eyes, but these bottomloader are getting harder to use now.
 
Well, the eyepiece in the VT is still larger than the IVSb2, but I think the finder itself is the same. The improved finder moved up to the V series.

I think that is correct, oh well, another reason to pick up Peter's book again and do more re-reading.
 
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