Canon Canonflex
Encyclopedia
The Canonflex is a Canon 35 mm
film
single-lens reflex (SLR) camera
introduced in May 1959. Its standard lens is the Canon Camera Co. Super-Canomatic R 50mm lens 1.8. The camera was in production for one year before it was replaced by the Canonflex R2000, adding a 1/2000 sec. shutter speed
.
. It was soon followed by several manufacturers. The Miranda T
was launched in 1955. In 1958 Minolta
and Topcon
followed, while Nikon
presented their Nikon F
in 1959, by that time a supplier of rangefinder camera
s based on the Contax
concept. Canon had established itself as a 35 mm rangefinder camera manufacturer, featuring a wide variety of camera models and lenses using the Leica 39mm standard lens mount
.
, which would evolve into the Canon FL
and Canon FD lens mounts over the next three decades. The Super-Canomatic lens features fully automatic aperture operation, using two internal connections. Canomatic and R-series lenses utilize semi-automatic or manual diaphragms. Though the breech-lock mount itself remained unchanged until the introduction of the EF lenses for EOS autofocus cameras in the late 1980s, the actuating levers of the Canomatic or R-series lenses operate differently than their FL and FD descendants.
The Canonflex was inspired to an extent by the company's rangefinder camera models. It has a thumb-operated wind-on lever on the camera's base and a removable meterless finder prism, which slides off after depressing a button on the left hand camera front. The rewind release is situated at the base. Long time exposure is accomplished by sliding a switch next to the shutter release to the left, before or while depressing the release button. It must be returned to terminate the exposure. At the right-hand camera front is a wide accessory shoe taking a selenium exposure meter, which couples to the shutter speed dial. The camera stayed in production for one year before it was replaced by the Canonflex R2000, adding the 1/2000 sec. shutter speed.
135 film
The term 135 was introduced by Kodak in 1934 as a designation for cartridge film wide, specifically for still photography. It quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 120 film by the late 1960s to become the most popular photographic film format...
film
Photographic film
Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film...
single-lens reflex (SLR) camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
introduced in May 1959. Its standard lens is the Canon Camera Co. Super-Canomatic R 50mm lens 1.8. The camera was in production for one year before it was replaced by the Canonflex R2000, adding a 1/2000 sec. shutter speed
Shutter speed
In photography, shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a camera's shutter is open....
.
History
By the 1950s, the Japanese camera industry had turned their interest towards the 35 mm SLR camera, which to that point had been exclusively manufactured in Europe, and in particular in Dresden, Germany. The first Japanese 35 mm SLR camera was AsahiflexAsahiflex
The Asahiflex was a 35mm single-lens reflex camera built by the Asahi Optical Corporation . It was the first SLR camera built in Japan....
. It was soon followed by several manufacturers. The Miranda T
Miranda T (camera)
The original Miranda T 35mm SLR camera was launched by the newly established Japanese Orion Camera Co. in 1955. It is the first Japanese 35mm SLR camera to have an eyelevel Pentaprism finder...
was launched in 1955. In 1958 Minolta
Minolta
Minolta Co., Ltd. was a Japanese worldwide manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It is perhaps best known for making the first integrated autofocus 35mm SLR camera system...
and Topcon
Topcon
Topcon is a Japanese manufacturer of optical equipment for ophthalmology and surveying. Their headquarters are in Itabashi, Tokyo. They are affiliated with Toshiba, which holds 40% of Topcon's stock.-History of Topcon:...
followed, while Nikon
Nikon
, also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...
presented their Nikon F
Nikon F
The Nikon F camera, introduced in 1959, was Nikon's first SLR camera. It was one of the most advanced cameras of its day. Although most of its concepts had already been introduced elsewhere, it was the first camera to combine them all in one camera. It was produced until October 1973 and was...
in 1959, by that time a supplier of rangefinder camera
Rangefinder camera
A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus...
s based on the Contax
Contax
Contax was a camera brand noted for its unique technical innovation and a wide range of Zeiss lenses, noted for their high optical quality. Its final incarnation was a line of 35 mm, medium format and digital cameras engineered and manufactured by Kyocera, and featuring modern Zeiss optics...
concept. Canon had established itself as a 35 mm rangefinder camera manufacturer, featuring a wide variety of camera models and lenses using the Leica 39mm standard lens mount
M39 lens mount
The M39 lens mount is a screw thread mounting system for attaching lenses to 35 mm cameras, primarily rangefinder Leicas. It is also the most common mount for Photographic enlarger lenses....
.
The first Canon SLR camera
The Canonflex was introduced in May, 1959 by Canon of Tokyo, Japan. It is Canon's first 35 mm single-lens reflex camera. Its standard lens is the Super-Canomatic R 50mm 1.8, using the first version of Canon's breech-lock manual-focus lens mountLens mount
A lens mount is an interface — mechanical and often also electrical — between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is confined to cameras where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the single lens reflex type or any movie camera of 16 mm or higher gauge...
, which would evolve into the Canon FL
Canon FL
Canon FL refers to a lens mount standard for 35mm single-lens reflex cameras from Canon. It was introduced in April 1964 with the Canon FX camera, replacing the previous Canon R mount. It was in turn replaced in 1971 by the Canon FD lens mount...
and Canon FD lens mounts over the next three decades. The Super-Canomatic lens features fully automatic aperture operation, using two internal connections. Canomatic and R-series lenses utilize semi-automatic or manual diaphragms. Though the breech-lock mount itself remained unchanged until the introduction of the EF lenses for EOS autofocus cameras in the late 1980s, the actuating levers of the Canomatic or R-series lenses operate differently than their FL and FD descendants.
The Canonflex was inspired to an extent by the company's rangefinder camera models. It has a thumb-operated wind-on lever on the camera's base and a removable meterless finder prism, which slides off after depressing a button on the left hand camera front. The rewind release is situated at the base. Long time exposure is accomplished by sliding a switch next to the shutter release to the left, before or while depressing the release button. It must be returned to terminate the exposure. At the right-hand camera front is a wide accessory shoe taking a selenium exposure meter, which couples to the shutter speed dial. The camera stayed in production for one year before it was replaced by the Canonflex R2000, adding the 1/2000 sec. shutter speed.
External links
- Canon Inc. Flex. Canon Camera Museum, retrieved January 20, 2010.
- Canon Inc. Canon Camera Story: 1955-1969. Canon's online Camera Museum, retrieved November 18, 2005.
- Gandy, Stephen (2003) Canon's 1st SLR: the 1959 Canonflex. Cameraquest.com, retrieved November 18, 2005.