Canon FindersA Description of Viewfinders for Canon Rangefinders 1950-1965
First Canon Accessory Viewfinder
In March 1950, Canon released its first wide-angle lens, the Serenar 35mm f3.5. This lens was delivered in a very nice leather case with the lens name stamped on the top. Inside, as well as the lens and lens cap, was a Canon 35mm accessory finder with rear adjusting parallax ring in a fitted pocket in the lid of the leather case.
the Serenar 35mm f3.5 lens of 1950 with Canon accessory finder in a well-finished fitted leather case
Later Canon Finders
Since the introduction of the Canon IIB in 1949, all Canon cameras had viewfinders that displayed multiple focal lengths, besides the standard 50mm lens view. These varied from 50mm, 100mm, 135mm in the earlier models to 35mm and 50mm in later, and finally with multiple displays later. Some later model viewfinders had parallax correction and some had bright line outlines of the lens coverage. However, for most lenses, particularly telephoto and wide angle lenses, Canon recommended accessory viewfinders, nearly all of which included parallax correction.
Canon Universal Finder
There were two versions of the Canon Universal Finder. These covered a wide range of focal lengths. Both Universal Finders featured parallax correction.
Canon Universal Finder - 1
In about 1952, Canon introduced an accessory finder which could be inserted in the accessory shoe and adjusted for focal lengths from 35mm to 135mm. I call this the Canon Universal Finder - 1 (not an official name).
This finder also had an accessory attachment to extend the finder range to include 28mm. This extension, however, was easy to lose - I know from experience - and it is also hard to find on secondary markets.
the Canon Universal Finder - 1 with 28mm viewfinder attachment
Canon Universal Finder - 2
In 1956, Canon introduced a second Universal Finder, which I call the Canon Universal Finder - 2. The Canon VT camera of 1956 and later cameras (listed below) had a number of innovative features, including provision for automatic parallax correction of accessory finders, via a pin in the accessory shoe.
The 1956 Canon Universal Finder - 2 had an automatic parallax correction linkage to a number of Canon models:
- the Canon VT, VTD
- the Canon L1, L2, L3
- the Canon VL, VL-2
- the Canon VI-L, VI-T
Canon Finder Automatic Parallax Linkage
The Canon cameras listed above had a new feature in the accessory shoe. A pin in the center of the accessory shoe raised and lowered as the rangefinder focus was changed. This pin linked to a series of new V-type Canon accessory finders. The finders would rest on this pin in the accessory shoe and raise and lower, as the pin in the accessory shoe raised and lowered, allowing the finders to automatically automatically for parallax. This was an advanced feature unique to Canon.
the parallax adjustment pin located in the accessory shoe which links to the matching pin in the bottom of the Canon V-type accessory finder
two Canon V-type adjustable finders: 28mm and 100mm showing pivoting base which slides into the accessory shoe, with arrows pointing to parallax adjustment pins which link to the corresponding pin in the accessory shoe
Canon Fixed Finders
Described above are the advanced finders which automatically corrected for parallex via a pin in the accessory shoe. Canon finders for earlier cameras were fixed in the accessory shoe, and parallex correction was done manually by the photographer, turning a small distance dial on the back of the finder, or sometimes with a manual lever setting as can be seen in the photograph below.
the left finder has a manual distance adjustment for parallax around the eye piece the center finder has a distance adjustment lever at its base the right finder has the pin in its base linking to the the automatic parallax correction described above.
Other Finders Canon also produced other finders as accessories, such as this interesting sports finder.
the Canon sport finder for action photography mounted on a 1952 Canon IVSB camera
You can click on the links in the table below to consult other pages of the canonrangfinder.org site.
Any additions or corrections to these pages would be welcome simply by contacting this site as shown at the foot of this page .
Footnotes: 1 Dechert, Peter. Canon Rangefinder Cameras 1933-1968. Hove Collectors Books. West Sussex, United Kingdom. 1985. ISBN 0-906447-30-5.Peter Dechert's book is the most important expert source of information regarding Canon Rangefinder Cameras.2 Kitchingman, Peter. Canon M39 Rangefinder Lenses 1939-1971. A Collector's Guide. Published by Peter Kitchingman. Perth, Australia. 2008. ISBN 978-0-646-48144-9.Peter Kitchingman's book is the definitive study of the more than three decades of M39 format camera lenses developed for Canon Rangefinder Cameras.3 Nostalgic Canon Camera Book. 懐かしいキヤノン EI Publishing Co. Ltd. Tokyo, Japan. June 2003.Peter Kitchingman's book is the definitive study of the more than three decades of M39 format camera lenses developed for Canon Rangefinder Cameras.4 "Canon Camera Museum" history website. https://global.canon/en/c-museum/history/ published by Canon, Inc. accessed in 2019.5 Rajner, Hans P. (author), John Wade (editor). Leica Copies. Classic Collections Publications. London, UK. ISBN 13: 9781874485056Hans P. Rajner's book is an excellently detailed and carefully researched study of camera from around the world which used the Leica M39 lens mount and the same lens to film plane distance.7 Dechert, Peter. Canon Single Lens Reflex Cameras 1959-1991. Historical Camera Publications. Yakima, Washington. 1992. ISBN 1-879561-04-2.8 Tomlinson, Shawn M. The Film Photography Book. Lulu Pulbications. 2016. ISBN: 97813652639729 Sartorius., Ghester. Identifying Leica Lenses. Classic Camera 19. Tokyo, Japan. 2001. ISBN 4-257-12029-010 website http://www.nicovandijk.net/rflensmatrix.htm consulted 2019.11 O'Reagan, Douglas M. Allied Exploitation of German Science after World War II. Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, Maryland. 2019. ISBN 978142142888812 website www.canonrangefinder.servehttp.com consulted 2008.13 Minolta expert Andrea Aprà has posted information on minoltarangefinders group and other groups and further detailed information by email. (thanks Andrea !)14 website http://www.collection-appareils.fr/objectifs/ consulted 2019.
If you have any comments or questions about this Canon Rangefinder site, please e-mail me (Larry Huffman) at e-mail address: [email protected]
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