The Latest: Canon IIIa

[cooltouch]

I used to own a Canon IVsb, Leica-Screw Rangefinder, and wish I never would have sold it. Finally, I found a replacement -- a Canon IIIa, and what's cool about this one is the previous owner had flash sync added to it, probably not too long after he bought it. This is a one-owner camera -- I bought it from the previous owner's daughter, who was liquidating his estate.

Except for a depression in the top plate, the camera is in excellent condition. Nicer than the IVsb I used to own. Plus it comes with a very clean Canon Serenar 50mm f/1.8 and original metal cap. My experience with the Serenar 50/1.8 is that it's, well, pretty good.

I'm gonna load a roll of B&W up in it and go shoot some pics. I'll post examples once I get them developed.




Cool, huh.

[Rolf]

Wow. What a beauty.

Congrats for this great find.

[Attila]

Real beauty! Congrats!

[ludoo]

Beautiful camera and great lens, in my humble opinion Canons are the most elegant rangefinders ever produced. I used to own a IIF, sold it to finance my DSLR but will probably own one again in the near future. Enjoy your find!

[F16SUNSHINE]

Ooooooooh Yummy

I love these oldies.
If the serenar 1.9/50 is anything like the other later 1.8/50 you are in for a fine shooting lens.

Congrats!

[cooltouch]

Thanks, guys! Well, being that I don't have any B&W chemicals at this point and I have some 24-exposure rolls of Fuji Superia 400 laying around, I decided to go ahead and load up a roll of it instead. Just finished shooting it, so I'll be off to the processor soon. I'll have some pics to display by tonight.

Also, I was just assuming that this 50 Serenar was an f/1.9. Turns out it's an f/1.8. It appears that the 50/1.9 was made as a collapsible lens only. So the Serenar I used to own must have been a f/1.8 also.

[Excalibur]

Beautiful...I can never work out how they made old cameras as I just can't imagine workers with tweezers etc doing all the fiddly bits....and esp doing that all day long, for years.

[bob955i]

[PaulC]

Very nice and quite rare, too, with only 2,400 made according to this site http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/iannorris/leica_copies/leica_copies_c/canonIId1.htm

Is the flash for electronic flash or for a magnesium bulb, which has a different trigger timing?

[estudleon]

WOW, WOW, WOW !!!!

Great, excelent !!

And the rigid 2/50 summicron fit in it !!

Rino.

[marty]

Nice toy indeed. Congrats.

Cheers, Marty.

[cooltouch]

[cooltouch]

[cooltouch]

Well, I'm disappointed. The shutter speeds appear to be accurate, and the lens seems to be of good quality, but there's just one itty bitty problem with this old camera:



Pinholes in the shutter curtain! I don't know if it's the first or second -- probably both. These old rubberized curtains get crinkly with age. My old IVsb had a crinkly shutter curtain but it didn't leak. This one -- well, I count about 10 spots.

So, dunno if it's even worth trying to repair the curtains. I should probably just replace them. Somebody's bound to still make them.

[mo]

Restore it........ I think it would be worth it!
What serial number is it by the way?

[cooltouch]

[mo]

I am glad it won't sit on the shelf

[ludoo]

[cooltouch]

So far I've been seeing prices for a curtain replacement running twice what you paid. Maybe I ought to send it to your repairman.

Film advance and shutter button actuation already feel very smooth. This camera appears to have been well taken care of. Just old is all.

[ludoo]

[Farside]

[ludoo]

[cooltouch]

I've updated this thread for the sake of accuracy, changed the subject title, and edited the first post to reflect this. I had originally reported that this Canon rangefinder was a IID 1. As it turns out, it is not. The IID 1 has a top shutter speed of 1/500, while this camera has a top speed of 1/1000. The only other Canon rangefinder that matches my camera's features and serial number is the IIIa -- somewhat more common, but still only about 9,000 were made.

I had originally thought it was not a IIIa because the above site mentioned by PaulC (which is the one I used to ID this camera) states that the IIIa has a two-piece finder magnification lever. Mine is one-piece, and so's the IID 1's. I overlooked the fact that the IID 1 has the 1/500 top speed, however.

Today, upon doing a bit more searching, I came across Pacific Rim Camera's site, where they give a better description. According to them, one of the things that differentiates the III from the IIIa is that the IIIa has a one-piece finder magnification lever.

So, it appears that the original owner was correct all along. Whatever model it is, though, I don't care all that much about. What I mostly care about is it has all the features I want in an early Canon rf camera, so I'm happy.

This is such a cool little camera. I love its solid feel and heft. I'll bet it weighs more than twice what my DSLR does.

After doing some inquiries, I've learned that most folks don't hassle with replacing these old cameras' shutter curtains when they develop pinholes. Instead, they use some stuff called Plasti Dip, which is available in cans (for dipping) or spray cans. It is a flexible rubber coating, most often used as insulation in electrical uses.

I decided to buy the spray in black. What you do is spray the stuff into a disposable container until you have a small pool of it, then with a small artist's paintbrush, you apply thin coats to the problem areas of the shutter. What these guys do is apply a thin coat to the 1st shutter, let the camera sit for a day, then apply another coat thin coat to the 2nd shutter.

So, I'll try this as well. I got the spray -- just need to scrounge up a decent brush to use. Time to put this camera back into service.

[fish4570]

hope everything goes well ...