Pictured is an early version of the famous Canon EF.The EF is a close cousin of the Canon F-1.The EF has many more features than the F-1 right out of the box.Also known as the ‘Black Beauty’.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
An early Canon wide-angle lens with its desirable chrome nose.
I enjoy collecting these lenses. They are from the very earliest days of the Canon F-1, and they have a heft to them that’s very reassuring. Lots of brass and glass. The lens weighs 290 grams.
Considering its age, the markings are super sharp and crazy clean.The JCII inspection sticker (the gold thingy) was likely placed before the lens was fully assembled.Canon stamped a date code on most everything it produced. Here, M1010 indicates the lens was completed and passed an internal inspection in October 1972. N = 1972 and 10 = October. The last two numbers are an internal code only known to Canon.Here is the lens mounted to my earliest Canon F-1 from late 1970 or early 1971.
The early chrome-nose Canon lenses are a fun way to collect classic camera gear. If you can find a nice, clean example, you won’t be disappointed.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
I’m moving on from it. Enjoyed every minute of using and collecting all of the bits that make it special.
Everything works. Excellent condition.My set includes the super-sharp Nikkor 50mm f/2 Ai lens with hood, cap, and filter.With Nikon MD-2 motor drive.A joy to use.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
This is the last Canon EF 35mm film camera in my collection. I’ve owned quite a few over the years, but I kept this one because it’s in mint condition and works perfectly. This EF was made in early 1976. It’s affectionally know as the Black Beauty.
It’s a very close cousin to the Canon F-1. The original F-1 was released in March 1971. The EF made its appearance in November 1973.It’s one of the most underrated cameras of the 1970s, and in some ways was better than the F-1 straight out of the box.
If you’re looking to add a classic film camera from the seventies, the Canon EF is worth the chase!
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
This isn’t mine – I found it surfing on eBay. It’s an early production F-1 body mated to an aftermarket control unit mounted on the back, a Canon Film Chamber 250 film holder, and a Canon Motor Drive MF.
Rear view. Made under U.S. Government contract. True unmanned photography. The only thing missing is the Canon Servo EE Finder.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
I’ve just added some hard-to-find Yashica sales brochures and instruction booklets in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com.
Probably one of the most popular Yashica cameras ever made.Yashica movie camera brochures are often difficult to find.This was a very sophisticated Super 8 camera, as good as any made during that period.A popular movie camera of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
As it would have looked back in 1954, leaving the factory in Suwa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Built by the talented craftspeople of Yashima Kogaku Seiki Co., Ltd.
Yashima’s first twin-lens reflex camera was to bear the company name. The Yashima Flex launched a wave of TLRs manufactured by Yashima and later Yashica. By the end of the 1950s, Yashica produced more of these types of cameras than anyone else in the world.
We are very lucky to add such a historic camera to our collection. We enjoy sharing these simple machines with others and hope to pass along a better understanding of the importance of these classic film cameras.
My original set from 1954.Earliest English advertisement.
If you have a chance to chase this camera, it will be worth your time. The build quality is impressive.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
I was able to find a Canon Motor Drive MF, still new in its box, recently. It is an early model built in February 1974. Obviously, it’s getting much more difficult to find unused camera gear from the seventies, and as a collector, it’s a thrill when you do.
Canon OD F-1 with all the extras. The ‘OD’ stands for the limited-edition Olive Drab camera made in 1978 by Canon for its home market. About 3k were made.I attached the motor drive to this camera to show off the contrast between colors.The chrome-nose Canon 50mm f1.8 lens is an early version of the lens. This one is mid-1971.The motor drive is in perfect condition and works perfectly. It was made in February 1974, and it’s an early version of the drive.No doubt, combined, it’s a beast, but surprisingly easy to use, as it fits my hand perfectly.It arrived still wrapped in the factory plastic.A snip from a Canon book from June 1973.Canon’s Motor Drive Unit. This was the first motor drive for the F-1.A Japanese sales brochure for the Canon OD F-1.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Collecting classic camera sales brochures is fun, but it’s also educational. If the marketing departments did their jobs correctly, then the information should be entertaining and a great way to enhance your collecting experience.
Here are five recent acquisitions.
Likely the first and most complete brochure for the new Canon F-1, which was released in March 1971. This brochure is dated November 1970.An often overlooked early Canon camera. Dated November 1970.Part of Canon’s building blocks of sophisticated 35mm SLRs on their way to developing the F-1. Dated September 1969.I had the next model up from this classic. Dated March 1971.Check out these guys with their Canon Super 8 movie camera. Dated March 1971.Available Canon lenses as of late 1970.
I have more brochures in my collection, with the earliest being from the mid-1950s.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Chasing Classic Cameras After years of searching, I found a U.S. Navy-engraved Canon F-1 (later model, commonly known as the F-1n). As a bonus, it’s also one of the latest I’ve found in the 10-year run of the original F-1, and obviously, it’s the latest in my collection. This one was assembled in September 1981, which may be the last month of production (I’m still looking, since no exact date has been verified). Many thanks to a Canon friend who spotted it.
It’s been used but escaped the worst the Navy could have thrown at it.It started with serial number 100001 (supposedly) and ended in the high six-hundred-thousands. The date code on this one is V918. I haven’t found any F-1s within the 4xxxxx range.Early and late by ten years. On the left, my earliest F-1, and on the right, my latest one.This isn’t my image, and I’m not sure of its origin. If it’s a real camera, then this would be the first known serial number.This is the date code that’s stamped inside my early F-1. The ‘L’ indicates 1971, and the ‘7’ is July. The ’12C’ is an internal code used by Canon, and its meaning is unknown.My Canon New F-1 (the follow-on model to the original F-1, introduced in 1981) is pictured with my U.S. Navy-engraved FD 400mm f/4.5 lens, which is a bit newer (November 1985).
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 