Canon Chrome Nose 28/3.5 Lens

January 23, 2026January 23, 2026Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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.

Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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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

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris. Copyright © 2015-2026 Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris (Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic), Chris Whelan. All rights reserved.

Contax RX – a gem and the end of an era.

January 20, 2026January 20, 2026Chris and Carol Leave a comment

It is a beautiful and well-balanced camera set. The RX was first released in 1996, towards the end of Contax’s 35mm film era. Yashica was long gone by then.
Contax Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 Lens.

Contax Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 Lens.

The beauty of pure black & white negative film.

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Nikon F2A Photomic Camera Set

January 18, 2026January 21, 2026Chris and Carol Leave a comment

My Nikon F2A set.

I’m moving on from it. Enjoyed every minute of using and collecting all of the bits that make it special.

My set includes the super-sharp Nikkor 50mm f/2 Ai lens with hood, cap, and filter.

It’s available in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

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Yashica brochures in my camera shop. Let’s make a movie!

January 9, 2026January 9, 2026Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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.

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Yashima Flex – 1954

January 9, 2026January 9, 2026Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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.

If you have a chance to chase this camera, it will be worth your time. The build quality is impressive.

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Analog beauties.

January 6, 2026January 6, 2026Chris and Carol 2 Comments

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.

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Happy SUNday! – camera brochures

January 4, 2026January 4, 2026Chris and Carol 2 Comments

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.

I have more brochures in my collection, with the earliest being from the mid-1950s.

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U.S. Navy Canon F-1

December 27, 2025December 27, 2025Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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).

Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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A very early Canon F-1.

December 23, 2025December 23, 2025Chris and Carol Leave a comment

My early F-1, July 1971, with a matching July 1971 50mm f1.4 lens and a November 1971 instruction book (PUB. NO. 5366G). These very early books are almost harder to find than the cameras.

What’s interesting about this camera is that the serial number is less than 3,000, but the date stamp inside reads L712C, indicating July 1971. I have an August 1971 camera, and its SN is just shy of 20,000. My guess is that, for whatever reason, this body sat around long after its serial number was issued. The ‘C’ after the date stamp may tell the story that we’ll never know.

Almost as new as the day it rolled off the line.

The first F-1s began at 100001. This one should have been assembled in December 1970 or January 1971, based on the low serial number. The F-1 was released in March 1971.

The baseplate is in excellent condition for such an old F-1.

Canon stamps what is believed to be a factory date code inside the film chamber of every camera made. This code indicates that it was assembled in 1971 (L), July (7). The following two numbers are an internal code, as is the ‘C’ – lost in time as to their meaning.

Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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A special place for Canons, www.ccstudio2380.com

December 21, 2025December 21, 2025Chris and Carol Leave a comment

My well-used but super-clean Canon New F-1 (F-1N) limited-edition Los Angeles 1984 camera set.

The LA Olympics F-1 is a favorite with collectors. Most ended up either being gently used or put on display. Fewer than 9,500 were made. My F-1 was obviously a busy camera throughout its life. It was assembled in November 1983, and the lens in October. Most of these were made with the AE finder, which makes mine a bit more unusual because it has an eye-level finder. Everything works as designed.

Canon New FD 135mm f3.5 short telephoto lens set. The 135 is a popular lens for portraits, sporting events, and wildlife photography.

It’s no secret that I love super-wide-angle lenses, the wider the better. I’ve used the 17mm and the 24mm; the 20mm is a nice compromise between those two.

Who doesn’t love a still-mint-condition instruction booklet?

Remembering a sharp camera from the late 1970s. My last cine camera before I got my first video camera.

As I continue to downsize my collection, these special Canons are now available in my Etsy camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com.

Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris. Copyright © 2015-2025 Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris (Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic), Chris Whelan. All rights reserved.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

Yashica cameras and so much more!

Category Classic Film Cameras

Canon Chrome Nose 28/3.5 Lens

Contax RX – a gem and the end of an era.

Nikon F2A Photomic Camera Set

Yashica brochures in my camera shop. Let’s make a movie!

Yashima Flex – 1954

Analog beauties.

Happy SUNday! – camera brochures

U.S. Navy Canon F-1

A very early Canon F-1.

A special place for Canons, www.ccstudio2380.com