Canon Time Line

Canon	The Casual Collector Canon Time Line An overview of Canon cameras from 1935 to 1991
Home Canon Lenses Canon P Canon 7 Canonet *Canonflex* *Canon FL* *F-1* *New F-1* *FTb* *TLb* EF *A-1* *AE-1P* *Links* *Photos*	Canons spanning 23 years, from the 1959 Canonflex to the "New" F-1 of 1981.
	I’ll profile several Canon models in this portion of the website. This page is intended to be an overview of Canon development through the end of the manual focus era Canon’s beginning can be traced back to 1933, though it was 1935 before they were producing cameras in any quantity. From the beginning, the goal was a high quality, very capable camera to equal the vaunted Leica. A Leica it could not be though, as several crucial aspects of the German design were patented.	The first Canon had a coupled rangefinder; a pop up viewfinder, finger wheel focusing, body mounted focusing helical, bayonet lens mount and a frame counter mounted on the front face of the body. The standard 50mm lens was a Nikkor! It is generally referred to as the Canon Original or Hansa Canon. The camera was upgraded in the prewar years and simplified versions were also offered. These designs were put back into production in modified form at the end WWII.
	SII, Canon's first post-war design.	Canon’s first postwar designs brought significant changes. The lenses incorporated the focusing helical and screwed directly into the body. The system was like, though not always compatible with, the Leica screw mount. The second big change was atop the camera. A combined range – viewfinder replaced the pop up finder and separate RF. Thirdly, Nikkor lenses were phased out as Canon began manufacturing their own “Serenar” lenses.

	As the 1940s progressed into the 1950s, Canon improved the features and quality of their product. The lens mount became fully Leica compatible. The line of lenses grew larger and accessories proliferated. Canon Lens superseded the Serenar name. The company adopted the name, Canon Camera Company. Model designations proliferated to the point that you need a book to tell them apart! There are two good ones and I’ll list them at the bottom of the page. Up to this point, Canon cameras, while showing much original thinking, were still variations on the screw mount Leica theme. Copying the Barnack design had become a cottage industry in Japan. Honor, Leotax, Melcon, Nicca and Tanack were all Leica copies and there were more! Leica themselves raised the bar in 1953 with the M3. Canon’s response came in 1956 with the model VT (Five T). No longer a Leica copy, Canon was now charting their own course.	The camera loaded through a swing open back door. The primary means of film advance was a trigger wind built into the base plate. The range-viewfinder was enlarged and improved. The VT looked like a thoroughly modern camera. If trigger wind wasn’t your bag, lever advance “L” models became available in early 1957. The VT itself was improved several times, as were the L models. Canon P. Last variation of the V, VI body.

	1958 brought rationalization in the form of the VI-L with lever advance and VI-T with trigger wind. The viewfinder was improved again; rewind cranks were standardized along with self-timer and self-resetting frame counters. All shutter speeds were now on a single dial to which an optional light meter could be coupled. In early 1959 a lever wind model with a simplified viewfinder and lower price was introduced. The very successful Canon P. In 1959 Canon was looking to become the 800-pound gorilla of the Japanese camera industry. They entered the home movie business with an 8mm camera. Their first SLR, the Canonflex, debuted in May. Canonflex was an interesting beast, but no 800 pound simian. The camera’s two outstanding features were its’ removable viewfinder and base plate trigger advance. After a year, two models,	Canonflex. Canon's first single lens reflex. the Canonflex R-2000 and Canonflex RP, succeeded it. The R-2000 added 1/2000^th shutter speed; the RP deleted the removable finder in exchange for a fixed prism and lower price. Both retained the base mounted advance lever.
	Canon 7. Beginning of the end for LTM Canons.	Our timeline is now well into 1961 and Canon is further diversifying their business. The Canonet auto-exposure camera is being developed, new 8mm movie cameras are being introduced and their lens line is expanded into the television field. In the United States, they have a new marketing partner, Bell & Howell.

	They also have an ace up their sleeve, the Canon 7. In 1961, the Canon 7 is, arguably, the most sophisticated, coupled rangefinder, 35mm camera yet marketed. The viewfinder features parallax corrected, projected framelines and a light meter is built into the camera body. On the option sheet, an astounding 50mm f 0.95 lens! The 7 goes on to sell over 137,000 units. Early in 1962, Canon introduces the Canonflex RM. They finally give up on the base plate wind concept. The advance lever is fitted into the top plate, the tip protruding from a slot in the back. A selenium cell light meter is built into the body with readout adjacent to the top deck rewind crank. In two years, over 70,000 units cross the counter. Canon also makes SLR lens history with the 58mm, f1.2 Super Canomatic.	For 1964, Canon introduced two rather conventional SLRs, the FX, featuring a built in CdS meter and the FP with an optional CdS meter attaching to the accessory shoe. The advance lever was finally ON the top plate, just like every other major manufacturer. Both models featured mirror lockup levers. More importantly, Canon redesigned the automatic diaphragm system of the new cameras and lenses, making it simpler and more reliable. The new lenses were designated “FL” to differentiate them from the Canomatic lenses of the Canonflex. Lenses would physically interchange but the diaphragm operating mechanisms were incompatible.

	Pellix. Reflex viewing with no moving mirror! The pellicle mirror would return in the F-1 High Speed and EOS RT.	In 1965, Canon pulls a real shocker out of the R&D lab, the Pellix. In the throat of the camera is a stationary, semi-reflective pellicle. Light is split between viewfinder and film with no moving parts. The Pellix is also Canon’s first camera with through the lens light metering. The Canon 7 received a makeover in ’65, becoming the 7S. A more discreet CdS “eye” replaced the large selenium cell for the light meter. A smaller galvanometer allowed a more compact readout atop the camera and made room for a sorely missed accessory shoe.
	Canon’s second TTL camera, the FT, was introduced in 1966, a conventional 35mm SLR in all respects but one. The QL Quick Loading feature from the Canonet was incorporated. So as not to leave their flagship model behind, the Pellix was upgraded to QL status. The FT and Pellix QL were both equipped to accept a new accessory, the Canon Booster. This unit amplified the reading from the camera's internal CdS cell, greatly extending low light and macro metering ability.	FT. Canon innovation in a mainstream camera.

	A simplified variant of the FT, the TL, was added early in 1968. Self-timer, mirror lockup, battery check and 1/1000^thshutter speed were deleted. The 7S went out of production in September, closing a 33 year run of Canon rangefinders with interchangeable lenses. At the end of the 1960s, Canon Inc. was well diversified. The camera division was producing 35mm still cameras for casual and serious photographers, Super 8 cine cameras and quick load point & shoots. Further, Canon had diversified into electronics and office equipment with some success. One goal still eluded them. Very few high profile professional photographers and photojournalists were using Canon cameras.	During 1970, rumors began circulating that a radically new Canon was coming. A versatile, “system” camera, with interchangeable viewfinders, motor drive capability and an expanded line of lenses capable of full aperture light metering. The Canon F-1 and a new line of “FD” lenses, debuted in early 1971. As an indication of their intention to capture a significant share of the professional market, The F-1 was only available in black. Along with the F-1 came a full aperture metering variant of the FT, the FTb. With the new FD lens coupling system, Canon was ready for anything, but seemed to be in no rush to show their hand. The next new model was a logical upgrade of the TL to full aperture metering, the TLb in 1972.
	F-1. Aimed squarely at the professional market.
	In 1973, Canon began exerting some electro-mechanical muscle. The FD lens coupling allowed for very precise aperture control by the camera and Canon put this to use in the auto-exposure EF. In addition to shutter priority AE, the EF incorporated a silicon photo diode metering sensor and partial electronic speed control of its’ Copal Square shutter. The FTb received a few improvements this year. A shutter speed display was added in the viewfinder and a few cosmetic changes were made. Though not engraved so on the camera itself, it officially became the FTb-n. For 1975, the TLb received a hot shoe and light makeover and was renamed TX.	EF. Electronics, auto-exposure, faster flash sync.

	AE-1. Electronics, automated manufacturing and discreet use of plastics lowers the price of automatic exposure.	Thunder struck in 1976 with the AE-1. Canon thoroughly integrated electronics into a compact camera body and re-invented their manufacturing process. The resulting auto-exposure camera could be sold profitably at prices near those of match needle models. In addition, the camera accommodated a compact power winder and a dedicated electronic flash. The camera was a runaway success. One MILLION units sold in the first ten months! While manufacturing every AE-1 they possibly could, Canon was able to turn out a variation in an essentially identical body. The AT-1 incorporated manual, match-needle metering, eliminating the AE-1’s shutter priority automation.

	The Canon F-1 was quietly updated in 1976. The advance lever throw was shortened, the shutter release lock was enlarged and the range of ASA speeds was increased. A film box flap holder was added to the loading door and a cover protected the PC outlet. This improved model is known as the F-1n (small n). A-1. Canon called it hexa-photo-cybernetic, for its' six exposure modes.	Canon’s next technological tour de force appeared in 1978. The A-1 combined every aspect of the FD lens coupling system with Canon’s electronics expertise. Multi-mode exposure automation was the camera’s major selling point. Shutter priority exposure automation had always been favored by Canon and was included in the A-1. By flicking a switch, Aperture priority automation (a-la Pentax ES) was available. With a turn of a dial both could be combined into “Programmed Automatic Mode”. A more powerful dedicated flash was offered. A motor drive capable of five frames per second was available to “power users”. Such capability was attractive to photojournalists and sports photographers. The A-1 likely siphoned away more than a few sales from the Canon F-1.

	Just after their most sophisticated 35mm SLR yet, Canon introduced a camera for the opposite end of the market the AV-1. In the early 1960s Canon realized the fewer choices you gave the neophyte user, the more likely they were to step up to your camera. The Canonet proved it. The AV-1 was a simple SLR that offered only aperture priority automation and a minimum number of controls. Along with the AV-1 came a new line of Canon FD lenses. Mechanically dis-inclined users had long fumbled with Canon’s breech-lock bayonet lens mount. A clever redesign of the lenses converted them to a conventional, line up the dots and twist, bayonet mount. A small chrome release button was added to the rear rim of the lens. Barrels were lighter and more compact and many new optical designs were introduced. Our virtual Wayback machine has transported us to 1981 to meet the Canon AE-1 Program.	AE-1 P. Program proves popular. While most think of this camera as an advanced AE-1, it is, actually, a simplified A-1. The aperture priority auto-exposure option is gone, but the programmed automation stays. On the strength of the program mode, the AE-1P becomes the best selling 35mm SLR of the 80s and others scramble to add program modes to their cameras.

	New F-1. Canon jacks up old nameplate, rolls new camera under it!	Also in 1981, the original Canon F-1 is succeeded by the “New” F-1, AKA the F-1N (big N). Hewing closely to a tradition of confusing designations, this entirely new camera was engraved simply F-1! All that carries over from the old model are the lens mount and several styling cues. Finders, screens, backs and motor drives are all new and incompatible with the earlier F-1. The new body features an electronically timed shutter and is built around aperture priority automation. This camera would carry on the F-1 tradition for another ten years.

	1982 brought the last A series Canon and a glimpse in the direction of auto-focus. The Canon AL-1 was a slightly more capable incarnation of the AV-1 and added electronic focus confirmation. We come back to the “bridge” camera for 1983 and a new series of Cameras as Canon introduces the T-50. One dial turns the camera on to a programmed auto-exposure mode. It also offers self-timer and flash options and that is all. Once again Canon has adopted new manufacturing techniques to keep prices attractive and increase market share in a shrinking market. The camera proves quite popular.	T-50. Simple, inexpensive capable of great photos.
	T-70. Simple appearance, very capable.	A much more serious T model comes in 1984, The T-70. It includes fully motorized advance and rewind, multiple exposure modes and metering patterns and an LCD status display in the top plate. Working pros find this camera a very useful alternative to the F-1. The following year’s T-80 is another step towards auto-focus. Electrical contacts are added to the FD lens-mount to allow the T-80 body to control three, dedicated, auto-focus lenses. Like the EF of the previous decade, the T-80 is eclipsed by other developments and proves a dead end.

	Also akin to the EF of the 1970s the Canon T-90 of 1986 had people saying “Gee whiz”! Canon’s final and most complex development of the FD series is sufficiently feature laden that even experienced users keep the instruction manual handy. Now, more than a decade after its’ demise, the T-90 still commands a premium price among dwindling numbers of film camera users. The Canon manual focus story seems like it should end here but it doesn’t.	Three years after the introduction of the EOS auto-focus camera line, Canon marketed one last FD compatible camera, the T-60. A simple, electronic, aperture preferred auto-exposure camera, it also had a full range of user selectable shutter speeds and could be used manually. The T-60 was actually designed and manufactured by Cosina with input from Canon. While I find it an interesting little camera and hope to acquire one, Canonites and Canonettes largely disdain it.

	I came to own a Canon FT as a teenager in the summer of 1971. Several members of my high school staff had been more than generous in allowing this eager and interested teen to try their prized cameras. They included a Canon TL, Mamiya/Sekor CWP, Minolta SR-T, and Miranda Sensorex. I still aspired to a Nikon F like the one I had experienced as a ten year old, but the cost was prohibitive. In the end, it was the Canon I was most comfortable with and prices on the FT became very attractive after the introduction of the F-1 and FTb. Several years later, I got a job in the camera department of a discount chain store. In a case full of new cameras, Canons still seemed slightly superior, in my mind, to others. Three decades later, I still think I made a wise decision.
	Read Up! - These books were consulted often as I wrote this article. Canon Rangefinder Cameras 1933 - 68: Peter Dechert; Hove Photo Books, 1985. Canon Single Lens Reflex Cameras 1959 - 1991: Peter Dechert; Historical Camera Publications, 1992. Peter Dechert's books had their beginnings in a series of articles he wrote for Shutterbug magazine in the 1980s. The RF book is generally considered the best English language study on the subject. Canon Compendium: Bob Shell; Hove Books, 1994. Bob Shell was a long time editor of Shutterbug magazine and is actively writing for several publications. This is probably the one book to have on your shelf as a Canon reference. Special Thanks are due Dan Lynch at New England Camera Repair for allowing me to photograph several "Organ Donors" to illustrate this article. Visit these web sites!! Canon Museum A fabulous site packed with info about nearly every Canon camera and lens from day one in 1933! *Photography In Malaysia* A HUGE site with many excellent and detailed Canon pages, especially FD series lenses.