Canon IV Series
by Karen Nakamura
Canon Rangefinder Body Price & Information Guide. Bright lines for 50 & 100 lenses and automatic parallax correction. X sync at 1/55. Canon 50/1.2. 8,175 produced. Serial # run 600xxx to 620xxx. Canon VI L: $ 85: R5: Made 1958-60. Like VI T with Lever wind. X sync at 1/55. Canon 50/1.8 or 50/1.2. Canon Camera Museum. Dante Stella's. Make Offer - TESTED Canon Canonet QL17 35mm Rangefinder Film Camera Clean New Light Seals Canon model L1 35mm rangefinder camera w/ Leitz Summaron 35mm f/3.5 S#548800 $449.98. Make Offer - c.1947 CANON Sii Rangefinder Camera SERENAR 1:2 f=5cm Lens EARLY POST WAR Late 1940's MIOJ Canon S-II 35mm RF Camera w/Serenar1:3.5 f=5m Lens & Cap $400.00 2d 2h. Nikon's Secret Prototype Canon Lens Cleaner; Leica Rangefinder M and Screw Mount Serial Numbers LEICA SERIAL NUMBERS: Leica Serial Number data is courtesy of Leica. I've organized it in several ways, editing and color coding the tables to enhance clarity. This site is devoted primarily to the history and technology of the range of 35mm rangefinder cameras produced by what became the Canon Camera Company. It covers the beginning from its development of the 'Hansa Canon' (or 'Canon Hansa') in 1935 until the end of production of the Canon 7s rangefinder in 1968.
Overview and Personal Comments
The Canon IV is a Leica screw mount lens compatible series of rangefinders manufactured between 1951 and 1955 in versions. It was Canon's second major revision of their LTM rangefinder series adding flash synchronization (the first revision was the Canon II & III series; the numerals indicate the lack or presence of slow speeds). From the IV onwards, all Canon rangefinders (except some lame ones) had slow speeds. The camera was made until 1956 when it was replaced by the V series, which had a more modern design. Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.
I own two of this series: a user-condition IVS and a mint condition IVSB. According to Peter Dechert's (1985) Canon Rangefinder Cameras, the various versions of the IV are:
![Rangefinder Rangefinder](https://www.canonrangefinder.org/images/Nicca_Original_front.jpg)
Date | # Prod. | Features | |
IV | 1951.4-1952.4 | 1,400 | III + flashbulb sync via rail |
IVF | 1951.12-1952.8 | 6,900 | IV+redesigned knobs, lever+redesigned screw flange |
IVS | 1952.4-1953.5 | IVF+redesigned shutter crate (die cast) | |
IVSB | 1952.12-1955.3 | 34,975 | IVS+X sync slow speed+slow speed lock |
IVSB2 | 1954.7-1956.7 | 16,800 | IVSB+slow shutter split at 1/30 sec+universal shutter progression + non-rotating shutter dial + fast X sync+redesigned viewfinder |
Canon IVs
The Canon IVS came originally with a 50 mm f/1.8 Serenar as an option. The Canon Museum notes that the original retail price of the 50mm f/1.8 kit was ¥77,000. The yen was fixed at ¥360 to US$1 at the time so the dollar price was approx. $213. According to the AIER, $213 in 1951 is worth approximately $1502 in current 2003 dollars. As you can see, it was a rather expensive camera, but not out of line with what a Leica or Contax would have cost you.
A little less than 4,900 Canon IVS units were made so my unit is on the rare side. The IVSB is much more popular, with almost 35,000 produced. Canon IV cameras aren't that expensive, you should be able to find a good condition one for less than $300. My one pictured here is in not in the best physical condition. The chrome is brassing through and the leatherette is totally shrunken and worn. But optically and mechanically it's in fantastic condition. I've had it re-leathered (by CameraLeather) and thinking of black painting it. As you can see, CameraLeather did an absolutely gorgeous job re-leathering it with their Cognac Lizard skin:
Before:
After:
Canon IVsb
At an auction at the close of 2003, I bought a mint condition Canon IVsb along with a mint condition Minolta 35 Model II (also a Leica clone). As noted in the chart above, the IVsb added a faster sync speed, an 'X' sync detent on the slow-speed dial, and a slow-speed dial lock (which I can't figure out why it exists). Other than from that, it's almost identical.
The camera came in its original leather case. See the snaps on the right side of the photo above? That's to release the side of the case so that you can slide in the flash gun, which mounts on a rail on the side as you can see in the photo below. The flash guns are fairly useless unlike you like bulb flashes, but you can find an aftermarket Canon IV flash rail adaptor, which slips onto the rail and provides a PC-sync socket. I bought mine on ebay for less than $10, although I suspect the seller did not know what it really was.
My mint condition camera came with the original Serenar 50mm f/1.8 lens. How do I know it was the original lens? My camera also came with the original warrantee card, stamped 1953 listing the body, lens, and flash (which was not included in the auction, boo hoo). Canon at that time had a 5 year warrantee. It's now 50 years since then, I guess they won't honor it any more, but I'll keep it around just in case I need it serviced. :-)
There's another thing I found odd about the IVsb. In the leather case, there's a red card inserted in a hidden pocket. I'm assuming this is to aid in film loading as well as testing the shutter. Bottom-loading Leica-clones are a bit difficult to load since the film gets caught in the sprockets and film gate. A card inserted in front of the film gate helps. Also, Leica shutters are difficult to test because you can't look through the film gate to see if the shutter is capping, like with back-loading cameras. A red-card inserted behind the gate makes it easier to see if the shutter is working properly at high-speeds.
There's a red dot on the top plate, to the immediate right of the word 'Japan' in 'Canon Camera Company Inc. Japan' You can see it in the photo below. I was curious what this was since the IVs doesn't have this. The consensus on the Rangefinder list is that it's a film plane indicator mark. More recent cameras use a mark that looks like a greek F (phi)to indicate the film plane.
Interesting quirks (Canon IV series)
The Canon IV series shutter is horizontal running and is made of coated fabric. It's a very close copy of the Leica III shutter, right down to the second slow-speed dial on the front of the camera.
The camera is a Leica clone to the fault and uses the same pain-in-the-neck bottom loading design as the Leica III series. You have to cut your film leaders extra long to load them properly. Grr..
The shutter button is smooth surfaced. If you want to attach a remote release, you need to use an adaptor. There's a little dot on the shutter that rotates when the film is winding and rewinding (that the sprockets are engaging). This is handy if you develop your own film as you can tell when the leader releases from the sprockets (the dot stops rotating) when rewinding the film. At that point, you can open the back leaving the leader still sticking out of cartridge, which makes it simpler to load into your reels for developing.
Some tips:
- The rewind release is located right above the shutter button. Rotate it counter-clockwise to the 'R' position for rewinding. You can rotate this to the 'R' position for deliberate double-exposures as well
- Yes knob-rewind is slow, but not as bad as you think
- Don't touch the rotating shutter speed button when you shoot the camera. You'll mess up the shutter speed.
The camera takes the Canon-proprietary film cartridges which were an option instead of the standard 35mm cartridges. Like the Leica, Zeiss, and Nikon proprietary cartridges (all of which are incompatible with each other), the Canon cartridges feature a light-trap that is keyed with the camera latch, allowing film to travel unfettered by emulsion-scratching felt. It also takes standard 35mm cartridges too, of course.
The Canon rangefinders are unique from the Leica brethren in that the Canons have switchable rangefinder magnification (as well as unified rangefinder/viewfinders, something Leica finally managed with the M3). The switch you can see on the right has three options: F, 1x and 1.5x. This actually switches the magnification of the rangefinder/viewfinder. This serves two purposes. First, it allows for framing of 50mm, 100mm, and 135mm (corresponding to F, 1x and 1.5x) lenses. Second, in the 1.5x position you can focus much more accurately, then switch back for framing.
The optical baselength is about 36mm according to my calipers. This makes the effective baselength (EBL): 24mm, 36mm, or 54mm depending on the magnification. In comparison, the EBL of some other cameras are: Canon P (41mm); Leica M3 (58.9mm); and Nikon S2 (60mm). So while the idea of switchable magnification is great, the EBL of the M3 or Nikon S2/SP is better than the Canon IV series.
Unfortunately, there are no projected framelines in the IV series so accurate framing is a bit of a guess. The viewfinder is also a bit squinty and difficult to use by eyeglass wearers. If Canon had managed to get projected framelines and increased the eye relief, this system would have been a huge success. The IVSB2 does improve the optical and mechanical ergonomics and Dechert calls it the finest bottom-loading Leica screw mount ever made, I'd like to try one sometime.
Despite all my moaning and groaning, I'm very fond of my IV series cameras, especially the IV s. It's become my bang-around* camera. Mounted with the Former Soviet Union Industar-22 50mm f/3.5 Elmar-clone shown above, it's a compact and very tough camera. I used to use my Canon P as my bang-around camera, but the P is a bit on the fragile side for my tastes with its large exposed finder. The Elmar-clone is a bit on the dark side with its f/3.5 max aperture, but fine for day-to-day photography with Fuji Neopan 400. I usually just guess-estimate the exposure. A Japanese magazine tested the I-22 against the Leitz Elmar and the I-22 won in both sharpness and flare control!
*Bang-around camera: Camera that I always have with me with little care given to taking good care of it. Used for miscellaneous street photography, family photos, and to bang in the occasional nail.
Rangefinder Calibration
It's very easy to knock rangefinder cameras out of horizontal or vertical RF calibration with small knocks or jars. This is fairly common on older (and even newer) rangefinders. Thankfully, Canon provided for a way to adjust both horizontal and vertical RF calibration without opening the camera up. I asked the question on the RF list and Harland Harris and Jim Williams were kind enough to provide the answers:
The external adjustment is behind the large screw in the lower corner of the front viewfinder window. The outer screw is just a decorative cover; the actual adjustment is inside. It takes a VERY tiny screwdriver. The adjusting screw moves in and out as you focus the lens, so you may find it's easier to reach at either the infinity position or the close focus position, depending on your particular screwdriver.
Before you adjust it, check the vertical adjustment -- on a IV (as with other older series Canon and old Leicas) changing the vertical adjustment affects the horizontal adjustment, so if the vertical adjustment is off, it will affect the horizontal adjustment too. I find the vertical adjustment seems somewhat more likely to get knocked out of whack.
This is adjusted in the traditional Leica fashion by removing the knurled decorative ring around the round rangefinder window, and turning the round glass front. This is actually a shallow prism and moves the RF image in a circle as you turn it. After you've adjusted it, you have to check the horizontal adjustment and reset it if necessary.
-- Jim Williams
Before you adjust it, check the vertical adjustment -- on a IV (as with other older series Canon and old Leicas) changing the vertical adjustment affects the horizontal adjustment, so if the vertical adjustment is off, it will affect the horizontal adjustment too. I find the vertical adjustment seems somewhat more likely to get knocked out of whack.
This is adjusted in the traditional Leica fashion by removing the knurled decorative ring around the round rangefinder window, and turning the round glass front. This is actually a shallow prism and moves the RF image in a circle as you turn it. After you've adjusted it, you have to check the horizontal adjustment and reset it if necessary.
-- Jim Williams
Note: This operation while simple, has the possibility of fouling your camera if you have the wrong size screwdrivers or slip while the driver is inside the camera. Please use reasonable and appropriate caution when thinking about doing this.
Used with kind permission of Jim Williams who wants to add the caveat that he wrote this while waiting for his dinner and this should not be considered to cover every minor variation between the models. |
Technical Details
Camera Name | Canon IV Series |
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Manufacturer | Canon, Inc. |
Place of Manufacture | Japan |
Date of Manufacture | IVs: 1952.4-1953.5 (about 4,900 produced) IVSB: 1952.12-1955.3 (about 35,000 produced) |
Focusing System | Adobe indesign cs6 mac free download utorrent. Coupled rangefinder (~36 mm optical base length) Switchable magnification finder: 50mm (F-0.67x), 100mm (1x), and 135mm (1.5x) |
Lens Mount | Leica M39 screw mount compatible Standard lenses: 50mm f/1.8 Serenar |
Shutter | Horizontal focal plane shutter (rubberized cloth) 1 sec - 1/1000 sec + B + T IVsb-slow: T 1 2 4 8 X 25 (locks on '25') IVsb-fast: B 1-25 40 60 100 200 500 1000 |
Metering System | None |
Flash | External cold accessory shoe Proprietary flash connector on left side |
Film type | Type 135 film (35mm standard) |
Battery type | none |
Dimensions and weight | Body + lens:140 x 72.2 x 67 mm, 790 g (with Serenar 50mm f/1.8) |
Retail price | ¥77,000 with Serenar 50mm f/1.8 |
My Leica Mount Lens Collection |
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About Canon
Canon started out its life as Seiki Kohgaku Kenkyuujo (Precision Optical Research Company). Its first goal was to produce domestic inexpensive Leica clones, and it released the Kwanon, its first camera in 1934. Interestingly, they used Nikon lenses since Nikon was already established as an optical lens manufacturer and was not making any of its own camera bodies at that time. Canon soon gained the ability to make their own lenses and never looked back. Nikon also went on to produce some reasonably popular cameras of its own as well.
The name 'Canon' comes from the Buddhist deity Kwanon and early Canon cameras were actually spelled 'Kwanon' and the lenses were named 'Kyasapa' after another deity.
Side note: Canon is my favorite Japanese company along with Honda. I actually interned for Canon Japan (ok, Canon Sales Japan, a part of the Canon keiretsu) during a summer in college and loved my coworkers to death. They keep coming out with innovations that take your breath away.
Canon Rangefinder Camera Serial Numbers For Kids
![Serial Serial](https://oldcamerablog.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/p1010769.jpeg?w=1200)
On the Net
Canon Rangefinder Camera Serial Numbers Online
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