Canon P in the City
The Canon P (Populiare)is a Leica screw mount rangefinder made from 1958 to 1961 with 35, 50, 100 frame lines, I bought it off my friend John Meadows a few months ago and it was a wise purchase. I took the Canon 50 f1.4 M-39 lens off my Leica M4-2 and it felt like the perfect marriage. Anyone who has shot with a Leica III series screw mount camera will appreciate the stupid easy film loading, just open the back like a SLR. I only have two Leica (M-39) screw mount lenses, my Canon 50 f1.4 and the Voightlander 35 f2.5 Color Skopar lens. On my immediate acquisition list is a 1960s production Canon 50 F1.8 which from what I read is a "Double Gauss" lens design and 100mm F3.5 telephoto. Ok, if some really well paying project work rolled in for my day job in marketing communications, a Canon 35 F2 wide angle lens.
Wandering around Toronto I was happy with just the Canon 50 f1.4 lens which has earned the nickname "The Japanese Summilux" with Leica shooters. Shooting with a rangefinder is totally different experience than with a SLR of any vintage. You can shoot with both eyes open so you can track the action you are trying to capture on film. I was shooting on a bright sunny day downtown where you had both bright sunlight and the shade, the viewfinder was great for both conditions, I didn't lose the focusing patch.
Camera: Canon P, Canon 50 f1.4 LTM lens.
Film: Kodak Tmax 400, TMAX Dev 1+4.
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