Canon II F

Canon II F

The Canon II F, also written Canon II-F, is a 35mm Leica screw-mount rangefinder camera marketed by Canon Camera Co. in June 1953. It was an export-oriented Canon rangefinder and was not sold in the Japanese domestic market, according to Canon’s official museum entry [1].

The camera uses Canon’s universal threaded mount, compatible with the Leica Thread Mount standard, also known as LTM or M39. It accepts Canon screw-mount lenses as well as many Leica-compatible screw-mount lenses, making it directly relevant to LeicaLensList’s rangefinder camera scope [1][2].

The II F can be understood as a budget-oriented Canon screw-mount body with slow speeds and FP flash synchronization, but without the higher specification features of the IV Sb. It has a top shutter speed of 1/500 second, rather than the 1/1000 second found on Canon’s more expensive IV-series bodies [1][2].

The camera uses Canon’s combined coincidence rangefinder and reversed Galilean viewfinder system. The finder can be rotated between three magnifications, commonly interpreted as approximately 0.67x for 50mm, 1.0x for 100mm and 1.5x for 135mm. There are no projected framelines, so the chosen finder magnification determines the approximate field of view [3].

Mechanically, the Canon II F uses a two-axis, horizontal-travel focal-plane shutter with cloth curtains. Canon lists the slow-speed dial as T, 1, 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 second, while the main shutter-speed dial covers B, 1/25, 1/40, 1/60, 1/100, 1/200 and 1/500 second. Flash synchronization is for FP flashbulbs only through the Canon side flash rail [1].

History

Development and Launch

The Canon II F was marketed in June 1953. Canon described it as a II AF with slow shutter speeds below 1/8 second, using the same slow-speed dial found on the Canon IV S and II D. This positioned the II F as a practical but lower-cost model for export markets, especially for buyers who wanted slow speeds but did not need X-sync or a 1/1000 second shutter [1].

Production Evolution

Leica Copies Japan, citing Peter Dechert, gives production from approximately July 1953 to March 1955. The same source states that about 11,900 Canon II F cameras were made, making it a more common model than some of the rarer Canon II-series variants but still less prominent than the IV Sb [2].

Serial Number Notes

Serial-number identification should be handled carefully. Leica Copies Japan gives the Peter Dechert serial range as 84380 to 166050, while found examples are recorded from approximately 9817x to 15920x. For LeicaLensList, the safest approach is to use the Dechert range while noting that observed examples cluster more narrowly [2].

Flash Synchronization

The Canon II F has a side flash rail and supports FP flashbulb synchronization only. It does not have X-sync for electronic flash and does not provide slow-speed sync for M-class flashbulbs. Leica Copies Japan notes that high-speed sync was available for FP bulbs at 1/25 second and above, which would have met many amateur flash requirements in the early 1950s [2].

Naming and Identification

The II F can be confused with the Canon II S and Canon II F2. The II S adds X-sync and slow-speed sync features, while the later II F2 belongs to the revised “2” generation with a different shutter-speed sequence. The II F is earlier and should be identified by its 1/500 second top speed, slow-speed dial without X marking, FP-only flash rail and serial range [2].

Leica Copies Japan notes that early II F cameras up to around serial number 12704x may have no model name marking, while later examples from around 13991x onward may show the model name on the film-loading diagram on the bottom of the shutter crate. Between those numbers, both marking styles may occur [2].

Collector Notes

For collectors, the Canon II F should be checked against the II AF, II S, IV S, IV Sb and II F2. The important identifying features are the universal LTM mount, separate slow-speed dial, lack of X-sync marking, 1/500 second top speed, FP-only side flash rail, bottom-loading construction and Canon’s rotating multi-magnification finder [1][2].

The Canon II F is less glamorous than the IV Sb, but it remains an interesting Canon LTM body because it combines slow speeds, coupled rangefinder focusing, Leica screw-mount compatibility and Canon’s distinctive variable finder in a relatively understated export model. It is also useful for LeicaLensList because many listings use inconsistent spellings such as Canon IIF, Canon II-F, Canon 2F or simply Canon II F.

For LeicaLensList, the main database name should be II F. Alternate search names such as II-F, IIF and Canon 2F should be stored as aliases or metadata, not as separate main camera entries.

Sources

• [1] Canon Camera Museum. II F. https://global.canon/en/c-museum/product/film22.html
• [2] Leica Copies Japan. Canon II-F. https://leica-copies-japan.com/Canon.html
• [3] Photoethnography.com. Canon IV Series of Rangefinders. https://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/CanonIV.html
• [4] Canon Classics. Canon II F, 1953. https://www.canonclassics.com/canon-ii-f/20-114/