Canon II F

Canon II F

The Canon II F, also written Canon II-F, is a 35mm 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, M39 or Leica screw mount. It accepts Canon screw-mount lenses as well as other compatible 39mm screw-mount rangefinder lenses [1].

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. Canon’s official specification describes the finder as rotatable to one of three magnifications. This type of Canon finder is commonly associated with approximate 50mm, 100mm and magnified rangefinder viewing modes [1].

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 more common than some of the rarer Canon II-series variants but 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. The safest wording is to use the reported 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 synchronization was available for FP bulbs at 1/25 second and above [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 MODEL II-F on the film-loading diagram inside the camera. Between those numbers, both marking styles may occur [2].

Collector Notes

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 threaded 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 screw-mount 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.

Common title variations include Canon II F, Canon II-F, Canon IIF, Canon 2F, Canon II F Rangefinder and Canon II F LTM. These should be treated as alternate names for the same base camera unless photos or serial details indicate another model.

The Canon II F should be treated as a separate LTM camera entry because its export-market position, FP-only flash synchronization and pre-“2” shutter-speed sequence distinguish it from the Canon II S and Canon II F2.

Sources

• [1] Canon Camera Museum. II F. https://global.canon/en/c-museum/product/film22.html
• [2] Leica Copies Japan. Canon Rangefinder Cameras, Canon II-F. https://leica-copies-japan.com/Canon.html
• [3] Canon Camera Museum. II F2. https://global.canon/en/c-museum/product/film27.html
• [4] Canon Classics. Canon II F, 1953. https://www.canonclassics.com/canon-ii-f/20-114/