the Canon P is a must-buy ... but be careful what lens you choose for it 

Love this camera. Was one of the cameras I learned to shoot on actually. The canon lenses for them are extremely sharp and clear. One day I used the M39mount Canon lens with my Leica M6 and after about half a roll the Lens broke.

I love my Canon P, been shooting with it for 3+ years, mainly street photography and as a walk around camera. Mine is super clean but it had a few small issues so I had it CLA'd by Kanto Camera and it literally runs now like a Swiss watch, buttery smooth and a joy to use. I have several Canon LTM lenses such as the Canon 50/1.4 which is great but the Canon 35/2 has been practically glued to it, simply a magic combination, that lens has such a lovely rendering. I have many samples on my IG. Ribsy, I highly recommend the Canon 35/2 for you, as a bonus it's also super small. Cheers!

Excellent review! This camera was my gateway into a fixation using rangefinders over SLRs.

One of the greatest 35mm cameras ever made. I have owned one for about three years now and I love it. It used to be known as the "poor man's Leica", but I think this does it a disservice. It's beatifully made, robust, reliable and compatible with countless m39/ltm lenses. I have the legendary Canon 35mm f2 mounted to mine. It's *brutally* sharp. I also have a collapsible Industar 50mm lens. I bought the camera, paid the import duty, bought the Canon lens, paid import duty on that, then paid for the camera to get serviced and working like new, and it *still* cost less than a second-hand M3 body. They're a joy to use.

Always wanted a Canon, someday I will try one out! The more SLR build style (the film wind etc) compared to the Leica IIIs might make this a bit more fun day to day for some. The Canon lenses have a good reputation for being much cheaper and almost as good as Leica lenses which might be why their prices aren't that low. I got one of these Jupiter 1s!!!! I use it on my Leica III-F and I am still working through a roll but it is a lot of fun to use! (albeit I use an external viewfinder for it but hey).

The P quite literally stands for Populaire, meaning common/popular.

Great video! I’ve been looking to get a Canon P, and this video was definitely helpful!

I've looked at these many times.. happy with my CL so I'm not gonna jump but your review sure tempts me! That little lens is really cute too

I have several Canon rangefinders, from a IVSB to a Canon 7, and the P is tied for my favorite along with the 6L (the P was designed as a more budget-friendly version of the 6L). It is a beautiful camera (just look at that cool rewind crank!). I've been fortunate in that I have found a few Canon LTM lenses, including 50mm, 35mm, and 85mm. The problem with the LTM Canon lenses is that most of them suffer from non0removable haze that definitely affects the photos. I have also found a Nikkor LTM 50mm that is great, as well as a Minolta that is LTM that I tend to use with my Minolta 35IIB. I also use a couple of LTM Voigtlander lenses on both the Canons and on my Leica M cameras (with an LTM-to-M adapter). The problem with that Jupiter is that the rear element is so deep and wide that it hits the baffles inside the camera. This is only a problem on the wide-angle Jupiter lenses. The 50mm should work fine. One other advantage to the Canon rangefinders is the great way you can easily swith the field of view in the viewfinder by rotating the prism dial.

I have a couple film Leicas already, but I still want one of these. I think the form factor is part of it. It just has a cool vintage look to it. Another reason is that I also have the Canon 50 f/1.4 lens that I use when the light gets kinda low. If you don't have that lens already, i'd highly recommend picking one up if you can find one at a good price. I sometimes think I want a Leica 50 f/1.4 lens, but then I just look at any photo i've taken from the "Japanese Summilux" and the Leica GAS goes away..(and it saves me loads of money..lol).. the lens is just so good. The nickname is well deserved IMO.

great video Ribsy, have a good holiday and a great new year, look forward to more content! Was wondering if you have any prints for sale?

Nice review, coincidentally I have been "watching" a P on Ebay. I think you made up my mind for me. Thanks.

Thank you Sir! Been wanting this for a long time.

Thanks for the video. I didn't do as well as I had hoped on my eBay purchase. It's a clean camera but ended up having shutter capping issues. I sent it off for a CLA, can't wait to get it back.

Cool review. Canon made lots of interesting screw mount rangefinders Another great offering from Canon for those who are looking for "Leica experience" but on tighter budgets is Canon IV SB2: - the same integrated composing + focusing finder (not separated like most screw mount rangefinders do) - max shutter speed of 1/1000 One particular thing about this camera which you won't find on the Leica is adjustable finder magnification. By default it shows you the PoV of 50mm. If you want to be more precise, it can also show the PoV of 100mm and 135mm lens.

Love my canon p! I use the 50mm 1.4 and 35 2.8 both from canon. The only thing I dislike about the camera is the strap lugs. They sit eay to far forward and make the camera tip backwards. But it can be solved with a half case with built in lugs.

I've had an M39 mount Canon 50/1.2 for just a couple weeks and I'm in love with it. It has some massive issues, it's hazy in strong light, it's generally very soft and has massive vignette, but it's still gorgeous! I never thought I'd say this, but it will replace my Contax Planar 50/1.4!

Great video bro! I have this exact same combination and have done tons of videos about using it. My Jupiter 12 slightly rubs the top light baffles in the camera body but I just slightly bent them up so they wouldn’t contact the lens anymore and now it’s great!

I have many film cameras but the Canon P is my favorite! What a beautiful design!❤️

That was an awesome revie Bro! I have a Canon P too and it is one of my favorites amongst my arsenal of analog cameras! Cheers!

That Jupiter-12 is a copy of a pre-War Zeiss Biogon -- the deeply protruding rear element is very distinctive. It's optically excellent. It's also available in Contax mount, but in that mount you have to be careful -- a Contax IIa or IIIa has a thicker shutter than the pre-War Contax II and III the lens was originally designed for, and because the shutter in those cameras is a metal "roller blind" rather than cloth like most Leica clones, it *can* scratch that rear element (most likely, however, if you find a Biogon or Jupiter-12 with a scratched up rear glass, it was due to careless handling). I have three Jupiter-12 -- one Contax mount that came to me badly scratched, one disassembled one in M39 mount that I bought with the idea of swapping the rear groups, and one more in Contax mount that I've used several times on my Kiev 4.

I love this camera and have used it quite a bit. I have been collecting and using Canon rangefinders for about five years, and if I had known how expensive repairs on the cameras and especially the lenses are, I think I would have gone down another road.

Cool camera ... I have been using Soviet cameras with the Leica screw mount ... got me thinking I might want a Canon P body!!!

Canon P and 7s owner here. For me, it's the P for sure. Better handling (the enclosed rewind lever is genius), brighter viewfinder and sleek like no other... This may have been a "popular" model back then, but it's so well built , sturdy and pretty that it would be top class if launched today.

Excellent video again. I have Canon P also. It's excellent camera. It has amazing built quality. Film winding lever has one of smoothest actions of any film camera. Few things to mention about Canon P. It has stainless steel shutter curtains that are prone to have wrinkles. Wrinkles have no effect to shutter's function so they can be ignored in most cases. It's hard to find Canon P with wrinkle free shutter. Using 50mm soviet lenses may cause back focusing problems especially near distances with fully open aperture. I've used Jupiter 8 and Industar 61 lenses and both have back focusing problem. Soviet lenses are adjusted for soviet cameras and they have slightly different distance to the filmplane than other m39 mount cameras.

One negative if considering the P as opposed to earlier models concerns the shutter. For the 7. 7s and P, Canon designed a new and more complex shutter, which also operates under higher spring tension than the shutters in the earlier models. The problem is that as this shutter has aged, the higher speeds slow down. they can be adjusted somewhat, but many (most?) require parts to bring them back into spec, and there haven't been any parts for more than 40 years. I learned this when I had a Canon 7 CLA'ed and got the news that the speeds above 1/250 were out of spec and 1/250 was on the edge of "too slow". No solution available, so I got a chart of the true speeds set by 250, 500, and 1000 (this nearly a stop slow) and learned to live with it. The repairman I used was then recognized in the US as one of the best Canon repair guys in the country, so I accepted his advice. My advice would be to look at a VIT or VIL body instead of the P. These used to be much more expensive than the P, but social media has been gushing over the P for a few years now, so its price had more than doubled. It no longer has much of a price advantage. Models up through the VI use a shutter much like Leica and are quite easy to keep serviced. The VI models also have a better viewfinder than the P.

Thanks for the video. In what way do you feel that the rangefinder/viewfinder is better than the Canon 7? Clearer patch? Larger viewfinder maybe?

I had this camera briefly, and I regret selling it! It is truly a wonderful camera especially with the fantastic Leica thread mount lenses Canon made for this! I would definitely buy one of these again and keep it forever if I find one!

I chose the canon 7 over this one and I bet they’re extremely similar, I’m so happy with the camera and also the jupiter 12, at first I didn’t like it but it’s starting to grow on me!

I purchased a Canon iii type-a thanks to this video! Although based on the Barnack Leica RF bodies, I found a copy in great condition for $70 USD and couldn’t turn that down. I do want to get a P or C7 but they’re both getting pricey now. Great video.

Hello. I would like to ask for your advice. Right now I'm interested in the Canon VI and P. I can't decide since they're both beautiful. Which one should I choose? And is there a 50 mm 1.4 chrome lens and is it expensive? Or is there any substitute?

Late 50s to early 60s. Mine is a beautiful brassed, black paint version from 1960. Solid camera with a metal curtain and 100% viewfinder. The VF can be hard to use with glasses and a 35mm lens. My biggest complaint used to be the lack of a shutter lock, but if you slightly rotate the collar around the shutter button away from « A », you can toss it in a bag without losing a frame.

Thanks for this nice video! Bought a Canon P last week. It came with the 35mm f1.8 Canon lens and I must say it is a wonderful combination. Though, the 35mm framelines are really hard to see, especially if you wear glasses. For me, that’s not a huge deal, I just compose with the 50 framelines and everything else is extra. Take care everyone and take some pictures:)

Hello. I would like some advice. I can't decide between VL and P which one should I choose. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each one? And the 50mm chrome lens, which one should I choose, 1.2 or 1.4?

There are so many variations with the Jupiter lenses. I have the Canon 35mm f2 LTM and a 50mm f1.4 LTM and love them both. Both for digital and especially film. Don’t use them much since I’ve got nice modern Voigtländer lenses.

35 mm framelines, 1:1 viewfinder (allows for both-eyes-open shooting), and a much more practical film door/loading mechanism. The Canon P is just an ingenious piece of engineering and, in my honest opinion after using both, is a superior camera to the Leica M3.

It is my understanding that later copies of the Jupiter 12 fit better in Canon rangefinder cameras than earlier copies. I have a Canon 7 with later, all black Jupiter 12 (serial # starts 77) and I have zero fitment issues. I also have never experienced that tight focusing ring issue that Ribsy mentioned either. My lens makes no contact on any part of my Canon 7 internals. I know the Canon 7 is not the Canon P, but its basically the same camera. The main differences are lack of cold shoe because the 7 has a light meter, and the switchable viewfinder frame lines that the P does not have.

You can get the TTartisan light meter mount on top of canon p .

Great looking camera, if only Canon would make this rangefinder style camera in digital without video just all manual would be great. Can I suggest a lens to you for this camera - The Canon 50mm f1.9 collapsible is so sharp I use it on a FUJI XH1 and it is amazing lens. It must be the best bargain out there and it's sharper than the Leica it was supposed to copy.

Built in 1959-1960, only the Canon 7 was more popular. Canon built a lot of them. I have a Canon L-1 on my way soon, hopefully it passes the film test. The Canon rangefinders have a great reliability record, very innovative by the V and VI.

Great overview, thanks for putting this together. Would be great to see some of what you've shot using this camera. :)

Ribsy, I've been shooting with the Canon P for the past 4 years. Who needs a Leica M3 when this camera exists. That said this camera was introduced to the market in 1959 and if memory serves me, it was the most popular rangefinder ever sold. The additional beauty of this camera is that any LTM lens out there can mount to this camera whether it's Leica, Voigtlander, or any of the Russian Jupiter lenses which I see you have on your Canon P. Another tidbit of trivia about this camera is that it's literally bulletproof. It was designed not only for the casual consumer it was designed for photojournalists especially those who shot on the battlefield of various wars during those times, namely the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. This is by far my favourite 35mm film camera.

In terms of 35mm LTM lens pricing, the Jupiter 12 is the only budget option. I bought mine for $80, and they typically for $75-120. You might find a Canon Serenar 35mm f/3.2 for under $200. Then, the Canon 35mm f/2.8 usually costs $200-250, while the Canon 35mm f/2 is rarely less than $300. From there you could go with a Voigtlander Color Skopar f/2.5 for around $350, or a Leitz 35mm f/3.5 Elmar for $400-500. Part of the reason why nice 35mm LTM lenses are so expensive is because people bought them up because they were cheaper, then adapted them to Leica M-mount. Now, there are fewer more affordable LTM options for people actually using LTM cameras. For the price, I think my Jupiter 12 performs well. It's not a perfect lens at all. But do I think my photos would be 3 or 4 times better if I bought a more expensive 35mm LTM lens, hello no!

Oh！ Beautiful conditions. Jupiter - 12 ＆ Canon 🇯🇵 P ・・・end. Mr. Ribsy in a new cap 👍️

Thanks for your video! I have a Canon II-d and strangely enough, my Industar lenses mount perfectly but the Jupiter 50mm lens won't screw in all the way! The same lens works fine on my Zorki rangefinder. I wonder if all LTMs were not made equal?

such a good looking camera too

German, Japanese, and Russian LTM lenses all have slightly different focus registration, it's best to stick within the same country body/lenses for these cameras.

I have just bought one and it should arrive in a day or so.

If it's useful to anyone else my Jupiter 12 doesn't have any issues with my Canon P. It's a 1983 black version (serial starts with 83), I did hear that the more modern J12s are more likely to have this issue and this would tally with that. It's a weird lens though, the aperture ring will be a deal breaker for some people and the large rear element means it can't be adapted for my M43 cameras

did you calibrate your canon p with the jupiter 12? I read somewhere that most russian lenses are not calibrated for canon bodies.

It's an amazing camera to live with. So versatile.

Important to note the viewfinder is 1:1 with widest frame lines at 50mm (same as Leica M3), if you're concerned about accurate framing with wider focal lengths then the Canon 7 would be the more logical choice with its 35mm framelines.

I highly recommend the Helios-103 Lens with the M39 Mount. Very cheap lense with a very beautiful bokeh and very sharp. Also very cheap. I own this for my Kiev 4 AM and it's beautiful.

I own a Canon 7, I preferred vs P for the viewfinder which is better to focus. I suggest two gems Canon 50mm f1.4 and 35mm f.2.

I have the model 7 what’s some lens I can use besides the canon ones

The Canon P is L39 mount otherwise known as LTM (Leica thread mount or LSM Leica screw mount. Its also referred to as M39 but not as in the Russian version of M39. L39, LTM OR Leica M39 has a slightly different groove width in the screw mount to the russian M39 so only a couple of Russian lenses come in leica m39 like the Jupiter 8 i think. They usually say M39 LTM. Best of to double check with the seller first. Never ever use collapsible lenses or the Jupiter 12 with a Canon P. Both will damage the shutter permanently. Do your compatibility research online, theres a mountain of info on the Canon P and its compatible and incompatible lenses. Lastly as for focusing, some russian compatible lenses have different focusing parts which can lead to a lack of back focusing.

The problem I have with the Canon P is the lens choice. I have a Canon 50mm f1.8. It's dreadful. Beautifully built but the IQ just is not there. I have tried some of the Soviet lenses but although the IQ is better, I just don't like them. I would like a Voigtlander lens but all of them are expensive. I understand the 50mm canon f1.4 is good and somewhere between the price of a Soviet or Voigtlander lens so I might have to try one. As you say though, the camera body is great if you like a rangefinder.

The Jupiter 12 is probably the best 35mm lens for the money. The Canon 35mm lenses are also great, but vary a bit in performance, the 35/1.8 is a good deal, but is not as good a lens as the Jupiter 12, the Canon 35/f2 and f/2.8 lenses are a bit better. The Canon 35/f1.5 is comparable in performance to the best Leica lenses, but nowadays it is very expensive. The Canon P is not quite as smooth as a Leica screw-mount camera, but it is easier to use, and also easier to maintain and repair.

I have a Canon P. I love it. I use a Jupiter 8 f2.0 50mm lens. as good as it gets..........................................

Can you put a L39 lens on the Canon P and the focusing is still correct?

Most Canon LTM lenses are inexpensive gems but their prices had climbed since the beginning of the pandemic. Get them now while you still can!

How do you find the viewfinder compared to the 7? I want to buy one, but I'm on a impas between the P and the 7

im doing streets with my Olympus OM-1 + Zuiko 50 f/1.4... damn, that thing was a tank too... could knock out someone who try to stole it and ended up faint...

What the difference between a hot and a cold shoe mount?

The accuracy of this title is unmatched

The price varies enormously on eBay. While they are cheaper than Leica M cameras, Canon Ps are much closer in price to Leica screw mount cameras.

Nice,cheap and tank! I have one in a mint condition with 50mm f1.4 they called it Japanese Summilux. 👍🏼

To be honest, the lens problem probably has more to do with the quality control in the former Soviet Union. Also the M39 lens from Russia are built to 52.4mm standard vs a 51.6mm standard of Leica (and Canon etc). Since the Russian lens have a tolerance of +/- 1mm some will fit no problem. Other won't.

The part in the lens rubbing against the camera is actually NOT METAL. It's the rear element of the lens that is painted black to avoid reflections. That lens is a Zeiss biogon copy, originally intended for kiev/Contax cameras that have different lens mounts, shutters and register lengths. When the Soviets adapted them to LTM mount they only worried about their zorki/FEDs.

Man making me miss mine I sold in the process of getting a m4 😅

Swing that camera ….could be a weapon !

Nice! :)

You could always remortgage your house and buy the Canon 50mm/f0.95 lens, in mint condition or unused :) :P

My silver J12 _will_not_ screw all the way in on my Canon P. From my non-scientific research it's the "newer" black J12s with the smaller rear element. Incidentally I have a J12 in Contax mount that came with my Kiev and will not fit a real Contax!

Looks like a Leica m6 budget

They have to be plenty in the US, why importing from Japan? They came out when the Jap. camera industry broke into the American market. In Europe we are not so fortunate. Japanese cameras began to take over from German producers a decade later and they did with SLR, not by the then much outdated rangefinders.

Those Russian lenses are wack . Try getting a Nikon ltm lense I got a 35mm for a great price ( they didn’t know what they had ) best lens I’ve shot on a p

Its really great quality - no reason to struggle to buy a Leica when these exist.

Its not a design flaw with anything, that lens doesn't fit properly, . thats why there are many actual professional known photographers that know what they are talking about that warn people not to use the J12, other russian lenses and collapsible lenses with the Canon P because of the flange distance. youres is the version with the small rear element but unless you educate your viewers about this they might end up with the large rear element without knowing and ruin their gear. Thats why its important that you first do thorough research and learn yourself.

My dude it's like 200 bucks now

Just save for a Leica . The range finder on these camera back then were horrible compared to leicas. If it’s not a Leica, shoot an old Nikon slr , they’re superior and cover 100%

You are leading your viewers down a path of equipment damage and monetary waste, You didnt know that the canon p is an L39 MOUNT or the differences between the different canon rangefinders.. respect your viewers enough to do a days research online.

Also, the Leica has that dumb way of loading film, Canon does it the normal way.

That IS a sharp lens youre just not using it correctly. Sharp images are 90 percent technique and ten percent lens, thats a fact. As for clean that also depends on technique not the lens. Youve got to thoroughly learn photography first before reviewing equipment because this video ha basic misconceptions and guesses .

99 percent of cameras are perfect for portraits its the lenses that you would or wouldnt use for portraits.