Canon ORIGINAL (1959)

A breech-lock bayonet lens mount introduced with Canon's first 35mm SLR camera.

Overview

The Canon ORIGINAL is the lens mount on the Canonflex, Canon's first 35mm SLR. It came out in March 1959. It's a breech-lock bayonet mount, and it was Canon's way into the professional SLR market. The later R, FL, and FD mount systems grew out of it.

Specifications

Mount Type	Breech-lock bayonet
Film Format	35mm
Image Size	36 mm x 24 mm
Shutter Speeds	1s to 1/1000 + B
Standard Lens	Super-Canomatic R 50mm f/1.8
Film Advance	Bottom lever
Viewfinder	Removable pentaprism
Mirror Lockup	Not available

Design

To mount a lens, you turn a locking ring on the lens until it locks to the body. Matching red dots show the alignment. The removable pentaprism slides into place on backward-facing rails. The camera has a shutter lock around the shutter release, and it includes a self-timer. The lenses have an automatic diaphragm, but depth of field preview is manual, done with a secondary f-stop ring.

Context

The Canonflex and its R mount launched in March 1959, the same month as the Nikon F. It was Canon's first step into the 35mm SLR market. The build was solid, and it had a removable prism and a high-speed shutter. At launch, though, it had no all-automatic diaphragm system and no wide-angle lens options. It was discontinued after five months with approximately 17,000 units produced. The Canonflex R2000 followed in 1960. The mount looks a lot like the later FL and FD systems, but it isn't fully compatible with them because the rear lens connections differ.

Market

Collectors increasingly appreciate the Canonflex for its craftsmanship and for being Canon's first SLR. In practice, the lens mount system and the bottom-mounted film advance were seen as less convenient. Canonflex lenses are noted to have a higher incidence of mechanical issues than their contemporaries.