Topic: I just picked up...

[Francois]

Also sold as a Canon Dial 35 iirc.

Yep, it's the same thing but with American branding.
I must admit that to this day, I still consider it one of the most interesting and beautiful cameras ever made.
The industrial design aspect is just fascinating and the arrangement of the parts just good to the eye.
Who needs good ergonomics when it looks this good 😁

[Indofunk]

That looks really cool!

[Phil Snaps]

I picked up an Agfa Isolette II. I didn't know if it was in good condition, only that the shutter worked. I thought I could always use the shutter for one of my frankencamera projects. But it looks pretty good, door is smooth, the bellow has repairs, so I will shoot a test roll someday!

[Francois]

Don't you just hate it when you buy something for hacking and it turns out it's actually too good to do so?

[Bryan]

I picked up an Agfa Isolette II. I didn't know if it was in good condition, only that the shutter worked. I thought I could always use the shutter for one of my frankencamera projects. But it looks pretty good, door is smooth, the bellow has repairs, so I will shoot a test roll someday!

What, the grease isn’t solidified!  That’s a rare find. 

[Phil Snaps]

Don't you just hate it when you buy something for hacking and it turns out it's actually too good to do so?

Well it was a good surprise, but I hate to dismantle a working camera so I'll have to find a shutter somewhere else 

What, the grease isn’t solidified!  That’s a rare find.

I has probably been CLA'ed at some point.

[Francois]

Yesterday I got my hands on a nice Canon EX.
I always wanted to get a camera that uses the FD mount and I thought I had found the holy grail... but there was something weird about it. I couldn't figure out how to remove the lens.
It turns out that this is not an FD mount camera! It's an EX mount camera... which makes this all even more puzzling.
The EX mount was a failed design by Canon that was produced for just one year. And lets just say that when they came out with this, they probably were hitting the sake pretty hard.
The camera has a fixed focusing mount with a fixed rear lens element. The lenses are just the front optics set on an m39 screw mount... but not Leica compatible.
It's got a movable prong that can lock on the focus in order to get automatic flash.
And the lens has no aperture setting! Instead, there is a dial around the rewind knob that moves a needle in the viewfinder to set the aperture (f/1.8 to f/16).
The camera is entirely mechanical (1/8 to 1/500).

Mine came with the 35mm, 50mm and 125mm lenses. They also made the 95mm which is missing.
Not too shabby for a whole 10$ at a charity shop.

[Indofunk]

That's crazy! So basically you're stuck with this exact kit, unless by some miracle another EX lens pops up somewhere 😁

[Francois]

That's pretty much it.
At first I thought it came with a bunch of lens adapters. But it turns out it wasn't the case.
I'll definitely have to do a bit more research on this thing as it is really a fascinating piece of kit, albeit not a convenient one.

I did look at the models they made and it is essentially a Canon FP with a fixed lens... or at least it looks like that. It is the the successor to the Canon EX EE.

I wonder if there isn't a way I can use this to add some home-made lenses?

[Bryan]

That’s similar to the way the lenses work on the Retina IIIc, but with a leaf shutter that makes sense to leave the rear element attached.  With a focal plane shutter it doesn’t make sense. 

[Francois]

As far as I'm concerned, nothing on this thing makes sense.
Putting the aperture on the rewind button? That was definitely a new one for me!