Photographica Pages

An online guide to collectable cameras and related stuff

Canon Canonflex RM

The RM was the final model of Canonflex, and by far the most successful. It was designed to appeal to amateur photographers. Like the RP, it had a fixed prism, but the top deck of the camera was raised, reducing the prominence of the finder hump in the center. The clip on meter was abandoned in favor of a built in selenium cell, mounted on the front, with the meter needle visible through a window on the top.

. This was also the end of the trigger wind on the baseplate. The film advance was now a lever, protruding from the middle of the top plate. This, along with the raised top deck, give the camera a sleek, almost aerodynamic feel. The advance design also tended to allow dirt into the mechanism of the camera.

In all other respects, it was basically the same as the RP. It too, was available in black finish, and is rare in black.

The Canonflex RM was produced after Canon entered a marketing agreement with Bell & Howell, who became their US distributors. The combination of the cameras design, and Bell & Howell's promotion, pushed sales to 71,000 units, more than the first three models combined. It was put on the market in April 1962 and was produced until March 1964. Many examples are marked Bell & Howell/Canon, as were a few of the Canon 7 rangefinder cameras.

The camera in chrome with its new style of box.

The camera in black with the 58/1.2 lens.

Some of the paperwork that came with the camera.