Canon IIb
The Canon IIb is a 35mm rangefinder camera produced by Canon and introduced in April of 1949. It uses the M39 threaded lensmount, the same mount as early Leica rangefinder cameras.
The IIb was the successor to Canon's previous SII model, and for a short time this camera was even referred to as the SIIb before it became known simply as the IIb. It uses a combined rangefinder and viewfinder, something Leica wouldn't accomplish until 1954 with the introduction of their M3 camera. The IIb also added an additional feature of variable magnification in its viewfinder. Via a switch under the rewind knob, the viewfinder could be set to "F" (.67x magnification), 1x or 1.5x. The higher magnification settings would be used for more critical focusing but could also be employed for composition with telephoto lenses (the 1x settings worked for 100mm lenses while 1.5x was appropriate for 135mm lenses).
Other features of the IIb included dual shutter speed dials with high speeds ranging from 1/30th to 1/500 (and Bulb) being located on the top dial with a slow speed dial on the front face of the camera. The slow speed dial had shutter speeds of 1/20th to 1 second. Like Leica cameras of the time, the IIb was a base-loading camera. The user removes the baseplate, loading film in through the bottom of the camera. A removable take-up spool is pulled out of the camera, film is attached to it and the spool and film can are both pushed back up into the camera.
The top of the IIb has an accessory shoe for holding auxiliary viewfinders, such as the one seen in the above image. It could also hold flashes and sync them with the shutter. The camera does not have a PC port for off-shoe synchronization.
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