History cameras are boxes that selectively let in light. the canon p is the boxest box of them all, just look at it.

Like the Nikon F there's JSDF versions of the Canon P complete with the sakura rollmark.

Handling ughhhh the recessed rewind knob is erotic. I had a decent bit of experience with rangefinders before buying the P. It's a very well-preportioned camera. The 1:1 viewfinder should be the main draw, there's very few equivalents that make it so easy to shoot with both eyes open. The 100mm/50mm framelines are plenty usable but the 35 is tricky with glasses. The circular focusing patch isn't such a nuisance although I still prefer rectangles. The Canon 7 does have the better overall finder though.

I still don't like how long the throw is on LTM lenses, Russian lenses included. Most are 180 degrees which feels shorter on SLRs. It makes focus tabs a great luxury. On the other hand infinity locks aren't so bad. I love Russian lenses because they are ridiculously light, maybe a third of what a Canon lens weighs.

Performance The main dish for this camera is the Canon f/1.4 lens that I purchased it with. I thought smaller lenses didn't do the lines of the camera body justice, and the 1.4's bulging proportions really round it out nicely. I don't shoot at large apertures often, so it was definitely an unnecessary purchase.

Industar-50・Industar-61L/D・Industar-26M・Canon 50mm f/2.8・Canon 50mm f/1.8

Conclusion But is it the camera? An experience so good it obscures the lack of a meter? hmm