A couple of years ago, I came across a listing for the Canon L2 film rangefinder on a famous online auction site. I had never heard of this camera before, and I couldn't find much information about it from my usual online sources. So, I had to walk over to the studio and look it up in a physical book. At any rate, it looks like the L2 was mainly sold in the Japanese market from 1956-57. Apparently, just over 7000 copies were sold, so it is kind of rare. Although past the normal retirement age at this point, my copy still works like a champ. I like to shoot it with the Canon 50 mm f/1.8 lens attached. The top shutter speed is 1/500 s, which could be a bummer for some folks. The 'cool' feature is that the rangefinder has settings for the 35 mm and 50 mm focal lengths, as well as a position labeled RF. This gives you a magnified view for more precise focusing. Nice. Other than that, it is a solid, workman-like light tight box for making photographs, if that's your thang.
Candidly, I'm not much of a tennis player, though it is a way to burn a few calories and break a sweat. Finding these images of the local courts (now replaced with newer and better ones) was the most enjoyable part of the outing.
Tasting notes: Canon L2 rangefinder, Canon 50 mm f/1.8 lens, Kodak Tmax 100. Highly recommended.
