If you’ve been thinking of taking a Canon F-1 into a war zone – or, at least, somewhere a little more off the beaten track than in the park on the weekend – then this outfit might be just the ticket.
A German seller is listing this heavy-duty housing protecting a Canon F-1, once used by the Canadian armed forces.
The bright red outer housing covers a second, softer moulded housing to enclose the camera with attached motordrive. A red-leather F-1 with motordrive is also included in the set (but no lens, however). The auction, which does not appear to have an end date, has a But It Now price of €8,800 ($9,960) though the seller, based in Frankfurt in Germany, also appears to be open to offers.
The listing reads: “From the well-known former Prüfert collection, known for being the worldwide largest collection of rare to unique F-1 variations, we offer this camera here.
“Including second black protective housing, most probably even rarer than the red one (though anyway highest rarity grade) or prototype, with different locking mechanism and sitting a little tight.
“Surely unique chance for your collection.”
There are no further details of which branch of the Canadian armed forces it served with, but the housing looks like it was designed just short of stopping enemy bullets.
The Prüfert collection was amassed by German collector Detlef Prüfert, who spent some 40 years collecting a bewildering array of Canon F-1 bodies and accessories. His cameras included limited editions for the US Navy and US Coast Guard, as well as another version especially made for Japanese press photographers.
In 2012, the collector announced on the photography forum Photo.net that he was wanting to sell the collection, because no-one in his family was interested in keeping it.
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
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I remember those Canon F1’s very well. They were used by aircrew on RCAF CP-140 aircraft.