Canon EX Auto
Canon EX Auto with lens image by Derek von Essen (Image rights) |
The EX Auto is a 35 mm SLR camera made by Canon in 1972.[1] Its most characteristic feature is a rear lens-group fixed on the camera, to which any of a small selection of front groups can be attached (by a simple screw fitting).
McKeown[2] mistakenly lists the EX Auto as a name variant of the Canon EXEE, and dates it to 1969, the date the EX-EE was introduced. It is actually a modest improvement on the EX-EE. Like the EX-EE, the Auto offers through-the-lens metering and shutter-priority AE, but unlike the previous model, the camera detects the maximum aperture of the different lens front-groups (the EX-EE requires manual setting of the maximum aperture to f/1.8 or f/3.5 at the film-speed dial). The shutter speed is set on a dial next tot he release button. The aperture is set not on the lens, but on a dial around the rewind crank, between f/1.8 and f/16; there are also 'Auto' and 'Off' positions. The aperture set is displayed in the viewfinder on a scale with a needle.
Clearly, the fixed rear group must have been something of a constraint of the design of the lenses. The available lens front-groups are:
- Standard lens: EX 50 mm f/1.8
- Wide angle: EX 35 mm f/3.5
- Portrait: EX 95 mm f/3.5
- Telephoto: EX 125 mm f/3.5
The telephoto lens was introduced for the Auto.
The camera has a focal plane shutter with cloth blinds, travelling horizontally. It offers shutter speeds from 1/8 to 1/500 second plus 'B'. X-synchronisation for flash is at 1/60 second; there is a cold shoe and a PC socket. Another new feature (not offered on the EX-EE and quite remarkable for its time) was automatic adjustment of the dedicated Speedlite D flashgun for the focus distance.
The meter requires a 1.3V mercury battery. However, the shutter speeds are timed mechanically, so the camera can be used without one (without metering).
Like the EX-EE, the Auto has Canon's QL (Quick Load) simplified loading feature.
Notes
- ↑ Canon Camera Museum listing for the EX Auto.
- ↑ McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). p181.