Canon and Bell & Howell Dial 35 |
The Canon Dial 35 was an unconventional half-frame 35mm camera with clockwork automatic film advance. It was made in Japan by Canon from November 1963. The Dial 35 was also sold as the Bell & Howell Dial 35.
The body had an unusual "portrait" format rectangular shape, with a short, wide-diameter lens barrel containing the CdS meter photocells window around the 28mm lens. Rotating the lens barrel set the speed of the Seikosha shutter; the aperture was set automatically. A button below the viewfinder could be pulled out to give manual aperture control, for manual exposure settings or flash. Film speed was set on a scale around the meter window.
Focus was set on a lever around the top of the lens barrel, with a display inside the viewfinder.
There was a cylindrical handle at the bottom, which also wound the clockwork mechanism. On the (users) left is an accessory shoe. The film ran vertically, from the cassette at the top to the take-up spool at the bottom, giving a landscape-format 24×18mm frame when the camera is upright.
Dial 35-2[]
The 35-2 has a black nameplate at the top in place of the engraved name and a longer-lasting clockwork motor. Speed range is increased to 1000ASA, the meter uses a different battery and a hot shoe is added.
Canon Dial 35 – film path Below the orange label is the battery holder clip |
Specification[]
Canon Dial 35 – focus scale |
- Manufacturer: Canon
- Introduced: Nov 1963
- Film: 35mm 24×18mm Half-frame
- Shutter: Seikosha 1/30–1/250s, with Flash sync
- Film speed: 8–500 ASA
- Lens: Canon SE 28mm f/2.8 (5 elements in 3 groups), focus down to 0.8m
Links[]
- Dial 35 on Canon's Camera Museum
- Dial 35
- Dial 35-2 manual
- At www.collection-appareils.fr