[Leica] OT Heliar Vehicle (Canon!)

[Doug Cooper <visigoth@echonyc.com>]

Well, I've found what I think perhaps the ideal body for the Heliar 15mm
and Snapshot Skopar:  it's a Canon IVSB from about 1952.  $300, in
mint-/ex++ condition.  The viewfinder on this particular model is dim, and
takes some squinting (although it has three choices of magnification,
which is impressive); of course, I will not be using the viewfinder.  

*Everything else* about the Canon is superlative:  fit and finish,
styling, size.  I met a thread mount afficionado in the store who owns a
number of Canons and Leicas IIIs, and said (heresy) that the Canon
requires less in the way of adjustment over the years.  The shutter speeds
seem good, and the curtain is pristine.

I'm not thrilled about having to cut the film leader to load, but this is
of course a problem across the board with these cameras.

My sense is that this is as good a vintage body as you'll find in thread
mount, if you plan to be attaching Voigtlander/Cosina auxiliary finders.  
(It's also an historically significant model:  world's first x sync!)  
The IVSB-2 has a couple of improvements that might be nice:  you can set
the shutter speed before cocking; speeds are in the current 30/60/125 etc.
array; but these seem relatively insignificant.

Within five minutes of purchase, I was walking down the street with the
Skopar and finder attached, and a fellow pedestrian said, "nice camera."