Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Canon VI-T and VI-L

Canon · LTM mount · 24×36mm on 35mm film · 1958

Also known as: Canon VI-T · Canon VIT · Canon VI T · Canon 6T · Canon VI-L · Canon VIL · Canon VI L · Canon 6L · Canon VI

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
VI-T LTM 1958–1960 — No figure published
VI-L LTM 1958–1961 — No figure published
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • One speed dial on top, evenly spaced, and a three-position finder wheel: only the VI has both
  • VI-T: trigger and a taller top plate; VI-L: lever

VI-T:

  • Marketed September 1958, 99,500 yen (w/50mm f/1.2, Canon meter, magazine, case) 52,500 yen (body) · 995 g · 144 × 81 × 34 mm
  • Trigger wind in the baseplate; 995 g with the f/1.2; 5 mm taller than the VI-L

VI-L:

  • Marketed September 1958, 91,500 yen (w/50mm f/1.2, Canon meter, magazine, case) 79,800 yen (w/50mm f/1.8, Canon meter, magazine, case) · 940 g · 144 × 76 × 34 mm
  • Lever wind; 940 g body; the more popular of the two, and 'highly sought after' (museum)

Specifications

Format
24×36mm on 35mm film
Finder
Combined coincidence rangefinder and viewfinder, three positions: 0.65× for 35mm (28 mm effective base), 1.0× for 50mm (43 mm), 1.55× focusing position (65.5 mm); bright-line frames for 50 and 100mm with automatic parallax correction · automatic for the built-in frames; pin in the shoe for the universal finder parallax correction
Shutter
Horizontal metal-curtain focal-plane, single non-rotating dial · X, B, 1–1/1000 on one dial, even steps · flash sync FP and X at 1/55, automatic switching; bayonet terminal · self-timer
Film advance
Single-stroke trigger in the baseplate (VI-T) or top lever (VI-L)
Back
Hinged, swings open
Meter
None
Weight
940 g
Dimensions
144 × 76 × 34 mm
Country
Japan
Original price
99,500 yen (w/50mm f/1.2, Canon meter, magazine, case) 52,500 yen (body) (September 1958, Canon Camera Museum) (today ¥625,000)

What reviewers say

History

September 1958: the first Canon with a single non-rotating speed dial in even doubling steps, a metal-curtain shutter, and a finder that combined the three magnifications — 0.65× for a 35mm lens, life-size for a 50, 1.55× for focusing — with projected frames for 50 and 100mm that correct parallax by themselves. The VI-T winds with the baseplate trigger, the VI-L with a top lever and is 5 mm lower; the lever sold better, the museum says, and the VI-L is the one collectors want. ¥91,500 with the 50mm f/1.2, meter, magazine and case.

Davidde’s review calls the VI “arguably Canon’s crowning achievement in rangefinder camera design” — a life-size finder that suits the right-eyed and troubles the bespectacled, a trigger “pretty great once you get the hang of it,” a muted metal shutter, and about 19,000 of both made through 1961. The P of 1959 is this camera without the rotating finder, at half the price.

Expand Collapse

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $480 across 12 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $300–$580). Tracked since 2026-09-09, 2 days: unchanged from $480.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-09-11$480$300–$58012
2026-09-09$480$300–$58013

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Show 14 more listings

Listings updated 2026-09-11. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Canon 7 · Canon P (Populaire) · Canon VL and VL2 · Canon VT and VT de luxe

Lenses for this body: Canon 19mm f/3.5 · Canon 25mm f/3.5 · Canon 28mm f/2.8 · Canon 28mm f/3.5 · Canon 35mm f/1.5 · Canon 35mm f/1.8 · Canon 35mm f/2 · Canon 35mm f/2.8 · Serenar 35mm f/3.2 · Serenar 35mm f/3.5 · Canon 50mm f/1.2 · Canon 50mm f/1.4 · Canon 50mm f/1.5 · Canon 50mm f/1.8 · Serenar 50mm f/1.9 · Serenar 50mm f/2 · Canon 50mm f/2.2 · Canon 50mm f/2.8 · Serenar 50mm f/3.5 · Canon 85mm f/1.5 · Canon 85mm f/1.8 · Canon 85mm f/1.9 · Serenar 85mm f/2 · Canon 100mm f/2 · Canon 100mm f/3.5 · Serenar 100mm f/4 · Canon 135mm f/3.5 · Serenar 135mm f/4 · Canon 200mm f/3.5 · Canon 300mm f/4 · Canon 400mm f/4.5 · Canon 600mm f/5.6 · Canon 800mm f/8 · Canon 1000mm f/11

Sources (4)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this camera, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.