C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →
slr-35mm
The Canon FX (1964) is the camera that introduced Canon's F-series interchangeable-lens SLR system and the FL bayonet mount. It is a fully mechanical camera with a cloth focal-plane shutter and stop-down TTL-adjacent metering via an external CdS cell mounted on the front of the prism housing. The FX represents Canon's first serious bid to compete with Nikon and Pentax for professional and advanced-amateur 35mm SLR buyers. It was a short-production model, quickly followed by the stripped-down FP, but it established the lens mount and design language carried through to the FD era.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →C41
Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
Develop 35mm film
Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
About this camera
Canon's founding F-series SLR body - the FL-mount platform that launched a pro line.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Canon FL |
| Years | 1964–~1966 |
| Shutter | 1s – 1/1000s + B, mechanical horizontal cloth |
| Flash sync | ~1/60s (X-sync) |
| Meter | External CdS, coupled, stop-down |
| Modes | Manual |
| Mechanical fallback | Yes - full without battery |
| Battery | 1x PX625 mercury (meter only) |
Canon introduced the FX in 1964 alongside the FL lens mount, replacing the earlier R-series and its R-mount. The FL mount used a modified bayonet with a stop-down metering approach: the aperture had to be manually stopped down to the taking aperture for a meter reading, then reopened for bright viewing. This was a limitation Canon addressed in the later FD mount (1971) with open-aperture metering. The FX was the flagship of the early F-series; the FP (1964) was the entry-level companion lacking the meter. The FX was replaced by the Canon FT in 1966, which improved the metering system with the QL (Quick Load) film-loading mechanism. The F-series culminated in the Canon F-1 (1971), a professional system body still respected today.
The Canon FX is historically significant as the starting point of Canon's interchangeable SLR system. It introduced the FL mount, which was in turn superseded by the FD mount - but FL lenses mount on FD bodies (in stop-down mode), making the FX part of a continuous lens lineage running from 1964 to 1992. For collectors, the FX represents the earliest Canon SLR that takes interchangeable lenses in a system that actually had long-term support. For shooters, it is primarily a collector item; its stop-down metering workflow is cumbersome compared to any FD-era body.
Canon FL mount. FL lenses can also be used on later Canon FD-mount bodies in stop-down metering mode. Native FL glass includes 50/1.4, 50/1.8, 35/2.5, 100/3.5, 135/3.5 and longer telephoto options. The FX accepts the Canon Auto-Up close-up lens system and Canon FL bellows. FL lenses do not meter at open aperture - require stop-down to reading position before each shot.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
View profile →C41
Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
View profile →