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.
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slr-35mm
The Canon Pellix QL is a variant of the original 1965 Canon Pellix, adding the Quick Load (QL) film-loading mechanism that Canon was standardizing across its line in the mid-1960s. Like the original Pellix, it uses a fixed, semi-transparent pellicle mirror rather than the hinged reflex mirror found on virtually every other SLR. This means light reaches both the viewfinder and the film plane simultaneously, with no mirror blackout during exposure. The trade-off is a small but measurable light loss to the film. The camera accepts Canon FL-mount lenses and includes a through-the-lens spot meter unusual for its 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.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
The Pellix's Quick Load successor — same fixed pellicle mirror, now with Canon's QL film-loading system.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Canon FL (FD backwards-compatible, stop-down metering) |
| Shutter | 1s – 1/1000s, mechanical horizontal cloth |
| Flash sync | ~1/60s |
| Mirror | Fixed pellicle (semi-transparent) |
| Meter | Spot, CdS |
| Battery | 1x PX625 / MR9 (for meter only) |
| Focus | Manual, microprism |
Canon introduced the original Pellix in 1965 as the world's first production SLR with a fixed pellicle mirror. The QL variant followed in 1966 with Canon's Quick Load film-loading system, which guided the film leader automatically and was designed to reduce user loading errors. Both Pellix models use the FL mount, the lens standard Canon employed between the original R mount (introduced with the Canonflex in 1959) and the FD mount (introduced in 1971). FL lenses can be used on FD-mount cameras with stop-down metering, and FD lenses can be physically mounted on FL-mount bodies.
The Pellix QL is a footnote to the more famous original Pellix, but the QL mechanism is worth noting: Canon's Quick Load system was a direct precursor to the loading approaches later adopted in mass-market cameras throughout the industry. The fixed-mirror approach the camera demonstrates would not see mainstream adoption again until Canon revisited it with the EOS RT (1989) and the EOS-1N RS (1995), the latter a professional body capable of 10 fps specifically because the mirror never moved. The Pellix QL thus sits at the beginning of a thread that Canon would eventually pull all the way to the professional market.
Canon FL-mount lenses are the native fit. A small number of original FL lenses cover the most common focal lengths: 19mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 58mm, 85mm, 100mm, 135mm, and several longer telephoto and zoom options. FL-to-FD adapters do not exist in a meaningful sense because both mounts share the same flange distance; FL and FD lenses cross-mount with mechanical compatibility but without automatic diaphragm coupling on mismatched bodies. Canon R-mount lenses from the Canonflex era can also be adapted with limitations.
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Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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