Chinon made its entry into the autofocus SLR market with two infrared rangefinder lenses equipped with onboard power: first a 50mm lens, followed by a zoom lens featuring electrical contacts to relay information to the body. There were plans for a third generation powered by the body, but this never materialized.

In 1988, a year after the introduction of Canon EOS and Pentax KAF bayonets with full electrical coupling and feedback, Chinon released the CP-9AF with its proprietary bayonet. It maintained mechanical compatibility with the Pentax K bayonet used by Chinon since 1979, but now featured entirely electric couplings for motorized lenses, similar to EOS mounts.

Non-dedicated K lenses could benefit from autofocus assist and capture mode (where the camera triggers when the subject is in focus). Autofocus was somewhat slow, and the lens motors were noisy, but this independent evolution of the K mount remained intriguing. However, this camera would be the only one of its family, and only three dedicated zoom lenses were marketed, as Chinon later preferred to develop bridge cameras like the GS or Genesis series.

The CP-9 AF offered comprehensive features:

- Multi-programs (Standard, action, depth of field) (functioned with dedicated lenses and KA lenses, but not with K lenses)
- Aperture priority (worked with all K mount lenses)
- Manual exposure
- Exposure compensation
- Multiple exposures
- Bracketing
- Slow shutter speeds up to 60 seconds in 1-second increments and up to 90 minutes in 1-minute increments
- Intervalometer up to 60 seconds in 1-second increments and up to 90 minutes in 1-minute increments
- Timer: default 10 seconds, adjustable from 1 to 60 seconds in 1-second increments and up to 90 minutes in 1-minute increments
- A small foldable flash on the prism and powered by the hot shoe was available as an option, along with a TTL flash, the AF-S280

The CP-9 AF was also compatible with the "INFOBACK-3" back, originally for the CP-7m, allowing overlay of information on photos and extending the intervalometer to almost 100 hours between shots.

Some drawbacks included the absence of spot metering, although available on the CP-6, and the discontinuation of program modes with any K bayonet lens, which were available on previous models like the CP-7m. Chinon also discontinued the electric remote control socket available on optional winders from previous series. Additionally, the absence of a shutter speed priority mode was notable, as Chinon never offered this mode on its SLR cameras.

In France, Chinon SLR cameras are less known and less common than those of other Japanese brands. This might be due to the brand's late arrival in the market and a delay in gaining recognition. However, Chinon regularly released new models from the early 70s until the late 80s, with a very good level of quality, ensuring full compatibility with M42 and later K mount lenses, at a very attractive price.

		Years	Lens Mount	Exposure
Chinonflex TTL		c. 1969	M42	Semi-automatic
M-1		c. 1974		Semi-automatic
CE Memotron		1974		Aperture priority exposure
CX		1974		Semi-automatic
CE-II Memotron		1976		Aperture priority exposure
CXII		1976		Semi-automatic
CM-3		1977
CS		c. 1978
CE-3 Memotron		1978		Aperture priority exposure
CE-4		1979	K
SLR		c. 1979	M42	Semi-automatic
CM-4		1981	K
CS-4		1981	M42
CM-4s		1981	K
CA-4		1980		Aperture priority exposure
CA-4s
CE-4s		1981
CE-5		1982
CG-5		c. 1982
CM-5		c. 1982		Semi-automatic
CP-5s		c. 1984		Aperture priority exposure and Program
DP-5		c. 1984
CP-5		1986
CP-6		c. 1986
CP-X		c. 1986
CP-7M		1986
CM-7		c.1988		Double automatism
CP-9 AF		1988	C-AF (compatible K)	Aperture priority exposure and Program