Your thoughts on a used Canon f-1 old version.

I was thinking of buying a canon f-1 online and I was wondering what

the community on photo.net thought of this camera. Anyone with

personal expericence with the handling of this camera would be very

informative. Also I have was wondering what lenses go on this specific

camera. I know mostly its FD lenses. Even among the FD there are some

called ssc. IF anyone could clarify that I would be great. Are there

any particular problems with this setup? I was also considering maybe

a leica r4/5/6 series rather than this f-1.(But I heard the leica r

has causes lots of problems over time). Any suggestions would help. I

am a serious student of photography.

The Canon F1 is a great camera.The shutters will fire forever before needing rebuilding.The FD series lenses are as sharp as any Japenese glass ever made.If you need a rugged duty manual focus camera get an F1.However,by todays standards these are heavy,bulky monstrosities!They are also rather limited by their slow flash sync speeds,dark viewfinders and their now aging meters.If you get an F1 in excellant condition,and dont mind the cameras limits,it should serve you for years.These are built like army tanks!

Yes, it takes FD (or "new FD") lenses. I thought that the viewer was particularly bright, though I'm unused to the latest whizbang SLRs. <p>The meter in my F-1 seems fine; however, it uses a now-banned mercury battery (the issue of a legal replacement has been discussed extensively). The camera is not particularly big, but many FD lenses are. (Try comparing the Canon FD 35/2 and the Canon LTM 35/2: amazing.) The FD lenses won't fit on much other than the cameras for which they were designed; however, you can fairly easily and cheaply get an adapter to fit M42 lenses on your F-1. The "action finder" (I think it's called) seems excellent (I've never used it) but unfortunately costs a lot. Cosina now put out excellent lenses in FD mount -- lenses that tend to complement Canon's own lenses -- under the Voigtländer brand; NB they don't make many of these and stocks of some are running low.</p>

"However,by todays standards these are heavy,bulky monstrosities!"

 

Hmmm... compared to a 1v with motor? ;) I recently sold my original F-1 (from 1971 or thereabouts) along with the 100mm FD and I think I regret it. That was a very solid, nicely handling camera, and worked perfectly for decades (and still did).

 

I switched to 1.5 volt cells when the 1.3s became scarce and didn't notice any effect on Tri-X. Color slide film might be a different story.

If you have a choice, I'd suggest putting an 100-200 bucks into the new version (post-1981) F-1N body. It's a completely different camera. Brighter screen, takes modern batteries, better shutter, feels better in the hand-- all round better camera in nearly every respect. If you're looking at Leica R, then price will not be a consideration: you can find a very decent F-1N body for maybe $300-350, and a peach for $400-450.

 

If you don't know these cameras, all three versions say simply "F-1" on the front of the camera. You can easily recognize the post-1981 new F-1 (F-1N) because it doesn't have the older-style rotating mechanical self-timer on the front.

 

I have both the old mechanical F-1 (1976 second version) and the new F-1N. The only things the old F-1 has on the F-1N are (a) mirror lockup, and (b) battery-free shutter operation at all speeds. (I actually use my old F-1 without a battery, and forget about using the meter.)

"dark viewfinders"???

 

What on earth are you smoking, Steve? The original F1 has a superb viewfinder, not in the least dark by any standards. I used one for a couple of years and I still miss it. Unfortunately, someone offered me a lot more for it than I'd paid and I succumbed to greed - always a bad mistake. I used the 24/2.8, 50/1.4 and 100/2.8 lenses with it and I got a lot of very satisfactory images with that camera.

 

I'd certainly recommend checking out an original F1 side by side with the F1N to see which you prefer. They ARE different cameras but I wouldn't say that the F1N is better. In fact, I found I didn't like it at all and quickly parted with the one I had. I don't think I'd describe the viewfinder as brighter; I found the anodised finish unpleasant to hold and the shutter sounded perpetually on the verge of dying although, in all fairness, the chap I sold it to has put a few hundred rolls through with no problems.

Harvey, I suspect your old F-1 is equipped with a newer-version laser matte screen. Apparently these are a lot brighter than the original F-1 focusing screens, which would explain the varied opinions. The FD forum discussed the newer screens some time ago: they're identifiable by some sort of marking, an asterisk or something, on the label where it says what model of screen it is.

 

The standard focusing screen on my F-1N is about a stop brighter than the one on my mechanical F-1 (a second version, so-called F-1n). I far prefer the F-1N, although I wish they'd kept mirror lockup when they redesigned it.

The old F1 is a classic and although I dont use mine much I would not like to part with it - it a 1976 Olympics "special". Great camera - tough as nails and similar weight to a baby grand piano. Only problem (irritation actually) is the mercury batteries. I would not use it as a "workhorse" type camera today though. There are far more convenient bodies out there for FD lenses - T90, T70, AE1-P, A1 etc.

What are mecury batteries? What is your irritation with them? I went to a photo store and they provided me with a battery for the f-1 painlessly. It is a v28px.

Hey harvey what specifically is better and found in the f-1N than in the first mechanical version? I know about shutter priority or aperture priority but I do not need those things. What I like about the original one is that the shutters work w/o batteries.

In the early 80's I was on active duty with the 10th Special Forces in Germany. Every A team was issued two camera kits - Canon F1's. We took them everywhere in our rucksacks wrapped in ziplok baggies. Jummping out of airplanes with them in a rucksack was normal. I never had any of them fail in the field. Dead batteries were the most common failure. I also carried a Leica M3 and/or a Pentax SL when we needed more cameras.

 

The F1 is a great mechanical camera and apart from the 1.3v mercury batter issue, there is no reason not to get one if you want to use the FD leneses.

Hi Daniel - I live in South Africa and they are often a pain to get hold of.

Great camera. I inherited my Dad's old F1 with Sports, Action <i>and</i> electronic lowlight finders! Halleluyah!<br> On a tripod, it does "smack-down" work! He (now I) had the old f/2.8 200 & 50mm f/1.4 lenses. With the low light finder, (which I have no instrtions for) it seems you can make exposures totaling in the <i>hours</i>!<br>Heavy as a brick, you need a wide camera strap to carry it comfortably.<p>Go for it!