OK, we all agree FD is tops and still serious gear....

but which ones do you love the best and why?

 

My old F-1N AE is my one true love. It needs a CLA and is sitting the next few

months on the side lines.

 

I have an old A-1 that has never missed a beat and never let me down. The body

is a brassed and scratched battle zone and the focus screen and mirror is a

hideous sight with "Crumbs and goo"...still I know what that camera will do for

me with FD Prime Glass. I love this camera like few others. I can run Velvia

50 in it one roll and Tmax 3200 the next roll and the meter responds to my

setting changes without fail.

 

I have a FTb Chrome that is like new. I need to shoot it more. A nicer

sounding shutter you would never hear on most other cameras.

 

There is a AE-1 and AE-1 Program that has only needed new seals and "squeak"

fix. Not sure how many rolls they have shot but it is many. The AE-1 Program

has to be a camera I would recomend to all beginners to film photography. You

just can't go wrong.

 

My back up camera for all duty is a lovely little AT-1. The body is light and

not a burden in my vest or fanny pack. I shoot some 10-15 rolls per year

through it to keep things crisp. All in all, it is one of the easiest cameras

to set and the fastest to use.

 

I want to add an EF so bad, I can't stand it. Only, I want a clean sample of

one...which is the purtiest cameras ever made.

 

Which FD bodies reign favorites of your's?

 

Dave

Well, since you asked ...

 

I love my first real camera, an FTbN (my Dad's first Canon). I ran hundreds of photos through it in high school and it was the main camera of Dog Bark Productions. It needs a CLA, but to my amazement it is in near mint condition. I attribute my success rate to the semi-spot metering.

 

I have a F-1n that I also love (my Dad's #2 as engraved in the bottom). The shutter speed is off as is the exposure meter (after considering batteries) so it is also CLA time; I want to use this camera in general but also with an Canon V3 flashbulb unit for a 60s & 70s car show we have locally.

 

I do think I love, admire, etc. the EF the most (I'm out of the closet). I hold it longer than I need to and play with it more as well. Something about the Black Beauty. I want to use mine (near mint) more.

 

I have an AE-1 camera I haven't used (it also needs a CLA). It is cool in context.

 

I have taken thousands of photos with a pair of A-1s. Two decades of shutter priority. Never even really knew what that green P was for all that time. No need. The photos were all near and far landscapes for work (I'm a geologist). From sheer volume and experience these are the most trustworthy cameras I have ever used (once I learned to carry extra batteries around). I bought my first power winder a few months ago and I sure wish I did that a couple decades ago.

 

I have a soft spot for the autofocus experiments, including the AL-1 and the T80 (I really like the T80 and have the three AC lenses).

 

I like the T70 although I haven't used it much.

 

And I am extremely impressed with the T90. I went into Camera Clinic to buy a back-up A-1 because I was getting more and more lenses and Steve talked me into a T90 instead. I never gave those plastic T-things a first look until that moment. The sheer capability of the T90 really captured me, and it replaced my A-1s. It took long enough to figure it out. Now it is the camera I reach for when a photograph is needed and I have some compensations I employ that help my photos a bit that are tuned to the T90. My studio set up is around the T90 (yea wires everywhere - but it is fun). I use multple T90s triggered by IR (85mm f1.2, 135mm, f2). I've become a fan of mirror lock up and had my T90s modified for that. My experiments indicate possible camera shake below 1/90th a second and commonly at 1/60th a second and slower. I use mirror lock up for macro and super-telephoto shots.

 

That is my camera story.

 

Craig

in this order:

 

#1. T-90 ( I have a pair that do 75% of my stuff)

 

#2. F-1N (unless we are talking long lens use then it is #1)(I have 2)

 

#3. EF

 

#4. A-1

 

#5. AE-1P (I have 3 one black two chrome the wife uses 2 of them the third is on really long loan)

 

#6. FTb (mines black)

 

#7. AE-1 (haven't touched mine in years)

Of the cameras I own:

(1) T90 - 20 years old and still amazing- best flash

 

(2) F-1 (original) - bulletproof

 

(3) FTb - great

 

(4) FT-QL - bought new in Vietnam with 50mm f1.8 lens - $65 -elegant

I used to have Pentax but in 1980 or thereabouts someone handed me an AE1 at a wedding, and with its winder it took 2 smooth shots without me even realising.

 

So in 1983 I got me one of the last AE1s which I still have after a recent shutter squeak and repair of mirror and door foams. My son used it to get Excellence in his high school photography course last year. Kept him as far as possible on a 50 mm lens so he could learn about that before moving on.

 

Other cameras: I have an original F1 that is in very good condition, and just got another one that will be kept as a parts camera - it is so far out of adjustment and needs door foam - I doubt whether having it fixed will be economic. I don't think the shutter is even opening above 1/60th of a second - I did the flash test trick and could not see any "slit" of light at high speeds.

 

A T90 something I never though I would get. This is a long learning curve to even begin to use it beyond manual setting, but it seems to have a very smooth shutter release.

 

Pity Canon decided that from about the T70 onwards that cable releases would be taboo. Also, I do not think I would ever want a T90 - it does not have a depth of field preview lever at my last recollection.

 

Any way - there they are.

the t90 does have a DOF preview lever - well, more of a slidey switch, really.

I use the following cameras:

 

1.T90 (I have two of those): The T90 is a big camera with big output. The metering system is unmatched by any camera. I use only the spotmeter mode. The 300TL flash is a perfect match for this camera, and together they make flash photography very easy and successful. If you don't use the T90, the EEE error may get it. A $125 fix takes care of the dirty magnet.

 

2. F1N (I have two of those): I started using the F1N before I got the T90. Here, I used almost exclusively spotmeter screens.The camera is built to last and it is very functional. Like Mark, I use it for telephoto lenses first.

 

3. F1n: I got it for the mirror lock-up feature, and I use it with very long exposures and with very long lenses.

 

I regretably sold my mint A1. First,I had asn AE1 that got me started. I have a Pellix somehwere. It looks very used.

I've had a longer relationship with my A-1 than any human. And it has only let me down, say, once or twice. I sometimes wondered (being an amateur and all) if I had nailed an exposure, but I never wondered if my photos were in focus. Each time I use a digital autofocus camera, I must suppress that fear. I also loved changing the battery, oh, every year or two.

Well, even though I no longer have any Canon FD gear, I am going to chime in.

 

I loved my F1 w/AE finder. An AE-1 was my first Canon and then I had a couple of A1 cameras. I sold those to buy a couple of F1s. It was a pleasure to use and hold in the hands.

 

My #2 son is taking a photography class and he wants a Canon. I told him I would pick up an F1 for him. I will be visiting with KEH on Friday!

 

Wayne

I currently have and use a T90 which I really enjoy. Previously owned an A-1 for about 15 years...it did a good job, but I prefer the T90.

If I could keep only one...A-1 (with FD 50mm f/1.2).

The T90 was, is, and will probably remain the best manual focus 35mm SLR ever built.

 

After that, the A-1, FTb and AE-1. I can't rank any others because I haven't owned them...

Canon TX - I started photography about 30 years ago with this mechanical camera. Used it in high school and actualy won a prize for a photo I submitted to an art exhibition. I was hooked.

 

AE1 Program - A Christmas present from my wife in the mid 80s. This is the camera I used for about 20 years. My only complaint was my bad habit of accidently moving the shutter dial when taking flash photos - I wish I could have locked the sync speed (I was using a Vivitar 283 flash). My heart broke when it was stolen a few years ago. I have since bought another.

 

Canon A1 - I got this as another replacement camera. I find it's a formidble camera - I should have bought one sooner.

 

T90 - Got this over the summer now I reach for it at every opportunity. I needed to read the manual several times to understand all the features and I find myself using many of them. It truely is a classic.

My first was an A-1 bought used 10 years ago after all my auto focus stuff was stolen. Used it for everything, even started to make a little money with it. The boys bought me a T-70 and then a T-90 when the on\off\timer switch went out on it a couple years ago. I'm going to send the A-1 in for repair shortly along with an EF that I recently picked up on ebay.

But the question was our favorites. I guess in order of preference it would be; T-90 followed by the A-1 ( both cameras have spot on meters) Then an F-1n a friend let me use. I haven't used the EF yet so I don't know where it falls and I like more control than the 70 gives me.My girlfriend however loves it and uses it as her main camera.:-)

I've been a Canon SLR addict since 1961. Got two Canonflex RM bodies and four

Supercanomatic R lens in 1961. Basically wore them out by 1976-77. Was in and out of

Japan many times during that period and always took the RM's to Canon's Tokyo Hqs for

maintenance. Finally Canon techs told me they no longer had/made parts for the R series.

Retired the outfit and got a Canon F-1 with 2 lens, a 50mm f/1.4 and 100mm f/4 Macro.

Used that till 1995 when the outfit was stolen. Was so mad I stopped taking pictures.

From 1961 to 1995 shot thousands of slides in a dozen or more countries (not much in

USA). My son introduced me to the internet in 2000 and I soon discovered EBay. It was

like stepping back to a camera shop in the late 70's. Now have two F-1n's, two AT-1's, an

EF and a T-70. Try to use them all but my heart really pumps when I hold and use the

F-1n and EF. If I was forced to have only one FD body it would have to be the F-1n

because of the interchangeable screens. I'm also a Macro kinda guy so the MLU is valued

highly. I use FD lenses from 24mm to 400mm (my 400mm is a 20mm IF f/2.8 with 2x-B

TC). I recently retired-retired and I'm traveling a lot to get the US pictures I missed while

running around the world in USAF uniform. FD rules!!!

Don B in Hampton Roads

I started with a Canon FT in 1971. Bought an F-1 in 1975. My FD faves in order.

 

#1 F-1N, #2 A-1, #3 EF, #4 F-1, #5 FTb-n.

 

The A-1 has been the default travel camera due to it's relativiely lighter weight and the default action camera as I have the MA motor for it. The "New" F-1 gets the nod most of the time. It just feels fabulous and has a great finder. The EF is a good handler and has a very informative finder. It gets used for most of my flash shooting. The F-1 is "Old Reliable". I still use the MF motor on it occasionally. The FTb is so comfortable to use. It felt so natural after years of using an FT. I would use it more but it has a very stiff shutter release which the last CLA didn't cure.

F1N - Primary.

F1n - When I'm having one of those "I hate this modern world" days.

T70 - When I need to travel light and noise is not a issue.

AE1p - When I need to travel light and noise is a issue.

AT1 - My first SLR.When I need to be ultra quiet.

Hate to admit it but the little T70 has the highest percentage of correct hits the first time when used on auto pilot,just wish the motor drive was a bit more stealthy.

No longer own but used extensively FTbn,A1,T90.

Yes Mark you are right the T90 has a slidy DOF preview - I meant to refer to the T70 - Freudian typo slip because I have a T90.

The New F1 has been my dream camera since I first saw it in the hands of all those serious photo j`s on TV. Now I have one and its everything I expected it to be. It awesome, and its my favorite. It is not, however, nearly as handsome as the EF, which is the best looking SLR ever built:)

I have an A1, its a great camera I am sure, I simply don`t like it. It is very useful though, and I can see why it has a fan club.

I can't part with my F-1n and F-1N. I love them both for different reasons. The mirror lock-up and Speed Finder of my old F-1 is great for macro and product shots. I keep a Winder FN on the newer F-1. When film and development are no longer available, each of my grandchildren will inherit a paperweight, one of grandpa's old black cameras. Lenses I cannot part with are the 35mm f2s's, 28 f2.8 SC (amazingly sharp and no apparent barrel distortion), 50mm SSC macro and 100 f2. I keep a black AV-1 for travel and street shooting.

The T90 for most shootings because it can do it all and it is (relatively) lightweight, fast and easy to use.

Then the NewF1 for portrait (silky shutter sound) and special purpose; I like the Speedfinder for tripod work, especially with long lenses or the 35TS.