Just Had To Pull The Trigger, Like Laurence Cochrane

I read, with interest Laurence Cochrane's post about purchasing a Canon F-1 (New). I'd been considering one for a couple of years to supplement my older F-1 (which BTW, works just fine). A seller in New York had one, the price was right, so I bought it on 5/13. It wasn't supposed to be delivered before Monday, but lo, and behold(!), the mail lady delivered to my hot little grubbies today. The camera is in excellent condition, with only slight brassing on the top corners. All shutter speeds seem accurate, and it meters perfectly against my Gossen Luna Pro SBC. I mounted a 50mm f/1.4 FD, and now I'm ready to compare it to my Nikon F3-HP with a similar Nikkor 50mm f/1.4,

 

I do have the AE Motor Drive FN, but alas, no battery pack. The quest for that item continues.

 

Nice catch!

Hmmmmmm... some unsolicited advice, unless you really need the 5fps speed or have the 250 exposure back, find a Powerwinder FN. The motor drive adds a LOT of weight...

 

Otherwise, nice!

Hmmmmmm... some unsolicited advice, unless you really need the 5fps speed or have the 250 exposure back, find a Powerwinder FN. The motor drive adds a LOT of weight...

 

Canon only offered a 100 exposure back for the F-1N. The 250 exposure back was for the original F-1 and F-1n. And I agree that the Powerfinder FN is sweet. I have one and use it a lot.

Oops. That's correct; 100 exposures.

Mine came with 35-70 zoom. Not a great lens aparently. Really want a proper portrait lens but those lenses these days cost more than the flamin camera. So bought a cheap Canon 135mm to tide me through. As for motor drive I just went for the AE Winder FN.. Edited May 16, 2021 by laurencecochrane

Looks in Decent shape.

 

I also recently got a new F-1. I used to have with FD gear from '91 until 2005 when Digital forced me over to the Eos system which I've never really liked. I kept only my T90 & 50/1.4. Recently I've been shooting film sometimes, with a rag tag lot of different bodies and lenses. This year I have decided to re-focus in the FD system. Sadly, the T90 felt too close to a modern AF camera so I re-bought the New F-1.

 

For such a great, flexible, robust camera The F-1N seems like a bargain at a time when eBayers are paying silly money for AE-1 & AE-1P bodies.

 

Lenses though... Wow - prices on some like the 50L & 85L have gone up quite a lot and the old 24, 55 & 85 Aspherical's have gone nuts. On the other hand, some really nice old FD lenses like the 20-35L and the macros are a bit lower than I remember, specially the 200/4 Macro. So although prices are higher overall there is a bit of swings and roundabouts.

I have both the motor and the winder. A vote here for the winder as the motor is VERY heavy. My winder stays on all the time.

 

These days I don't see much use for either a 250 or 100 exp back. Long ago I had a 250 back that I used at auto races and football games when you could get Ektachrome in 100 foot rolls, and processors used continuous machines, not dip and dunk.

Edited May 17, 2021 by chuck909

Hmmmmmm... some unsolicited advice, unless you really need the 5fps speed or have the 250 exposure back, find a Powerwinder FN. The motor drive adds a LOT of weight...

 

Otherwise, nice!

Have a winder on the way. Thanks for the advice!!

A little advice on the winder

 

1) The battery cover can easily be broken if you are not careful (no, I never have - yet KOW)

 

2) The AE cover and advance cover nest in a slot inside the battery compartment

 

3) DO NOT remove the cover under the film chamber. It is removed only when using the motor for film rewind and is never removed when film is in the camera.

 

4) Even though the counter counts down to 0, you can still usually get another shot or two by resetting the counter, turning the motor off, and advancing the film manually.

 

2) The AE cover and advance cover nest in a slot inside the battery compartment

Covers sit VERY LOOSE in the winder put a bit of masking tape over them to stop them falling out when changing batteries.

The winder arrived yesterday. It had the AE and advance covers inside, nested. I installed 4 AA's, mounted the winder, and tested with about 35 blank frames. It works like a charm. It's a very "compact" full-sized camera with the winder added.

Have a winder on the way. Thanks for the advice!!

You're welcome.

 

May I be so bold as to give you another piece of unsolicited advice? If you've never used a Speed Finder (on either your original F-1 or your New F-1), I heartily recommend getting one. For me, the Speed Finders are one of the biggest reasons to get an F-1. I always have one on my F-1 when I'm using it. You will be surprised what a versatile, fast-action machine your F-1s becomes with the combination of Power Winder and Speed Finder. I bought my first one because it was supposed to (and does) help eyeglasses-wearers but subsequently discovered how much more it can do. My original goal was to buy one for each of my bodies (I have three New F-1s, bought under an uncontrolled frenzy when prices were low) but I ended up one short when prices for ex, ex+ condition examples started climbing...

Edited May 21, 2021 by steven_endo