Canon EF (the camera, not the mount) question

I am meeting someone to look at an EF, but don't have proper batteries to check it out. My understanding is that the camera operates mechanically on speeds faster than 1 second and so doesn't need a battery. I don't want to buy a door stop, but I also don't want to cheat him or spook myself out of a good sale. Am I correct to understand that if I operate the camera in manual and set the shutter speed to something faster than a second with the aperture manually set that I should be able to release the shutter and advance at will? I know in cameras like the AE-1 or AE-1 Program that I can't do anything without a battery up to strength, which is why I'm curious. Seller says that he hasn't been able to test it because he doesn't have batteries (which would be valid for an AE-1) so:

 

my current understanding is that if I cannot operate the shutter without a battery at, say F/4 1/250, the camera is busted and I should walk away. Is that correct?

The EF works without batteries and is usable as a fully mechanical camera at higher shutter speeds. The slower speeds and metering need battery power to activate the meter and time delays. I can't remember what the crossover speed is. It's not unusual to find them with faulty electronics, I think the switch on the back is often a source of trouble, or perhaps the fine wiring under the baseplate.

 

It was designed for two 1.35v Mercury batteries, now obsolete, but has a bridge circuit which compensates for voltage variations. The widely available 1.5V PX625 batteries will work fine - these are the ones with the flange, the same shape as the old Mercury batteries. You can probably use the standard 1.5V button batteries, without the flange, but they will be a little loose in the compartments and you may not be sure of a good contact.

 

There are earlier posts about this, for example: PX625 battery replacement in Canon EF

Edited January 5, 2020 by John Seaman

The EF works without batteries and is usable as a fully mechanical camera at higher shutter speeds

This is true, hence you should also test it without batteries.

if I cannot operate the shutter without a battery at, say F/4 1/250, the camera is busted and I should walk away

Sure, and even if it works I should also check if the shutter speed is "correct". If not I also walk away because I don't want to buy it to send to a repair shop.

It's not unusual to find them with faulty electronics

This is also true. Though it can be used without batteries, it is no fun at all if the meter is dead, S-mode is not working right, and long speeds are not available.

The (original) F-1, EF, FTb and TX were the high water mark for vintage Canon. After this lineup came the AE-1 and its ilk, excellent in their own right, but early to mid '70s classic-build Canon was impeccable in a manner never seen again.

 

EF was quite innovative for its time, with quasi-electronic shutter, AE, and silicon blue meter (one of, if not the first to appear). It closely resembles the pro F-1, in appearance and body build, and wasn't far below it in price (the exact opposite of AE-1 paradigm). A must-have for any vintage Canon FD SLR collection.

 

The shutter is only electronic at long speeds below 1/2 second, so the camera is completely usable in unmetered mode without batteries. The SB meter cells and mechanical shutter are almost unkillable, but the electronics are a weak point (as was the case with nearly all early-1970s first-generation AE cameras). If the EF on offer is in nice cosmetic condition it would be worth having as a showpiece even if the electronics are out: try negotiating if you still want it. You can test the electronic longer speeds if you bring along two alkaline PX625A batteries. In a pinch, other easily available smaller button batteries like S76/A75/LR44 or zinc-air hearing aid batteries like 675 will work in the EF battery chamber if you install them carefully or pad around them with a bit of plastic wrap or tissue paper. Be sure the lens aperture ring is set to "A" or green "0" for AE metering test.

Sadly, I was supposed to meet him Sunday afternoon, but it sold Sunday morning. I think though that I've added the EF to the list of cameras that I'd kind of like to get my hands on (assuming I can get one for a deal like this one). Seems like a really cool camera, with a lot of advantages in spite of potentially glitchy electronics. Thanks for the advice, all.

Just a bit of history, the Fujica ST701 came to market with silicon photocells about 2 years before the EF. Edited January 6, 2020 by m42dave

the EF to the list of cameras that I'd kind of like to get my hands on

There is a simplicity of the EF that I have not seen in any other SLR except one DSLR, the Panasonic L1.

i have a couple of the EF's and as orsetto and others have said it is a wonderful camera,a bit primitive,but all of my cameras are a bit primitive.if you ever get the chance at getting one i say get it.a working copy is surely worth the price ( within reason )

Just a bit of history, the Fujica ST701 came to market with silicon photocells about 2 years before the EF.

 

Something was percolating in the back of my mind as coming before the EF with SB cells, which is why I waffled with "one of the first". I always forget the ST701, even many Fuji fans do, because it was so overshadowed by the more glamorous ST801 (first with SBC and multiple LED dot readout) and ST901 (first with SBC and LED digital shutter speed readout coupled to aperture-priority AE). My best friend's older sister had an ST801 she used in her work for a real estate agency, we kids would sit by the door like hungry dogs waiting for her to come home so we could play with it (and her boyfriends massive Bronica S2A). The Fuji M42 lineup was innovative stuff in its day: their current, well-thought-out APS-C mirrorless juggernaut didn't come out of nowhere.

 

john_tran_14's post of the EF front-overhanging shutter dial reminded me it had ergonomics as clever as its shutter and AE. At the time this was seen as an homage to Leica's recent M5, which had a similarly repositioned shutter dial (as did the Leica CL, albeit vertically).

I have both the ST801 and ST901. The 901 is a neat camera, though mine is pretty heavy on batteries. It had a numeric LED display four years before the Canon A-1.

 

The ST701 is a perfectly good, overlooked camera, and available quite cheap. Unfortunately the meter was designed to use two odd-sized mercury batteries, and is voltage-sensitive. It's not too difficult to calibrate the meter, however.

Edited January 7, 2020 by m42dave

If anyone is interest in contemporary views, here are a couple.

The Photography Catalog 1976

 

and

 

Modern Photography 1977-12 "Camera Report"

Just checked out my EF- all good. Bought dirt-cheap, a screw was missing from the advance sprocket when bought in "as-is" condition for $35.

 

Turns out a screw from a parts Fed-2 was a perfect fit.

 

< . . . >

 

You can test the electronic longer speeds if you bring along two alkaline PX625A batteries. In a pinch, other easily available smaller button batteries like S76/A75/LR44 or zinc-air hearing aid batteries like 675 will work in the EF battery chamber if you install them carefully or pad around them with a bit of plastic wrap or tissue paper. Be sure the lens aperture ring is set to "A" or green "0" for AE metering test.

 

The round switch on the back also has to be set to "Normal" IIRC. I remember thinking an EF I'd bought had dead electronics until I moved that switch to Normal.

 

About the batteries. I use the 675 hearing aid batteries in all my old Canons, and I've used them in my EFs also. But you can't pad around them the way you describe because with the EF, the electrical contact is made from the side of the battery chamber, not the cover. So what I did was cut some aluminum foil into a couple of long strips and then coiled them up around the batteries. This worked, but it becomes a hassle when it's time to change batteries, which is fairly often with zinc-air batteries.

 

Some of the early Nikon F finders pick up voltage the same way. I own one and a couple of EFs, so I plan to buy some of those rings you can fit around 675s, so they fit like PX625s. Jon Goodman, the light seal guy, sells them for cheap.

Edited March 21, 2020 by mwmcbroom

I use the rings off the wein cell batteries after they are exhausted.i remove the ring by using a small metric socket and a small brad hammer.use a 675 and put the ring on it,you have a working battery real inexpensive. Works fine.

I once gouged out the innards of a Mercury battery and used the outer shell as a case for a 675.