Mother of all EOS?

Out of curiosity and a few dollars (approx $135), I recently purchased a T90

supposedly used in the past by a news PJ and a 300TL flash for a few more

bucks($45). I wanted to see how the most recent FD stuff worked/works after

using earlier FD equipment. What a surprise. Never realized how much spot

metering/TTL flash could improve things. My question is, other than autofocus,

what am I missing by not moving into the EOS system? This could be a TROLL.

SMILE.

There's digital backs and more advanced segmented automatic metering sytems. Other than that probably not much, especially given the multi-spot feature.

I feel like the T90's multi-spot meter is a definite match for today's multi-segment meters. Sure, it's a little bit slower to use, but it offers the user much more control over the final exposure. It's sort of a user-controlled evaluative meter, as the user controls just exactly what parts of the image are considered, and how much weight to put on them.

I bracket most shots but this one was pretty close the first time using the spot meter and picking the exposure points. I'm going to use the camera as a spotmeter for some LF stuff in a few days.<div></div>

Apart from the obvious, AF and digital, I think the other great thing about the EOS system is the stabilised lenses. Having a long lens like the 300/4L or the 500/4 with IS allows for nice shooting at 1/60 handheld or on a monopod, which is a real gain.

All the other gimmicks are just gadgets...

I like my F1New with the Speedfinder and a Spot focusing screen alot more than anything EOS... so stupid of Canon to have missed the Auto Exposure Lock button!

The T90 has the excellent idea of coupling spot metering with AE Lock, and it is nice to go around the scene and see the variation in illumination on the right-hand bargraph.

So this moving bar measuring light (oooh!) thingy is ... basically its like using your head with any camera that has a spot meter and watching the meter needle move... Also, I never got the AE button love affair. Never used it on any camera I ever had one on.

But for people who use flash a lot, I suppose its the weapon of choice among the FD's...

As to the what do I gain if I move to EOS - uhm, which one? I suppose the biggest one is that you can buy a camera built alot closer to your last birthday than your date of birth.

Jean-Bernard- Never developed a lust for long tele's, probably due to the cost, so I never missed that part of the new Canon stuff. I have the 200mm/f4 which is the most I want to carry. I envy the guys with the big albino's though.

 

Peter- Almost bought one of those "Staggerwings" in 62 when I finished school but the wife said no. What's one worth these days? Probably more than an IRA's growth, a lot more fun too. My in camera metering started with an Ftb so I favor the sidebar needle display, the AE Lock is "icing on the cake", because I have a right or left brain deficit, maybe. I suppose a fascination with an old "Staggerwing" transfers over to old cameras, but I think this T90/300TL combination has more than enough modern features for cost effective nonpro use. Regards.

"As to the what do I gain if I move to EOS - uhm, which one?"

 

As Jean-Bernard said, image stabilization is a huge one. As a former FD and current EOS

user myself I also appreciate the fact that I only need one system for both film and digital.

That said FD is still great for what it does, and as there is no convenient way to mount FD

lenses on an EOS camera (or most any other camera) the used market is still quite

inexpensive.

 

The M42, K, Nikon F, Olympus OM, and CZ/Yashica mount lens market has exploded in

the past few years with the availability of adapters.

I had been using a T-90 for 17years untill it died. It was surely a great camera. Now I use a New F-1 and sometimes an EOS 3. Comparing with EOS 3, what I would like to have had in T-90 would be AEB and evaluate metering.

John,

 

A Staggerwing nowadays... I think it finally reached its rightful place: beyond monetary value! Gorgeous, aren't they!?

I find I like the needle, too. I have a Nikon FG, which is an excellent little consumer camera and has brouhgt me much joy and many great (well, by my abilities:)) photos. But... its LED meter display never warmed a spot in my heart. I find that the needle's slight movements tell me so much more. Same goes for my A1 - a lovely camera, mighty capable... but those ugly red digits just don't tell me what I want to know, even if the do tell me what I need to know. But, my New F1, the old EF, even the AE1 - those guys talk to me in a language I pretend to understand with aplomb! :)

Never figured out the AE lock button... I didn't intend to come across "superior" due to this fact - perhaps my photos suffer for it, but I just find it awkward and forcing me to step out of my comfortable work flow...

Mind you, I take very few flash photos. Almost none. If I do get into that someday, perhaps a T90 is in my future?

And you do have to love airshows - you look ahead, all those gorgeous airplanes. You look to the side and... all these lovely white lenses :)

The T90 was in fact the design model for the EF mount bodies to come after it. It was for a while even into the EF mount era one of the most advanced 35mm cameras ever made. And still is considered by many to be the single most advanced manual focus 35mm camera ever made.

 

As to image stablization yes it's great and no you can't hand hold a 500 mm lens at 1/60th just because it has image stablization. IS gains you about 2 stops. SO the 1/60th becomes at best 1/250th if you can hand hold at 1/250th your a hell of a lot steadier then I am and I shooting range competition rifles.

 

IS does not work on a tripod so once you strap that baby down to a tripod it has no advantage over the FD lens.

 

A 500mm in EF mount will cost you well over $4500.00 in FD mount less then 1500.00

 

Unless you got a lot of money or are making money with the 500mm you might as well buy a good tripod and stick with FD mount.

 

I do by the way have a 500mm f4.5L S.S.C. and just sold off my 600mm f4.5 nFD (to damn big to hump around and wasn't as sharp as the 500mm)

 

So I know some of what I speak.

IS gives you more than two stops with practice. This is my experience anyway.

Mark, IS works also with a monopod (even with a tripod, but what's the use!), and you can quite easily "handhold" the 500 with a monopod at 1/250. At least, that is my experience with the FD 4.5/500 that I use... and thus my remark: I was thinking "monopod" when speaking of the 500 (handholding the 500 feels too awkward anyway).

I would really love to have a 4/500 IS, because it would allow me to use only the monopod, and not to have to lug the tripod around... but the price is huge! No way I could motivate the buy for my amateur usage. :-(

So I will stick with my old FD lens, that works also quite well with an adapter on EOS bodies.

 

By the way, I was not refering to Flash AE Lock, but simple AE Lock when complaining about the F1New! Thinking of it, Flash AEL is the best feature ever found on a camera for flash operation... only drawback: the flash has to be mounted on the body! Never understood this limitation!

I've never understood the "big deal" about "matrix or evaluative metering" other than speed/repeatability. With the T90's spot and manual exposure storage/averaging schemes the need for algorithms based on thousands of other photographers arbitrary exposure methods (according to the mkt ads) seems unnecesary.

 

I thought all the new systems had flash exposure lock capabilities based on spot metering..... and .... if the 300TL was off camera some way (cable/wireless} wouldn't things still work? Bounce works now.

 

"Come on" old FD/new EOS users, flood the market with your old albinos! SMILE. Regards.

When the flash is off-camera using the Canon cables, the FE lock mode does not work and the camera reverts to classical TTL. I think it is written somewhere in the manual (by the way, there is a very nice user guide about the T90-300TL combo issued by Canon USA that is available on the net: http://www.canonfd.com/300ref/300ref.htm ). Apparently, the cable itself does not carry the signal: I opened a Hot Shoe Adapter to have a look and one of the pins was not soldered.

 

Now why is that? I don't know and I can't imagine why it should not be possible. I was planning to modify a cable set... but as usual, never got to actually do it!

 

By the way, the 300TL works in TTL with EOS (non-digital) cameras, (I tested it on EOS 1n and 1v). So it is a nice and cheap alternative for someone looking for a multi-flash set-up.

Jean you are right I read now upon checking that the new versions of IS lenses can be used on tripods. I do know the first generation ones could not.

 

But then I have had no reason to keep up on EF mount telephoto's as I haven't won the lottery yet. And the cost of admission is so far beyond what I could justify I don't even bother being interested.

 

I'll just be very very happy using the best camera system 1986 had to offer and be happy. I don't mind humping my Berlebach wood tripod around or that I miss some shots. See I like to think my skill rather then technology is responsible for the good ones. And my skill is to blame when the results suck.

A 500mm lens at 1/60th? With practice? Maybe with bionic limbs (funny thing is, I too used to shoot competitively, so I am not exactly a case of the shakes). Are you printing larger than 4x6?!

Wait - is there a Leica within an arms length when you do this - becaue then you can shoot handheld up to a minute and blow away LF negs in terms of quality :)

Hi Jean-Bernard,

 

Thanks for the 300TL manual link. Seems like there is alot "going on" at the "shoe" which is probably a bit "touchy" (impedance/voltage levels). Regards.

"A 500mm lens at 1/60th? With practice? Maybe with bionic limbs (funny thing is, I too used

to shoot competitively, so I am not exactly a case of the shakes)."

 

Are you aware that IS cancels out vibrations and hand shake? The old rules about what can

be sharp and what can't can be safely thrown away when dealing with IS.

 

I can consistently shoot sharp images at 1/15th with my 300 f/4L IS on a 10D (effective

480mm).

This EOS lens IS feature sounds great. Hand holding long lenses makes sense now. Which EOS film body would best complement the IS lenses and offer the metering capability of the T90? Regards.