Canon F-1n VS Canon AE-1 Program

[evan_ryan]

Good Day! I am just getting my feet wet, but my passion for the art of photography is strong. I am the proud owner of 3 Canon AE-1 Programs, and am still learning more and more about them each day. I have been exploring a few web sites recently and have been seeing a lot about the F-1n. It is described as the "Flag Ship" of the Classic Canon SLR's. My question is what makes it considered more of a professional camera than the others in the "A" series? Is this a camera I should be seriously thinking about investing in in the near future as my knowledge and skill grows? How about the A-1, is that a good stepping stone to look into before tackleing the F-1n? Finnaly, what would be a reasonable price to look for in the F-1n or even the A-1? Thanks for your time.

~Evan

[tom_kessler]

Hello Evan,

I've owned a couple of AE-1's as well as an AE-1Progam. The "A"

series cameras can give excellent results. You can "grow" as much as

you want with them. I don't have any experience with the fist 2

versions of the F-1, but do own a NEW F-1. It was built to withstand

the punishment that a working professional photographer would likely

expose it to. It was expensive when new, and still is. It is of

considerably heavier construction, and build quality is very high.

Auto exposure is possible with with accessories (aperture priority

was built in, but requires the AE Finder for reading shutter speeds).

All that said, if you like to work maually, using in-camera

metering, and keep complete control over exposure, you will not

regret getting an F-1. It's analog viewfinder display is (IMHO) much

more intuitive in manual operation than the LED viewfinders.

[evan_ryan]

Tom, thanks for your time and response.

~Evan

[terry_carraway]

Evan,

 

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The F-1 and F-1n are mechanical cameras. They work fine without any

batteries. They do have internal meters, but the basic camera is all

manual after that.

 

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Now you can change the finder to do Aperture Priority or Shutter Speed

Priority, you can change to a Booster T finder to deal with very low

light and very long exposures. You can use a waist level finder like

a TLR, you can use the Speed Finder to make quick action shooting

easier.

 

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You have available power winders and motor drives, long film backs

(250 exposure on the F-1 and F-1n), data backs, all sorts of things.

 

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They were built like tanks.

 

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One BIG problem with them. They both use the PX625 mercury cell for

the meter, which is no longer made. There are other options, but they

do suffer from some small problems, versus the mercury cell. The F-1N

(which is different than the F-1n) uses the same battery as the A

series.

 

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Personally, I prefer the T90 over the F1s. It is lst top line manual

focus camera before the EOS came out. It looks like and EOS and has

lots of features that did not come back until the new EOS 3.

 

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BTW I have an F-1n, A-1,a nd two T90s.

[terry_carraway]

As someone pointed out in an email, the F-1 and F-1n will NOT do

aperture priority. It will do just about everything else.

[evan_ryan]

Thanks Terry, you've been quite a help!

~Evan

[alvin_granada1]

Evan,

 

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I still have an AE-1P and AE-1 cameras as well as other A Canon series

...lets say i'm an avid Canon user. I tell you when i finally got my

hands on an F1n I realized that i'm holding on this very fine piece of

machine. First, it feels very rugged enough to take punishment ( of

course you won't allow that to happen) and the gadgetries that come

along with it. A series comes along with an average metering system

while with the F-1n you can change its metering pattern by changing

its focusing screen.

Attaching an AE head on it and you got aperture priority mode. Again

attachinfg a motordrive or a winder and you got shutter speed

priority. With this piece of equipment you can do quite a heck of a

job.

And also before i forget there's one characteristic tha i love most of

all about this camera it can fire its shutter from 60 to 2000 without

battery.

[ramon_jalandoni]

Hello, I'm an avid fan of Canon cameras and own 8 including 4 EOS.

Personally, I love my AE-1 P and my A-1. Both cameras are capable of

professional results. I never really saw the need to buy an F-1N.

Having a professional camera does not make one a professional. A

professional with an amateur camera does not turn the pro into a

novice. What is more important to me is that one is comfortable with

the equipment and knows all the functions. The A-1 is great since it

has lots of functions and you can do a lot with it. I myself really

take good care of my equipmnet so I see no need for the so called

rugged "pro" cameras. Anyway, just recently my entry level EOS (EOS

888) which I like to take around for casual snapshots fell 5 feet

down to a cement floor and survived without a scratch. Everything

functioned perfectly. I guess even so called amateur equipment can

take severe punnishment. Thanks.

[rick_porter]

I wish you guys hadn't fallen so squarely on the middle of the

fence. I have the AE-1P and love it. I've been considering one of

the many F-1n(N) series on eBay and can't decide if the $ value is

really in the camera when you have a 'new' (read overhauled) AE-1P.

Now I still don't know. I wonder what Evan did?

[david_goldfarb]

My F-1N has worked beautifully since I bought it new around 1983 with

the insurance money from an A-1 and some other equipment that was

stolen. By having one body that would last, I've built a very

versatile system and haven't had to worry about replacement, new lens

mounts or anything of the sort. I've been able always to expand

without taking too many steps backward. I'm not that attracted by

autofocus or many of the other features of the newer 35mm systems.

 

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At this point, I think there is much to be said for a rugged,

overbuilt camera like the F-1N, given that parts for all these bodies

will be increasingly difficult to obtain in the future. They also

weren't designed around the old mercury battery used in the F-1 and

F-1n.

[chrishayden]

I am an avid user of the older model Canon F1n (I have used about 4 different ones now) and also use my

daughter's AE-1 P. I prefer the manual control offered by the F1n and also its superb, rugged quality. These

cameras were machined to 1/100,000th of an inch and would be far too expensive to manufacture today.

Apprarentlyt, Canon kept improving on the design of only a couple of their camera models (during its production

run) - the F1 being one on them. I love to be able to easily overide the meter, hook up to a simple flash system

and know and feel when the exposure is right. I used to have a Canon T90, but one of the built in motors failed

to work when I was on a wedding shoot! The T90, A-series and newer EOS Canon's do a fine job, but for reliability

under pressure you can't beat the old F1n's. I am confident that the old F1's will outlive the likes of the T90's and

A1's, etc. There were two slighly different models - the F1 and F1n. The first went to ASA1600 and the second to

ASA 3200. The second model has the film reminder in the back and had some internal improvements. If you can,

get the second model. They both tend to sell for around the same price. I hope this helps.

[art_henry1]

I assume you are content to stay in the Canon FD lens family, otherwise you might consider an EOS model to get the benefit of auto focus, and get a model with manual override. I own an AE-1, A-1 and F-1n with AE finder FN which converts the camera to aperture-priority AE or stopped-down Ae, plus a power winder which adds the dimension of shutter priority AE and provides a nice grip. This machine is heavy and rugged, but offers ultimate flexibility short of autofocus. A-1 bodies are selling for about $250 in very good condition; F-1n bodies vary depending on condition and installed options, but you should be able to get a nice loaded one for about $600, I think. The F-1n is in a differnt league than the AE-1P, the former being a true professional machine versus the consumer AE-1P. I recommend you try to get your hands on an F-1n to get a sense what this camera's about. If you appreciate good, durable construction, you will never regret acquiring one of these bad boys.