Canon F1

[ashwin_sheorey]

I have a Canon F1 ( Flim-SLR 1971-1972) in good working condition. I have the

following querries.

 

1) Does canon manufacture digital back for the F1? If not canon is there

someone that canon recommends / canon users recommend?

 

2) Can the F1 lenses be used on the newer EOS 350D or EOS400D? Any

modifications / adapters required?

 

3) Is it worth retaining the F1?

[HenryUK]

You would have been better asking these questions in the Canon FD forum.

 

Nevertheless:

1. There is no digital back for the F1 or any FD cameras

2. The F1 lenses cannot be used on any EOS body without an adapter. The adapters are generally of very poor optical quality and only provide manual aperture control. Canon's FD/EOS adapter is extremely expensive and only works with a few "L" lenses.

3. The F1 is a fine example of a well designed and built manual focus body. In its day it was Canon's top of the range camera. It is one of the few Canon film cameras that is holding its value in the face of the digital onslaught. Keep it.

 

Henry

[robin_sibson1]

I bought an original F-1 in 1972 and used it until I changed to AF in 1990 with an EOS-1. You'll still find plenty of enthusiasts for the FD system on the FD forum (although they get very twitchy if you start talking about using FD lenses on EOS, and even worse, consider having them re-mounted), where you can get advice about specialist repairers who can still maintain these wonderful pieces of mechanical engineering. It's a nice 'collectible' - top-of-the-range kit in any area always has a special attraction in that respect - and should still be perfectly capable of producing excellent images on film with some of the very good FD prime lenses - with just the odd exception, the relatively few FD zooms were best forgotten, although they were no worse than others of that era. But as a starting point, just forget about any attempt to blend FD kit with EOS/EF kit, whether film or digital. The exceptions are few. If you have any Big White FD Lenses and are prepared to pay the premium price demanded on the s/h market for the FD-to-EOS adapter (which is actually a 1.26x Extender) then you can use those lenses as manual-everything lenses on an EOS body. And there are a handful of FD lenses that it may be worth having irreversibly converted to EF mount (there are specialists who can do this) because there is no EF equivalent - the FD TS35/2.8 is the best example, but perhaps also the 7.5mm circular fisheye and the 500mm reflex lens.

[keith_lubow]

Best all around 35mm SLR camera ever made, IMHO. Much simpler than the F2, and a better selection of fast lenses for it. People could rob me of my digitals and I would be happy just to get the insurance money; as long as they don't touch my F-1s! This is good stuff that will never become outdated. I have three, plus two FTbs, and I'll take another if you don't want it.

 

Keith

[JDMvW]

Henry is all right.

 

Unfortunately for those of us who would like to have an F-1, Henry is also right about it maintaining value in the digital age.

 

FD lenses, with the exception of a few extraordinary lenses, are pretty reasonable nowadays, however.

 

Ironically, it's actually easier, and better, to use old high-quality Nikkors from the manual days on a modern EOS camera body with cheap adapters.

[HenryUK]

What's an F2?

[keith_lubow]

Nikon's closest equivalent to the F-1.

 

Keith

[michaelchristensen]

When Canon dropped support for the Canon F1, I dropped support for Canon and became a happy Nikon F100, F5, and D200 user ... I did not think at that time that Canon could make a better camera than the F1N, and I did not like the feel of the newer EOS bodies compared to the F100 from Nikon.

 

What really thrills me about the Canon FD system was that it remains a fantastic camera and one I use still for studio stills and some location work. The glass is as good as anything produced after it and you can not tell a picture taken from the F1 with that from my F100 ...

 

If you want digital, get a digital SLR and have fun with it. If you're intensly loyal to Canon (I am not) by all means work towards a 5D it that's your fancy.

 

I'm pleased to say that I am still adding lenses to my F1 system because I am very pleased with that camera. It is robust and reliable and I've used it for weddings and taken lots of pictures with it ..

 

Now, I do find that when I desire autofocus well, I love the Nikon F100 & F5; the D200 a little less .. but the Canon F1 does what I want, when I want it with simplicity and reliability; sometimes my autofocus camera let me down or slow me down with something that I'm not always sure what happened .. that of course never happens with my F1 .. so, forget the digital back for it .. it was never made for that platform ... it is 100% tried and true to film .. which is also a remarkable medium and let's face it a ton of great photographers still use film (they just don't swamp photo.net with the why is my digital camera doing this or that). Enjoy the F1 - a camera they can't take off of life support!

[gnashings]

No - you should definitely get rid of it, its useless. Ship the camera to me, and go back to happily playing with PS :)

[awahlster]

Peter Play nice with the new KID!!!!

[gnashings]

Absolutely right, Mark. Sorry, my "bad", as the kids say - even if it was meant with tongue frimly planted in cheek, I shouldn't have been so gruff:)

[luis triguez]

Henry, this is an F2<div></div>

[michael_bizon]

Ashwin, The F1 is one of the best bodies ever made! and the glass for it by Canon is

some of the best! nothing wrong with a simple and proven system..

[matthew_ridgeway]

<p>I have thought about this quite a bit. A ccd on the back with a thin resin coating may work. Another solution is to make an adaptor that screws to the bottom and has a LCD that covers the back, then have CCD looking into the viewfinder. Totally separate from the cameras original circuits with a secondary shutter or activate button. All circuitry under the body like th power winder and a separate battery supply.</p>

<p>This way we don't butcher the F1 and start taking pics digitally. Also using the stop down button, you can see the exposure you may encounter!</p>