F-1N shutter speeds

[mark_pierlot]

<p>While I was outside yesterday shooting in Av at relatively large apertures, I noticed that the shutter speed scale of the AE Finder goes up to only 1/1000, although the top shutter speed of the body is 1/2000. There is a little room on the scale between 1/1000 and the red zone. Does this mean that the camera will fire at 1/2000 if the meter is reading above 1/1000, or is 1/1000 the maximum shutter speed while shooting in aperture priority?</p>

[dlw]

<p>I myself have an F-1N. I bought it new in 1984, and I have to say I've never used the camera at shutter speeds over 1/1000. I believe that shutter speeds over 1/1000 introduce reciprosity departure on most film. We've all seen advertised shutter speeds of 1/8000 and thereabouts, but in the real world those shutter speeds are all but unusable. Be advised that reciprosity departure is as real with extremely short exposure times as it is for extremely long ones. With high speed photos such as the ones with bullets going through playing cards and such, it's best to lock the shutter open in a dark room and use your strobes with enough light dialed in to make the exposure. BTW, those photos need a whole lot of light. </p>

[awahlster]

<p>Mark, What does your manual say on the subject?</p>

[alan_swartz]

<p>I don't see any explanation in the manual. Does anyone have hands-on experience?</p>

[awahlster]

<p>Actually it does on page 47 of my Manual it says the meter coupling range in AE mode is EV-1 to EV19 or 1/1000sec at f22</p>

<p>On Page 23 it says With the AE Finder FN attached and the shutter dial on "A" Shutter Speeds from 1/1000th to 8 sec are electronically controlled<br>

Also on the same page it mentions the shutter spds from 8 to 1/1000th will be displayed in the viewfinder.</p>

<p>SO when shooting in AE mode 1/1000th is the fastest speed the camera will select to use.</p>

<p> </p>

[gordon_yee]

<p>[Mark beat me to the punch!]</p>

<p>As a hybrid shutter, the F-1N's shutter is either mechanically or electronically governed, depending on the hardware and settings in use. In aperture priority AE mode with the AE Finder FN, the shutter speed is selected electronically. Page 23 of the New F-1 manual states that shutter speeds from <em><strong>1/1000</strong> </em> to 8 seconds are electronically controlled:</p>

<p>http://www.cameramanuals.org/canon_pdf/canon_new_f-1-01.pdf</p>

<p>Implicitly, 1/2000 sec. is only available as a mechanically governed shutter speed. Page 47 of the manual further states that the F-1N's upper metering range in aperture priority and stopped down AE modes is EV 19, or specifically 1/1000 sec. at f/22. For other metering modes, the range is specified with respect to 1/2000 sec.</p>

<p>As has been discussed in other threads, the F-1N will provide aperture priority AE with or without the AE Finder FN attached. However, in this AE mode, shutter speeds faster than 1/60 sec. will be mechanically controlled if the AE Finder FN is not present. It's not clear to me if the F-1N will select 1/2000 sec. in aperture priority AE mode with another finder attached.</p>

[alan_swartz]

<p>That's implicit, indeed.</p>

[mark_pierlot]

<p>Thanks, guys! I guess I'll just switch to manual exposure if I need 1/2000 while shooting with large apertures, or just use slower film. I was using Kodak Portra 400 yesterday, but I usually use Ektar 100 outdoors. </p>

[dlw]

<p>Mark, I just came back to this thread, read the responses and realized I obviously didn't read your question. I thought you were asking something completely different. I apologise for the irrelevent response. The F-1N is a ripping good camera though. Again, sorry. </p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>Gordon your response is correct - what you forgot was that with another finder attached the New F1 does not have aperture priority available as the motor / winder gives shutter priority and all the other 4 finders (speedfinder, standard eye level, and two waist level) are manual (or shutter priority with motor / winder). Thus with the AE finder you get up to 1/1000 with all others you get up to 1/2000. I have not tried having the AE prism set to the space but i suspect you get 1/1000 (or nothing happens). Next time I put a film through one of mine I will try this. By the way I love the speedfinder as it is the brightest and biggest viewfinder ever put on a Canon body. The New F1 was full frame with a 0.8x viewfinder and no part silvered mirror. Even bodies like the 1V, 1Ds III etc... are only 0.72 to 0.76X with a part silvered mirror (for AF). The T90 came close with a 0.77X viewfinder but my 5DII, 7D and 1DIIN are all pretty poor with 0.72 on the 5DII being the best (the 1DIIN is a letter box being 0.71X and a 1.3 crop camera - effectively 0.56x while the 7D is better being 1X and 1.6 crop - effectively 0.63X). I guess the idea is that we can live with poorer viewfinders and the LCD.</p>

[gordon_yee]

<p>Actually, Philip, the F-1N <em>will</em> operate in aperture priority AE mode with any of the finders attached. However, the AE Finder FN is the only one that will display the shutter speed selected. This topic was discussed in the following threads:</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/canon-fd-camera-forum/00Vbf2<br>

http://www.photo.net/canon-fd-camera-forum/00H9UQ</p>

<p>This is an undocumented or, at best, a poorly documented "feature" that is easy to test:</p>

 

<ul>

<li>Install a good battery in your F-1N.</li>

<li>Take a manual meter reading on a fairly dim scene so that the correct shutter speed is audibly slow (e.g., 1/4 to 1 sec.).</li>

<li>Attach a finder other than the AE Finder FN. Alternatively, you can simply remove the finder if you make sure you block off any light entering the focusing screen area where the metering cell resides.</li>

<li>Set the shutter speed dial to "A."</li>

<li>Take an exposure on the metered scene and listen for the shutter speed selected by the camera.</li>

</ul>

[philip_wilson]

<p>Sorry Gordon - you are correct but I believe that even in this case you only get 1/1000 as the shutter speed is still set electronically when the camera is set to A. Since I keep the AE prism (and usually a partial screen) in one of my two F1s I never actually use this feature.</p>

[jim_krupnik]

<p>The AE finder FN is limited to 1/1000 in aperture priority AE mode, as best as I have ever been able to tell, however, if you install the AE motor drive FN, you can set a "new" FD lens to "A", and set the shutter speed dial anywhere from 8 seconds up to the fastest 1/2000 sec speed for full shutter priority AE, which makes better sense anyway, as I only get into the 1/2000 shutter speed range when I want it for a particular effect, and then prefer to lock it in. The AE finder FN switches the display in this case to show the selected shutter speed in digits "2000" on the lower right side, and the auto-selected aperture indicated by a needle sweeping a vertical scale above it.</p>

<p> </p>

[ralf2]

<p>I had the shutter of one of my F-1 Ns tested. In apreture priority mode it fires at 1/2000.</p>