Canon FD Camera Recommendation

[abram]

<p>I'm just going to chime in and whole-heartedly confirm that the T90 is a splendid camera. I've only just recently gotten into the FD system myself (Coming back to film after a 7 year hiatus) and I've tried numerous bodies out.<br>

I never had the chance to try the F-1 out yet, but I do have an EF which is built pretty similarly. I still prefer the T90. That darn thing is just so comfortable in my hands and it's extremely well balanced. I bought mine used for a good price, but it turned out there was oil on the shutter blades. After a repair though it came back working good as new. I quite like this camera and I think you would too!</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>Dave<br>

While FD is a great system you will find good quality FD lenses are not that cheap. This is also true of Nikon where the lenses tend to be even more expensive as they have a degree of compatibility with the current digital bodies. In general Pentax, Olympus and Nikon tend to offer cheaper used systems than Canon or Nikon.<br>

As everyone has said the two "best" Canon FD bodies are the New F1 and the T90 - although they are very different cameras. Of these two I would suggest the T90 as it is a very advanced camera.<br>

If money is a factor than the A1 and AE1 are consumer level alternatives. However, before you buy I suggest you look at lenses prices for FD and other old systems on KEH.com so you can see what you are looking at. </p>

[GerrySiegel]

<p>The T90 has so many features that Canon had to publish a large book to cover them. There was also a Hove Magic Lantern book on that camera alone. And another book on the matching flash, the 300TL. It has about everything you could ask for. Only question is are you gifted enough to take advantages of all its fancy metering options. Don't be too quick to answer yes...a great camera, I have two bodies being serviced. gs<br /> Plastic? Tank is ,ugh, plasticky...horrors you say....thermoplastic, reinforced with dragon teeth, the good kind of plastic.</p>

[mwmcbroom]

<blockquote>

<p>While FD is a great system you will find good quality FD lenses are not that cheap. This is also true of Nikon where the lenses tend to be even more expensive as they have a degree of compatibility with the current digital bodies. In general Pentax, Olympus and Nikon tend to offer cheaper used systems than Canon or Nikon.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Premium quality used FD lenses have never really been cheap. Lenses like the old breechlock 24mm f/1.4 SSC Al, 55mm f/1.2 SSC Al, 85mm f/1.2 SSC Al have always sold at a premium. The ultrawides have always sold at a premium. The "L" series telephotos have always sold at a premium. True, some of them are cheaper now than they used to be, but they still fetch a hefty price on the used market.</p>

<p>But others can still be found at a decent price if one is willing to look around and be patient. Go for the auctions instead of the Buy It Now listings on eBay, for example. Go for the lenses that provide superior images but that often slip below the radar, e.g., 50/1.8, 135/3.5 or 200/4. Go for outfits that contain the lens(es) you want, and sell off the pieces you don't want. I did this recently with a Canon AL-1 outfit. The outfit contained the AL-1, plus a few lenses, one of which was a 50mm f/1.4 SSC. I bought the outfit to get that 50mm lens. I then sold off the AL-1 and the other two lenses and wound up getting the 50mm f/1.4 SSC for free. Not too bad, methinks.</p>

<p>Also, don't overlook the better aftermarket lenses, like the older Vivitar Series 1, Tokina AT-X, or Tamron SP. True, the Tamron has the Adaptall-2 mount, but still it's possible to find great Tamrons for cheap on the used market. And the fixed mount lenses, like the Vivitars and Tokinas, definitely seem to sell for less if they have the Canon FD mount. However, I suspect that this will change as the popularity of the u4/3 mount continues to increase, and especially because of the Sony NEX cameras. So don't wait too long. :)</p>

<p>And I really must disagree with the content of the last sentence in the above quote. It has been my experience that both Pentax and Olympus have very loyal followings and that this typically translates into high demand for their better quality lenses.</p>

 

[michaelchristensen]

<p>It is hard not to like the Canon FD cameras. Some love the T90, the original F1, or the F1n, New F1. For me it is the New F1N .. I absolutely love working in Aperture Priority with the needle metering on this camera. It offers a "bold" display that tells me where I'm at and where I need to be .. everything on that camera just works like a pro photographer wants things to work .. good tactile feel of button/switches .. little risk of bumping an ISO or shutter speed setting. </p>

<p>I've just about tried all of them in the last 10 years .. Canon AE1, AE1 Program, Canon FTb, Canon A1 (good camera but too many features and lesser build quality - yet more camera than most people will ever need); the Old F1 (have to get another battery .. ) but the shutter let-off on this camera is a hair better than my Canon New F1N! .. but otherwise a bit more clunky/retro in design .. The Canon NEW F1 .. what can I say, this camera was built to digest tons of film .. love the solid sound, and with a motor drive this is a "machine" for picture taking ... some say the T90 is the culmination of best of the line .. yes, maybe it is .. but I prefer the uncluttered display in the viewfinder of the New F1. I really do not feel photographically impaired with any F1 body .. even standing next to photographers with much more newer and expensive equipment .. I don't worry about metering issues .. I worry about composition and focus and shutter release .. it is a simple formula that I have successfully screwed up with transitions to better and more expensive film and digital cameras. If however, metering is of paramont importance than the T90 has an edge (on many fronts) simply because it has such versatility already built in. The T90 is indeed a beautiful beast that works faster than an F1 series camera, seems a bit more ergonomic with less weight .. a very fine and refined FD camera. </p>

 

[mwmcbroom]

<p>When it comes to the biggest collection of features and superior ergonomics, all to be found in a single camera, the T90 wins that contest hands down. When it comes to being built strong enough to survive a 9.0 earthquake, while still offering the "standard" selection of metering modes -- manual, shutter-priority, and aperture-priority, the New F-1 is definitely the way to go. It's lighter weight little sister that can still handle a fair amount of heavy use, the A-1, offers just about all the New F-1 does. Squeaks aside -- which are easy to service -- the A-series in general have proven their worth, value, and robustness over the years.</p>

<p>But my favorites are the old school gear. The old F-1 and F-1n, and the FTb and Ftbn. One of my favorite sounds is the "pop" the old F-1's shutter makes when you trip it with the back open. I've never heard another camera make that sound.</p>

<p>I guess I like these two cameras so much because of the way I went about learning photography. Like many millions of other people, I bought a Canon AE-1 as my first camera. It was easy enough to use that, right out of the box, I was taking decent pictures. But soon I wanted more. And I figured automation was the answer -- so I bought an A-1, which was still Canon's most advanced camera at the time I bought it. I was dazzled briefly be the array of options I had that didn't exist with the AE-1. But only briefly. About the time I bought the A-1, I also started shooting slides. And I noticed that a large percentage of my slides were way underexposed. Analysis indicated that with all these slides a bit of stray light had managed to enter the frame. I found this very annoying. So annoying that I began looking for a replacement -- it didn't matter anymore how many whiz-bang gimcrackery features it had. If I had a photo that was ruined because of a bit of glare off a windshield, for example, then I didn't have much use for that camera. I recall reading an article about this time -- it would have been 1983 or 1984 -- about a classic old Canon called the FTb. The author extolled its virtues, chief of which to me were a partial metering pattern and mirror lockup. That settled it for me. Within a couple of weeks, I had located a clean used FTbn, bought it and started using it exclusively.</p>

<p>Using the FTb was like feeling a set of passive shackles fall away. I say passive because I could feel their presence, but they did not overtly hinder, they mostly steered because of the limitations they represented. I found that the small rectangle in the FTb's viewfinder, which represented 12% of the viewfinder area, and which was the ONLY area where metering occurred, was tremendously liberating. I got so good at positioning that rectangle over a scene that I never had the need for a spot meter. I could average a scene just by positioning the rectangle the right way. It wasn't too long after buying the FTb, that I started learning about the F-1, of course -- the Old F-1, that is. And it sounded like it was just what I was looking for. I had reached the point where I was wishing I could change out the FTb's focusing screens (can't), and also found occasions where a motor drive would be nice. So less than a year after buying the FTb, and less than two years after buying my first Canon, I had "graduated" to the vintage tech of the Original F-1. And from that point forward, I never looked back. I eventually owned two F-1s, each with a Motor Drive MF, a speed finder, focusing screens -- all the good stuff. And the FTb, of course.</p>

<p>I often say that I got started with photography with my A-series Canons, but I really began to <em>learn</em> photography once I bought the FTb. Those old manual, mechanical cameras taught me photography. They were designed to be easy to use as manual cameras with their match needle metering and uncluttered viewfinders. And they excelled at it. I'm still more comfortable shooting with an Old F-1 than just about any other camera I can think of. My collection has changed over the years, but it still exists. Currently I have a black FTb, a black FTbn and a chrome FTbn, and an F-1 with the Winder F, Speedfinder, and an assortment of focusing screens. Oh, and an AE-1P, but it doesn't really count. :)</p>