New F-1 limitations?

[User_4136860]

<p>Perhaps the reason Canon didn't put AE lock in the New F1 is because of the variable exposure patterns provided by the interchangeable focusing screens being either centre weighted , partial or spot metering and by using the correct screen for the subject AE lock was unnecessary. I have three New F1 bodys and never missed having this facility. </p>

[cadillacmike]

<p>The new F-1 remains my favorite camera of all time.</p>

<p>I never missed the AE lock, most of my shooting is in match needle mode, or TV mode .To me the biggest faults were no MLU and no TTL Flash, although I must state that I never had exposure problems with A, T or G series flashes and the new F-1. As for MLU, if I really need it, I have old F-1s and FTBs and EFs (and a smattering of FTs) to use.<br /> As to the finish, yes it's different but I think it's ok.<br /> Operationally, If i ever did have a camera battery die in use, then changing it with the motor drive or winder would have been a PITA, but I was never concerned about fogging the film, anyone ever hear of a jacket or towel to shield the camera when doing so? Use some common sense here folks. And check your battery when you start off.</p>

<p>And I don't think it lost any sales to the anemic nikon F3, with its <strong>one</strong> speed no battery backup shutter. Rather, I believe the F3 was the beginning of nikon's demise vs-a-vis Canon. Look at the two companies now.</p>

[gordon_yee]

<p><em>"I think Canon didn't have the lock button because they didn't know how. Canon wasn't all that good in analog electronics."</em></p>

<p>Huh? The Canon EF introduced in 1973 had an AE Memory Lock button. Its shutter priority auto exposure was a sophisticated mechanical (i.e., analog) trapped needle design, and its hybrid shutter was a unique blend of mechanics and electronics. Canon has always been a strong engineering company, preferring to bring fully developed products to market rather than rushing to be the first.</p>

<p>When Canon introduced the original F-1 in 1971, they knew it would be difficult to entice professional photographers using Nikons to switch. Instead, they appealed to the younger, up and coming pros. One major initiative was the establishment of their support network for pros, the current Canon Professional Services unit. In addition to earning brand loyalty from its customers, it provided Canon with valuable feedback which it used in developing future products. The reason the New F-1 didn't have an AE memory lock was probable because it wasn't deemed to be a must-have feature by pros who used Canons. And if mirror lock-up was so important to pros, why wasn't it a standard feature on professional level auto focus 35mm SLRs? I don't recall pros complaining about these "limitations" in the 1980s, so it's curious to hear these complaints by people using the camera 20 years after production stopped. It reminds me of a thread on another forum where the poster complained that the Canon AE-1P's metering system didn't have the same features as his DSLR.</p>

[User_4136860]

<p>If you have the AE motor drive FN or AE power winder FN attached to the New F1 and the camera PX28 battery fails you can't remove it to replace it or use the mechanical speeds of the hybrid shutter without removing the motor drive or winder which would expose the film, so it's important to check the voltage of the PX 28 battery before fitting a drive unit.<br>

P.S.The New F1 doesn't have a mirror lock because Canon considered that the shutter action was so smooth that it was unnecessary, and the same with the Canon T90 </p>

<p> </p>

[dennis_kushner2]

Never missed having AE Lock on the F1N. If using spot or partial metering screens & the main subject

was off center, you simply took the reading, set it & then recomposed. Set it & forget it as you wanted the

main subject metered correctly. That's all AE Lock did. YMMV. The standard eye level finder will also

allow aperture priority mode but speed not visible. I also use the power winder without batteries to shoot in

portrait mode as shutter button will work. The construction design of the F1N was a major reliability selling

point for pros (along with L glass) as it would work in all temps & not vibrate apart on long airline flights

taken all year round. Even today after the last F1N sold in 1991, the 100,000 shutter life cycle very

seldom reached vs the 40,000 of the earlier A series with the infamous Canon Cough. Today, they are

very cheap compared to their original list price. I bought my first 2 used body in 1995 for $500 each after

the pros went EOS 1 & autofocus lenses & thought that was a bargain price. Glad I kept one for the long

haul.

[allan_crook1]

<p>my F1n, had an annoying tendency. the rewind clutch button on baseplate would fail to stay locked in. adjusted by canon, but it still was unreliable, failing to lock (always when I was in a hurry, it seemed.</p>

<p>the AE winder would stick, failing to wind-on. stopped using it.</p>

<p>I was pleased to find full AE mode works with plain-standard prism fitted.<br /> learnt this from watching a tv documentary, about national geographic staffer.</p>

<p>I still think the film transport system is suspect in the F1n. the manual wind-on, is not the best, in throw angle,effort,smoothness.</p>

<p>the original f-1 had a marketing boast - it had more parts than any other camera.(maybe 10,000!)?<br /> was the F1n more of a cost-reduction (in production terms) exercise?</p>

<p>as I use Leica M, I am spoilt, over many decades, from faultless operation.<br>

<br /> my favourite lens is the 80-200 fluorite L zoom. great colour reproduction, balanced performance characteristics,I understand the non-L 80-200 is excellent too.(think that has built in hood.?- nice)</p>

[mwmcbroom]

<p>I bought my first F-1N a couple years ago, after using and enjoying the original F-1 for some 30 years. When I bought my first F-1, it had already been out of production for a few years -- actually more than that, since my first F-1 was the original F-1 (and not the F-1n). I had put off buying a New F-1 for so many years because I just didn't feel the need for it. But I finally decided to buy one just to grow my Canon FD collection. Soon after purchasing it (mine has the AE Finder FN), I also bought a Motor Drive FN for it. One thing is absolutely true -- the New F-1's motor drive blows the original F-1's motor into the weeds! At one time, I owned two F-1s with their giant Motor Drive MF's and put up with the MF's rather leisurely film advance speed of 3.5fps becauuse the only other recourse if one wanted to motorize their F-1 was the Winder F. But these days, I have Winder Fs installed on my old F-1's -- F-1n's to be exact.</p>

<p>Much has been stated about the F-1N's lack of mirror lock up. I can tell you this -- the reason why I bought original F-1s was because the F-1N did not have it. I recall an article in <em>Modern Photography</em> magazine in which the F-1N was tested to see if Canon's claims that its mirror was so well damped that it didn't need MLU. Well, the article showed conclusively that the lack of MLU made a big difference in image quality. I read this article probably in 1983 or so, and it was because of that article that I went for the old F-1. So anyway, I'm glad I bought the original. It has long been my favorite camera -- especially the F-1n.</p>

<p>When I bought my F-1N, it was not just to add a camera to my FD collection, it was also because I was curious. Back in the day, I saw quite a few pros shooting with them, so I was figuring that they knew something I didn't. And after playing around with it and then putting a few rolls through it, I began to see why the Pros liked it so much. The viewfinder info is much more complete than the old F-1's. One of the things I liked best about the old F-1 was its partial metering pattern, so it was with relief that I saw I could equip my New F-1 similarly, which is what I immediately did.</p>

<p>My impression about the New F-1 regarding its ruggedness is that it appears to be even more rugged than the original F-1. If I needed to drive nails and couldn't find a hammer, I feel confident that I could use an F-1N for the job. Maybe it's its Parkerized finish, instead of the gloss black of the original, that gives me that impression. Maybe it's its heft. I dunno, probably both.</p>

<p>Now,as far as the lack of an AE lock goes, I agree that Canon probably felt it wasn't a big priority because most of the people who bought an F-1N shot in manual mode. But you know, I've used cameras from that same period that were designed so that, if you pressed the shutter button halfway down, this would lock exposure. Seems to me that Canon could have incorporated something similar in the F-1N without having to add another button for this purpose.</p>