My day with a F-1, Motor Drive MF, and a Servo EE Finder

[jim_bielecki1]

The other day I decided the time has come to pare back on my camera collection.  Too many cameras and too many accessories.  Years back, I picked up a Motor Drive MF and a Servo EE finder for my original F-1.  I rarely use either, the MF motor is just too big and heavy, and I’m not a big fan of automation, but before I sell these two items, I decided I'd better test them first.  So I loaded 10 AA batteries into the motor drive grip, connected the Servo EE finder, and proceeded to walk around my small town with the camera loaded with a roll of Eastman 5222-XX film.  All assembled, this a large, heavy outfit (about six pounds), but it is well balanced and very solid.  I was surprised how quickly I got used to hauling around a six pound camera.  After a while, it was no big deal.  Maybe surprising, maybe not, but this 50+ year old unit worked perfectly.  The motor drive advanced the film with a reassuring whir.  Checking the Servo EE finder’s meter against my Gossen hand-held light meter, the readings were almost identical.  And there’s something special about hearing the servo motor buzzing as it moves the aperture needle in the viewfinder up and down.  Later on in the evening, I processed the film and every shot was perfectly exposed.  Not bad.  These accessories may be nothing more than collector oddities in 2023, but they were absolute state-of-the-art back in the early 70’s.  I was so impressed by the F-1/motor drive/Servo EE combo I think I’m going to keep it.  At least for now.

Edited December 29, 2023 by jim_bielecki1

[orsetto]

If you can possibly afford to keep the whole kit without feeling too guilty about the parked money, hold onto it! The original F1 accessories were never plentiful to begin with. Today they're pretty scarce, ever more collectible and increasingly hard to track down in full working order (esp the Servo EE Finder: good luck replacing it if you change your mind after selling).

Of all the '70s-era heyday pro 35mm SLR systems, I always thought Canon was the only mfr who got the motor drive just about right. It looks great, is balanced, and has a nice chunky grip. By contrast, the motors for the Nikon F were prehistoric claptrap, the F2 motor was poorly matched physically to the body (chrome motor finish, skinny grip, too tall and prone to tipping with battery pack at bottom). Motors for also-rans like Olympus, Pentax and Contax RTS were visually off or had ergonomic flaws similar to the F2 motor. The uncommon Minolta XK Motor camera might be the only one to equal Canon's original F1 setup.

Only Nikon and Canon had the add-on electro-mechanical shutter priority AE option: competitors relied on dedicated electronic bodies with built in aperture priority AE. Canon's F1 servo finder was arguably the more practical, better integrated, more functional design. But decades later as purely toys, the Nikon arrangement of separate meter prism and servo motor is much more Rube Goldberg fun. The servo looks less ungainly hanging off the side of the F2 vs the Canon having the entire shebang on top. With Nikon's external approach, you also get to see the motor spin the actual aperture ring on the lens. And its internal mini battery makes it more versatile: you can run it without a motor drive or external battery pack. In the end, Canon's approach made a lot more sense at the time (of course, they had the advantage of a new lens lineup with built-in AE mechanics, while Nikon was stuck working around their legacy lenses).

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by orsetto

[jim_bielecki1]

Rube Goldberg is a good way of explaining Nikon F2’s auto-aperture unit.  It’s almost as if Nikon felt compelled to answer Canon and their Servo-EE finder, and the best they could come up is the aperture control unit.  I remember thinking how odd this contraption looked.  I didn’t know that the Nikon unit’s motor physically spun the aperture ring.  That must have been a sight to see.  But I’m being too harsh.  Both of these units are a product of the all-mechanical times and show ingenious engineering.    

As for Motor Drive MF, it really is well designed.  I have no need to put it on “C” and fire off 3.5 frames/second, so using it in the single shot mode works very well.  Of course a Power Winder F can do the same thing, and is much smaller, lighter and cheaper.  But it doesn’t have the cool factor the Motor Drive MF has.

And the Servo EE finder was designed by somebody who actually takes pictures.  The controls, once learned, are intuitive and work well.  If the Servo EE has a downside, it’s that it requires a separate battery pack to power.  But that’s not an issue if paired with the Motor Drive MF.  Canon made a nifty cord that connects the Servo EE to the motor drive, so it’s drawing its power from the motor.

For now, I’ll be keeping both the motor and Servo-EE, and I’ll probably use the Motor Drive MF more because it the grip fits so well in my hand, making the camera/motor combo easy to handle.  The Servo will see occasional use, mainly when I feel like walking down memory lane.

[gordon_yee]

Jim, I noticed that your F-1 is a very early one. You're probably aware that upgraded parts were recommended in order to use the MF with F-1s with serial numbers under 200000. Attached is a scan from The Camera Craftsman that details the changes.

[jim_bielecki1]

1 hour ago, gordon_yee said:

Jim, I noticed that your F-1 is a very early one. You're probably aware that upgraded parts were recommended in order to use the MF with F-1s with serial numbers under 200000. Attached is a scan from The Camera Craftsman that details the changes.

Yes, I'm aware of that.  I have a few F-1's and put the motor drive on the camera you see (100980) because it was the closest to me:). I've never tried to operate the motor drive on that camera.  I have put the Power Winder F on 100980, and it works fine.