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Hi Larry, Yes, the Canon system was better in many ways: all Canon FD lenses made from 1971 work with all bodies right up to the end of the FD era, including shutter priority and program. Nikon was more of a faff, so they changed the system in ‘77. But for example the DP-3 head on the F2 or DP-12 has much better metering cells. I use the DP-3 on one of my F2 bodies which does not work with AI only lenses but works with the non-AI or AI lenses with rabbit ear connectors… All Canon metering cells of that era (if I recall) were silicon. G

Didn’t realise that…

Hi Larry, The T-90 was a great camera but the shutter was its weak point - not engineered for the number of exposures that was typical or for a 35 year life! Many for sale now do have dead shutters. Some shutters can be resurrected with TLC but eventually they fail beyond repair and there are no spares (apart from other 'failed' shutter units!). I live in Portugal and can get to Lisbon in 2 hours, where there is an excellent classic camera shop that specialises in film cameras. It's a Nikon specialist but they know a guy who can do Canons. He is about to look at three T-90 bodies for me: 1 works perfectly but has a cracked viewfinder glass, 2 is completely dead, 3 turns on but doesn't fire and has a failing LCD (another issue now after 35 years+). My Nikons of the 70s and 80s have fared better (in terms of shutters) though my old F1 and EF are still going strong. The T-90 was big and clunky but it had great technological innovations to set the pattern for EOS, etc. Best Gary

Hi Larry, I have 5 x T-90s - 2 working and three others I am about to give to a technician to try to make one working body from the three! So I have a bit of experience. I have heard of this before, though not seen it on any of my cameras. I sounds to me like a mechanical problem with the EE sensor pin. A dismantle, clean and lubrication by a good technician may work, or have a dead donor body available for spares (about £25-40 on eBay) so s/he can cannibalise for parts. Where do you live? Do you have a good technician you can use? Gary

305917 ☺️

Mine is P821 code and with split image / microprism focussing screen.

Yes, it was a long series of posts, I wasn’t sure. Technically it was made ‘74 to ‘78. But did we want to know the production run?

My EF is working beautifully still and I just put through it a roll of Fuji Velvia 50. Mine is 1976. The rear light seals need replacing, so that is the next job.

Yes, I think it is actually just a case of recalibrating the meter.

PS Went to the official Fuji stockist in Spain, who had 17 rolls of 135 Velvia 100 and some packs of 4x5". I bought some rolls of Velvia 135. €28 a throw but there you go..... Another reputable analogue lab I use in Spain, said that now only Kodak is a reliable producer of colour film. Fuji is very inconsistent and no notion of stock production let alone customer service. I think the problem is that these companies are ultimately run by 'accountants in with green pens' and there are probably few executives / directors in post (if any) who can remember the pre-digital era.

Just thought I'd trawl some ideas from colleagues... E6 35mm has become very difficult to get. I have used mainly C41 in the last few years to preserve the stock of Fujichrome I have in the fridge but could do with buying some more. Any thoughts about current availability? I know Fuji stopped making E6 'temporarily' during the pandemic and stopped selling Velvia in the US in 2021 due to new environmental regulations about a certain chemical compound present and stopped making 4x5" etc. My usual online stores in Europe seem to have nil stock of Fujichrome (of any type) and the last roll I managed to buy was Velvia 100 about a year ago. Kodak Ektachrome 100 seems to be available if you look and don't mind paying €28 per roll. It seems like the days of E6 might be numbered but does anyone know the current situation re: production by Fuji? Thanks in advance Gary

Thanks, the technical article from the Dutch guy (Buktus link) was a good read. In summary, with zinc-airs now $1 a throw (or less) I have the following regime: PX625A's that are 1.5v and alkaline, I use in my Nikon F (which is converted to run on 1.5v cells). Though alkalines do have a voltage drop as they age, the ones I have in the meter head are 6 months old (and still giving a stable 1.5v when discharge tested with my multimeter), so I'll just monitor them and when they die, replace them with 1.5v silver oxide LR44s with PX625 adaptors. My Canon EF can take any cell that will fit (1.5v or 1.35v). My Canon F1, I use the Wein 1.35v zinc-airs or other zinc-airs with adaptors. Attempting to buy 'old new' mercury cells (still apparently made in some parts of the world) is nonsense and pointless: leaving aside the mercury issue, could I trust their provenance or longevity in my precious old cameras, even if I could source them? Zinc-airs are the way to go, if they last less than a year, I can live with the cost!

Yes, I agree about the zinc-airs but I only need them now in my F1 now as my Nikon F and Canon EF can use 1.5 v cells with adaptors (see above). Thus I buy lots of zinc-airs and change as necessary, they are a lot cheaper now (the LR44 sized ones) than they used to be....

Thanks for that

I checked this out. The Kanto device is available on Amazon.com (US) for about $30 but is not available on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon in the EU (where I live). I can see how it was useful in the past, but now seems like a 'solution to a problem that does not exist' - surely far simpler to use one of the PX625 metal adaptors and fit a 1.35v zinc-air LR44 sized cell inside? Best Gary

Hi - any one have a picture of what this set up looks like in practice? Best Gary

Hi Jim, thanks, what exactly is a CRIS adaptor? Best Gary

I have had quite a lot of experience of this issue over the last few years. Here's a summary: 1. My Nikon F (about 1969) with a FTn meter head - it takes 2 x 1.35V PX625 (in the meter head). When I had it serviced by a classic Nikon specialist technician recently, he adjusted / calibrated the meter so it could work with modern 1.5V PX625s. 2. My Canon EF (1976) - see above - I use the 1.35V zinc-airs or modern 1.5V PX625's. 3. My Canon F1 (1975) does not have the voltage regulator. The battery just powers the meter as the camera is mechanical. I use the zinc-air 1.35v cells. There are several companies around, like Polar Bear Cameras, selling the LR44 sized 1.35v zinc airs and PX625 adaptors. The zinc-airs give stable output of 1.35v once activated and usually last for a about a year or more and are cheap enough these days (about €12 / £10 for 5 batteries and an adaptor set). Some other companies selling the LR44 / G10 type zinc-airs at 1.4 to 1.45v as 'hearing aid batteries' don't always give a stable output though with 50 year old cameras with old metering circuits, +/- 0.25 volts in unlikely to be a problem but voltage instability is not good for metering accuracy. I have a hand held meter anyway as a check. NB I guess like many of us, I use the cameras as much as I can but with about 20+ 35mm classic cameras in my collection (Canon, Nikon, Contax), the number if films that go through each body might be just 1-2 per year, so I always remove batteries when the cameras are not being used to prevent leakage issues. I have a spreadsheet where I keep a record of when batteries where changed and if in doubt, I recycle the batteries and fit fresh ones. I keep a good stock of batteries in the refrigerator! Gary

Yes, it does. So you can use Zinc-air 1.35v substitutes or the ‘modern’ 1.5v silver oxide PX625 clones. Either will work with no issues.

I have a couple of FLs. Mechanically and in terms of engineering, they are superb. The fact that they are not multicoated is an issue, but perhaps not as much as you might think. Halo and coma are more pronounced but sometimes, that's a good thing!

My son, who is now 11, didn't know what a non-digital camera was, and had never seen 35mm film, until when he was about 7, when I started taking him on walks with me and I would take a 35mm SLR with me. At first, he couldn't understand why he couldn't see the image immediately when looking at the back of the camera (for example, a 1967 Nikon F!) but now he understands. When I show him slides and negatives in my archives that I took 20, 30 or 40 years ago, literally all over the world, he gets it!

I bought the 24-105L more or less on the day it was released. Canon would not admit it but the early version had a few problems wide open at the wide end. But overall it was a very good lens and in fact I still have my original from 2005/6. Canon released a mk2 version what was optically better, so go for that if you can get one.

I did use one for a while. Optically they were complex but surprisingly good given the inevitable design compromises. As noted above, the 35-350 was quickly replaced with the 28- version. There was relatively little barrel distortion at the short end. Pincushion was more a problem at the long end when fully open, I recall. I currently use the 70-300 f5.6L and 24-105L on full frame cameras (e.g. 5D / 6Ds). I rarely find I need the full range in one lens. However, in summary, if you can get the 28 / 35 - 300x L for a good price, you won't be disappointed (optically). But it is heavy, for sure. Hence, you'll need to IS.

Just planning to buy a Canon EX Auto QL from the early 70s. Just for fun, as it doesn't even take FD lessons. G

It's lovely to see that younger people are enjoying these cameras today. I wonder how long E6 film will be around but 35mm B&W and C41 seem safe.