frivoal

<p>I entered the photography world by chance, when two years ago, i

got an incredible bargain from someone in my family. Switching to new,

he sold me his old body and set of lenses. here is the list.

<ul>

<li>body: canon A-1</li>

<li>lenses:<ul>

<li>tokina 35-70:(3.5-16) zoom</li>

<li>makion 80-200 (3.5-22) zoom</li>

<li>foca focal length doubler</li>

</ul></li>

</ul>

all the lenses are macro capable.</p>

<p>While it is true that none of this is as good as non-zoom lenses, i

am still happy with it, especialy knowing that i only paid 50$ for the

whole lot (yes, you read well, and there is no typing mistake).</p>

<p>But. It is getting old. There are many things that reminds me that

this camera is 4years older than me, and it has traveled much more

than me, in worse conditions.

<ul>

<li>the lense mount ring, while still in good shape itself, shakes a

little on the body.</li>

<li>the small moss line which should protect the mirror when it goes

up is worn out</li>

<li>consequently, the mirror has been slightly damaged on the border

(not visible through the viewfinder)</li>

<li>the batery trap is alomst destroyed.</li>

<li>both zooms are a bit shaky. they can move a little in ways they

are not supposed to. For example on the tokina, i can pull the focus

ring almost 1mm forward or backward, while it is designed to be

opereted by rotating, not pulling.</li>

</ul>

Having said all that, every thing is still working, and i still manage

to make good shots. Well, good on my own standards. nothing like the

pictures i saw on this web site. i am but a beginner.</p>

<p>So this is what i have, and what is wrong with it. Before asking

the questions, here is the last piece of info: i am now in thailand

(bangkok), and will be back to france, in one month.</p>

<p>Let's come to the point. Is there any chance that i can find

somebody to get all that fixed? if yes, would the prices be reasonable

(reasonable means significatly less than buy full new equipment)?</p>

<p>If at least the body can be fixed, i am willing to follow the

advices given on this web site, about buying proper SLR system. that

is, get a good 50mm, play around, get a wide angle, play around, and

get a telephoto... But, will i be able to find these kind of lense of

such an old, discontinued model? Until now, i couldn't.</p>

<p>If i can't, i'll have to buy another one. I'll continue reading the

reviews, but if someone could advise me on some specific model, i'd be

gratefull. I realy enjoy using this kind of camera. One thing i like

on this camera, and which seems to be missing on most modern ones, is

that i have distinct buttons and wheels for every dinstinct function.

one wheel for aperture, one for speed, one for ISO, one for

exposure.... And, also... well i will not try to explain you what are

the good points of those kind of old models, since you guys probably

know this much better than i do. Just know that for me, using this

kind of equipment is at least half the fun of making pictures. so

where should i head to? is there something new which still has thing

kind feeling? or do i definitely have to go on the second had market.

I hope i don't have to, because if i am buying a camera, it would be

because i can't find what i want for the one i have. So buyng an other

discontinued one would feel weird.</p>

<p>I hope someone has good news for me. Anyway, thanks in advance to

thoses who will take the time to answer. And if you don't do it for

me, do it to help a good old Canon A1 to continue it's career. It

<em>does</em> deserve it. ;)</p>