sub_lunar

<p>what's the point of the spacers? I've tried the 675 and 357 batteries and they fit well enough I think. They're sorta loose until you put the caps on but I don't really see that being an issue.</p>

<p>This is another mercury battery replacement thread but with a slightly different question than I've seen asked or answered previously. Yes, I used the search function.<br> <br />First of all, a while back I posted a question as I was looking for an FD Canon. Thanks to some of your help, I went with a Canon EF camera. Part of the reason I chose this is because the camera actually shows you the light meter kind of like what I'm used to with DSRL's. I didn't want a dumbed down viewfinder screen like in my AE-1 Program. <br> <br />So I got the EF on ebay and the guy tells me the light meter works, even showed a pic of the viewfinder with it working, but didn't send the batteries with it because he needed them. So I did some research and picked up some 675 cell batteries. The light meter is pegged in the upper red box the whole time with these. If I bring the aperture down all the way, the light meter will dip into the range of numbers slightly but not actually be responsive. A multimeter shows these batteries have charge (although my multimeter's battery is almost dead itself but it read that these batteries are pushing 1.8 and 1.9V). <br> <br />I see the replacement PX625 batteries and the adapters brag about having the collar. This obviously helps it fit better but I want to know if that collar serves an electrical purpose. I put a foam ring in the battery compartment to help it stay center and it doesn't behave any differently. I've tried everything short of buying different batteries to test this camera and the results are always the same. Could a battery at 1.8-1.9v be causing the pegging meter? These batteries are not supposed to be that high so I'm not sure if I got bad batteries or my multimeter is reading wrong because its own battery is dying. More work to do in that regard. UGH. <br> Two questions:<br> 1. Does the collar help make a better electrical contact for the battery in some way or in the case of replacements is that collar purely for fitment?<br> 2. What battery are you using in your EF?</p>

<p>Regarding the 30 second shutter speed: It's not that I am hooked on a gimicky feature and think I need something I really don't, like you often see with camera shoppers. It's that I want to as closely match my current digital shooting techniques on film without having to buy a newer film camera, like the EOS 3. I know an EOS 3 could do this and I could even use the same lenses on it as my DSLR. But I want an old camera to shoot film with old glass.<br> When I shoot digital, I often have a tripod set up and often exceed 5, 10 and even 20 second exposures. 30 seconds is quite common in the dark environments I shoot. I want to try the exact same style with an old film camera. I travel very lightly and don't want to fuss around with bulb mode and a light meter hence my preference for built in 30 seconds. I've gotten proficient at working with the built in 30 second shutter speed of my DSLR and I just want to put those same techniques to work on film and see how it compares, see how it feels. <br /><br />Regarding the reciprocity failure of film, I will certainly look into that. I actually just saw a post on this issue in another forum and will carefully consider my film choices. <br /><br />Thanks to everyone for their comments, if you have any other observations let me know. I'm basically starting out from scratch when it comes to film, despite being a digital shooter for years, so I appreciate your input. </p>

<p>Ah, yes I overlooked the A-1. That looks like a damn fine camera. Being newer than the EF and the F-1, having the various modes plus full manual and not to mention 30 second exposure capability. Nice.<br> Thanks for the suggestions.</p>

<p>I got my feet wet in photography with a 35mm camera in the 90s. I didn't really understand all the concepts at the time. I've since used a DSLR for many years and am now pretty familiar with all the manual aperture/exposure/iso settings and only shoot in manual these days. So I found my old "AE-1 Program" last night and discovered to my dismay that this seems to be a dumbed down consumer model designed as a shutter priority camera. No meter inside the viewfinder, it just tells you what aperture you need based on the shutter speed chosen. I guess my DSLR has spoiled me with manual everything and I don't like the automation inherent to the AE-1 Program. If i have to settle with automation, I'd take aperture priority over shutter priority...</p> <p>What I'm looking for here is a manual 35mm FD camera that can expose for 30 seconds or more (in either manual exposure or auto exposure mode) without having to resort to bulb mode and a separate light meter*.</p> <p>Since I already have a range of FD lenses for this camera, I'm trying to find an all around manual 35mm FD camera that meets this requirement. I shoot a lot of low light situations with a tripod and often find myself exposing for 30 seconds, hence this requirement. Am I asking too much as a spoiled DSLR user or is this possible in the world of Canon FD?<br /><br />I'm looking at some options and I see that a lot of the old 35mm cameras only have a 1 or two second exposure before bulb mode. Then some, like the AV-1 and AL-1 have an auto exposure mode. <br /><br />1. Beyond 2 seconds on a camera, such as an F-1, is your only choice bulb mode in conjunction with a light meter? Or is there a trick I don't know about to properly exposing beyond 2 seconds? As you may have guessed, I've never used bulb mode. <br /><br />2. Taking automatic exposures into consideration: Are there any FD Canons that can expose for longer than 2 seconds in auto exposure mode? In my searching, I discovered the Nikon FE can expose for several minutes in A mode but the Canon Av-1 cannot as it won't exceed 2 seconds.<br> -<br> *I've dug a little deeper and found the "EF" camera has up to 30 second exposures, set manually. Seems like it covers my needs but I'm wondering if there are any others.<br> 3. Is the EF my only option for manual everything with a 30 second exposure capability? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_EF_camera</p> <p>My apologies for the dumb questions and thank you in advance for any assistance.</p> <p> </p>