Canon F-1 vs. A-1 Viewfinder?

[Brad Bireley]

Canon F-1 vs. A-1 Viewfinder? How much better is the Canon F-1(newest model w/ standard viewfinder) then the A-1???

Thanks

 

[Timmyjoe]

Have owned both, only have the A-1 right now. IIRC the biggest difference, besides the interchangeable viewing screens on the NEW F-1, is that in the A-1 viewfinder you have the LED readout telling you shutter speed/Aperture running along the bottom. With the NEW F-1, there is a light bar running up and down the right side of the viewfinder with a matched needle system to set exposure, and I think shutter speed is visible in the viewfinder as well, but not lit by LEDs.

Hope that helps.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Fraser]

quite a lot better I would say, I have a couple of new F1s and several A series canons. The new F1 viewfinder is as good as any other professional level camera where as the A1 is more consumer level.

 

[Brad Bireley]

I should have been more clear in my question...is the F-1 brighter then the A-1?

 

[rogue_designer]

My impression - though I do not know if it's backed by fact, is that the F-1 shows more of the full frame than the A-1. In my copies, both my F1N were slightly brighter, but I have only that impression, no measurement to show it.

 

[sevo]

My impression - though I do not know if it's backed by fact, is that the F-1 shows more of the full frame than the A-1.

That is a general feature of pro cameras (where Nikon defined the standard with the 100% screen of the F).

In my copies, both my F1N were slightly brighter, but I have only that impression, no measurement to show it.

They are very noticeably brighter. Indeed, the A-1 finder is dim even compared to competing consumer cameras from that era. Oddly so, given that Canon made (for that period at least) some of the brightest screens around, as evident in the bright finders throughout the F-1 series. But either the A-1 prism was too small, or they bled away too much light for the metering.

 

[Fixcinater]

Definitely better. I have an F1n with the Speed Finder, it's great. I have a couple of the F1 News that I bought as fixer projects and they are excellent as well. Hard going back to the earlier bodies (FT, TX, etc) and the consumer bodies like the A1 once you've used the F1s for a bit.

 

[stupid leica]

I sold my New F1N with the standard finder a few months back since I'd prob never use it again, and I miss it. That finder was one of the best SLR finders I've ever used. Looked better than life itself.

/hyperbole

But seriously, it is magnitudes better than the A1 finder.

 

[jbielikowski]

my biggest concern with A-1 finder was a poor eye relief, F-1 is much nicer in this regard, and as other said the F-1N is also brighter. And T70 is better than all of them.

 

[kermaier]

I have both, but only 1 lens at the moment, so I have to switch it back and forth to compare finder brightness. My quick impression is that the F-1N is somewhat brighter than the A-1, but not night-and-day. Of course, using an f/1.2 lens helps both finders. 🙂 Also, there's a variety focus screens available for the F-1N, some brighter than others.
Magnification, coverage and eye relief are definitely better in the F-1N. The match-needle meter/aperture and shutter speeds are visible in a vertical display on the right, but they're illuminated by ambient light via a small translucent window strip to the left of the prism housing.

 

[Sid836]

The lasermate screen of the New F-1 beats the screen of the A-1 hands down. It is not just brighter, but also has a finer mate surface making focusing with just the mate part of the viewfinder a lot easier.
The only think that I don't like with the finder of the A-1 though is that when the air condensates on the viewfinder (not inside 🙂 ), the red leds make the entire view glowing red.

 

[Fraser]

The F1 name is the most annoying thing!
F1
F1n
New F1

 

[sevo]

The F1 name is the most annoying thing!
F1
F1n
New F1

Nikon objected to Canon strolling into their (F/F2) trademark domain, and Canon was only granted the use of F-1 on the base of the hyphen and Nikon having left out the F1. But that eliminated the option of counting up, they were stuck with variations on F-1 until they quit that Nikonesque F-whatever naming scheme for good.

 

[Fixcinater]

The only finders I have experienced that are on the same level are the OM4Ti (presumably the regular OM4 has the same finder) and the Pentax LX.

Oh, and quite a few medium formats but that's rather different.

 

[Fraser]

The best finder I've ever used is still the om2