back alley
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awhile back i picked up some old canon slr film gear, put it into a storage domke bag and pretty much left it there till last night.
from nowhere came the urge to figure out what model f1 it was/is...
from online comparisons and descriptions i am pretty sure that it's the original f1, mercury battery and all. it's also a very glossy paint on it and i think the other later models were flat black paint.
it really is a beautiful old camera...but so heavy. i have to chuckle when i hear people complain about the size of modern gear...i could feel my arm tiring last night after playing with it for awhile.
i should really take it out for a spin and see if she still works as well as she looks.
from nowhere came the urge to figure out what model f1 it was/is...
from online comparisons and descriptions i am pretty sure that it's the original f1, mercury battery and all. it's also a very glossy paint on it and i think the other later models were flat black paint.
it really is a beautiful old camera...but so heavy. i have to chuckle when i hear people complain about the size of modern gear...i could feel my arm tiring last night after playing with it for awhile.
i should really take it out for a spin and see if she still works as well as she looks.
cloud worlds
Member
canon F1
canon F1
I've just got my original F-1 back from Ken Oikawa. I intend to use it with the Power Winder FN this summer, it'll improve my upper body strength.
canon F1
I've just got my original F-1 back from Ken Oikawa. I intend to use it with the Power Winder FN this summer, it'll improve my upper body strength.
zuiko85
Veteran
I was working in a camera store in Chicago when those were introduced. It was the first time Canon made a serious challenge to Nikon's F and F2 series. I remember how we all marveled at how compact it was compared to a F with a big FTn metering head on it. Canon's meter was built into the body. I always thought it was a good looking camera but was invested in Olympus's Pen F system (I figured if you are going to have a postage stamp sized neg why not go all the way.) I was enamored of the small size and light weight of my kit.
When Olympus introduced the OM-1 I bought in to that system for the same reason.
(Well, the viewfinder had something to do with it to.)
When Olympus introduced the OM-1 I bought in to that system for the same reason.
(Well, the viewfinder had something to do with it to.)
Spavinaw
Well-known
back alley- The first F-1 had a metal wind lever, the second model (unofficially F-1n) looked almost the same and had a plastic tipped wind lever, the third model (officially "New F-1"/unofficially F-1N) had a quite different looking top plate.
Mackinaw
Think Different
Look at the Canon Museum website for pics and info on the F-1.
Jim B.
Jim B.
lynnb
Veteran
I think the original F-1 in black is a beautiful camera.. more so than the Nikon F (I know, heresy - speaking as an original F owner 
). Canon made some *very* nice FD lenses too - which ones do you have, Joe?
). Canon made some *very* nice FD lenses too - which ones do you have, Joe?
Dogman
Veteran
The Canon F1, along with the Nikons of the time, were built to "hockey puck" standards. They could stand up to ungodly abuse and environmental exposure and keep on working.
I personally recall a working Saturday on which I shot a college football game in a driving rainstorm with a pair of Nikon F cameras. Afterwards, I returned to the office, stripped both cameras of backs and prisms and put them in a film drying cabinet to get the moisture out. That night, I took them to a bowl game and shot in the rain and splashing mud, repeating the drying process later. I ruined a rain suit and a pair of boots that day but both cameras functioned perfectly and survived without any ill effects.
You had to respect the build of the top tier Canons and Nikon of that era but carrying them and using them was an upper body workout, especially with motor drives and long lenses.
I personally recall a working Saturday on which I shot a college football game in a driving rainstorm with a pair of Nikon F cameras. Afterwards, I returned to the office, stripped both cameras of backs and prisms and put them in a film drying cabinet to get the moisture out. That night, I took them to a bowl game and shot in the rain and splashing mud, repeating the drying process later. I ruined a rain suit and a pair of boots that day but both cameras functioned perfectly and survived without any ill effects.
You had to respect the build of the top tier Canons and Nikon of that era but carrying them and using them was an upper body workout, especially with motor drives and long lenses.
Timmyjoe
Veteran
In 1994 this was my "work" camera.
I was covering the Achilles Track Club (a group of differently-abled athletes) for a weekly paper in Queens. The athletes were competing in the New York City Marathon. I ran 9 miles, backwards, that day, covering their wheelchair journey through the 5 boroughs, with this monster held up to my eye. My arms ached for a week.
Loved the camera though.
Best,
-Tim
I was covering the Achilles Track Club (a group of differently-abled athletes) for a weekly paper in Queens. The athletes were competing in the New York City Marathon. I ran 9 miles, backwards, that day, covering their wheelchair journey through the 5 boroughs, with this monster held up to my eye. My arms ached for a week.
Loved the camera though.
Best,
-Tim
Ronald M
Veteran
Marty Foresher ran a very pro oriented camera repair business in New York City. First class ++ all the way.
He referred to Pro Nikons and Canons as "buit like a hockey puck." I have since collected 4 Nikon F2 and two Nikkormats along with my Leicas. I originally thought Nikkormatts were consumer junk. I have since learned the guts are Nikon F, just some pro features are missing. Compared to my FE2, which is light as a feather and a consumer camera, early Nikkormats were hockey pucks .
I had some Pentax stuff late 60`s. I dropped a lens from around 18" onto my bed. Diaphragm got all screwed up. This happened with more than one lens. This is called consumer junk. A Nikon lens fell out of my pocket to CEMENT. One nick in the focus ring was the only damage. Shock tests are part of military specs which is why you see Hassy and Nikons in space and used by NATO.
He referred to Pro Nikons and Canons as "buit like a hockey puck." I have since collected 4 Nikon F2 and two Nikkormats along with my Leicas. I originally thought Nikkormatts were consumer junk. I have since learned the guts are Nikon F, just some pro features are missing. Compared to my FE2, which is light as a feather and a consumer camera, early Nikkormats were hockey pucks .
I had some Pentax stuff late 60`s. I dropped a lens from around 18" onto my bed. Diaphragm got all screwed up. This happened with more than one lens. This is called consumer junk. A Nikon lens fell out of my pocket to CEMENT. One nick in the focus ring was the only damage. Shock tests are part of military specs which is why you see Hassy and Nikons in space and used by NATO.
presspass
filmshooter
In the late 1970s and through the 80s I carried two of them, both with motor drives, and four breach mount lenses - 20, 35, 85, and 200. They all fit in an original Domke bag. I still have the original non-padded canvas divider that came in the bag but the rest is long gone. Those cameras held up under miserable conditions and, except for one motor drive's battery compartment, never failed.
back alley
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the wind on mine is completely plastic from end to end.
the image posted above looks like the paint job on mine.
back alley
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i did but still could not be sure...i wish heir pics covered the backs of the camera.
my camera's battery cover (inside) says 1.3v
back alley
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I think the original F-1 in black is a beautiful camera.. more so than the Nikon F (I know, heresy - speaking as an original F owner
for the f1 i bought a 24 and a 100 lens, both look new...
i also have 200 (2.8) iirc...and 5.6 300mm...and another that escapes me atm.
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
The original F1 was a beautifully constructed rugged tank of a machine, better internal part finishing than on the Nikon F or F2, very typical Canon way of doing things on pro level gear.
This thing is on par with the Leicaflex as being overbuilt.
This thing is on par with the Leicaflex as being overbuilt.
zwicko
Established
Canon F1, beautiful cameras. I love mine.
Left the F1 new (3rd version), right the original (1st) version.
Left the F1 new (3rd version), right the original (1st) version.
back alley
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Canon F1, beautiful cameras. I love mine.
Left the F1 new (3rd version), right the original (1st) version.
one on the right looks like mine...has light gathering panel (for meter) on the body, not on the pentaprism. need to double check the film advance lever. no hot shoe on mine. mine has a self timer.
Timmyjoe
Veteran
The F1 I pictured in my post above was the 2nd generation, similar to the one on the right in zwicko's picture but with the film advance lever having a plastic end, not the sculpted metal one. Where the lever attaches to the body is the same, and it is metal, just the part your thumb presses on is plastic. Very similar to how they added the plastic to the advance lever when the went from the Nikon F to the Nikon F Apollo.
Best,
-Tim
Best,
-Tim
Dwig
Well-known
Actually, the original F-1 and its tweaked "n" updated brother had "hot shoes", just not ISO standard shoes. Like the Nikon F & F2 they had a shoe at the base of the rewind with an electrical contact(s). By putting it there it could be screwed solidly to the body casting ("hockey puck" school of camera design). Both Nikon and Canon sold adapters for their proprietary shoes that would allow mounting of ISO standard accessories in addition to some dedicated flash accessories that fit directly.
back alley
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i'll take a few shots over the weekend and post them here to help id the model.
Mackinaw
Think Different
What's the serial number? If it's above 500,000, you have a F-1n (second generation model). If it less than 500,000, you have a first generation F-1.
If there's no film in the camera, look at the date code stamped in ink in the film cassette chamber. That will tell you the year and month it was made.
Jim B.