Canon FD beauty contest

Thanks! I've got two, actually. One has "The Squeal(TM)" but the other is freshly CLA'ed.

I love the A-1. It's a fantastic little camera.

I just had my AE-1 program CLA'd over the holidays. Had the awful squeal & when I took it in for a fix they said they have heard alot worse. I couldn't imagine how more worse it could get, but now my shutter never sounded so good. It's become a joy to use and love carrying it around!
 
I bought the $20 kit somebody sells on eBay. The one where you lube the gear through a lens mount screw hole. Took about five minutes and the squeal is gone. I had two cameras to treat, but the kit will probably do 50 it takes so little oil.

It's just a little oil and a syringe. Guy is probably making a bundle. But it saved me $70 over what it would have cost to send them to a repair person.
 
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My trusty EF

My trusty EF

A demo bought in 1976. My long-time companion. Meter no longer works but who needs a meter? An FL 85mm does the job. Used to have an FD 85 but gave it to a young photog in the family.
 

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A Canon AE-1 my wife inherited last year. I've never seen one in such mint condition.
 

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I'm a life-long Nikon user, but years ago, I had a Pro photobud who used Canon and we swapped gear from time to time (he borrowed bodies to use with rented Nikkor PC lenses, and I took bodies and lenses in focal lengths I didn't have just to try them out). I loved the looks and feel of his motorized A-1's and F-1, but the EF and FTb's I didn't care for.
But I think the most beautiful and functional of all the manual focus Canons was far and away the motorized F-1n.
It was to me, everything the disappointing Nikon F3 should have been, functionally and ergonomically, but wasn't.
 
+1 with love and affection for F-1 in all its guises, for both functionality AND looks. Always wondered why so little love for Canon here.

What do you mean, beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Has no-one heard of the Evidence Based Aesthetics Determination Association (EBADA)?
 
They say if one ignores history it is bound to repeat itself. Did anyone learn anything from the Retina IIIc/IIIC confusion? Of course not! That's why we have the Canon F-1n/F-1N confusion!!
Look at the accessories for the "New F-1". You have a Data Back FN, Motor Drive FN, NiCad Pack FN, Speed finder FN, AE Finder FN, etc. Does anyone besides me see a pattern developing here? If you showed a random group of people a list of these FN accessories and asked them what was the model camera they fit, why do I have the feeling most of them would say "FN"! O.K.
So why not call it an FN-1 and avoid the confusion? Since the official name is "New F-1" you could even call it an NF-1. Someone decided that keeping the F-1 undisturbed overrode other considerations. O.K. again. When the Canon FT was updated it became the FTb. So why not a Canon F-1b? Because, it appears, confusion was preferable to any of the alternatives! Go figure. (Your opinions may vary.)
 
Truly hideous.

Almost every Nikon of every comparable generation has been better looking.


Which is the most important part, of course.
 
My clunker FTb (still works though).

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I recently sold off my F1 kit, the FTb and a few lenses are all which remain. The 20/2.8 on the FTb was sold on eBay, I've still got it as I'm waiting for payment.

I kind of regret selling my F1 kit, but I simply have too many cameras, and it was too nice just to sit on the shelf. It's on it's way to a buyer in Korea whom I hope will use it regularly.

The FTb and the remaining lenses will be sold on eBay next week, I'll use the money to add to my OM and Leica kits.
 
Can anybody recommend somewhere in the UK to get my AE1-P de-squeaked?
Been bugging me for years.

You could start with:

Ed Trzoska (Euro Photographic Services) - 0116 2674247
or
Alan Mettars (APM Camera Repairs) - 0191 2212340

The former is regularly referenced in AP magazine, and the latter currently has my Olympus XA and 35RC for servicing.

Best regards,
RoyM
 
hmm, i have a new f-1 and i think it's the best looking canon fd, but it's nowhere near as nice as a nikon f with plain prism, pentax spotmatic, or olympus om-3!
 
You could start with:

Ed Trzoska (Euro Photographic Services) - 0116 2674247
or
Alan Mettars (APM Camera Repairs) - 0191 2212340

The former is regularly referenced in AP magazine, and the latter currently has my Olympus XA and 35RC for servicing.

Best regards,
RoyM

Thank you. I'll give em a buzz and see what can be done.
 
Just paid the bill today....

Just paid the bill today....

My two T90's have been with Steve Sweringen in NV for service. He just emailed me a couple of days ago that they are both done (one had the eee error which he knows and fixes). Just sent him a Paypal a few minutes ago and they'll be shipped home.

Just sold my last serious Digital SLR and going to put the T90's back to work.

Pooh on digital capture. Back to film and scan. OOR film and wet chemistry to final output. That's more consistent with my preference for film for Medium Format.
 
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