Canon FD pride thread...because this board is too Nikon biased.

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I've joined the Canon FD club! Last week, I was at the local camera store, and they had a beautiful looking used Canon A-1 with its box, instructions, and even the warranty cards.

I asked the owner what he wanted for it, and he said "How about $60. You can have a 50mm lens too." The lens is a 50mm f1.4 FDn. He also had a 28mm f2.8 FDn lens for another $20. I bought it too!

I've shot a couple rolls in it, so I have something to show:

My son, shot with the 50mm f1.4 FDn

My neighbor's 1957 Chevrolet bus. 50mm f1.4 FDn

A house in Fort Wayne. 50mm f1.4 FDn

An old factory in Fort Wayne. 28mm f2.8 FDn

I really like the image quality I'm getting from the Canon lenses. The A-1 is ok, kind of fiddly like all amateur camera bodies. I really want an F-1N, but can't afford it now. They seem to sell for stupid amounts of money unless they're completely beat to Hell.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Ohh I forgot to post a photo of the camera!

 

[Wulfthari]

I really like the image quality I'm getting from the Canon lenses. The A-1 is ok, kind of fiddly like all amateur camera bodies. I really want an F-1N, but can't afford it now. They seem to sell for stupid amounts of money unless they're completely beat to Hell.

Very nice pics, which film did you use?

The F-1N still commands good money especially if it's in good condition, most of them were used by professionals and therefore they are in pretty rough shape, I have two of them and they are far from being mint but it appears beat up F-1Ns are sort of popular.

Of course the building quality is nothing like an A-1, which feels like a toy in comparison to the Fs.

Last shots taken with the F-1 Old and the 55mm f1.2 open wide:

It's kind of weird at f1.2.

The FD 35-105 is nice but sometimes a little difficult to focus with:

 

[Mackinaw]

Canon F-1 (original), FD 15/2.8 full-frame fisheye. The Diego Rivera murals at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Jim B.

 

[Paulbe]

Chris C--love the pix! The A-1 may be fiddly--but it will do almost everything the F1N will do. Also--Decent F1Ns down here are in the below 150 range. Keep shopping!
Paul

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Chris C--love the pix! The A-1 may be fiddly--but it will do almost everything the F1N will do. Also--Decent F1Ns down here are in the below 150 range. Keep shopping!
Paul

Thanks. The A-1 does have some interesting features that few cameras in its class have. It has a double-exposure switch, and shutter speeds that can be manually set all the way to 30 seconds. Most cameras at that time only had speeds to 1 second in manual mode.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Very nice pics, which film did you use?

The F-1N still commands good money especially if it's in good condition, most of them were used by professionals and therefore they are in pretty rough shape, I have two of them and they are far from being mint but it appears beat up F-1Ns are sort of popular.

Of course the building quality is nothing like an A-1, which feels like a toy in comparison to the Fs.

I used Tri-X developed in D-76 1+1. Love your f1.2 flowers.

 

[Uncle Bill]

Cool thread, yes I own a ton of Nikon gear but I love shooting FD. Currently I own two F-1Ns, one with an eye level prism the other with an AE. I also have two FTb's one chrome, the other black (needs a CLA) and one AE-1 which got me into photography seriously in the first place.

Of the cameras the F-1s get the most use with the chrome FTb coming in third, the AE-1 I'm toying parting with because I don't use it enough,is useless during Canadian winters (the battery drains in minutes) and dainty compared to the rest of the kit.

 

[Uncle Bill]

Canon FTb, FD chrome nose 50 f1.4 lens.
Film: Fuji Superia 200
Hamilton Skyline 1 by Bill Smith, on Flickr

Hamilton Alley by Bill Smith, on Flickr

 

[Texsport]

I have few FD cameras and lenses, but my favorite is the 35/2 Concave - an unbelievably sharp lens.

It is more or less a permanent fixture on one of my Canon EF cameras.

Most of my other FD lenses - 50/1,2, 85/1.2, and 400/4.5 are on a T90.

I've been considering an FD 20/2.8 and a 24/1.4.

Texsport

 

[Mackinaw]

Canon F-1 (original). FD 100/2.8.

Jim B.

 

[Wulfthari]

I have few FD cameras and lenses, but my favorite is the 35/2 Concave - an unbelievably sharp lens.

It is more or less a permanent fixture on one of my Canon EF cameras.

That lens is on my radar and it appears to be one of the best fast 35 mm along with the Takumar 35/2, also thoriated.

The last weekend I visited a Ford rally and I used among the other cameras my trusty F-1N AE, mostly with the underappreciated Fd 35-105 f3.5-4.5, unfortunately Boots cropped most of my pics (on negative the cars are fine, no composition error) especially the ones shot at 35mm, however I think they are cool cars and pics so I'd like to share some.

Apologies for the...excessive amount of pics, but in total between Saturday and Sunday I shot six rolls.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Since my last post on this thread, I've added a couple more Canon FD lenses to my collection. I have a 35mm f2.8 FDn and a 100mm f2.8 FDn. A couple weeks ago, I used the Canon A-1 with the 35mm, 50mm, and 100mm lenses to photograph the annual Three Rivers Festival in downtown Fort Wayne. The Canon gear worked great for this kind of 'street photography'! I have a ton of film to scan, but here's a couple of photos:

Yes, this kid who is young enough to ride in a baby stroller is playing a game on a smartphone! I used the 35mm f2.8 FDn lens and Tmax 400 film.

I think this one was done with the 50mm f1.4 FDn, but it may have been the 35mm. I can't remember for sure.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Here's a portrait of my son done with the 100mm f2.8 FDn lens and the A-1.

I just got a New F-1 body that looks like it has never been used; absolutely mint condition. I've shot a couple rolls in it so far, just need to scan the negs. It is an incredible camera!

 

[raid]

All you guys with New F1s- is the AE prism worth it?

I found it not to be needed. Setting the camera to A (without the AE finder) gives the F1N aperture priority. Canon does not explain this feature. The only negative aspect here is not knowing the settings, but you get AE.

 

[Wulfthari]

Here's a portrait of my son done with the 100mm f2.8 FDn lens and the A-1.

I just got a New F-1 body that looks like it has never been used; absolutely mint condition. I've shot a couple rolls in it so far, just need to scan the negs. It is an incredible camera!

That is a nice portrait, the 100mm f2.8 is indeed a nice lens even if I use a old FD 135 mm f2.5.

I'm happy to hear you got an F-1, it is indeed an incredible camera like the Nikon F2 and the Pentax LX, it won't disappoint you, in comparison the A-1 feels like a toy.

This is my best portrait with the F-1N so far, taken with the 35-105 without the "consent" of the model, I think I used Gold200:

Two flags:

Today I received a quite sought after FD lens, a FD 35 mm f2 second series, still with the chrome nose, with the concave front element and the thoriate rear one, so I went to visit Oxford with my old F-1 and test the lens with a roll of BW400CN. I just came back and I hope the results are at the level of its reputation.

I found it not to be needed. Setting the camera to A (without the AE finder) gives the F1N aperture priority. Canon does not explain this feature. The only negative aspect here is not knowing the settings, but you get AE.

You are correct but without knowing the speed you might prefer to use too much DOF and get a speed below 1/30s without realising it, if the camera is hand held it's going to be a problem. Besides that I think the F-1N looks better with the taller prism.

 

[raid]

Use the Sunny 16 Rule, and then set camera to A.
I used to use the original F1 and the new F1N, in addition to the T90.
My favorite FD lenses were 17/4, 24/2.8, 50/1.2L, 85/1.2L, 80-0200/4L.
This was an amazing set of lenses.
The AE finder was not cheap, and that is why Id id not get it then.

 

[__jc]

The 35mm f2 chrome-nose is, indeed, a very special lens Wulfthari - I hope you have found yours as good as expected. This kick-boxer was training in the alley near his home because he was injured and couldn't get to his gym. This is on APX100 using the chrome-nose on an F1N AE, 1/15 sec at f2:

 

[Wulfthari]

The 35mm f2 chrome-nose is, indeed, a very special lens Wulfthari - I hope you have found yours as good as expected. This kick-boxer was training in the alley near his home because he was injured and couldn't get to his gym. This is on APX100 using the chrome-nose on an F1N AE, 1/15 sec at f2:

I just developed the two test rolls I've done with the 35/2, one in B&W with my F-1n and one in colour with my Ftb and I remained extremely pleased even if as you see from the pics mine is not perfect.

This is from my visit to Oxford, I used a YG filter and it worked great for architecture and landscape:

Bokeh:

This is m favourite shot tough.

With colour is another story, mine is strongly yellowed, not much like a warming filter but as a real yellow filter, I'll post the shots later.

However I assume with a UV or sunlight cure the effect can become tolerable, I doubt these lenses were so yellow when new.

 

[__jc]

Those are really nice pics with the new lens, Wulfthari. One thing they also highlight is how nice the out-of-focus areas are rendered by this lens. I think this is a strength of FD lenses generally - a lot of them seem to have that sharp-soft thing going really nicely - which gives a lovely vintage vibe to the pictures.

Mine too has yellowed considerably. This happens with time and is correctable with exposure to UV light over an extended period. I'm not going to do it with mine, though, as I highly value the somewhat unique tone it lends to pictures taken on black and white film, and I have other 35mm lenses I can use for colour.

Here's another with mine: