Steve M.
Veteran
My T90 arrived. It's huge! Handles real well though. I am going to compare it to my Nikon N8008s because before the T90 arrived this Nikon was my big honker. Not anymore....anything that makes the N8008s look small is a BIG camera. First the T90:
Canon T90 w/ a FD 135 2.5 lens. As you can see, it is big and somewhat heavy. But it feels smaller in your hand, and lies flat on a strap. I bought it just to shoot my FD 135 2.5 lens and it works very well for that. Has all sorts of metering modes like spot, center weighted, etc. It also has some sort of multiple memory feature where you can take a spot reading at your highest value, one at the middle and another at the lowest and average them all out. Looks time consuming and I'll never use it. All I need is spot. It takes regular AA batteries, and the shutter is not that loud. The motor advancing the film is louder than the shutter, but it's not that bad. Good viewfinder (mine has a grid screen and split prism), but I've seen brighter. Viewfinder display gives you shutter speed and f stop info, (metering mode is on top display) but it goes away as soon as you let up on the shutter button, which I don't care for. Exposure lock is handy, as all you do is half press the shutter button. Top shutter speed is 1/4000. Camera feels 100% like a pro camera, which it is, and it's the last manual focus FD mount camera that Canon produced. Cost was $59 from KEH.
Nikon N8008s w/ a Leica R 90 2.8 lens. My favorite camera, and a LOT smaller than the T90. Not much lighter though, if any. Has multiple metering modes too. I can put in a split prism focus screen easily, but the present matte screen is fine w/ the focus confirmation feature in the viewfinder. It's quite a bit brighter than the T90 and has a lot more eye relief for glasses wearers. Loudish shutter and motor film advance, but I like the sound. You're not gonna take a second candid shot w/ either of these beasts. The camera also fits your hand very well. Takes AA batteries. Viewfinder display gives me shutter speed (metering mode is displayed on the top display only), and it would give f stop info but w/ the Leica lens you don't get that. The R lens works by stop down metering. Exposure lock is w/ a slider on the back, and the viewfinder display stays on for 10 seconds after you let off the shutter, something I like a lot. Top shutter speed is 1/8000. It feels like a semi pro camera. Not up to the ruggedness of an F100 but you can't kill these things, so it's "pro" enough for me. Cost was $20 shipped, also from KEH.
In image quality there is very little to choose from, as both lenses are superb. For sharpness the nod goes to the Canon, for 3-D imaging it goes to the Leica, not surprisingly. Bokeh on both is just great. I shoot both cameras in AE mode w/ spot metering, and use the AE lock to control exposures. Both are used for Tri-X only, and always w/ a yellow filter. Sometimes I use a red filter on the Elmarit.
The first shot in the next post is a sample from the Leica, and the second from the Canon lens. Each have their good points, and no bad points that I've discovered. The Canon cost $69 from KEH, the Leica a little more at $270 from Igor, plus the adapter.
Canon T90 w/ a FD 135 2.5 lens. As you can see, it is big and somewhat heavy. But it feels smaller in your hand, and lies flat on a strap. I bought it just to shoot my FD 135 2.5 lens and it works very well for that. Has all sorts of metering modes like spot, center weighted, etc. It also has some sort of multiple memory feature where you can take a spot reading at your highest value, one at the middle and another at the lowest and average them all out. Looks time consuming and I'll never use it. All I need is spot. It takes regular AA batteries, and the shutter is not that loud. The motor advancing the film is louder than the shutter, but it's not that bad. Good viewfinder (mine has a grid screen and split prism), but I've seen brighter. Viewfinder display gives you shutter speed and f stop info, (metering mode is on top display) but it goes away as soon as you let up on the shutter button, which I don't care for. Exposure lock is handy, as all you do is half press the shutter button. Top shutter speed is 1/4000. Camera feels 100% like a pro camera, which it is, and it's the last manual focus FD mount camera that Canon produced. Cost was $59 from KEH.
Nikon N8008s w/ a Leica R 90 2.8 lens. My favorite camera, and a LOT smaller than the T90. Not much lighter though, if any. Has multiple metering modes too. I can put in a split prism focus screen easily, but the present matte screen is fine w/ the focus confirmation feature in the viewfinder. It's quite a bit brighter than the T90 and has a lot more eye relief for glasses wearers. Loudish shutter and motor film advance, but I like the sound. You're not gonna take a second candid shot w/ either of these beasts. The camera also fits your hand very well. Takes AA batteries. Viewfinder display gives me shutter speed (metering mode is displayed on the top display only), and it would give f stop info but w/ the Leica lens you don't get that. The R lens works by stop down metering. Exposure lock is w/ a slider on the back, and the viewfinder display stays on for 10 seconds after you let off the shutter, something I like a lot. Top shutter speed is 1/8000. It feels like a semi pro camera. Not up to the ruggedness of an F100 but you can't kill these things, so it's "pro" enough for me. Cost was $20 shipped, also from KEH.
In image quality there is very little to choose from, as both lenses are superb. For sharpness the nod goes to the Canon, for 3-D imaging it goes to the Leica, not surprisingly. Bokeh on both is just great. I shoot both cameras in AE mode w/ spot metering, and use the AE lock to control exposures. Both are used for Tri-X only, and always w/ a yellow filter. Sometimes I use a red filter on the Elmarit.
The first shot in the next post is a sample from the Leica, and the second from the Canon lens. Each have their good points, and no bad points that I've discovered. The Canon cost $69 from KEH, the Leica a little more at $270 from Igor, plus the adapter.
