gavinlg
Veteran
haha... I like this guy!
FL to FD was actually no issue. I am using a whole set of FL lenses on a Canon F1.
mtargz
Established
FL to FD was a minor update, wasn't it? Rather like the AI system with Nikon - adding functionality without necessarily breaking compatibility?
pagpow
Well-known
DanOnRoute66
I now live in Des Moines
To get back to the original post, I loved the old Canon F-1 back in the 1970s. An art teacher I had in high school lent one to me a couple of times and it was so nice to use -- but super-expensive to buy. If I could have afforded one at the time I definitely would have chosen that over a Nikon F2 (which was the latest Nikon model at the time) even though Nikon was whuppin' Canon's behind as the professional's choice.
barnwulf
Well-known
I started with Nikons back in the 1960s and never wanted a Canon. I thought about a 5D sevaral years ago but since all my lenses were Nikon I just never went for it. Then the Nikon D700 came out and never thought about a Canon again. Now I have Leicas and Nikon RF cameras. Jim
The Standard Deviant
inanimated.co.uk
I got into photography after I bought a pair of well-loved T70s, great cameras for auto exposure but keeping manual focus. The only problem is the motor-drive, trying to use a T70 after a few years using a Yashica Electro, I shudder every time I take a shot.
Pablito
coco frío
Other than the F1 they always seemed to have more plastic and more electronics than the Nikons. And that awful shutter sound! Not that it really matters.
maclaine
Well-known
This past weekend I went to a local camera shop to check out a few different kinds of bodies. As documented in my Nikon FM3a thread elsewhere in this section of the forum, I wasn't happy with that particular camera and now I'm looking for a replacement. I had originally thought about going back to an Olympus OM body as well as switching to a Pentax body (either MX or LX).
While at the store, I tried out a Lecia R6 (very nice, but too expensive), a Leicaflex SL (not as nice as I had expected, although well built), a Pentax LX (again, not as nice as I expected), and then the sales guy broke out a camera I hadn't even really thought about, a Canon New F-1. I had read about them in my extensive researching of the best old SLRs, and while they seemed nice, for some reason I was never really interested. Well, after holding one, now I am very interested.
The phrase "built like a tank" gets thrown around a lot about a lot of different cameras. I'm guilty of using it, too. After handling the New F-1, I can honestly say that it has never been a more apt description, and my M6 is more of a sleek SR-71 Blackbird compared to the Sherman Tank that is the New F-1. Wow! From the matte black finish to the heavy duty knobs and buttons that adorn the body, to the just flat out HEAVY body itself, it feels like it's built to some demanding military specification.
Of all the cameras that I tried in the store that day, the New F-1 was the only one I liked well enough to consider buying. A couple weeks ago I tried out a Nikon F, F2, and F3, which were all nice, but I hated the enormous metering finders of the F and F2, and while I liked the F3, I didn't like the lack of mechanical backup speeds other than 1/60 of a second. The New F-1 has mechanical speeds from 1/90 of a second to 1/2000, which is great, plus it has the different metering pattern options based on the focusing screen. Best of all, because the FD mount is now an orphaned system, both the body and lenses seem to be fairly low cost, especially compared to the overall quality of the system itself. Another good point I've learned after doing a bit of research is that, because of the shallow flange to film distance of the FD mount, many other lenses can easily be adapted to it. Part of me is still very tempted by old Pentax SMC Takumar glass, and I'd like to get the chance to shoot some of those old lenses.
Anyway, I didn't end up buying the camera that day (I was really there to get a new tripod), but now I've got New F-1 on the brain. I see one of these in my future.
While at the store, I tried out a Lecia R6 (very nice, but too expensive), a Leicaflex SL (not as nice as I had expected, although well built), a Pentax LX (again, not as nice as I expected), and then the sales guy broke out a camera I hadn't even really thought about, a Canon New F-1. I had read about them in my extensive researching of the best old SLRs, and while they seemed nice, for some reason I was never really interested. Well, after holding one, now I am very interested.
The phrase "built like a tank" gets thrown around a lot about a lot of different cameras. I'm guilty of using it, too. After handling the New F-1, I can honestly say that it has never been a more apt description, and my M6 is more of a sleek SR-71 Blackbird compared to the Sherman Tank that is the New F-1. Wow! From the matte black finish to the heavy duty knobs and buttons that adorn the body, to the just flat out HEAVY body itself, it feels like it's built to some demanding military specification.
Of all the cameras that I tried in the store that day, the New F-1 was the only one I liked well enough to consider buying. A couple weeks ago I tried out a Nikon F, F2, and F3, which were all nice, but I hated the enormous metering finders of the F and F2, and while I liked the F3, I didn't like the lack of mechanical backup speeds other than 1/60 of a second. The New F-1 has mechanical speeds from 1/90 of a second to 1/2000, which is great, plus it has the different metering pattern options based on the focusing screen. Best of all, because the FD mount is now an orphaned system, both the body and lenses seem to be fairly low cost, especially compared to the overall quality of the system itself. Another good point I've learned after doing a bit of research is that, because of the shallow flange to film distance of the FD mount, many other lenses can easily be adapted to it. Part of me is still very tempted by old Pentax SMC Takumar glass, and I'd like to get the chance to shoot some of those old lenses.
Anyway, I didn't end up buying the camera that day (I was really there to get a new tripod), but now I've got New F-1 on the brain. I see one of these in my future.
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