Are Canon FTBs addictive ?

[colin wells]

I started out with one and now have 4 lol . One is fully working and the others are in various states of repair . The three non workers all have cases of shutter capping or bounce both are quite easy for me to repair .

 

[darkroommike]

I started out with one and now have 4 lol . One is fully working and the others are in various states of repair . The three non workers all have cases of shutter capping or bounce both are quite easy for me to repair .

I have one FTb currently, I had one when I first started shooting 35mm and my first had a bit of shutter bounce right out of the box. My new-to-me FTb also has the same issue and I'd love to know how you fix it.

 

[blockend]

My FTb is still running on its old mercury battery. The advance feels a bit squeaky and uneven nowadays, although it gets the job done. If anyone has tips for making the advance smoother, shout up!

 

[colin wells]

I have one FTb currently, I had one when I first started shooting 35mm and my first had a bit of shutter bounce right out of the box. My new-to-me FTb also has the same issue and I'd love to know how you fix it.

There is a excellent vid over on Youtube on a how to stop capping (fixing old cameras) but dont dive in and start winding the two cogs like the guy in the vid .One of mine only needed to be moved two teeth on the first cog and one on the second and mark where you start off from so you can go back .Hope this helps

 

[colin wells]

My FTb is still running on its old mercury battery. The advance feels a bit squeaky and uneven nowadays, although it gets the job done. If anyone has tips for making the advance smoother, shout up!

You can get them to wind on sweet buy lubricating the wind spindle from the bottom and the top but the bottom is usually enough.What part of the north are you in blockend ?

 

[RichardJack]

Not addictive at all. Mine is a beautiful camera sitting on a shelf. It was a robust slr with great optics in it's time but Canon shot them self in the foot (and their followers) when they dropped the FD line of lenses. I switched to Nikon and can use every Nikkor lens I own on any of my Nikon film bodies and my DSLR's (including my Canon DSLR's). IMO the only good thing about a FTB now is the price. Before mirrorless cameras FD lenses were all bargains. This is a good time to own a Canon F1n.

 

[dynachrome]

I have a number of chrome and black FTb and FTbN cameras. Our anniversary was on Saturday and our son gave us a nice photo he took of us in Alaska on a cruise six years ago. What camera is hanging from my neck? A chrome FTbN. The other camera I took on the trip was an F-1. I shot Ektachrome and color print film so I brought, among others, two 35/2 lenses. I used the FD SSC (1st version) for the color print film and a New FD for the slide film. I have collected many cameras and the FTbs are among my favorites.

 

[flavio81]

If you own a Canon F-1 then the FTb does not become addictive.
Canon F-1s are addictive, on the other hand.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

If you own a Canon F-1 then the FTb does not become addictive.
Canon F-1s are addictive, on the other hand.

I have 2 F-1 (n). I've been addicted for over 30 years. They're getting heavier every year

 

[chip j]

Can FD lenses be used on a F-1?

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Last August I bought this one for a mere $10 (excluding lens). The body is like new and all functions work. It meters about one stop high with a PX625.

Can FD lenses be used on a F-1?

Absolutely! The F-1 and FD lenses were designed for each other.

 

[daleeman]

If you need a fix or taste as they say I have one that needs a new home, cheap, pm me

 

[cooltouch]

My first FTb wasn't addictive. No, it was a gateway drug that led to an F-1n addiction, one I've had for some 32 years now.

I have a deep and unalloyed affection and loyalty for the FTb because it was the camera that first taught me the principles of photography. Prior to owning my FTb, I owned an AE-1 and later an A-1, and I had begun to feel awash in all the tech, not really learning anything about the craft. So I bought an FTb to learn, and learn I did. I grew to love its clean but robust interface -- match needle metering, 12% metering area, mirror lock-up, and a QL feature that actually works. I still consider the FTb to be the best camera around for learning photography.

I've owned many FTbs over the years, but currently I own only a couple -- one black, one chrome. Neither are particularly clean. They show wear from good, honest use. And they still work perfectly.

 

[Toyo]

My first FTb wasn't addictive. No, it was a gateway drug that led to an F-1n addiction, one I've had for some 32 years now.

I have a deep and unalloyed affection and loyalty for the FTb because it was the camera that first taught me the principles of photography. Prior to owning my FTb, I owned an AE-1 and later an A-1, and I had begun to feel awash in all the tech, not really learning anything about the craft. So I bought an FTb to learn, and learn I did. I grew to love its clean but robust interface -- match needle metering, 12% metering area, mirror lock-up, and a QL feature that actually works. I still consider the FTb to be the best camera around for learning photography.

I've owned many FTbs over the years, but currently I own only a couple -- one black, one chrome. Neither are particularly clean. They show wear from good, honest use. And they still work perfectly.

I could not agree more with Michael, as his experience reflects my own.
This is without a doubt the best value for money film SLR on the used market at the present time.
T

 

[ronnies]

I would still use my FTb if it weren't for the desilvered prism making it almost impossible to see through. I loved the self-timer/depth-of-field/mirror-lock-up mechanism.

Ronnie

 

[benjiboy]

I have an FTbn body that needed a C.L.A. that I retired a few years ago because the work would cost more than the camera that I had used for more than 30 years was worth, however I am addicted to the Canon F series of cameras, I have an EF and five F1's.

 

[benjiboy]

If you own a Canon F-1 then the FTb does not become addictive.
Canon F-1s are addictive, on the other hand.

I feel your pain Flavio I'm a fellow sufferer, the F1 is the FTb on steroids with a Titanium shutter.

 

[hartacus]

I can't speak for the FTb, but my FT QL is a beautiful machine. It's the yardstick by which I measure every other photographic experience, even though it's hardly in its prime. I can second the sentiment about the "gateway drug", except for me it was a gateway to the entire world of photography.

 

[flavio81]

I can't speak for the FTb, but my FT QL is a beautiful machine. It's the yardstick by which I measure every other photographic experience, even though it's hardly in its prime. I can second the sentiment about the "gateway drug", except for me it was a gateway to the entire world of photography.

I also had the FT QL, i loved the camera except for the fact that the meter became very slow in low light conditions. So far i've owned, from Canon:

Canonflex RM
Canon FT QL
Canon EF
Canon F-1
Canon AE-1
Canon A-1
Canon F-1N

What is consistent among almost all of them is the high build quality AND the very smooth mirror and shutter action. This i like a lot of the Canon cameras. My favorites are the F-1 models, but any of the ones in the previous list are fine shooters, including the often-derided AE-1 or the slightly cumbersome Canonflex RM. In any case, just in case somebody want's to do a ranking, here's my ranking on those cameras, based on which cameras i liked the most:

1. Canon F-1N
2. Canon F-1
3. Canon A-1
4. Canon EF
5. Canon AE-1 and Canon FT QL
6. Canonflex RM

 

[Sirius Glass]

I started out with one and now have 4 lol . One is fully working and the others are in various states of repair . The three non workers all have cases of shutter capping or bounce both are quite easy for me to repair .

All good cameras are additive. Even though some bad ones are too.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

All good cameras are additive.
...

Not only that, señor, some of them are multiplicative.

 

[blockend]

Canon FD lenses are the best mix of quality and value currently available, because they were made in such large numbers with the A and T series models that prices for common lenses are suppressed. However there isn't the variety of similarly good value manual bodies to hang them on as some other makes. There's the F-1 which is relatively expensive, the AT-1 or the FT(b), unless you go back to the FX/FL range.

The FTb is the stand out manual camera for someone trying out Canon film cameras.

 

[hartacus]

Not only that, señor, some of them are multiplicative.

Many a true word spoken in jest. I just counted my collection and got to 16 including digitals, which is higher than I thought. I think they're breeding.

 

[Down Under]

No more so than Nikons.

Or for that matter Minoltas, Olympus(sies?), Hasselblads, Rolleiflexes, Contax Gs, Zeiss Nettars, Voigtlander Perkeos, and my latest addiction/compulsion/passion, Fuji GAs and GSs. In my case, I leave out Sonys. I have never, ever been addicted to anything by Sony, due to their unacceptable (to me) low support and service standards.

As we age and mature, almost all of us eventually have to learn to accept the inevitable truth that we are all addicts at heart. The difference between this and the others (mostly illegal) "fixes" are that while ours may bankrupt us, it will never kill us, and we will have the great pleasure of being able to handle and play with our addictive toys. Until the price of the yet other relative addiction, film, rises up and up to those great Pearly Gates in the sky and beyond, and we all have to turn our toys into cherished shelf queens. This I hope will never happen, at least not in my lifetime.

 

[Down Under]

I wish my Nikkormats would quietly reproduce in the night. I've even thought of having them baptised and confirmed to help the process along.