Canon "New" F-1N!

Larry the sailor · Mar 23, 2017

The brown trucks of joy delivered a Canon F-1N along with an assortment of lenses and accessories I bought from a forum friend on a non photography forum.
The F-1N is as pristine as any 30+ year old camera I've ever seen. Truly a thing of beauty.
I loaded up a short roll HP5+ from my bulk loader and tried it out with a few of the included lenses. It makes my poor, benighted AE-1 feel like a toy.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to develop the roll tomorrow so I can see if it works like it should.
Also included in the deal was a Canon FT-QL and a Mamiya-Sekor range finder.

Les Sarile · Mar 24, 2017

Belonging to the dreadnought class, it should serve you well for a long time to come. Enjoy and share your experience.

benjiboy · Mar 24, 2017

Congratulations Larry, I've been using Canon F1N's for about thirty years and they are all in a camera that I ever wanted or desired to the exclusion of almost all other, my current kit includes three F1-N AE bodies and a F1n one, all of which are in regular use on an almost daily basis.

G1DRP · Mar 24, 2017

Great camera! You have the best camera Canon ever built there. I had the pleasure of holding one once and I was blown away by its build quality.

flavio81 · Mar 24, 2017

Larry the sailor said:
The brown trucks of joy delivered a Canon F-1N along with an assortment of lenses and accessories I bought from a forum friend on a non photography forum.
The F-1N is as pristine as any 30+ year old camera I've ever seen. Truly a thing of beauty.
I loaded up a short roll HP5+ from my bulk loader and tried it out with a few of the included lenses. It makes my poor, benighted AE-1 feel like a toy.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to develop the roll tomorrow so I can see if it works like it should.
Also included in the deal was a Canon FT-QL and a Mamiya-Sekor range finder.

Welcome to the F-1N owners club! I own two. They are addictive!

Tell us more, what finder do you have? What screen do you have? What is your array of FD/FL/R lenses?

This is my kit
F-1N
F-1N 1984 LA olympics edition
F-1 original model
lenses:

FL 19/3.5R
FDn 28/2.0
FDn 28/2.8
FDn 35/2.8
FD 35/3.5 S.C.
FDn 50/1.8
FDn 50/1.4
FL 55/1.2
FDn 85/1.8
FDn 100/2.8
FDn 135/3.5
R 135/2.5 (yes, a really old lens!)
FDn 200/4.0
FDn 35-70/3.5-4.5
FDn 35-100/3.5 (in need of service)
and the MONSTER:
FL 85-300/5.0

Mainecoonmaniac · Mar 24, 2017

I bought my F1(n) over 30 years ago in the mid 80's. It's like an old friend. It's black body show brassing but it's still running solid. It's still the only camera that has a hybrid titanium shutter where the camera can run without batteries. There was never a camera made like the Canon F-1 (n). You have something very special.

sportster44 · Mar 24, 2017

Welcome to the club! I've bought 2 in the last few years and would buy another in a minute. My favourite camera. Sitting here with a F-1n, and F-1N.

flavio81 · Mar 24, 2017

Mainecoonmaniac said:
I bought my F1(n) over 30 years ago in the mid 80's. It's like an old friend. It's black body show brassing but it's still running solid. It's still the only camera that has a hybrid titanium shutter where the camera can run without batteries. There was never a camera made like the Canon F-1 (n). You have something very special.

To be fair, the Pentax LX is very comparable.

Mainecoonmaniac · Mar 24, 2017

flavio81 said:
To be fair, the Pentax LX is very comparable.

" the LX body is much smaller and lighter" The F-1(n) is heavy and built like a tank. A lighter camera is a good thing for an old fart like me

Pentax lenses are excellent from my memory of using a K-1000 back in the 80s.

faberryman · Mar 24, 2017

flavio81 said:
To be fair, the Pentax LX is very comparable.

Yes, it takes pictures too.

flavio81 · Mar 24, 2017

faberryman said:
Yes, it takes pictures too.

Comparable in the sense that it is a camera with a titanium shutter that can work with or without batteries (as in the F1N), while still providing for AE operation when batteries are fitted (as in the F1N).

If you think it over, there are only two cameras that are professional, have interchangeable viewfinders, manual focusing, have built-in AE operation, while being able to work at least 4 or 5 speeds mechanically:

Canon New F1 (1981)
Pentax LX (1980)

I can't remember another one.
The Nikon F3 has only two mechanical speeds.
The Minolta XK, same.

miha · Mar 24, 2017

Why would that be a desirable feature?

Mainecoonmaniac · Mar 24, 2017

miha said:
Why would that be a desirable feature?

If your batteries fail, you still can take pictures even though your meter doesn't work.

miha · Mar 24, 2017

True, but I have never seen a professional photographer working without backup.

benjiboy · Mar 24, 2017

miha said:
Why would that be a desirable feature?

If the battery fails you remove it and all the shutter speeds work from 1/90sec. to 1/2000 sec and you just use a separate hand held meter.

miha · Mar 24, 2017

benjiboy said:
If the battery fails you remove it and all the shutter speeds work from 1/90sec. to 1/2000 sec and you just use a separate hand held meter.

Why not carrying a spare battery instead of a hand held meter?

Les Sarile · Mar 24, 2017

miha said:
True, but I have never seen a professional photographer working without backup.

It may be true that you personally have never seen it but that doesn't mean it never happens.

miha · Mar 24, 2017

Les Sarile said:
It may be true that you personally have never seen it but that doesn't mean it never happens.

"Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure"

- Confucius

benjiboy · Mar 24, 2017

miha said:
Why not carrying a spare battery instead of a hand held meter?

I do, but the idea of a hybrid shutter is the battery powers not only the light meter but the slow shutter shutter speeds

miha said:
Why not carrying a spare battery instead of a hand held meter?

I do carry a spare battery, the reason the slow speeds are electronically timed is because they are more accurate than mechanical gear trains http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/canonf1n/shutter/index.htm

fstop · Mar 24, 2017

miha said:
Why not carrying a spare battery instead of a hand held meter?

That makes too much sense and Minolta had a neat little battery holder that went on the shoulder strap so you would not be out of fresh batts.
The battery issue is a non issue and mechanical speeds are only a fantasy requirement.

Anyway congrats on your F-1N I have 2 canon F-1 bodies the F-1N is the best body Canon ever made.

Mainecoonmaniac · Mar 24, 2017

Really no excuses for dead batteries. There's a button on the right side facing the camera that allows you to check the battery.

CMoore · Mar 24, 2017

I am always, kind of, shocked when i read about a camera "Needing Batteries" as if it were some type of curse.
Spare batteries are one of the most easy things to carry.....especially for the old types of cameras used by members of this forum.
I would venture to say that most all "Professional Photographers" of today use cameras that are 100% battery dependent. Other than having spares and/or a charger, i wonder if it is ever a topic of concern for them.?

Nodda Duma · Mar 24, 2017

flavio81 said:
Comparable in the sense that it is a camera with a titanium shutter that can work with or without batteries (as in the F1N), while still providing for AE operation when batteries are fitted (as in the F1N).

If you think it over, there are only two cameras that are professional, have interchangeable viewfinders, manual focusing, have built-in AE operation, while being able to work at least 4 or 5 speeds mechanically:

Canon New F1 (1981)
Pentax LX (1980)

I can't remember another one.
The Nikon F3 has only two mechanical speeds.
The Minolta XK, same.

Nikon FM3a has a hybrid shutter. All speeds can be run both mechanically and electrically.

Hatchetman · Mar 24, 2017

Professional photographers are not analog either. And not killing time on message boards.

Les Sarile · Mar 24, 2017

These are simply features of a camera released back in 1981. If you believe the combination of these features are important today then you are in luck as clearly they were made to last and continue to function today some 35 years later. If you don't have a use for these features then obviously you too are in luck because most all of the other cameras released were not made this way. It's a win win situation . . .

Canon "New" F-1N!

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