Canon New F1, AE Finder

TJer said:

Been dealing with some unusual behavior, out of the blue, with my F1 when the Motor Drive FN and AE finder are in place.

I get a very short amount of needle movement from the lower scale while in Aperture Priority, i.e. range of motion is between 1/4 and 1/8 sec. only regardless of the aperture. Batteries are fresh alkalines, finder contacts wiped, proper installation of finder and drive confirmed. Operates the same while stopped down also. Nothing else seems to be out of sorts, Shutter Priority works fine; metering on the right hand scale appears to be dead on. Can't think of anything else I've missed. Any assistance that can be provided would be appreciated very much.

Tim

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benjiboy said:

With the Motor Drive FN the only allowable shutter speeds are from 1/60 to 2000 sec with the Battery Pack FN if you need to set slow shutter speeds you need the Ni-Cad or high speed battery pack FN http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/canonf1n/motordrives/motordrivefn/index.htm
The New F1 wasn't designed to work with Alkaline batteries but PX 28 Silver Oxide or PX 28L Lithium batteries.

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TJer said:

Thanks for the assistance Ben, I really appreciate it but the camera has a good battery; but my understanding of the Motor Drive is that the Motor Drive doesn't need lithium batteries unless the temperatures are quite low: Manual_CanonF1N, page 7, "Lithium batteries are recommended for use at low temperatures." Are you aware of some information which may contradict this text? I also found this, from http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photograph...motordrives/motordrivefn/html/index.htm#check, Canon Motor Drive FN Instruction Manual Part I:

"Notes:
1. Always replace the batteries with a full set of 12 new size-AA carbon-zinc or alkaline-manganese cells, all of the same brand.
2. The batteries should be removed whenever the Battery Pack FN will not be used for about three weeks or longer.
3. The Canon Ni-Cd Pack FN and High Power Ni-Cd Pack FN are rechargeable power sources for the AE Motor Drive FN. Do not use Ni-Cd batteries in the Battery Pack FN." Alkalines are just fine unless cold just like the in camera battery.

The shutter speeds I spoke of weren't indicative of the shutter speeds I was working with or hoping for but thank you for sharing the limitations of the MD FN Battery Pack, I'll keep them in mind, good to know!

Thanks again Ben!

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