Canon T70 - one tough camera

Vonder · Oct 26, 2011

While shooting pics at a local event I had to have my hands free for something and shoved my T-70 in my jacket pocket. Two seconds later I had to move and *THUNK* the darn thing fell out of my pocket onto the grassy lawn below. The odd thing? I didn't panic nor even have the slightest bit of concern. I knew it was unharmed. And it was, perfectly fine.

If I'd done the same with my Nikon D90 I'd be moaning... or would I? Are DSLRs really that fragile or is it an unjustified fear? I know if I'd dropped my N80 I'd be very concerned too. Are there 35mm cameras you'd *think* are toughies but are wimpy?

David Lyga · Oct 26, 2011

Much maligned, much disdained, not even made by Canon.

But, really, it takes pitures of the same quality as the revered F-1. Costs were cut in ways that do not really impact the precision. Although the film gate is plastic, I wonder how much more 'inferior' that is, compared to metal.

This 'inferiority complex' genre of the Canon T series is, perhaps, misconstrued. The cameras are worthy, albeit not 'sexy'. - David Lyga.

Mike Wilde · Oct 26, 2011

I picked up a Canon T something this spring at a liqudation auction.

I'm happy with how it works, but don't use it heaps.
I mostly use it as a 'teacher' camera that I introduce new to film sorts camera users on. It is my only autofocus camera.
Most compact d** P&S sorts are overwhelmed to have to do all sorts of things like meter, and focus at the same time.

I bought a 50mm autofocus canon prime off of one online site or other - I cannot recall which it was - about a year ago for a reasonable amount to use on a D***SLR.
That camera is owned by a theatre group I belong to.
They want me to use it for portraits I take of thier performers.
With the kit lens that came with the D*** SLR camera, I just could not stand the major depth of field it yielded for portraits that were to be credited to me.

So then I had the lens, and no camera for it.

Well the T something - I can't recall if it is a 50 or 70, or something else, came to me for something like $15.

It has a crack in the LCD display, but the display works fine, as does the rest of the the camera, as long as you pony up for the proprietary, albeit long lasting, battery.

benjiboy · Oct 26, 2011

I don't think it's a T camera Mike, because none of them were autofocus.

Lawrence Sheperd · Oct 26, 2011

benjiboy said:
I don't think it's a T camera Mike, because none of them were autofocus.

I believe the T80 was Canon's first autofocus (albeit a very strange-looking on-lens autofocus mechanism.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_T80

edited to add link

Jeff Kubach · Oct 26, 2011

The Canon FTb is very robust also.

Jeff

Excalibur2 · Oct 26, 2011

The T70 is a very good camera and I use it the most as I trust it and know with matching flashgun it will deliver results, and if I dropped it, would just buy another as they are so cheap (well I own two so would have to drop both )

Rick A · Oct 26, 2011

I bought a T70 at a yard sale for my daughter, paid $5 for it. She shot the dickens outta it until she picked up an AE-1, that's her favorite now, she doesn't care for the "does most of the work for you" mode on the T.

benjiboy · Oct 27, 2011

Lawrence Sheperd said:
I believe the T80 was Canon's first autofocus (albeit a very strange-looking on-lens autofocus mechanism.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_T80

edited to add link

This was an autofocus lens, not a camera it relied on subject contrast, that was so slow and laboured in use to render it useless, it was quicker and easier to focus manually.

pdexposures · Oct 28, 2011

benjiboy said:
This was an autofocus lens, not a camera it relied on subject contrast, that was so slow and laboured in use to render it useless, it was quicker and easier to focus manually.

The lenses had the motor and controls in them, however they would not autofocus on any camera but the T80.

BrianL · Oct 28, 2011

I'm not a Canon lover but would like a T-90; it could make me pony up for a minimalist system. Not a lover of plastic all electronic cameras but the T-90 is a nice user.

AgX · Oct 28, 2011

David Lyga said:
Much maligned, much disdained, not even made by Canon.

The T70 was made by Canon, it was the T60 they got from Cosina.

Jeff Kubach · Oct 29, 2011

BrianL said:
I'm not a Canon lover but would like a T-90; it could make me pony up for a minimalist system. Not a lover of plastic all electronic cameras but the T-90 is a nice user.

It is a great camera, well worth it's weight in gold!

Jeff

Dennis S · Oct 29, 2011

BrianL said:
I'm not a Canon lover but would like a T-90; it could make me pony up for a minimalist system. Not a lover of plastic all electronic cameras but the T-90 is a nice user.

T90 was referred to as "The Tank" . Get 1 with the Canon 70-150mm f/4.5 FD lens and then you could pound nails with it...

Jeff Kubach · Oct 30, 2011

dances_w_clouds said:
T90 was referred to as "The Tank" . Get 1 with the Canon 70-150mm f/4.5 FD lens and then you could pound nails with it...

Agreed !

Jeff

Vonder · Oct 30, 2011

I have the T-90, which is why I got the T70. The T-90 suffers from a faulty magnet design which can not be fixed permanently. I know, mine didn't have the problem when I bought it newly CLA'd from a reputable repair guy. Three years later it's locking up with the dreaded EEE error. According to the technician even brand new off-the-shelf T-90's would develop this problem in about that time.

Excalibur2 · Oct 30, 2011

Wolfeye said:
I have the T-90, which is why I got the T70. The T-90 suffers from a faulty magnet design which can not be fixed permanently. I know, mine didn't have the problem when I bought it newly CLA'd from a reputable repair guy. Three years later it's locking up with the dreaded EEE error. According to the technician even brand new off-the-shelf T-90's would develop this problem in about that time.

Well if you paid say £100 for it and had it for 3 years, it has cost you 66p a week to use.

Vonder · Oct 30, 2011

Excalibur2 said:
Well if you paid say £100 for it and had it for 3 years, it has cost you 66p a week to use.

And what's the cost of a missed photo? The lockup manifests itself as a missed shot. You go to take it, the shutter fires (but NOT the flash) and you have a missed shot.

I'll take reliable cameras for a hundred, Alex...

Excalibur2 · Oct 30, 2011

Wolfeye said:
And what's the cost of a missed photo? The lockup manifests itself as a missed shot. You go to take it, the shutter fires (but NOT the flash) and you have a missed shot.

I'll take reliable cameras for a hundred, Alex...

Well missing a shot is bad news but a T90 has to be used.....the previous owner didn't use mine much as it had an initial fault:- it was ok in daylight but on very dark night shots I got the "eeee" anyway I was about to send it back when it cleared, and after two years is still OK, but I fire it about every 10 days when not in use so that's my solution, for magnets that could stick, that works for me.
BTW even my most used camera (the T70) is not 100% reliable esp with dumb humans as once I didn't put the film leader to the red dot (when loading) but Canon can also take the blame as well as it displayed I had a film in, but the film wasn't wound on properly so I had a blank film after development...at least with a manual re-wind lever on a camera you can see it move

Plate Voltage · Oct 30, 2011

I should mention this little piece of T70 information in case the same problem happens to anybody else: If the camera starts behaving erratically with the shutter speeds changing to random values by itself and refuses to turn off when the slide switch is in the locked position, check to see if the shutter button's stuck about halfway down. The shutter button on my T70 periodically gets stuck halfway down after metering and causes this problem. You can wiggle the shutter button laterally with your finger tip to free it without taking a picture so that it pops back up to its resting position and the camera resumes working normally.

Poisson Du Jour · Oct 30, 2011

Most cameras whether they are analogue or digital will withstand a low level fall onto a soft surface like grass. Falling from a height onto concrete, wooden floor etc is quite a different matter. In 1988, my much loved Canon T90 fell off the top of the tripod (way back then I didn't have quick release plates!) and crashed onto the gravel walking track. The fall chewed the left hand side of the body at the rear cover opening and dented the periphery of the 24-105mm lens (which later required work to realign it). There are some behemoths about that will easily take a bad fall: The EOS 1n, 1V and to a lesser degree the EOS 3. Historically it is the lens that will be damaged, not the body. I think all analogue photographers should use the T90 at least once in a lifetime: it is truly a wunderkind (at that time): smooth, fast, easy to navigate, well-balanced, weather resistant and accurate. Glitches with power consumption are the only chink in its armour, but that wouldn't turn me off romancing it again.

benjiboy · Oct 30, 2011

Poisson Du Jour said:
Most cameras whether they are analogue or digital will withstand a low level fall onto a soft surface like grass. Falling from a height onto concrete, wooden floor etc is quite a different matter. In 1988, my much loved Canon T90 fell off the top of the tripod (way back then I didn't have quick release plates!) and crashed onto the gravel walking track. The fall chewed the left hand side of the body at the rear cover opening and dented the periphery of the 24-105mm lens (which later required work to realign it). There are some behemoths about that will easily take a bad fall: The EOS 1n, 1V and to a lesser degree the EOS 3. Historically it is the lens that will be damaged, not the body. I think all analogue photographers should use the T90 at least once in a lifetime: it is truly a wunderkind (at that time): smooth, fast, easy to navigate, well-balanced, weather resistant and accurate. Glitches with power consumption are the only chink in its armour, but that wouldn't turn me off romancing it again.

If a T90 has problems with "power consumption" the camera has an electrical fault causing excecive battery drain, I have three T90s and can shoot about twenty rolls on a set of four AA batteries with every one of them.

Poisson Du Jour · Oct 30, 2011

Twenty rolls on a set of AA batteries, eh? My EOS 1n with PDBE1 is now on 38th roll on same set of lithium batteries snix! I'm ahead of the Brits!! . Mentioning which lithium AA batteries weren't available in the mid-1980s; I wonder if they are useable in the T-series bodies, like the T90?

benjiboy · Oct 30, 2011

Lithium batteries are usable in the T series cameras but I prefer to use the Alkaline ones because (1) they were the ones the camera were designed to be used with and (2) I can buy 24 Kodak Alkaline AA batteries for less than the price of 4 Lithium ones, that's progress.

flatulent1 · Oct 30, 2011

I use lithiums in my T90 all the time with no problem.

Canon T70 - one tough camera

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