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F1

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Canon F1


 
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Rating
Reviewed by: 

dgrohne

( Expert)

Review Date
November 5, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
1 votes

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Review 1 of 54

Price Paid:  $450.00 from Camera store in Illi

Summary:

The Canon F-1 was my first SLR, purchased in 1981. It has been a mainstay through 26 years of traveling through Europe and the United States, and has survived tinkering by 3 children and curious pets. I can honestly say that this camera has taught me the mechanics of photography, and that all other cameras that came after it, including the digitals, had slight disappointments in comparison to the F-1.

I use mainly the 50mm f1.4 lens, a Spiratone Portdragon portrait lens, and a Spiratone 500mm Minitel Catadioptric lens. In the past I used an 80-300 mm Vivitar zoom lens but the quality wasn't there.

Now my daughter is using the F-1 in her high school photography class. I had missed how well black and white prints from this camera came out, even the night shots on the bulb setting. Needless to say the instructor is green with envy, as I am sure this is the best camera in the class!

Strengths:

As other reviewers have stated, this camera is rugged; I have never needed any type of service. It is heavy; it is almost manual-everything; it is not forgiving for photographers' mistakes, but it takes the best 35 mm pictures.

Weaknesses:

For one focused more on the art of photography rather than one focused on who has the most gadgets, there are no weaknesses

Similar Products Used:

Canon AL-1

Customer Service:

Never needed. May have to use E-bay for parts. BTW the service manual is available on line: http://www.canonfd.com/f1repair/f1repair.pdf and the PX-625 battery is also available from online stores.



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Rating
Reviewed by: 

Bidi

( Intermediate)

Review Date
July 29, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5,
5 votes

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Review 2 of 54

Price Paid:  $230.00

Summary:

I'm using the 2nd improved version of the old F1. This is truly a great camera! It took me a week or 3 to get used to it. It feels so natural, and the meter works really good on my Velvia slides! No more over- or underexposure, just what I want. Really solid and heavy. Quiet shutter and mirror lock-up. And it looks really nice! Only the batteries for the lightmeter are expensive, special mecury replacement batteries. But that says nothing about the camera itself.

Strengths:

Solid, dependable, natural-feel, Interchangable vieuwfinder, focusing screen, back, winder.

Weaknesses:

Slow on sudden action, but it's an allover manual camera! And for a manual camera pretty fast.

Similar Products Used:

Canon A1 Canon EF Canon AE-1 Olympus C3000Z Praktica TL Ricoh 35 ZF



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Rating
Reviewed by: 

Lisa Peters

( Professional)

Review Date
January 31, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.00 of 5,
2 votes

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Review 3 of 54

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Ken Hansen, NYC

Summary:

Canon F-1. Hmmm, I love my F-1. I don't know what I would do without it. It is showing signs of wear & tear but has never let me down. This camera was made for hard work. I am pretty careless when it comes to my photo equipment and it takes a beating. I have been using this camera professionally and personally for many years. A+

Weaknesses:

Haven't found any weakness's yet.

Similar Products Used:

Canon A-1,Ae-1, and similar

Customer Service:

I haven't needed it serviced -- who really needs to calibrate shutter speeds over 1000 anyway?? :)



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Rating
Reviewed by: 

gsm18439@aol.com

( Expert)

Review Date
October 8, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.33 of 5,
3 votes

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Review 4 of 54

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:

I received my first Canon F1 as a gift. After 30 years of hard use, it finally died. So I found an almost mint one on Ebay. I have mostly used the f1.4 lens (although the second one I bought has an f1.2 lens). I also picked up a parts camera just in case. . .

Strengths:

Sharp. Steady. No vibration or shake. I routinely hand-hold shots at 1/8 of a second in natural light. Reliable. Versatile. Quality of the optics and range of lenses.

Weaknesses:

Weight - although this can be a plus when shooting without a tripod at slow shutter speeds. Some accessories are getting a little hard to find.

Similar Products Used:

I have not bothered with any others in the last 30 years.

Customer Service:

n/a



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Rating
Reviewed by: Rick Bursky
 (Expert)

Review Date
January 3, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.17 of 5,
6 votes

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Review 5 of 54

Price Paid:  $400.00 from French's Camera

Summary:

I bought my F-1 just prior to joing the army. Used it while serving 4 years as a paratrooper, through Art Center College of Design, three years as a professional photographer and twenty years as a serious amatuer.

Strengths:

The F-1 is an incredible camera and has never let me down. Except for cleaning and minor adjustments has never needed to be repaired. And I've had that camera through the wringer, including jump from airplanes. It's a great camera.

Weaknesses:

The only drawback is the weight.



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