Canon EF

When I looked at the shopwindow, I didn't exactly know the EF. I knew the A-series, the F, but not the EF. I took the camera in my hand and fell in love on the first sight. Beautiful materials and smooth handling. I am sure many other cameras will produce the same quality photographs, but will not give me the same happy feeling when I take them into my hands. Last year I started to encouter the macro-world and together with the macro 3.5 50 mm and a FD bellows it works lovely. There is one thing that ennoys me sometimes: In the viewfinder I cannot see if the diafragm is set on A or not. So sometimes it has happened that I took photographs thinking automatic exposure, while the camera is set on manual.

sturdy, materials that will stay ages, smooth handling, FD stuff is nowadays not expensive, no batteries required, like when you have a dog, people start to talk spontaniousy, only the camera doesn't need to be fed.

viewfinderinformation could be more complete

Nikon fm2

never needed to go to a repairman or shop because the camera did not work.

I have owned this camera from new, purchased in 1976. It is the special edition Montreal Olympics version. I have always had incredible results from this old war horse. The light meter is biased to reduce the impact of the sky. I love the electro-mechanical shutter, the mirror lock-up feature and the incredible build quality. I have a large compliment of breech lock lenses (brass on brass and real quality) and use them all with this EF. According to what I was told way back when, the shutter was good for at least 100,000 exposures. I agree with others that the used value is low for this camera (I cannot see why) as my 2 FTb's are worth way more than the EF. Yet, it is a quality camera, built on the F1 platform, and a capable user.

Build quality, camera feel, ergonomics, the miror lock up system, the multiple exposure control, the large shutter speed dial, and the metering system.

Its used value, lack of motor drive (but I can crank the film winder pretty fast) and lack of quick load (QL) capability... the FTb has it and it is a very easy loader.

FTb, Canonet QL 17, various other Canonets, Agfa ePhoto 1280

Never required service of any kind.

Bought as back-up about 22 years ago for backupto but the EF is still going while the A1 has problems. Solid reliable and almost in mint condition. Just bought an F1N but the EF will remain.This camera will probably still be functioning when the EOS's are dead and buried.

Solid,reliable, dependable,easy to use excellent light sensitivity.Controls well designed and use without taking your eye from the viewfinder

Heavy,as expected from a brass bodied camera,Have small problem with slow speeds geartrain in cold weather

Canon EXee, Canon A1, Canon F1N.

None available from Canon, independent repairers.

Bought my first EF new, in 78 - one of the last. Loved it ever since: it was ergonomically designed, before the word was popular. Shutter speed and shutter release easy to use without taking eye away from viewfinder (and far easier than its successor, the AE1). Easy to read shutter speed and aperture in viewfinder. I almost always used it on auto, but used it like a manual camera, watching the settings carefully. It's a very solid camera, which I'm quite happy with; I like brass bodies. It feels silky smooth to operate, and feels like quality, if outdated now. However, for anyone who wants a traditional, reliable auto/manual camera with some rather special qualities, this is a great choice.

Good meter and exposure display (no horrible LEDs); exposure lock button for tweaking the auto reading; double exposure facility; mirror lock-up; not battery dependent for 1/1000 - 1/2 sec; you can turn the meter system off when using long (B) exposures or flash; 1/125 flash sync.

Heavy; no interchangeable screens/head; no motordrive (apart from a variation I've never seen on the market). No AF.

F4, F801, OM2

Had them serviced once, just to give them the once-over. Local man, not expensive.

I bought an EF in 1976 and learned most of my basic photography on it. It gave perfectly exposed slides from day one in shutter priority semi-auto mode. Full auto is not a very useful feature in a camera, since you need to control shutter speed or aperture, based on what you are doing. I have learned that shutter priority is the best in an action situation, whereas in a non-action situation manual control is best, so that depth of field can be checked. Aperture priority is good for grab shots where you set your focus to the hyperfocal distance and simply frame and press the shutter button. That usually happens at parties where you are indoors and can use an auto flash (I bought a Vivitar 283 for that purpose, great flash!) for the exposure control, so I did not suffer much from the lack of aperture preferred automation. This camera just oozes quality, and the meter is one of the best center-weighted meters I know of. It ignores bright skylight in horizontal scenic shots in the top third of the frame. You lose that feature if framed vertically, but can be useful feature if strong light is to one side. The exposure lock button is quicker and more foolproof to use than a compensation dial that must me twiddled and then returned to normal position. You can throw away the batteries and still have a very good manual camera, something that my OM-2 cannot do. I used my camera in Alaska and Minnesota in auto mode in the dead of winter after fulling cold soaking and never experienced battery failure. Not many battery operated AE cameras can do that. Batteries were only necessary to power the meter and hold the shutter open during extremely long exposures. Yes, this camera can take moonlight photos, just like the later introduced OM-2. A truly great camera for those doing low light photography or photography in extreme cold. You should not use a motor drive in extreme cold when film is brittle and static discharge from low humidity is a problem, so lack of motor operation is not a concern for nature photographers in that situation. I sold mine, along with my F1 and FD lenses, and later got into the Olympus OM System due to the greater convenience of much less weight, great ergonomics, and current availability of wonderful Zuiko lenses at bargain prices (poor man''s Leicaflex).

Mirror and diaphragm lockup, great meter, robust and precise build, all metal construction, fabulous FD lenses, 1/125 flash sync, easy double exposures, fast exposure compensation, low battery drain, operates flawlessly in extreme cold conditions, and beautiful enough simply to buy as an art piece or photographer''s paperweight.

No motor drive capability, no interchangeable focusing screens, no aperture priority mode, no parts availability, fairly large and heavy.

Nikon F & F2, Canon F1n, Minolta XE-7, Olympus OM-1 & OM-2.

Buy broken bodies for spare parts. Canon quit support long ago. Must find good independent repairman, or do it yourself.