Lovely,Thick, Quality feel to the thing. Exellent pictures

Nopee.

I found this inside of my Grandparent's closet, and i've always wanted something like a DSLR. But instead, fate brought me to find this little thing, MINT condition. My first camera, and just so brilliant! Easy to use (when you get the hang of it) and when the Pictures Developed, i was speechless. I like to take "close up" or sometimes Macro shots at anything. From Orchid flowers, to Die Cast cars, making the toys look as if they were real. Firt camera, i'm 14 years old, and from te reviews i've read, i plan to use this as log as i can. Therefore, since in like-new condition, its like i bought the camera. (: i reccomend buying multiple rolls of film, you cannot put it down! I've concisered developing my own photos. Maybe my next step in photography(: overall, great-Fantastic Camera. Vintage, not worth much, but i think has the quality of the top-of-the line cameras(:

When I asked that Waxman's sales rep for a 'tough' camera, he proposed this model, and to prove his point, he picked up a demonstrator and opened the back cover. Then, holding it only by the cover, he proceeded to pick it up and then smack it on the thin rubber pad on the sales counter - five or six times! He then showed me that all functions still worked - focusing, shutter speeds, and that the rear cover still fit as new. Amazing demonstration!

I then said that I'd take one - but not THAT one!

The battery life is phenomenal, if one shuts off the meter and / or uses the lens cap. One battery has lasted for over 10 years!!

Even with no battery, it will still take excellent pictures if one can judge the exposure correctly.

Depth of Field preview is incredibly easy. Focusing is easy with the excellent screen.

Best of all is the 'Quick Load' for film. Just put in the can, and pull the leader to the red mark, and shut the back. Viola! What a great time-saver! Why was it not continued?

Umm... thinking... there's gotta be one... hmmm...

AHA! If your flash is on and ready, but not on the camera, and you slide the flash's foot onto the hot shoe, the flash may 'flash' as the contacts on the foot touch the rear of the hot shoe..

1974 FTb-n, that has taken thousands of photos and traveled from oceans to deserts, wheat fields to mountaintops, via Jeeps, Boeings, boats and John Deere's. I finally treated it to a CLA after 31 years, but not because anything ever broke. It just works! And works... And works...

I treated it with moderate care (it lived in an aluminum case), but it went wheat-cutting in the 110 degree (F) Kansas sun, or went boulder-bouncing in the Utah desert, or camping at 10,000 feet in the snow, or fishing in Baja on a boat, and nothing ever went wrong. Incredibly tough!

Customer Service

Never needed them!

As suggested by others, I've met, hired, and had great results for CLA's, and for lens diaphragm repairs for my eBay sad-sack purchases, with Steve Swearingen (steven40 at aol dot com) at Camera Clinic in Sparks, NV. I have no financial or personal interest in his services, just a satisfied customer. Reasonable prices, quality work, a warranty that wasn't called into play, and quick turnaround times.

Camera Clinic
55 Freeport Blvd, Suite 17
Sparks, NV. 89431
Phone 775-829-2244

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Argus C3 - and what a training camera! The king of accidental double-exposures! If I got a focused, properly exposed picture, I was giddy.

Mamiya/Sekor 500 DTL - with dual light meters. One light meter was defective from birth, and I took more lousy, dim pictures with this sorry setup than I care to admit.

Today - an F1n, two A-1's, and a Pellix for giggles.

Rugged durability, nearly indestructable.

Difficult to find compatible components ie. new flash or new lenses.

I recently found my Fathers Canon FTb, he bought it new in 1971 for around $200, i found it in 2008 and it runs likes a dream. this camera has stood up to a curious 8 yearold gales on the Great Lakes, the high altitude of Pikes Peak and the humidity of the Florida Keys. My dad packed the camera away sometime in the early 90's and it sat for nearly 20 years before i found it again in 2008. even though it had sat for so long it needed no maintence just a new flash.

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none

rock hard outer shell, flip up mirror for long time exposures for no shake, tripod mount and remote shutter capabilaty were always good features. depth of field preview helped setting up effects, many lens's available

none that I can think of-- at all

Best camera I ever owned. took a beating and never let me down. With its mechanical settings, you could adjust for any light or effect you could want. I did lots of stop action with strobe lites, as well as long exposure of sky and objects at nite with great results. mostly used tri x .

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minolta

All metal, tough as nails construction.
It won't melt if you leave it in the sun...but don't anyway. :-)
Dozens of inexpensive, & compatible FD lenses from many manufacturers on Ebay, etc.
"The" camera for baby-boomers like me who got into photography before computers.
Tell me another camera that will go 30+ years, take thousands of outstanding photographs, and have nothing break?

If there is a Top 10 in SLR history: the Canon FTb "must" be on the list.

Matter of fact, I just bought another "mint" FTb off Ebay...payed handsomely for it too! I figure I can now use the old one for parts...IF it ever dies!

The only weakness for me was it's weight when carrying it around my neck attached to a larger telephoto lens. This was solved by buying the second best photographic item of my life...a photographer's vest for storing et. al. No more camera bags slipping off the shoulder! They aren't cheap, but worth their cost several times over, and the "weight" of all your geat is spread over the shoulders, not a strap digging into one. Mine is an Eddie Bauer, and very well made.

Where can I start with my trusty, 1974 Canon FTbN (new).
It has taken over 8,000 flawless Kodachrome slides primarily, for use in magazines by this photojournalist. Currently my old "tank" is 32 years old, and has never been worked on, although it now needs a new mirror dampener installed...that's it! It's been meticuoulsy cleaned, and maintained, but has never even needed an adjustment of any kind. It's been from the salty Gulf Coast, to the highest elevations in Colorado...Arizona's summer heat, to below freezing.

The FD lenses it uses are far superior in durability to the newer "plastc" versions. Ditto the FTb. If I remember correctly, the camera and std. 50mm lens weighs about 2 1/2 pounds! If you are looking for low price, durability...and ALL manual (except the simple metering system's battery power)...there is no better camera. I'd planned to move up to a "Professional" F-1, but the simplified FTb had all I ever needed, with B-1/1000 sec. shutter.

Customer Service

With the FTb...I've never needed any Customer Service!
Simple is still better in many cases...the less complicated...the less to go wrong.
10+ rating for my dear old FTb...it just keeps going, and going. Wish I had a 34 year old car with no problems! :-) A 34 year old computer, or computerized camera? Dream on!

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I also have a Canon AT-1, which has also proven durable. It too is all manual, and similar to the FTb, except the electronic shutter...which has had to be repaired once. It's a "tweener" between the FTb, and the plastic jobs. Not as strong as the FTb, but still tough in the 20 years I've owned it.

Aside from my Canon-brand lenses, I've also had very good "professional" results with Tokina FD lenses. Very sharp, and less expensive than the Canon's when I bought them "new" over the past 3 decades.

Strongly engineered product that exudes some sort of chemistry. The later FTBn also displays the shutter speed in the viewfinder which is helpful. Mine came with the 50mm FD 1.4 SSC lens which seems sharper than the EF version.

Harder to hold without the grip of a motor winder. Mirror slap recoils like a shotgun.

This is a camera (FTBn) that has charisma. I also have an EOS body, lenses, and accessories but they feel disposable in comparison. I use the new equipment in the field though because it's lightweight and my FTBn and FD lenses are too pristine I feel to knock around. I've seen FTB bodies going for $300 at major camera sellers.

Customer Service

Fine for new cameras. They have a respecatable online museum that displays all the Canon cameras too.

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Some Nikons and Pentax. I like old rangefinders, e.g. Olympus RC35. Wish they would put that model on the forum.

Quiet, mecanical operation, manual.

None for me!

Big Camera, very solid,forever camera, bueild strong, very quiet. I'm sorry I don't write english!! Es una camara eterna, de construcción robusta, operación silenciosa. He tenido muchas camaras a lo largo de mis correrias, esta me encanta!

Customer Service

Mecanica Foto Electronica Guadalajara Prisciliano Sanchez 513 44100 Guadalajara Jalisco MEXICO Tel. (52)01336581114

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Pentax Spotmatic.

Accurate light meter Easy to load Quiet

Not very ergonomic Heavy

This is the best camera I've ever used out of 4. It is perfect for photographing animals because It does not make much noise. The FTb has a very good light meter which ,If you used right, will never mislead you and cause you to underexpose a photograph. I use it for astrophotography, aircraft photos and bird close ups and It fits all of those rolls perfectely.

Customer Service

N/A

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None

Rugged construction. Beautiful lens

Hard to find battery.

Bought my FTB new in about '72 while in the US Army. I have used this over and over since then. I've got the 1.4 lens and I get beautiful results for someone with little experience. This camera is a great tool for someone learning photography since it is all manual. Only problem in 30+ years is small amount of loss of silvering on mirror. Would welcome thoughts on repair.

Mirror lock-up, depth-of-field preview, does not rely on batteries to function, built solid like a tank

It's not really a weakness but it's heavy. After an afternoon of shooting you really feel sore. Fully manual everything so if you're shooting fast action then you miss out on quite a few shots.

I purchased this camera after reading reviews both here and in another website. The FTb is a very robust and capable camera. It's fully manual which is excellent for learning the basics of metering. I used it recently on a trip to Tombstone, AZ and while it was supposedly only a back-up (for an A-1) the strangest thing happened. The A-1's batteries conked out under the intense heat and gosh darn it! there are no stores around. Luckily the FTb is gentler on batteries and should it's batteries fail, it will still function. Finished the trip shooting only with the FTb and a handful of lenses.

Customer Service

None

Similar Products Used:

Canon A-1 Pentax Spotmatic (another capable camera) Various Pentax cameras