Canon F-1

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Canon F-1 built in 1979

Canon F-1 was the name of Canon’s professional 35mm SLR camera in the 1970s and 1980s. It had no predecessor, the first model was followed by the completely redesigned New F-1 and it was replaced by the Canon EOS-1 . With the F-1, the Canon FD bayonet came out.

F-1

The three "Olympic" canons: F-1 1976 and 1980; New F-1 1984
Canon F-1 with motor drive and super bright 1.2 / 55mm ASPH. Lens

Period and classification

After five years of development, the F-1 appeared in March 1970. It was Canon's first professional SLR camera. At the time, such a camera system was expected to have a stable construction, motorized film transport, an exposure time of 1 ⁄ 2000 s, an exchangeable viewfinder and a long film magazine as accessories. All of these characteristics applied to the F-1. It should therefore represent an alternative to the Nikon F in particular . Canon has not yet been able to penetrate the professional market too much with the F-1, but has already gained a foothold with increasingly perfect service and some technically superior details, including telephoto lenses with lenses made of calcium fluoride and UD glass to reduce chromatic aberration . Until the appearance of the Nikon F2 in 1971, it was the most modern professional camera.

casing

Like the later released EF, the F-1 had a slightly wider aluminum housing than the other representatives of the F series to which it belonged. The combined dimming and self-timer lever introduced with the Canon Pellix was also featured on it. The F-1 was only available in black.

Viewfinder

Prism finder
The F-1 was delivered with a prism viewfinder, which kept the camera quite compact.
Servo viewfinder EE
With the servo viewfinder EE, the F-1 was transformed into a shutter automat . The designation EE meant Electronic Eye and was also used by other manufacturers for fully automatic exposure control. The viewfinder towered over the camera's time setting wheel and had its own wheel, the position of which was transferred to the camera. The viewfinder electronics comprised 19 transistors. It determined the appropriate aperture at the set time and transferred it to the lens with a servo motor. For this purpose, a rod to the bayonet socket had to be installed after the viewfinder was attached. The measuring range for ISO 100/21 ° was from f / 1.2 at 1 ⁄ 4 s to f / 11 at 1 ⁄ 2000 s. The servo finder lacked the battery compartment, it had to be connected to the power supply of the motor drive with a spiral cable, or to the battery pack for 8 or 10 mignon cells, which were correspondingly voluminous. Since the viewfinder was also quite large, the F-1 became quite unwieldy, especially since the shutter speed dial was unergonomically high. The main area of ​​application of the servo viewfinder was the remote or time-controlled triggering of the camera, for example for scientific documentation with the feature film magazine. The instructions for use explicitly refer to this intended use.
Amplifier Finder T
With the F-1, Canon pursued the concept of a separate measuring amplifier for night shots, as was known from the Canon Booster . In contrast to this, the addition here had its own CdS cells, so that it was a complete prism finder. Like the servo finder EE, the amplifier finder T also had its own time setting wheel, and there was also its own trigger.
The time setting wheel was divided into two parts: the orange-colored times from 1 ⁄ 60 s to 3 s and the white-colored times from 1 s to 60 s. Times from the white-colored area were transferred to the camera's dial, the shutter acted directly on the camera shutter release and the camera's exposure meter was used. Times from the orange-colored area set the camera to B and the viewfinder electronics held the camera shutter button pressed until the selected time had expired. In addition, the viewfinder measuring mechanism was activated with its measuring amplifier. The measuring range for the orange-colored area ranged from 1 ⁄ 2 s at f / 22 to 15 s at f / 1.2 at ISO 100/21 °, the film speed could be set from ISO 25/15 ° to ISO 12800/42 °. The amplifier viewfinder had its own 6 V battery, but the 12 V magazine could also be connected with a special 6 V cable for operation in extreme cold.
Light shaft finder
The standard accessories for a camera with an interchangeable viewfinder included a light shaft viewfinder , which was also available for the F-1. As usual, it showed a reversed image and was equipped with a fold-out magnifying glass with five times magnification. This viewfinder did not allow exposure metering, which is why it was particularly suitable for studio shots.
Sports seeker
The sports viewfinder makes it possible to see the entire picture including the displays at 6 cm eye relief. This was interesting for those who wear glasses and when they had to take photos with protective glasses. His view could be turned from top to back
Chimney viewfinder CPP-1
This particular viewfinder was used exclusively with the FR modification for ophthalmological purposes.

Adjusting washers

The focusing screen of the F-1 could be removed after removing the viewfinder. The following discs were available, with Type A being part of the standard scope.

  • Type A: micro prism ring
  • Type B: cross section indicator
  • Type C: full matt disc
  • Type D: lattice disc
  • Type E: microprismatic ring with cross-section rangefinder
  • Type E: double slice image indicator
  • Type F: microprismatic louvre for fast lenses
  • Type G: microprismatic louvre for faint lenses
  • Type H: measuring scale cross
  • Type I: double crosshair

Exposure metering

For the measurement, the camera guided about 12% from the center of the image to the photo sensors via a partially transparent mirror, so that this rectangular measuring area appeared a little darker on the focusing screen in the viewfinder. There was no such selective metering at Nikon, it was a common reason when Canon was chosen. In the case of the standard or sports viewfinder, the measurement was carried out with a tracking measurement in which, as usual, two pointers at the edge of the image had to be brought into line.

Clasp

The F-1 had a horizontally running metal focal plane shutter with 1 ⁄ 2000 s as the shortest shutter speed and 1 ⁄ 60 s as the shortest flash sync time.

Back wall

The back of the F-1 could be exchanged for a long film magazine or a back for data imprints:

Feature film magazine 250
The long film magazine 250 took a 10 m long 35 mm film and thus enabled 250 shots. The scope of delivery included two special cassettes that were filled in the darkroom. This was also possible without tools, but the film charger 250 was provided for this, which had a dial with which the desired film length could be set in steps of 10 pictures. Then rewinding was done with a hand crank. The long film magazine had a built-in motor, which was supplied with power from the motor drive via contacts, i.e. without cables. In principle, you could also transport the film with the quick release lever on the camera and wind the transported piece manually on the long film magazine.
Data back F
The data back presented at Photokina 1978 corresponded to the Canon Data Back A except for the dimensions , so it had to be connected to the middle contact of the camera and had a 6 V battery for power supply.
Polaroid magazine
The Polaroid magazines NPC (researchers), CR-PC , CR-PC1 and CR-PB can also be connected.

Film transport

After removing the base plate, a motorized film transport could be connected to each F-1. This was unusual because other manufacturers often still had special versions for motorized film transport, for example the Minolta XM or the Asahi Pentax K2.

Motor Drive Unit (MD)
At first there was just one rather unwieldy drive, the MD. It consisted of an extension below the camera, from which a long, round handle protruded from the side, in which the electric motor was housed. The power supply consisted of a separate 15 V battery magazine and the spiral cable MD. Alternatively, the battery part D could be pushed onto the base plate of the motor part with a special clamping shoe. The battery test was still carried out with an external device. The MD was more suitable for tripod use than for handheld photography. It achieved a frame rate of 3 / s and had a built-in timer, which is located on the underside of the handle for interval recordings from 0.5 s to 60 s. set. With the appearance of the MF type it was no longer relevant and disappeared from the program again.
Motor Drive MF
In 1973 a drive with a modern look was added, which extended the camera housing downwards and had a handle with shutter release and battery test button. This handle could be decoupled from the motor unit, connected to the “MF” spiral cable and thus triggered separately from the camera. The MF achieved a recording rate of 3.5 / s and could also be activated via a remote release. In addition, the timer L could be connected for triggering intervals of 30 s to 3 min.
Power Winder F
At Photokina 1978, the Power Winder F, a slow drive for a recording frequency of 2 / s, was released, which with its integrated battery compartment was roughly the size of the Motordrive MF without a battery compartment. A remote release could also be connected to the winder, but no timer.

Power supply

Like all other cameras in the F series, the F-1 also worked with the old 1.35 V battery type PX 625. It required one cell. The modern cell type 635 with 1.5 V is not suitable. Like the rest of the F-series cameras, the F-1 only needed its battery for exposure metering and viewfinder display; everything else worked without a power supply.

flash

Because of the interchangeable viewfinder, the F-1 did not have an accessory shoe as standard. But you could push a hot shoe onto the rewind crank base:

Lightning coupler L
The Blitzkuppler L provided a hot shoe with contacts for the CAT automatic flash and had a lamp which illuminated the pointer of the light meter located next to the viewfinder window.
Lighting attachment F
The lighting attachment F presented at the Photokina 1978 represented half a flash coupler L, so to speak, as it was a lamp without a hot shoe.
Flash coupler D
The flash coupler D only provided a hot shoe, without CAT contacts or light.
CAT auto flash
Built like the Canon FTb , the F-1 worked together with the CAT Automatic. To do this, the Speedlite 133 A flash unit had to be pushed onto the flash coupler L. The CAT automatic flash also worked with the Speedlite 500A handheld flash unit, which was probably only sold in Japan and is now a very rare collector's item.

Modifications

In September 1976 the F-1 was slightly redesigned, which could be recognized by the plastic cap on the film transport lever. The main changes: The transport lever now only required 139 ° instead of the previous 180 °, which in turn enabled a rest position at 30 ° instead of the previous 15 °. The film speed could now be set up to ISO 3200/33 °. There was a holder for the film type on the back wall and a rubber border for the viewfinder. The standard adjusting washer was now type E. The modified version is also known as the F-1n .

Special models

  • F-1 Highspeed: A special model of the F-1 followed in 1972 with a high-speed motor drive and a semi-transparent, fixed mirror that allowed image sequences of up to 9 images per second.
  • F-1 US NAVY: with engraving on the standard prism viewfinder and on the back above the serial number
  • F-1 Montreal 1976: Standard F-1 with Olympic symbol
  • ODF-1n: Standard F-1n as "OD" (olive drab) with a completely olive-green reinforcement (1978)
  • F-1n Lake Placid 1980: Standard F-1n with Olympic symbol
  • FR: was an F-1n modified for ophthalmological purposes with the three different Polaroid backs Canon CR-PC, CR-PC1 and CR-PB as well as a special chimney finder including focusing screen.
  • F-1 Post: was a modified F-1 registration camera with a fixed Alos 35 mm 3.5 lens and a special Alos mono flash for taking pictures of meter readings.
  • F-1 Police :: was a modified version for radar flash units of the type "Multanova 5F" and "Distanova" of which about 600 units were delivered to Germany and another 600 units worldwide. This version had a flash synchronization of 1 ⁄ 250 seconds, a 12-volt permanent connection and a special data back wall for imprinting speed, time and date. Built by the company “Uster” Switzerland, later Multanova.

New F-1

Canon New F-1 with motor, NiCd pack FN and long film magazine FN100
Canon New F-1 Los Angeles 1984
Canon New F-1 with AE viewfinder

Period

In September 1981 a new edition of the F-1 appeared, which Canon referred to in the first brochures as New F-1 to distinguish it. The case lid, however, still only bore the lettering F-1 , the accessories mostly had the letter combination FN in the name.

Conception

The New F-1 seemed a little dated for 1981. So there was a fully automatic exposure only with attached accessories, while only a tracking measurement existed as standard. In addition, the viewfinder did not have a digital display of the measured values ​​and still had conventional pointer instruments. But all of this corresponded to the wishes of the professional photographers, to whom Canon orientated itself.

The development goal was to build an extremely reliable and solid camera, so with 1565 parts it also consisted of 217 parts more than the first F-1. Efficient production was not in the foreground, especially since only 3000 copies of the F-1 were built per month in the best of times.

casing

The New F-1 was completely redesigned with its own accessories, and the combined dimmer and self-timer lever was no longer available. As with the Canon A series, stopping down to check the depth of field was done with a slider to the right of the bayonet socket facing the camera. The housing was constructed to be particularly stable and therefore had a metal cap, while this part of the A series was already made of plastic. The camera was specially sealed, the ball bearings were sealed and the electronic conductors were covered with an insulating plastic film. A matt black finish avoided reflections.

Viewfinder

Since an interchangeable viewfinder was a feature of a professional camera at that time, the New F-1 had one again.

Prism finder FN
The prism viewfinder FN was included with the camera. With it the camera offered a tracking measurement. For this purpose, the viewfinder displayed an aperture scale next to the right edge of the image, in which two pointers had to be brought into line.
Automatic viewfinder FN
The automatic viewfinder FN enabled the automatic aperture setting. To do this, you had to set the shutter speed dial to position A, then a time scale appeared under the lower edge of the image, which indicated the determined shutter speed. In addition, the viewfinder had a small arm that protruded over the shutter speed wheel and was able to scan an elevation on it. The aperture was set on the lens and not on the camera, as with the Canon A-1. If a New FD lens was attached, the viewfinder also reflected the aperture value read from the aperture ring to the right of the scale. This procedure was also used with cameras from other manufacturers, but it appeared antiquated in 1981.
Sports seeker FN
As is known from the first F-1, the viewfinder of the sports viewfinder could be rotated by 90 ° so that the image could also be viewed from above. The image could also be viewed from a distance of up to 60 mm.
Light shaft finder FN
As usual with this type of viewfinder, the shaft viewfinder showed a mirror-inverted image. As a result, the aperture scale was now next to the left instead of the right edge of the picture, but its numbers were displayed correctly.
Magnifying glass viewfinder FN-6x
The magnifying glass viewfinder was intended for precise focusing in close-up, micro and repro photography. It was a light shaft viewfinder with a magnifying glass attached, as a result of which there was also a reversed image with the correct scale next to the left edge of the image. It could be adjusted to the photographer's eye with a diopter setting from −5 to +3.
Chimney viewfinder CPP-1
This special "chimney finder" was specially developed for the F-Rb modification for ophthalmological purposes.
Prism finder CR3-DF & CR4-DF
This special viewfinder with adjustable diopter strength of +/- 2 diopters was developed exclusively for the F-Rb modification with a special ground glass.

Exposure control

The type of exposure metering could be switched between spot (code S), selective (code P) and medium-weighted integral metering (code A) using the setting dial, the selective metering comprised 12%, as usual from the previous F-1, and the spot metering 3% the picture plane. All discs were available for selective and integral measurement, types B, C, E, I, J and K also for spot measurement. The measuring system and its silicon sensor were located in the camera housing, so that in contrast to the first F-1, the light shaft viewfinder now also allowed exposure measurement. For this purpose, the focusing screen was made up of different layers so that it could radiate the light required for exposure measurement laterally to the rear. The sensor then picked it up there.

The type of automatic exposure depended on the accessories. The automatic shutter demanded that either the power winder AE FN or the motor drive AE FN was attached, as the servo for the shutter simulator was in their housing. This seemed very unusual, but was meaningless in practice, as the camera was rarely used without a drive. With the automatic position of the aperture ring, the second pointer disappeared in the aperture scale and the camera worked with aperture automatic.

The automatic aperture function called for the automatic viewfinder FN, which showed a time scale at the bottom of the picture. As a result, the F-1 New, with its automatic viewfinder and motorized film transport, was a multiple, namely aperture and timer, which also enabled tracking measurement. In principle, the aperture priority also worked with the other viewfinders, but then the photographer couldn't read the shutter speed selected by the exposure control anywhere. The aperture priority was switched on when the shutter speed dial was set to '' A ''. The aperture scale then disappeared in the viewfinder and the time scale appeared. For lenses without transferring the aperture value to the camera, the control functioned as a working aperture automatic.

The film speed ranged from ISO 6/9 ° to ISO 6400/39 °, at ISO 100/21 ° the light meter was coupled from 4 s at f / 1.4 to 1 ⁄ 2000 s at f / 22.

Adjusting washers

As known from the predecessor, the focusing screen could be removed from the housing after removing the viewfinder. The structure of the laser focusing screens was created by a laser, was more uniform than with conventional focusing screens, and thus produced a brighter viewfinder image. This was particularly true for the super bright versions. The finder discs had a two-digit letter code. The first letter determined the measurement method (A = integral measurement, S = spot measurement, P = selective measurement), the second letter the design of the focusing screen. All discs were available for selective and integral measurement, types B, C, E, I, J and K also for spot measurement.

The following finder panes were available:

A. B. C. D. E. F. G H I. J K L. M.
A. • • • • • • • • • • • • •
S. • • • • • •
P • • • • • • • • • • • • •

It means:

  • A: micro prism ring
  • B: new marker
  • C: Full-focus laser target
  • D: Laser full matt screen with grid division
  • E: new cross section indicator and microprism ring
  • F: Micro prism ring for fast lenses (f / 1.2 to f / 2.8) with shorter focal lengths
  • G: Micro prism ring for faint lenses (f / 3.5 to f / 5.6), especially for zoom lenses
  • H: Laser focusing screen with horizontal and vertical measuring scales, especially for magnification and macro photography
  • I: Laser target with double cross hairs
  • J: super bright laser ground glass for short focal length lenses (50 mm to 200 mm)
  • K: super bright laser focusing screen for long focal length lenses (from 300 mm)
  • L: Cross-cut indicator
  • M: Laser ground glass for formats A / B (markings in the corners for publishing)

In the two most widespread viewfinders, the prism viewfinder FN and the automatic viewfinder FN, the AE screen was built in as standard.

Clasp

The focal plane shutter of the New F-1 ran horizontally with 1 ⁄ 2000 s as the shortest shutter speed. The 1 ⁄ 2000 was only possible in the time preselection, in the automatic aperture setting the fastest exposure time was 1 ⁄ 1000 s. The particularly thin curtain made of a titanium alloy was able to run through the picture window in 7.5 ms and thus enabled a flash sync time of 1 ⁄ 90 s. All short times up to and including 1 ⁄ 90 s plus B were completely mechanical and therefore worked without an inserted battery. As a result, the shutter release was still mechanically linked to the shutter, something that had already been given up on the Canon A series. With the battery, however, the release worked electromagnetically, without it it had a longer way and was a little more difficult. As is known from the A series, the self-timer worked electronically with a lead time of 10 s and was started with a further position of the release lock. It emitted signal tones, from 2 s with increased frequency. The F-1 New no longer had mirror lock-up.

Back wall

As usual, the back wall could be exchanged for a long film magazine or a back part for displaying data.

Feature film magazine FN 100
Compared to the long film magazine 250 of the previous F-1, the long film magazine had become more handy and therefore more suitable for handheld shots, but only took 5 m of film, which is enough for 100 shots.
Data back FN
The function of the data back corresponded to the Data Back F of the previous camera, with the exception of the sync cable. There was no longer such a thing, as two contacts were now responsible for triggering the mini flash unit in the data back. However, it worked as usual with its own 6 V battery.
Polaroid back MF-9
A Polaroid back was available from NC researcher, a third-party company, that could be used with the SX-70 film or a professional Polaroid film.

Film transport

Power Winder AE FN
The Power Winder enabled a recording frequency of 2 / s, was supplied by four AA batteries, had a shutter release for vertical and horizontal recordings and a remote control socket, as already known from the first F-1. The designation `` AE '' in its name suggests that it also enabled the automatic iris. Its shape was also similar to the Power Winder of the previous camera, like this one it had a handle with shutter release.
Motor drive AE FN
The motor drive itself had no power supply, you had to mount a battery or accumulator part underneath. The battery part FN accommodated the battery magazine FN, which was filled with twelve mignon cells. The NC part FN had six cells and the high-performance NC part FN had twelve cells. With the high-performance or the battery part, the recording rate was 5 / s in the H position and 3.5 / s in the L. With the normal NC part, these frequencies were 4.5 / s and 3 / s. With the motor drive, motorized rewinding was also possible for the first time at Canon; it took about 8 seconds.
Motor winder CR3-FN & CR4-FN
This winder was developed and used exclusively for the F-Rb modification.

Power supply

The F-1's six-volt battery was the same as that for the A-Series cameras; The battery compartment was also to the right of the lens in the direction of the camera and the capacity was sufficient for around 20,000 releases. As known from the A series, exposure metering was switched on by tapping the viewfinder. If you set the rotary switch (measuring mechanism timer) on the left rear of the housing cover to `` Hold '', it remained switched on for 16 s after it was released. That meant she was activated and continuing to measure. However, she could not hold a previous measurement; In the '' Light '' position, the viewfinder display was also illuminated. The lighting was only visible with the CANON Eye Level Finder FN (German: Prismensucher FN), in the Canon AE Finder FN (German: Automatiksucher FN) the display was not illuminated. Instead, the light inlet on this viewfinder was in the top center, instead of on the side of the viewfinder in the housing cover as with the FN prism viewfinder.

Auto flash

The automatic flash was disappointing because it still didn't work with TTL metering. Canon only introduced this in 1986 with the T90, although it has been on the Olympus OM-2 since 1975 and on the Nikon F3 since 1980 . The F-1 New worked with the same system as the A-series. As a result, there were two additional contacts in the hot shoe, which transferred the aperture set on the flash unit to the camera. Although the viewfinders were detachable, they all had a hot shoe, with the exception of the light well and magnifying glass viewfinder.

Remote shutter release

Timer TM 1 quartz
The TM 1 Quartz was introduced with the F-1 New, but also worked on the previous F-1 as well as A-1 and AE-1 programs, each with the corresponding winder or motor. It enables recording intervals of 1 s to 30 minutes in predefined steps.
Infrared release LC 1
The infrared trigger known from the previous model could also be used for the F-1 New, it could trigger up to three cameras separately.

Basically, every remote release works, regardless of age, as it was controlled via the standardized jack socket on the winder.

Special models

  • New F-1 Highspeed , a high speed camera released in 1984 for the Los Angeles Olympics. The camera has a fixed pellicle mirror, as it was known from the Canon Pellix and thus achieved image rates of up to 14 / s. Your motor drive had the settings H (14 / s), M (10 / s), L (5 / s) and S (1 / s).
  • New F-1 50 Years Canon 1983 A camera with gold F-1 and Canon lettering, which was available with standard and automatic viewfinder.
  • New F-1 Los Angeles 1984 A camera with golden Canon lettering, golden F-1 symbol and Olympic symbol, as well as the serial number “LAXXXX”. They were available with standard and automatic viewfinders.
  • New F-1 US Navy A camera with the words "US Navy" on the right on the front. They were available with the standard finder.
  • New F-1 P: Special camera version for Japanese press photographers, without elevator lever, with standard motor drive.
  • New F-1 Post: Special registration camera with fixed ALOS 3.5 / 35 mm lens, built for the Swiss Post to photograph telephone counters, with special Mono Blitz IV from the Swiss company "ALOS"
  • F-Rb: was a NEW F-1 modified for ophthalmological purposes with a special power winder CR3-FN or CR4-FN. For them there was the light shaft finder FN and the magnifying glass viewfinder FN-6x as well as two special focusing screens.
  • New F-1 Electro-Optic Camera the world's first DSLR (1987), built by Kodak

  • Canon New F-1 with automatic viewfinder FN and 50 mm 1.4 FD right

  • Canon New F-1 with automatic viewfinder FN and 50 mm 1.4 FD left

  • Canon New F-1 with screwed release button with Canon logo (very rare)

Web links

Commons : Canon F-1  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Photo magazine, September to November 1989, The EOS-1 Story

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