Canon’s amazing 35mm SLR, the EF (1973-1978)

March 9, 2025March 9, 2025Chris and Carol Leave a comment

In many ways, it’s better than the much more famous F-1.

It’s also known as the Canon Black Beauty. It’s built on the F-1’s frame but does not have interchangeable viewfinders or the ability to use a power winder or motor drive.

The EF was first released in 1973, just two years after the F-1. It was Canon’s first aperture-priority camera, well before the AE-1.

The standard lens is the Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C. shown here with its lens hood.

Here, a Canon EF and its cousin, the Canon F-1. The F-1 is shown in a limited-edition olive drab.

The Canon EF is a worthy camera for your collection. The ability to electronically time exposures from 1/2 to 30 seconds accurately makes it more versatile than the F-1 in its base form.

The view in the viewfinder. The later EFs had a split-image and microprism focusing screen.

An earlier EF with the FD 50mm F/1.8 S.C. lens.

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Comments are always welcomed, as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by, and while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris. Copyright © 2015-2025 Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris (Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic), Chris Whelan. All rights reserved.

Why I clean (detail) previously owned classic cameras.

March 4, 2025March 4, 2025Chris and Carol Leave a comment

I often purchase used cameras and lenses from individuals in person and from online sites. Some of these gems are usually over forty years old and older, and even though they look clean, I know they’re not. I don’t think I’m a germaphobe (a bit, maybe), but the thought of putting an obviously dirty camera up to my face isn’t too appealing. The flip side to making a camera clean again is that it will go a long way to preserving the camera’s surfaces, preventing corrosion, and removing oils and contaminates that will deteriorate the camera in the long term. I think of it as preserving a bit of history.

Here is a camera I acquired recently. It looked in mint condition and, at first glance, clean. The camera is from 1976, and although it wasn’t heavily used, it’s been sitting around collecting pollutants.

Standard cotton buds (Q-tips) and household Windex and lots of time remove the dirt and grime trapped in and on the surfaces of the camera. These were from the leatherette on the back cover. Think nose oils and dirty fingers. The front leatherette is another grimy area.

After an evening happily spent detailing this gorgeous Canon (below).

I’ve cleaned cameras like this for over thirty years, and never has it damaged a camera or lens. Obviously, I dip the Q-tips in a small container of Windex. Don’t directly spray the camera.

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Monster Mash

January 25, 2025January 25, 2025Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Monster Mash

Choose or not. I use both.

The MF drive handles better for me. Its grip is so big that I feel confident toting it by my side.

Canon’s film eaters: The F-1 is on the left with the Motor Drive MF, and the Canon New F-1 is on the right with an AE Motor Drive FN. The grip on the New F-1 is slick, so it feels less secure in my hand. The most significant difference between these two is that the New F-1 is a shutter-priority AE camera, and with this motor drive, all one needs to do is focus. The original F-1 would need the rather large Servo EE Finder to achieve the same performance results.

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Canon AE-1 Olympic Set

January 23, 2025January 23, 2025Chris and Carol Leave a comment

From the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

Classic Canon AE-1 35mm SLR film camera.

Shown with a sharp Canon New FD 50mm f/1.8 lens.

My set will include everything pictured (minus the display stand).

This is the last AE-1 in my extensive Canon camera collection.

This beautiful set is now available in my Etsy camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com. It’s been professionally serviced and returned to factory specifications, including a new battery. Just add the film!

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camera porn – sexy stuff

January 7, 2025January 7, 2025Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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A reminder, never leave batteries in your photo gear.

January 7, 2025January 7, 2025Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Here is a new flash in its original box, Canon Speedlite 244T, that I received from a recent purchase on eBay. The seller has since refunded me, but this serves as a reminder to never leave batteries, especially AA batteries, in your cameras and other accessories. This “new” flash had these Philips batteries installed at some point, but the owner forgot about them. What a shame that an otherwise neat collectible is now ruined.

I’ve seen worse corrosion before, but this is right up there with the worst.

AA batteries in a flash unit can corrode in as little as a few months! These, however, have been left for decades.

Thanks for stopping by, and after reading this, please check your cameras. – Chris

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Canon New F-1. Why not Canon F-2?

January 4, 2025January 4, 2025Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Canon New F-1 Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games Edition.
From Canon:
Instead of being a next-generation successor to the F-1, this camera was called the “New F-1” and not the “F-2.” With the first F-1 in 1971, Canon promised that the camera would remain unchanged for 10 years. This promise was fulfilled. During those ten years, remarkable electronics, precision manufacturing, and optics advances existed. The successor to the top-of-the-line F-1 had to incorporate the best electronic technology for better automation, versatility, and specifications.

The New F-1 uses interchangeable focusing screens to change the metering pattern, and it has a segmented metering element for metering flexibility. System AE is incorporated for automation to ensure optimum operation. The camera’s basic controls are the same as those of the old F-1, so F-1 users can easily adapt to the new F-1.

There are significant differences between the original F-1 and the New F-1. I like them both.

The closest I got to owning the 1976 Montreal Olympic edition was the lens cap. It’s shown here on my F-1 that I purchased new in the summer of 1978 while stationed in Japan.

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Have I crossed a line? (answer below)

January 3, 2025January 3, 2025Chris and Carol Leave a comment

As part of my New Year goal setting, I decided to round up my Canon F-1 cameras to do an inventory check and photograph them all together. After editing my pictures, I “found” another unaccounted-for F-1 and a box! Here is the family. On the upper left is my original F-1, which I purchased in Japan in the summer of 1978 (without the motor drive). The others evolved over the years with the green F-1, my latest acquisition (I hope).

There’s one missing, an early model from 1971. I’ll update my pictures soon.

Here is the later 1978 model F-1 that I picked up for a song, and it’s in mint condition, too (missing from the group shot).

My earliest F-1. It’s from August 1971 and is in the first batch of 20,000 made. It also has a <E.P> Mark.

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A handsome couple.

January 3, 2025January 3, 2025Chris and Carol Leave a comment

They make a handsome couple, although the classic chrome nose lens isn’t age-appropriate for this camera. The Canon O.D. F-1 is from January 1978, and the lens was produced in May 1971 (a very early batch).
The O.D. (Olive Drab) cameras were a limited edition, with about 3,000 made for the Japanese market (maybe a few sneaked out to Europe, but that hasn’t been confirmed).