Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Part of the fun of collecting is when all of the bits come together. My Canon F-1 is from 1971, the first year of the F-1 (released in March). The lens is from late 1972 and is affectionally known as a chrome nose (for obvious reasons). The chrome filter is from 1963, but it would have still been the appropriate filter for this later lens. The lens hood is an all-metal model designed for this lens. Even the rear lens cap is correct.
It’s a beautiful lens that Canon described as a super-wide-angle lens back in the day.Top view with the correct front lens cap.
The beauty of collecting these early Canon F-1s is that they are still very affordable and still plentiful. Because of their popularity, they are easy to have professionally repaired and adjusted by qualified technicians at a reasonable price.
The early F-1. Serial numbers start at 100001, so my F-1 was number 2,597 and was assembled in July 1971.1971 price list. It wasn’t an inexpensive camera.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
A black and white rendition to show off the little moon just to the left of her hair.It’s a beautiful statue along the beach. My guess is f/8 at ISO200.
Canon EOS R mirrorless digital camera with a Canon FD 28mm f3.5 lens from 1972.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
An early Canon wide-angle lens with its desirable chrome nose.
I enjoy collecting these lenses. They are from the very earliest days of the Canon F-1, and they have a heft to them that’s very reassuring. Lots of brass and glass. The lens weighs 290 grams.
Considering its age, the markings are super sharp and crazy clean.The JCII inspection sticker (the gold thingy) was likely placed before the lens was fully assembled.Canon stamped a date code on most everything it produced. Here, M1010 indicates the lens was completed and passed an internal inspection in October 1972. N = 1972 and 10 = October. The last two numbers are an internal code only known to Canon.Here is the lens mounted to my earliest Canon F-1 from late 1970 or early 1971.
The early chrome-nose Canon lenses are a fun way to collect classic camera gear. If you can find a nice, clean example, you won’t be disappointed.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Collecting classic camera sales brochures is fun, but it’s also educational. If the marketing departments did their jobs correctly, then the information should be entertaining and a great way to enhance your collecting experience.
Here are five recent acquisitions.
Likely the first and most complete brochure for the new Canon F-1, which was released in March 1971. This brochure is dated November 1970.An often overlooked early Canon camera. Dated November 1970.Part of Canon’s building blocks of sophisticated 35mm SLRs on their way to developing the F-1. Dated September 1969.I had the next model up from this classic. Dated March 1971.Check out these guys with their Canon Super 8 movie camera. Dated March 1971.Available Canon lenses as of late 1970.
I have more brochures in my collection, with the earliest being from the mid-1950s.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
My well-used but super-clean Canon New F-1 (F-1N) limited-edition Los Angeles 1984 camera set.
The LA Olympics F-1 is a favorite with collectors. Most ended up either being gently used or put on display. Fewer than 9,500 were made. My F-1 was obviously a busy camera throughout its life. It was assembled in November 1983, and the lens in October. Most of these were made with the AE finder, which makes mine a bit more unusual because it has an eye-level finder. Everything works as designed.
Canon New FD 135mm f3.5 short telephoto lens set. The 135 is a popular lens for portraits, sporting events, and wildlife photography.It’s no secret that I love super-wide-angle lenses, the wider the better. I’ve used the 17mm and the 24mm; the 20mm is a nice compromise between those two.Who doesn’t love a still-mint-condition instruction booklet?My last unused Canon 50mm.Pristine.Remembering a sharp camera from the late 1970s. My last cine camera before I got my first video camera.
As I continue to downsize my collection, these special Canons are now available in my Etsy camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
My lens is from November 1985 (Z1100) and has ‘U.S. Navy’ markings. It’s the newer ‘New FD’ lens with the improved bayonet mount.
Shown here mounted on my Fujifilm X-T2 digital mirrorless camera via a simple FD-FX adapter.The Fuji makes an excellent platform for using my classic film camera lenses.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
My original Canon F-1 from 1978 is on the upper left (with the motor drive)—the Canon O.D. F-1 is my most recent acquisition.With their original instruction booklets.With an early Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 chrome nose lens.OD F-1. A limited edition olive drab version from early 1978.My earliest model. The serial number indicates that this camera was in the first 20,000 built in 1971. It also has the <E.P> mark.My only Canon New F-1 with AE Finder.
It’s one of my favorite 35mm SLRs in my collection.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Canon New F-1 set at the ready. The F-1 is from December 1982, and the lens is from April 1980.Canon New F-1 with a Canon NFD 20mm f/2.8 lens.Canon AE Motor Drive FN on my F-1. The drive is from February 1987.
The next time I go for a photo walk, I’ll use the Canon NFD 20mm super wide-angle lens on either this camera or my Fujifilm X-T2.
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
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 