Canon F-1

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The Canon F-1 was a 35mm single-lens reflex camera produced by Canon of Japan from March 1971 until 1976's introduction of the mildly updated F-1n, while in 1981 a New F-1 was launched. The new Canon FD lens mount was introduced along with the F-1, but the previous Canon FL-mount lenses were also compatible, although without open-aperture metering.

The F-1 was Canon's first truly professional-grade SLR system, supporting a huge variety of accessories and interchangeable parts so it could be adapted for different uses and preferences.

A special commemorative model of the F-1 was offered for the 1976 Montreal Olympics. It was identical to the regular F-1 but for the Olympic emblem on the front upper left of the body.

In 1976, the camera was revised slightly. This revised version is sometimes called the F-1n(not to be confused with the 1981 F-1N). All told 13 changes were made. These changes were
1. Change the standard focusing screen from the A style(microprism only) to E style(split image with microprism ring)
2. Widen the film advance lever offset from 15 degrees to 30 degrees
3. Decrease the winding stroke to 139 degrees from 180 degrees
4. Increase the maximum ASA to 3200 from 2000
5. Added a plastic tip to the advance lever
6. Changed the mirror to transmit more blue light, thus making the image brighter
7. Added a detent to the rewind crank to allow it to stay put when pulled out
8. Added the capability to take a screw-in type PC sync socket
9. Spring load the battery check position of the power switch
10. Increase the size of the shutter release cup
11. Added a soft rubber ring around the eyepiece
12. Added a film reminder holder to the camera back
13. Simplify multiple exposure procedure

Viewfinders

Like most professional 35mm cameras of the 1970s, the F-1 had interchangeable viewfinders. To remove the viewfinder, one depressed the two small buttons at the rear sides of the finder, and slid the finder toward the back of the camera.

The camera shipped with a standard pentaprism finder, called an "eye level finder" by Canon.

Other finders available included a waist level finder, speed finder, booster T finder, and Servo EE finder.

The waist level finder was patterned after the design of waist level finders common on medium format cameras. It had a pop-up hood to shield the focusing screen from stray light, as well as a magnifier to help with critical focusing. The waist level finder did not allow the metering information to be seen.

The speed finder was unique to Canon. The speed finder had a unique arrangement of prisms which allowed the entire finder image to be viewed from 60 centimeters away. In addition, the speed finder was arranged in such a way that it could be viewed in either the eye level or waist level position. The speed finder was suggested for use when wearing goggles or anything else that could prevent the user from placing the eyepiece right up to their eye.

The booster T finder and servo EE finder were both essentially variations on the standard eye level finder. The booster T finder contained an ultra-sensitive metering cell which could read as low as EV -3.5. It had the capability to electronically time exposures several seconds long.

The Servo EE finder added shutter priority automatic exposure to the F-1. A servo mechanism in the finder drove the aperture lever on the lens, stopping it down to the correct value.

[edit] References

Canon Inc. Canon F1. Retrieved from Canon's online Camera Museum on October 21, 2005.
Canon Inc. (1971) Canon F-1 User Manual. Retrieved from The Canon FD Documentation Project on October 21, 2005.
Bob Shell "Canon Compendium. Handbook of the Canon System". Hove Books (Hove, East Sussex) 1994. ISBN 1-897802-04-8
Photography in Malaysia (1999). Classic Modern SLRs - Canon F-1, 1971. Retrieved on October 21, 2005.

Lens Mount	Series	Model
Canon SLR cameras
FL		FX (1964), FP (1964), Pellix (1965), FT QL (1966), Pellix QL (1966), TL (1968)
FD	F	Amateur: FTb (1971), FTbn (1973), EF (1973), TLb (1974), TX (1975)
	F	Professional: F-1(1971), F-1n (1976), New F-1 (1981)
	A	AE-1 (1976), AT-1 (1976), A-1 (1978), AV-1 (1979), AE-1 Program (1981), AL-1 (1982)
	T	T50 (1983), T70 (1984), T80 (1985), T90 (1986), T60 (1990)
EF
	1	EOS-1 (1989), EOS-1N (1994), EOS-1N RS (1995), EOS-1V (2001)
		EOS 650 (1987), EOS 620 (1987), EOS 750QD (1988), EOS 850QD (1988), EOS 630QD (1989), EOS RT (1989), EOS 700QD (1989), EOS 10sQD (1990), EOS 1000F (1990), EOS 100 (1991), EOS EF-M (1991), EOS 5/5QD/A2/A2e (1992), EOS 1000FN (1992), EOS 500 (1993), EOS 888 (1993), EOS 50 (1995), EOS 500N (1996), EOS-3 (1998), EOS 88 (1999), EOS 300 (1999), EOS 30 (2000), EOS 3000N (2002), EOS 300V (2002), EOS 3000V (2003), EOS 30V (2004), EOS 300X (2004)
	IX	EOS IX, EOS IX Lite
		Canon DSLR cameras
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