Shooting the Canon F-1n

The weather has not been optimal for photography here in Northern California these last few months. In the seven years I have lived here, this Winter has been the wettest. Huge storms, "atmospheric rivers of moisture" the weather people keep calling them, are dumping amazing amounts of rain here in the Bay Area and record snowfalls in the Sierras. Good for a dried out California. Not so good for outdoor hiking or photography.

That all being said, I did get out on a rare sunny day and shoot some Kodak Tmax 100 in my Canon F-1n. I really enjoyed shooting this camera. Big bright viewfinder, intuitive controls, well balanced body and a robust metering system. The Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 lens impressed me with it's sharpness. I set the F-1n to aperture-priority AE and let the camera do at least some of the thinking in these test shots.

The Canon F-1n closely resembles the Nikon F3 as far as features and performance. They were contemporaries in the pro photography world in the early 80s. Having owned and used both the F3 and this Canon, I would say that the F-1n edges out the F3 in feel and function, at least in my opinion.