Your Message:
: I'm weary of automated features and want to go back to : fully manual slr. A friend and I visited a : professionally reputable camera store recently and : looked at a Canon F-1 body. I am able to get what looks : to be good price (compared with prices asked for the : scant F-1's I've located elsewhere). This 'war horse' : is heavy, but I'm imaging it's also a fine example of : mass-produced craftsmanship of the kind Japan (and : other countries) will not see again. I've also heard, : though, that the F-1 light meter is not always : accurate. (That's a generic comment, not specifically : about the one I was looking at.) Here are a couple of : queries for all you photo wizards, assuming I buy the : F-1, plus a 50mm lens and a 35mm lens. : 1 How should I test the camera to verify it reads : exposures correctly, at given shutter speeds and f- : stops? : 2 The camera is obviously used. How can I guage it's : mechanical reliability? How many more 'snaps' will it : go before it is beyond repair at a reasonable price? : 3 Oh, and by the way, can a camera this old still be : repaired at a reasonable price? : 4 And, finally, am I foolish to spend more on the F-1 : when a later-model Nikon, for example, could produce : equally good or better results? And what later-model : unit would you recommend, and why? : Thanks. : John.