Cannon

Jared185 · Nov 4, 2016

Hi all,
So I was cruising Craigslist today and come across something pretty interesting. It's a cannon eos-1 35mm film camera with the manual. So anyway it's in perfect working order i bought it from the original buyer and except for the rubber around the viewfinder coming a little unglued there's not a mark on it anywhere. Looks brand spanking new. Anyway he wanted 40 for the camera and 60 for a newer cannon 70-300mm lens. So I bought it as well and I tested it out and everything is working wonderfully.

I heard this was (from a friend) cannons first professional grade slr aimed towards professional photographers. And that it was a good camera.

But I was wondering from you all.
1. Is the eos-1 a good camera
2. Did I get a good deal for it.
3. With the 70-300mm lens I was wondering would it be a good wildlife photography camera.

beagle100 · Nov 5, 2016

Jared185 said:
Hi all,
So I was cruising Craigslist today and come across something pretty interesting. It's a cannon eos-1 35mm film camera with the manual. So anyway it's in perfect working order i bought it from the original buyer and except for the rubber around the viewfinder coming a little unglued there's not a mark on it anywhere. Looks brand spanking new. Anyway he wanted 40 for the camera and 60 for a newer cannon 70-300mm lens. So I bought it as well and I tested it out and everything is working wonderfully.

I heard this was (from a friend) cannons first professional grade slr aimed towards professional photographers. And that it was a good camera.

But I was wondering from you all.
1. Is the eos-1 a good camera
2. Did I get a good deal for it.
3. With the 70-300mm lens I was wondering would it be a good wildlife photography camera.

Personally I would not bother with a film camera but if everything is "working wonderfully" that's good
the 70-300 USM is good but many say the 55-250 STM at $129 is better (but it's for a digital camera)
most prefer a longer focal length for wildlife

BTW it's spelled Canon
Good luck with the film endeavor

Jared185 · Nov 5, 2016

Lol yeah my spell correct on my phone must have corrected canon. And I also made a typo on the lens size, It's a 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 iii sorry about that.

Now that all of that is out of the way I am a beginner and am learning a lot but there's still a monumental amount of things to learn. As far as film goes I want to learn to shoot it just like I do digital. But what got me looking into film is shooting my friends nikon camera. I had a blast and after the photos were developed I loved the look of them especially the black and white.

So before buying the lens I contacted a camera shop and the particular lens I purchased is compatible with 35mm film or digital format. I actually took it out today and I got some great shots of a hawk diving on a rabbit out in the field next to my house. I shot a few bursts in continuous mode and should have some nice pictures.

OGsPhotography · Nov 5, 2016

75-300 iii was my 3rd lens, like many others I grabbed a nifty 50 and the 300 is the next logical progression.

I just sold that lens, it never really worked for my needs. Needs a lot of light because the speed needs to be so high or your getting shake, and as soon as the light isnt perfect its useless, its just hard to learn on for me and I considered it replaced now that I have a decent 200mm.

Definately usefull and fun to play with though, so have fun with it and just know the limitations!

zombiesniper · Nov 5, 2016

You can do wildlife with a 300mm lens. It will take more luck/patience than a longer lens but it can be done.

Jared185 said:
As far as film goes I want to learn to shoot it just like I do digital.

Could be yes could be no. Modern digital cameras can make a lot of decisions for you if you let them (Auto modes) where even though a lot of film cameras have auto modes, they'll do you no good to rely on them for wildlife. You're going to have to learn how to control the exposure (without chimping), there just is no other way.

Now having said that. I'm about to be taking my old Rebel S II out and do wildlife photography soon and think it'll be a blast to re-learn how to shoot film again.

In short. Go out and give it a whirl. Read up on how to get proper exposure. Know the basic limitations you'll have with experience/gear and set your initial expectations accordingly.

Jared185 · Nov 5, 2016

Thanks for the replies, just put my first rolls of film through it tonight. so I'll have to see how they turn out lol. I'll have to learn my gear and how to shoot it but that's the fun part lol. Also I don't usually shoot in any auto mode I usually shoot manual mode or in ap mode.

I'm in the market for another lens as well,
But have a budget that I can't go much above. I want a lens that can go up to 500 or 600mm as wildlife is my main focus and the most fun to shoot.

Are there any used lenses in the under 400 dollar price range for the eos-1 that you can regularly find. I tried to look up lenses on google but the only thing I find is lenses for the eos lv which was built a lot later than mine. Looked up the date code on my camera and it was made in 1991.

Dave442 · Nov 5, 2016

Nice, a history making camera for Canon. It should be fun to learn using that camera. While the camera was cheap enough, you are shooting film and that is not so cheap these days. If you are trying for wildlife your hit rate for good shots can be very low, especially when first starting out.

I would suggest picking up a fast prime lens like the 50mm f/1.8 or what I prefer, the 35mm f/2. These are fun lenses to use with a film camera today.

The good thing about the Canon lenses is that you can use most any lens made for the EOS system (the EF lenses that your camera uses) that include your camera and right up to today. Based on that you should be able to use one of the Sigma or Tamron zoom lenses that goes to 600mm. The problem is that in shooting film the ISO range is lower than what is available today with the digital cameras, this will make shooting wildlife a real challenge and more so with "slow" lenses.

The EOS-1v was from about the year 2000. As these were the top models from Canon the change from 1991 to 2000 was probably not that much with only the EOS-1n in between the two models.

Jared185 · Nov 5, 2016

Yeah you know I'm a beginner in photography. And for me it's not just about the photo's for me getting out in the woods or the hike to a location to photograph is equally as fun. But capturing a nice photo is a plus lol. I went out the other day with my Nikon d3000 to photograph some wildlife and it was a challenge getting close enough as the only lenses I have for it is an 18-55 and 55-200 . But I went to a deer blind and brought a tripod and I've had squirrel owls raccoon and various birds and deer that I've managed to photograph and like you said I had a few photos that I loved and a lot more that I was not so happy with. But that's the fun in it for me. If I went out and got amazing shots every time I pushed the shutter button it wouldnt be as fun and I love a challenge. And getting close enough to deer while being undetected is a challenge in and of itself then we have to frame up a shot. lol it's so addicting.

I'm really hoping that those shots I got of that hawk I got tonight were good. Because that was a pretty cool scene.

Warning noob question lol
My local camera shop said I could get an adapter to use the Nikon 18-55 and 55-200 lenses on the canon though they are digital. He said auto focus would be the only thing that didn't work but I manually adjust the focus anyway.
Will this work?