My old 35mm camera

[Underwater Mike]

Just getting PO'd about the state of my photography equipment and needed to vent.

I have a Canon A-1, which needs some repair/refurb work to combat the effects of 25 years of use and environment. (I bought this thing during high school and used it to help make money then and as an undergrad.) The best pricing I can find on reliable servicing is between $150-200 USD, which is far more than I can get for the camera and 50mm f1.4 lens on FleaBay!

The really depressing thing is that I have a bag full of very expensive FD-mount Canon glass that I can't use with any of the newer cameras like the 20D, even if I'm willing to forgo auto focusing and full-aperture metering -- unless I buy an expensive adapter that kills the quality of the Canon lenses. The thought of getting rid of all that expensive glass is the main reason that I haven't yet gone digital.

Am I just being a sentimental, middle-aged curmudgeon? I never expect my computer parts to last forever. Then again, I didn't work years of paper routes and food service to buy my PCs, either.

[CrowdAds]

[Bofinn]

I think you are being sentimental. I had the A-1 programmable, a couple different lens, and lot's of cool filters - star, sunset, etc...


When I spent $450 on my current digital, Canon Sureshot, I called up the ex-wife and gave her the A-1 bag. I just decided it was time to let my old baby go...

only thing left to do is update my 20 pound tri-pod to a newer light weight one.

[Wingit]

I'm sure you're not a curmudgeon Mike, but you would have a good excuse to be, given the evolution of photography and imaging in general....I have memories of browsing through camera shops staring awestruck at the lenses that looked as though they were produced by alien jewelers in the Krell labs, with price tags to match........I don't know if I could give up a hard-earned set-up like yours either, but I do know that I would certainly augment it with a new digicam...my Panasonic DMC FZ10 has been a revelation, although I am the merest amateur with it and not an afficianado like others here. I believe swannie recommended it to me, as did others...I think I'll give him a retro rep point for it, now that I think of it! Sorry about your quandry, but time and tech wait for no man!

[Underwater Mike]

Hey, Wingit, I know what you mean about the lenses. The stuff I have was several hundred bucks apiece, and they're going for less than $25 now. I'd keep everything just for the heck of it, but the camera's useless without some repair work.

My wife wanted a digicam for her birthday, but I'm still shopping so she'll have to wait until Mother's Day. Something small and simple for her. I'd really like the 20D to be my first digital, but the sensors are changing so rapidly that I'm afraid to commit.

[Wingit]

Originally Posted by Mike Donatello

Hey, Wingit, I know what you mean about the lenses. The stuff I have was several hundred bucks apiece, and they're going for less than $25 now. I'd keep everything just for the heck of it, but the camera's useless without some repair work.

My wife wanted a digicam for her birthday, but I'm still shopping so she'll have to wait until Mother's Day. Something small and simple for her. I'd really like the 20D to be my first digital, but the sensors are changing so rapidly that I'm afraid to commit.

Since my camera was my first foray into a "decent" digicam, albeit not an pro/enthusiast one, just a first-class all purpose camera, I simply took the tactic of posting a thread here giving the rough parameters of my usage and budget...the great members here did the rest...and as usual had fun doing it, I believe..

Btw, I just finished researching cameras for about $200.00 for a friend (another Interior Designer) and suggested the Canon A85...take a look at it.

Edit: Might even be a good inaugural type thread for the new AV section!

[Underwater Mike]

Actually, I was looking at the FZ20 for her, but she wants something smaller. The Canon S70 is supposed to have less noise than its predecessors, and the size/feature set are right. I'd go for something with a lower pixel count to save on the noise problems, but she never frames well and her pix always need a lot of cropping, so she needs all the resolution she can get.

[ronbo 613]

Mike-Many Canon camera owners went through the same thing you did when they switched to the EOS camera system. Photography is going through one of the biggest changes in it's history; from film to digital. The future of photography is digital, that's for sure. Film will still be part of photography, but a smaller and smaller part, just like 16mm filmakers in a digital video world. Most professional photographers have to keep one 35mm film system and one digital system, depending on what their clients require. By the way, today, most pros use Canon systems.
The Canon EOS 20D is an awesome camera. It is for serious enthusiasts and pros. Look for Canon to develop this line of mid-range digital SLRs for that group of photographers who want more than a point and shoot. They have already begun to develop a line of lenses, the EF-S series, for this line of cameras. The 20D can also use regular Canon EF and L series lenses with a 1.6X crop factor.
Don't look for "full frame" image sensors in mid-range digital SLRs anytime soon. The image sensor in the 20D($1500.USD) is 22.5X15mm(1.6X crop factor), EOS1DMarkII($4900.USD) is 28.7X19.1(1.3X crop factor) and the EOS1DsMarkII($6000.USD) is 24X36mm, a "full-frame" sensor, the same size as a 35mm slide or negative. The high end digital SLRs are for pros only.
The most important factor in buying a camera is to get one you will use. An eight megapixel "point and shoot" will produce all the quality images you need. You can get wide angle and telephoto adaptors to widen the range of the original lens(make sure you take this into consideration when you buy the camera). If the camera is too hard to use or a pain in the butt to haul around, you won't use it, and you'll have no pictures at all.

[Fraoch]

There is something to be said for the "art" of film cameras.

Sometimes you can get stunning results with high-end film (i.e. Kodak Royal Gold or slide film) and just the right conditions.

But for endeavors besides art, yes, digital cameras are increasingly the way to go.

[ronbo 613]

Film will never go away completely, the same way there are still photographers who use 4X5 and 8X10 view cameras and black and white film. 35mm users will be around for awhile but the amazing decline of Kodak is a testament to the speed at which digital is taking over.
Digital imaging really lowers production costs for magazines and other print media so for professionals, it's a matter of cost as much as quality.
I've got a half dozen 35mm bodies and associated lenses, probably haven't used one in six months. I'd guess I take about 200-500 photos a month.

[ABoard]

Sentimental if you were longing for the good old days.

But I don't quite see your post in that light. Beyond initial appearances, your post has some legitimate questions, foremost, "Should I keep an old manual camera body and lenses for the practicality and utility of it?".

The answer in my opinion is yes. As others have noted, film is not dead yet (not by a long shot [pun intended] in medium & large formats). You have a good, classic camera when in working order and the lenses are of high quality (if they were Vivatars, Soligors, Sigmas, Sears, etc., I might have a different opinion ... Sigma of late has redeemed itself somewhat, but in the day of the A-1, they were at the low-end of the totem pole).

Seeing that you are in D.C, you probably have access to higher quality repair shops than in Pig Poke, Arkansas, but I would spend the money on a replacement body from B&H or perhaps KEH (not EBay). If you buy from either B&H or KEH, you may have the option of purchasing a body and selling / trading your original all in one transaction. It may bring you closer to break-even; if that doesn't bring you close enough to break-even, you may take the opportunity to sell a lens or two to them that you rarely use (maybe you have a 35mm and 28mm; so close in focal length, why not unload one?), bringing you even closer to $0 outlay.

Anyway, I still have a Canon EOS 3 with "L" Lenses and a Mamiya RZ Pro II. The latter accepts digital backs but they cost ungodly sums of money with too many compromises built in for now.

Bottom line, I think you will miss the old A-1 system if you relegate it to the trash bin, not for sentimental reasons but for practical and artistic reasons.

[Underwater Mike]

Thanks for all the great advice!

I guess I will hang on to my current stuff just for the heck of it, and maybe invest in a good servicing. I definitely need new foam seals, the mirror has gotten a bit loud, and I think the shutter -- which is a cloth focal plane -- is a bit out of sync.

Anyone know of Abilene Camera or Morgantown Camera & Video Repair?

What would I really like? A dSLR with full-frame sensor that gave me high resolution without a lot of noise or color problems. Can I afford it? Uh, that's an easy "no."

Thanks again.

[ronbo 613]

As others have noted, film is not dead yet (not by a long shot [pun intended] in medium & large formats).

Film is not dead in 35mm either, it's role in photography is just changing a bit. There are billions of slides and negatives, many with historical and sentimental value. They can always be scanned to a digital file with the scanning technology that is current at the time. I'm not sure of the exact details, but apparently the scanning resolution that is available today is approaching the maximum resolution for fine grain films like Velvia because of the molecular structure of the dyes used in the film. The debate now is; if you take a photo with a digital camera and a transparency that is scanned at the maximum resolution the film can bear, which hardware rendering of reality do you prefer?

Mike-I would check with the Canon factory service center on the east coast(I think it's either in NY or Virginia) and see how much it would cost to repair you old 35mm. If it's more than $200, I'd look around for a gently used A1 body instead.

Also, we were talking in the shop today about the Canon digital SLRs, I made a slight error in my earlier post. The Canon EOS 1DsMarkII is about $8000.USD, not $6000. I know some of you were probably ready to run out and buy it, so, sorry for the error.

[ABoard]

Originally Posted by ronbo 613

Film is not dead in 35mm either, it's role in photography is just changing a bit.

I agree. As I said, I still use a Canon EOS 3. I was just emphasizing that for medium and large format camera users, digital is much further out in terms of practicality and quality of images.

Originally Posted by ronbo 613

Mike-I would check with the Canon factory service center on the east coast(I think it's either in NY or Virginia) and see how much it would cost to repair you old 35mm. If it's more than $200, I'd look around for a gently used A1 body instead.

That's why I suggested looking at reputable used dealers like B&H or KEH. B&H has several 8+ quality A-1 bodies available in the $200 range. While I wouldn't purchase it unless I had an A-1 fetish, KEH actually has a "like new minus" A-1 for sale at the low, low price of $465.

Here is some info on repairs and shops:

Classic Camera Repair and Repair Shops Listing

Photo.net Forum Repair Shop Info

I've been participating and (mostly) reading / viewing Photo.net for years now; it is a great resource and it is likely that you will find a member or 10 who has had experience with A-1 repairs, etc.

[Underwater Mike]

Thanks ABoard -- I shot off a couple emails based on those listings. For anything in the $200 range, I'd rather keep my own body since I know it's received a lot of TLC. Ronbo, the Canon factory folks said that they would not fix it because they don't have parts (even though it really needs only cleaning and calibration).

Yeah, it's too bad about the price misquote on the 1DsMarkII. I was planning to trade my car for one.

[ronbo 613]

Ronbo, the Canon factory folks said that they would not fix it because they don't have parts (even though it really needs only cleaning and calibration).

Too bad. Canon service is the best, use them all the time. I even send new gear to them to make sure it's up to factory specs before testing. Not having parts is the only reason they won't work on them.

I still use a Canon EOS 3

A great camera, still in many pro's bags. With the L series lenses, it's about as good as you can get with 35mm. As far as the medium format stuff goes, I'm not 100% up to speed with the digital backs, scanning a medium format negative vs. the size of the sensor of the digital back, so I couldn't really speak about it.

Unless I had an A-1 fetish

Photographers are a "unique" bunch. I know a few old-timers who swear by the old Nikon F. They take good pictures and never have to worry about dead batteries, so who's to say?

I was planning to trade my car for one.

We use the Canon 600mm L series lenses, about $7000. Add the EOS1DsMarkII for a grand total of $15,000. That's more than twice what my truck cost new, five times what it's worth now.