Camera review: The Canon EOS-1

This camera review is about the Canon EOS-1: the original influencer.

My Canon EOS-1 shot with my Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, monochrome setting

Time for something new

With the advent of autofocus in the 1980s Canon developed an autofocus system that introduced a brand new lens mount: the EF mount. But that was not the only thing they changed. Their autofocus cameras also gained a new look. All black with a polycarbonate outer finish over a diecast aluminium frame. Whilst the first EOS models were still a bit square this all changed  with the introduction of the EOS-1 in 1989. Canon's first professional autofocus camera was designed by Luigi Colani, a German industrial, automotive and aviation designer. Colani also designed the Canon T90, the last manual focus pro-camera Canon built, three years earlier.

Gone was the box-like structure of earlier cameras. In fact, the EOS-1 design was the basis for Canon's flagship camera designs for decades. Starting with the EOS-1 the design was also used for the EOS-1N and EOS-1V film cameras and the entire EOS-1D series digital cameras, ending with the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III that was introduced in 2020. Talk about being an influencer in camera design!

EOS-1, front (with EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM fitted)

So when you pick up an EOS-1 it just feels, well, contemporary. This is a 37 year old camera that will never look old, even in a world where digital has replaced film. As long as you don't see the back of the EOS-1 it looks like a modern-day DSLR. And the fun thing is that you can use any EF mount lens on it, also those that were built years after this camera was introduced.

EOS-1, back

The Canon EOS-1 was built from 1989 until 1994 when it was replaced by the EOS-1N as Canon's flagship camera.

Specifications

Camera:                Canon EOS-1

Built:                    1989-1994

Mount:                  Canon EF

Shutter speeds:     30 seconds - 1/8.000th of a second, B

Self timer:            yes

Size:                     161 mm wide, 107 mm high and 72 mm deep

Weight:                890 gram with battery

Light metering:     yes, TTL 

Hot shoe:              yes

Battery:                2CR5

Frame rate:          2.5 seconds per frame without the booster grip, 5.5 seconds with the grip

Camera manual:   click here (PDF)

Shooting

I obtained my EOS-1 at the photography fair in Hilversum a few weeks ago. My example looks pristine and came without the power drive booster E1. I find it a joy to use.

Me shooting with my EOS-1. Photo: Joeri van Veen.

Something to keep in mind is that  the EOS-1 series has a few design features that are exclusive to this series. I cut my digital teeth on the EOS-1D Mark II so I've become quite used to it, but this might be something to get used to if you've never shot with an EOS-1 series camera before. There is no dial to select the shooting mode, change ISO, activate the self timer etc., these are all done by pressing a combination of buttons on the upper left side of the camera. 

There are also eight custom functions if you'd like to change the way the camera operates. I've activated F-2, film leader out for instance. This leaves the film leader outside the case after rewinding. Quite useful when you're developing your film at home. You can switch the focusing screen if you want, seven interchangeable focusing screens are available. I've never attempted to change a focusing screen but screen B - new split would be very handy when shooting manual focus lenses.

The one thing that really shows the age of the EOS-1 is the sole focus point in the centre of the frame. Whilst groundbreaking at the time it was introduced it is a far cry from the 45-point autofocus of the EOS-1V and the digital EOS-1D series that followed it. I don't mind but I can imagine it could feel somewhat limiting when you're used to a more advanced autofocus system.

In the field

Cougar! Read more about her here.

Sherman bunker, IJssellinie (IJssel defence line)

Flowers

Naarden-Vesting

All shots shown here were taken with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens fitted to my EOS-1 on Agfaphoto APX 400/36 film. 

Conclusion

All in all I am quite happy with my Canon EOS-1. It still is a very usable film camera that is compatible with all the EF mount lenses out there and - with the exception of the single focus point perhaps - still feels remarkable modern. Recommended!

Click on the photos to enlarge

Camera review: The Pentax 67II

It's the biggest camera in my arsenal and it still hasn't been reviewed here. What? This is where we change that!

An F-84F preserved at the former Luftwaffe base in Memmingen. The original scan of this 6x7 negative has a 55.5 megapixel count! (since sized down for this blog)

The Pentax 6x7 generations

It all started with the mother of all medium format 67 cameras in 1966. In that year the prototype Pentax 220 was introduced at the Photokina event. This was developed into the first generation Asahi Pentax 6x7 (called Honeywell Pentax 6x7 for the US market) that was released in 1969. This was basically a blown-up version of the Pentax Electro Spotmatic (ES) series with an interchangeable view prism and shooting 120/220 film instead of 135. In 1976 a second generation model called the Pentax 6x7 (MLU) was released, this featured a mirror lock-up system. This was followed in 1990 by the third generation Pentax 67. This featured some cosmetic changes. The fourth and last version was released in 1999 and this is the Pentax 67II. This is a thoroughly modernised version with introduced a hand grip on the right side of the camera body, new digital displays on the outside and in the viewfinder and a departure from the fragile light-metering system of the previous generations. Also aperture priority exposure metering was possible for the first time with the Pentax 67II.

Photo: Joeri van Veen

Specifications

Camera:                Pentax 67II

Built:                    1999-2009

Mount:                  Pentax 67

Shutter speeds:     4 seconds - 1/1.000th of a second, B manual, 30 sec. - 1/1.000th of a second, auto

Self timer:            no

Size:                     Huge! Okay, 185,5 mm wide, 151 mm high and 106 mm deep

Light metering:     yes, TTL auto exposure control

Hot shoe:              no

Battery:                2x CR123A

Photo: Joeri van Veen

Using the Pentax 67II

The Pentax 67II feels like a giant film SLR and it pretty much functions as such. If you were ascending into the world of medium format and already familiar with classic pre-AF 135 cameras like the Pentax Spotmatic or K1000 you'd have no problem operating any Pentax 67 model camera. Yes, it is huge, the mirror slaps harder than your girlfriend when she's mad at you and said mirror is probably bigger than the one in your bathroom but it is such a joy to use. The shutter sound is not too loud and actually very pleasing. 

Photo: Joeri van Veen

All Pentax 67 cameras use 120 and 220 medium format film. These days you'll likely only use 120 film as 220 film has been discontinued but if you are that lucky son of a gun that has some expired 220 film in your freezer you're good to go shooting it with this camera. Due to the way it is built - like a giant SLR - there is no option to digitize the 67II body. Personally I don't mind. With the advent of digital medium format cameras we have those options elsewhere. Of course, you can always scan your negatives and quite frankly, using a 67II like a digital camera is not what it is about. 

 

Photo: Joeri van Veen

With the Pentax 67II you are slowing your photography. With only ten photos on a roll of 120 film you become selective, considerate, almost meditative when shooting. And each time that shutter slaps you just know that it is going to be good.

Photo: Joeri van veen

In the field

As part of our Atlantikwall series Joeri van Veen and I set out for those giant bunkers once again last weekend. This time I brought the Pentax 67II with me, together with the Super-Multi-Coated-Takumar 55mm f/3.5 wide angle lens and the Super-Multi-Coated-Takumar 105mm f/2.4 standard lens. Below you'll find some images of that photo shoot.

Click on the images to enlarge

Camera review: The Exa Ib

The camera

This review is about the Ihagee Exa Ib single lens reflex camera. The story of its development is pretty much the same as the Exa Ic which I reviewed here. The main difference of the Exa Ib and Exa Ic is that they have an M42 mount as opposed to all other Exakta and Exa camera which have the Exakta mount. This means that using lenses such as those wonderful Takumar and Carl Zeiss (both Oberkochen and Jena) lenses is possible on these cameras. 

Jaguar. Shot with my Exa Ib fitted with a Takumar 135mm f/3.5 lens.

As I said in my Exa Ic review I obtained the Exa Ib and Ic together and they are pretty much the same camera. Sure there are differences, but mostly cosmetic. Most Exa Ib models were built by Ihagee apart from the very last series. These were built by VEB Certo-Kamerawerk Dresden under license from Ihagee. You can tell if it's a Ihahee or Certo built camera by checking the serial number. If the serial number is preceded by a C, you've got a copy built bij Certo. It is said the model name was changed from Ib to Ic to denote a Certo built camera but as I said the last Exa Ib models were also produced by Certo. Make of that what you will. ;-)

Exa Ib front view.

Exa Ib top view.

Exa Ib film counter.

Exa Ib with the back removed.

Exa Ib bottom view. Align the red dots to release the back.

Specifications

Camera:                Ihagee Exa Ib

Built:                    1977-1985

Mount:                  M42

Shutter speeds:     1/30th - 1/175th of a second, B

Self timer:            no

Size:                     130 mm wide, 97 mm high* and 46 mm deep

Light metering:     no

Hot shoe:              no

Battery:                none

* with the pentaprism viewfinder fitted

Shooting

I find the Exa Ib very intuitive to use, but there are a few things you need to know about this camera. To load the film in any of the I series Exa cameras you release the back of the camera. Once detached you load the film just like any other camera apart from the fact that there is no fixed take up spool in the camera body. The take up spool is a separate part. Now all Exa cameras had a take up spool supplied with the body but if you are buying one today, do check if it's still there. Once your film is loaded, you slide the camera back back onto the body again and you're ready to shoot. My copy of the Exa Ib was built from 1977 until 1983 and has a frame counter that needs to be reset manually. It counts down, so set it to 36 (or 24 if you're using 24 exposures film). I actually got 38 exposures out of a 36 exposures film with this camera. And then there is the shutter button on the left side of the camera that I already covered in my other reviews.

Exa Ib fitted with a Takumar 28mm f/2.8 lens.

Exa Ib fitted with a Takumar 135mm f/3.5 lens.

I've loaded the Exa Ib with some Fomapan Profi Line Classic 100 and drove up to the fine people over at the Cool Classic Club. They just happened to have part of their classic automobile collection displayed outside. I've used a Takumar 28mm f/2.8 lens and a Takumar 135mm f/3.5 lens for this review. 

All in all I am very happy with the images I got from the Exa Ib. A keeper ;-)

Camera review: The Kiev 60

The camera

This review is about the КИЕВ 60 (Kiev 60) single lens reflex camera. Built by the Arsenal plant this Soviet (later Ukrainian) medium format single lens reflex camera was the successor to the КИЕВ 6C (Kiev 6S) camera model. The Kiev 6S was introduced in 1970 and was produced until 1986. The camera design was no doubt influenced by the 1956 East German Praktisix and copied its lens mount. Not only the Soviets were enamored by the 'big conventional SLR' design, the Japanese Asahi Optical Company released the Pentax 6x7 in 1969 that shares the same design philosophy. In fact, when I first laid hands on a Kiev 60 I was struck by how similar is was to the Pentax 6x7 - my first medium format camera. In 1984 the Kiev 6S was replaced with the Kiev 60 and this camera was built to at least 1999. It was sold by Arsenal for much longer though thanks to a formidable stockpile of Kiev 60s. In fact, one can still purchase new Kiev 60s, rebranded as ARAX 60s, today from ARAX which took over the Arsenal stock after Arsenal closed down.

My Kiev 60 as it was when I obtained it, fitted with an Arsat-C 80mm f/2.8

Specifications

Camera:                        КИЕВ 60 (Kiev 60)

Built:                            1984-1999

Mount:                          Pentacon 6

Shutter speeds:             2-1/1000 seconds, B

Self timer:                    yes

Mirror lock-up:            no

Film type:                    120 film

Weight:                        1,950 grams with lens

Light metering:            no, add-on TTL prism with light meters available

Battery:                        none for the camera, 3x LR44 for the TTL prism

Shooting

Like the Pentax 6x7, the Kiev 60 is a big son of a gun. There is nothing delicate about this camera, it was built like a T-55 tank and it will last a lifetime. It is a very straightforward camera, anyone with 35mm SLR camera experience will immediately know how to operate it. It shoots twelve of those big and gorgeous 6x6 negatives on 120 film. But the best thing of all: It uses the Pentacon 6 mount! Hello Carl Zeiss Jena lenses! So we've got a simple, usable design and those superb Carl Zeiss Jena lenses. Is all good? Well, there are issues reported with this camera. Some have overlapping frames and/or light leaks. Not so desirable. Also it has no mirror lock-up (MLU) which could be quite useful.

My Kiev 60 dates from 1994 and is thus an Ukrainian rather than a Soviet camera. It was originally bought by my uncle Wolfgang and he very kindly gave it to me. It hadn't been used for a while and when I ran a roll through it it had developed a light leak. I decided to have it refurbished by ARAX and MLU added. I also had it redone in a black finish and the mirror box flocked to reduce flaring.

My Kiev 60 after overhaul and modification

My Kiev 60 with a Carl Zeiss Jena MC Biometar 80mm f/2.8 fitted

Images

I took my Kiev 60 into the field today to see how it would perform after the overhaul and modification.

Kiev 60 with a Carl Zeiss Jena MC Biometar 80mm f/2.8

All in all my refurbished Kiev 60 really delivers. After the attention it got from ARAX this camera doesn't only look and feel like new, it works like new! No issues with film spacing, no issues with light leaks and a fully operational MLU. And using the Carl Zeiss Jena lenses without having to manually open up, focus and then stop down again is, well, a luxury.

I really like this camera. I realize that not everyone gets one as a present but these medium format cameras are still affordable. I would however recommend investing in having it refurbished if you're serious about shooting with it.

Camera review: The Pentax SV

The camera

This review is about the Pentax SV single lens reflex camera. The SV is, one might argue, the last version of the original Asahi Pentax SLR series introduced in 1957. It predates the Pentax Spotmatic series and is, together with the lower-budget S1a released at the same time, the last of the first generation of Asahi Pentax SLRs. The SV was introduced in 1962 and remained in production until 1968 with 481.696 cameras built. There are two versions of the SV, the later one has an orange 'R' on the rewind knob to indicate that the camera can use the 50mm f/1.4 lens which protrudes further into the camera than other 50mm versions. The 50mm f/1.4 cannot fit on the earlier version.

My Asahi Pentax SV fitted with a Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 ZS

This really is a beautiful camera. This early SLR design has clean straight lines, not hampered by the boxy shape of a flash hot shoe, a clean body surface without extra buttons and an undisturbed view through the view finder. Yet it packs a self timer on the top of the camera, it has a high 1/1000th of a second shutter speed and can be fitted with an additional cold shoe for the use of a flash and an add-on light meter as the SV doesn't have an inbuilt meter.

Specifications

Camera:                        Asahi Pentax SV/Honeywell Pentax H3v

Built:                            1962-1968

Mount:                          M42

Shutter speeds:             1-1/1000 seconds, B

Self timer:                    yes

Size:                             140 mm wide, 92mm high and 50mm deep

Weight:                        600 grams

Light metering:             no, add-on light meters available

Battery:                        none

Shooting

I acquired this SV as part of my Pentax Project a few years ago. It is the later version with the orange 'R'. I loaded some Paradies 200/24 (which is rebranded Fuji) economy color negative film, shot a few images and then moved house. The SV was displayed in a small display cabinet in my new house and stood there until I realized that there was still film in it. So I took it on my first outing and finished the roll. I used two lenses with the SV, a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 28mm f/3.5 and a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 105mm f/2.8. The SV is a joy to use. I used 'sunny 16' for exposure but there are add-on light meters available, both vintage and modern, that can be used with the SV. The view finder is perhaps a bit darker when compared to later Pentaxes but focusing is a breeze. And after spending time with Soviet lenses and their eccentric ways it is so good to hold and use smoothly functioning lenses such as these Takumars. This SV found its way back to my camera bag and is there to stay. 

Images

All shot with a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 28mm f/3.5

Shot with a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 105mm f/2.8

All in all I am pretty pleased with how these shots came out, given that the film was in the camera for quite some time. I've since shot some black and white with it, these rolls will be developed once I finish the last roll.

Camera review: The Kiev 88

The camera

When you see a Kiev 88 the first thing you notice is how much it resembles a Hasselblad V series camera. This is not by accident. When Hasselblad introduced the 1600F model camera, built from 1949 until 1953 they introduced a new camera design. This was not lost on engineers in the Soviet Union and it was decided that the Arsenal factory in Kiev would develop a camera based on the Hasselblad 1600F design. In 1957 they came up with the Салют (Salyut) camera which was basically a reverse-engineered 1600F. At the time the similarity of the two cameras was explained by stating that both Hasselblad and Arsenal based their camera design on that of a camera prototype designed in Germany at the end of World War Two. A nice story but as this mythical prototype has never been found or shown elsewhere that is probably all it is. 

Now the Salyut and the Hasselblad 1600F look very much alike but the Salyut is no exact copy. Both are modular camera's with detachable lenses, film backs and viewfinders. The lenses and film backs however are not interchangeable with the Hasselblad versions. The viewfinder actually is compatible with not just the Hasselblad 1600F but also its V system successors. These are smaller differences too, for instance the fastest shutter speed on the first Salyut models was 1/1500th of a second whilst the Hasselblad had a 1/1600th of a second shutter speed (hence the name).

The original Salyut camera was produced between 1957 and 1972 and during its production run several changes were made. The first series had a self timer and a maximum shutter speed of 1/1500th of a second, the second series lost the self timer and the third series had a reduced maximum speed of 1/1000th of a second. All of these were supplied with the Industar-29 80mm f/2.8 lens. Export versions were built under the names of Zenith 80, Revue 6x6, Revue 80 and Vitoflex. Around 50,000 Salyuts of all versions have been built.

My Kiev 80 as bought

Next in line was the Салют-C (Salyut-S), an improved Salyut produced from 1972 until 1981. Around 30.000 were made. The main difference was the fully automatic diaphragm that the original Salyut lacked. It was standard equipped with a Vega-12B 90mm f/2.8 lens. Like the original Salyut, this camera was exported under different brand names like Soyuz, Zenith 80 (second use of this name) and Kiev 80. Some Kiev 80s were supplied with a different standard lens, the Volna-3 80mm f/2.8. My Kiev 80 however came with the standard Vega-12B lens.

My Kiev 88 as bought

The Salyut-S was succeeded on the production line by the Киев 88 (Kiev 88). These models were produced between 1980 and 1994. The biggest difference between the Kiev 88 and its predecessor was the addition of a hot shoe on the camera body. The Kiev 88 also came with a new TTL metering prism This combination was called the Kiev 88 TTL but as the viewfinder is detachable the only difference between the Kiev 88 and 88 TTL is the use of the metering prism. Its standard lens was the Volna-3 80mm f/2.8. Like its predecessors the Kiev 88 was also exported. In the US it was sold under the Cambron name but usually it was sold as a Kiev 88, the main difference was that this was written in Latin rather that Cyrillic script.

Last in the line was the Kiev 88CM. By now the Soviet Union had collapsed and Arsenal was now a Ukrainian company. The Kiev 88CM (by now Arsenal stopped using the Cyrillic script) was produced from 1994 up until the factory closed in 2009. The biggest difference between the Kiev 88 and the 88CM was the new lens mount. All previously built Salyuts and Kievs had a screw mount not unlike but different from the original Hasselblad mount. With the Kiev 88CM that lens mount was replaced with the Pentacon Six mount. This meant that beautiful lenses such as the Carl Zeiss Jena lenses built for the Pentacon Six could be used on Kievs. As Arsenal already produced their lenses in this mount for the Kiev 60 series of cameras both the original Soviet/Ukrainian lenses in Pentacon Six mount and other lenses who use the Pentacon Six mount can be used.

The closure of the Arsenal factory was not the end of the Kiev line of cameras. There were loads of unsold Kiev 88CMs around and companies like Hartblei and Arax took over that stock. Both companies already offered repairs and upgrades to this line of cameras and started producing their own versions using unsold Kiev 88CMs, upgrading them and selling them on under their own brand names. 

Arax offered the Arax CM and CM-MLU versions, the last one adds a mirror lock up (MLU) to the camera. Hartblei offered the Hartblei 1006 and 1006 Master models with the Pentacon Six mount with the Master version also receiving MLU and Hartblei 1008 and 1008 Master models with the original screw mount. Hartblei also offered a commonality with Hasselblad, theirs are the only Kiev cameras modified to take Hasselblad film backs. The Hartblei modified film backs can also be used on Hasselblad V type bodies, something that cannot be done with the original film backs. 

Unfortunately both companies no longer sell their brands of the Kiev 88 cameras. Hartblei stopped selling and servicing these cameras around 2018. A shame really, I would have loved to get my hands on one of those Hartblei 1006 Master cameras with that Hasselblad commonality. In 2021 Arax also stopped selling new cameras as their supply of Arsenal built bodies ran out. However Arax still offers repairs and modifications to all Salyut/Kiev models at this time (October 2021).

Back to the Kiev 88. My copy was built in 1985 and when I acquired mine (together with a 1976 Kiev 80) it was still in full working order. At that time I had just bought my first Arax version of the Kiev 88CM which I was very happy with. With Arax also servicing, repairing and upgrading all models of this design I decided a few months ago to send mine off to the Ukraine for servicing. I decided to have everything serviced and MLU added. It would also get a black coating replacing the silver look.

My Kiev 88 after servicing

Shooting

Shooting with the Kiev 88 (or any of the other camera models described above for that matter) is not for the impatient. Are you in a hurry? Go grab something digital. But if you're willing to spend the time then shooting with this camera is fun. Now when shooting with these Kievs there are a few things you'll always have to remember. By far the most important is to cock your shutter before setting the shutter speed. Doing it the other way around will most likely damage the shutter mechanism. Now, your shutter needs to be cocked before you can compose your shot anyway (cocking it also lowers the mirror) so it is best to just learn and use the mantra 'before doing anything else, cock the shutter'. My Kiev 88 came with both the folding view finder and the TTL metering prism. Working with the folding view finder takes some getting used to. You're looking at a mirror image and when composing moving the wrong way happens almost inevitably the first few times - or more... I opted to fit the TTL viewfinder that I bought together with my Arax after trying the folding view finder. Shooting handheld is no problem with these cameras but I would recommend a tripod when using the folding view finder or when using lower shutter speeds. So, you've set op your shot, cocked the shutter, composed, focused, selected the proper shutter speed and aperture and removed the metal sheet from the film back so you're good to go. One last focus check and CLACK, there the shutter and mirror go. A very satisfying sound.

Images

The Kiev 88 delivers twelve beautiful 6x6 images when using the standard film back. There is also a 645 film back that gets you sixteen 6x4.5 shots. I used the standard film back that came with my Kievs, fitted the Vega-12B 90mm f/2.8 lens and shot some black and white. A few examples, straight from the scanner: