I loved my F-1. I hope he shows one off too. I think because I didn't buy one till '84 it was a bit dated compared to the Nikon series. I think Nikon already had the F3 out by that time.
In 1968 i bought my first SLR. It was a used Canonflex. The first 35 SLR they made. It has a meter you could clip on to the front of the camera. It also used the FL lenses. I now have the second SLR they made the Canonflex Rm with an on board meter. A very sturdy camera. They also made a camera with a Pelical mirror, the Canon Pelix. Very inovative company!
My first canon was an AE1 program. someone in my photo group started making fun of my because it was just a plastic camera with a brass bottom. Canon at the time was targeting more amateur photographers making easier and cheaper cameras to use. I did really love that camera as it was a step up from my Pentax spotmatic ll. Thanks for doing canon. More cameras please. This is a joy. I do remember Canon not making a full bayonet mount but doing a different type of mount.
Canon manufactures great professional lenses and cameras for professional photographers, and the Canon L glass line has a well-deserved reputation. However, Canon's mid-range and budget equipment, on the other hand, has always been of poor quality, with 85% of the recommended affordable alternatives being subpar. This is not a new phenomenon for Canon, it has been the company's operating philosophy from its inception. Canon's mid-range and low-cost cameras were so bad that almost every brand, such as Nikon, Pantex, Yashica, and Konica, made far better low-cost photographic equipment than Canon did in the 1970s and 1960s. To sum up, the Andre Agassi ad campaign inspired me to start my photographic journey with Canon, and I still enjoy and possess a lot of Canon equipment, but it is not midrange or budget Canon equipment since it is worthless. I'm a bit salty since I like the Canon Pro equipment, but I've never purchased anything from Canon that was both fairly priced and of good quality.
I remember a lot of critics hated the AE-1 program because it was a plastic camera that canon tried to pawn off as metal by adding a heavy brass bottom but I loved my camera. I also did love the semi-bayonet mount because it was a step-up from my screw mount Pentax. I know it wasn't as good as the Nikon bayonet mount but I guess it depends on where you are coming from. I do love both systems but the worse camera I bought was a canon eos 620 back in the day. I liked the Nikon 8008 much better and ended up sticking with Nikon.
The Canon EF is a fantastic camera. Got mine, near mint, for €25, with a 100mm 1:2.8 lens. I'll never sell that camera, it really is "The Black Beauty".
Excellent review of the Canon SLR ranges. Look forward to part 2. I learned a lot. Some interesting lens adaptions. Mr Woo did skip over the rangefinder series though. It was as if Canon just started with the 7 instead of the 3,4,5,6 and P ranges.
