Originally uploaded by Ian Fuller
This was my main camera for many years. I purchased it in about 1980 or 1981 in Reading, England when I worked for Hewlett-Packard (HP). It was a major purchase at the time. I was very proud of it.
I kept it until I left the States in 2006. I donated it to charity in the hope that somebody would learn “real photography” with it.
Now I miss it and wish i had taken it and the Canon FD 50mm f1.8 lens with me to Thailand. I could have bought an occasional roll of film and re-experienced the thrill of waiting to see the results when the prints or slides came back from the lab.
Surely all this instant gratification with digital photography is bad for the soul. With a film camera I knew I might not get another chance at the image so I took more care with the details of framing and exposure.
Also with fixed focal length lens I cannot rely on the zoom when I’m too lazy to get in the right place relative to the subject.
It’s the only item that I regret leaving behind in America. I had a house full of stuff and haven’t missed any of it.
See http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/SLRs/a1/html/index1.htm for more information on why this was such an influential camera.
December 29, 2009 at 5:50 pm |
[...] remember my Canon A-1 film SLR camera had two optical devices in the viewfinder to help you focus. (This was the 1980s [...]