Check Out the Ingenious Design That Went Into the 1971 Canon F-1 and Its Light Meter

The ingenious details that went into the purely mechanical design of early SLR cameras are incredible, and this in-depth video gives you a remarkable insight into how the light metering system functioned inside the legendary Canon F-1.

Alec Watson of Technology Connections gives a comprehensive lesson in the exposure triangle before going on to explain how this led to the design of the F-1’s light meter. The Canon F-1 was launched by Canon in 1971 and is regarded as Canon’s first SLR camera designed for professional use. Its build was completely mechanical with the exception of the battery-powered light meter that, as this video explores, is an inspired piece of design.

The F-1 featured Canon’s new FD mount, which was in use until Canon shifted to the EF mount in 1987, bringing a dramatic change: autofocus. The FD mount hung on for a few more years, however, with the last model to use the technology being the T60, which was launched in 1990. 

As you might expect, there are plenty of F-1s floating around secondhand, and you can typically pick one up for a couple hundred dollars. As this video from Watson notes, however, you’ll need to be a little creative in getting a battery to work with the light meter.

Do you have an F-1? Do you use a hearing aid battery to keep the light meter working? Let us know in the comments below.

Andy Day's picture

Andy Day is a British photographer and writer living in France. He began photographing parkour in 2003 and has been doing weird things in the city and elsewhere ever since. He's addicted to climbing and owns a fairly useless dog. He has an MA in Sociology & Photography which often makes him ponder what all of this really means.

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10 Comments

At age 16 I worked as a busboy for six months to be able to buy a Canon F-1 and a couple FD lenses. The match needle interface for the camera was simple and dependable. I loved it and still have the body sitting in the back of a closet.

You also mentioned the T60. I didn't own that body but did have a T90 which ended up being my favorite manual focus Canon camera. I actually begin my professional career with 2 F-1s and the T90.

My last F-1 with its big-assed MF motor drive is sitting in a glass case in my studio.

I still have my F-1. It too is mostly a display queen, but I sometimes break it out as a prop, or if I shoot some film. Meter with my old Gossen Luna Pro F.

Great article.

I took my F1 (old model) to Afghanistan in 2002. It's a beast of a camera in tough conditions.
The modern batteries work fine; just overexpose your shots a bit, since the hearing aid batteries of today have lower voltage.
I still shoot my F1. It's a fine platform to mount some of the most versatile set of optics ever created.

When I was working for a news paper I was the only photographer with a Canon F1 ,, I really liked it a lot ,all the others photographers had Nikon

Yep, Canon was the "contrarian" choice at the time.

As soon as someone makes an adapter, you can finally use FD lenses on a Canon without interfacing optics. :-) I know a guy who picked up a mint 300mm f/2.8 L for $300. He never uses it tho, I was thinking of buying off of him and throwing it on my Olympus, or I should say throw my Olympus on it. ;-)

There are already FD-to-RF adapters on the market. Chinese fabricators jumped on that tip immediately.

Sh.... I owend a F-1 in the seventies. Great camera. Used a Gossen light meter with it.