I have a Canon F-1 that I purchased in the mid 1970's which has not been used for quite a number of years. I want to start using the camera again. As the camera has not been overhauled since the late 1970's, I want to get it overhauled now. Can anyone recommend a good camera repair service in New York, New York that is experienced in repairing the Canon F-1?

-- Gary Bernstein (gbernstein@kayescholer.com), February 01, 1999

Answers

I cannot recommend a specific shop, but if no one else does, I suggest going to the following url: http://www.photo.net/neighbor/one-subcategory?id=1 This is a repair recommendation message board maintained at photo.net. You will undoubtably find some shops there.

Part of an overhaul will certainly include checking the meter. The F- 1 was designed to take mercury batteries, which cannot be legally sold in the U.S. anymore. The camera meter will not read correctly if anything else is used other than some adapters that are available. However, they have some shortcomings that I will not go into here. I found a place that ships mercurys, but since I am not sure about the legality of purchasing them internationally through the net and shipped via mail, I don't care to say who they are. A little web searching may locate a place where you can do the same. Also, if you go to Canada occasionally, you can still buy them there. DO NOT HAVE YOUR METER RECALIBRATED FOR ALKALINE BATTERIES. It can be done, but there is a bad compromise. Unlike the stabile output of a mercury cell, alkaline battery voltage drops steadily throughout its life and your meter will drift. I had a shop make the adjustment for me and after fighting poor exposures, I asked them to put it back. Unfortunately, it seems that "recalibration" involves stretching a spring or something else that can't be undone. They tried anyway and I ended up selling my F-1 with a bad meter for next to nothing.

The F-1 is a great camera. I hope you get it working well. Tom

-- Tom Scott (ctomscott@earthlink.net), September 27, 2000.

Tom Scott writes:

: The camera meter will not read correctly if anything else is used other than some adapters that are available. However, they have some shortcomings that I will not go into here.

I'd be very grateful if you did, as I'm about to resurrect a long-dormant F-1 and use of such an adapter does seem the best solution (for the environment as well as the camera).

-- Peter Evans (peter@despammed.com), December 13, 2001.

Try this place, it's a Canon factory repair center (732)-521-7007 located at 100 Jamesburg Rd, Jamesburg, NJ. 08830

-- Willis H. Power (whp4262@earthlink.net), March 21, 2002.