Film Camera Review: Canon EF
At the time I wrote my previous review of the Canon AE-1, I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of an upgrade. My brother-in-law had picked up a Canon EF on eBay that was in good condition and was bringing it with him on a visit to Istanbul.
I was attracted to the EF for its all-metal construction and for the fact that it’s kind of a forgotten gem in the Canon line. It used the same metal chassis as the professional F-1, so externally it was built like a tank, but internally it was quite different. It marked Canon’s first foray into battery-controlled automatic features, with shutter-priority mode. Just turn the lens to A, select your shutter speed, and snap away. The EF had a short production life, from 1973–1977, and production ceased when Canon introduced the AE-1. The EF further dropped into obscurity when Canon introduced auto-focus lenses and named the new lens mount the EF lens system.
I was also attracted to the EF because I like the idea of using a fully mechanical camera. The EF takes two 1.5 volt batteries, one powers the light meter and the other for shutter speeds slower than 1 second, or any speed if you’re using the camera in shutter-priority mode. The EF is known to drain batteries, but as I only use it manually, I’ve only had to change the batteries once in 9 months of use, and that was after taking multiple long exposure shots. For most of my shooting, though, the battery only powers the light meter.
Shooting with the EF was love at first click. I could easily tell the difference in quality between the all-metal, fully mechanical shutter on the EF and the battery-controlled shutter of the AE-1. The EF felt robust and solid, and the AE-1 felt cheap in comparison.
As my photography hobby is still relatively new and the AE-1 was my first entry point into the world of film cameras, I am still learning what features I like in a camera. I read a lot about the EF online before shooting with it, but now that I’ve been using it for some months, I feel like I’m getting to know it. One feature that I’d read about that was unique to the EF was the overhanging shutter-speed dial. This allows you to change the shutter-speed while looking through the viewfinder. This, combined with your selected shutter-speed being visible in the viewfinder, makes for a very intuitive shooting experience. After having shot with this camera for some months now, other cameras that don’t have this feature feel finicky in comparison.
Any downsides to this camera are trade-offs from aspects that I like about the camera. Its robust metal brick construction is something that I love about it, but that means it weighs as much as a brick, especially with breech-mount Canon FD glass attached to it. I’ve taken it on all-day hikes, usually taking a few lenses along, and I can definitely feel it by the end of the day. Also, the high-quality shutter that feels so satisfying is not at all discreet. It makes a thunk that will attract the attention of those around you, so there are better options out there for street shooters.
I’ve acquired a few other cameras that will get their reviews in due time, but the EF is the one that gets the most use. I’ve put about 30 rolls through it thus far. Below is a selection of photos from the first 3 months of using the EF. I shot them on either Ilford HP5 or FP4, and all have been developed in Ilford DD-X.
