Overview | |
---|---|
Maker | Canon Inc. |
Type | Single-lens reflex |
Production | 1966 - 1972 |
Lens | |
Lens mount | Canon FL |
Sensor/medium | |
Film format | 35mm |
Film size | 36 mm x 24 mm |
Film speed | ISO 25 - 2000 |
Shutter | |
Shutter | Two-axis horizontal focal-plane cloth shutter |
Shutter speed range | 1s - 1/1000s |
Viewfinder | |
Viewfinder | Fixed eye-level pentaprism |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.9x |
General | |
Dimensions | 144×93×100 mm (5.7×3.7×3.9 in) |
Weight | 1,095 g (38.6 oz) (With FL 58mm f/1.2 mounted) |
Made in | Japan |
Chronology | |
Successor | Canon FTb |
The Canon FT QL is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera introduced by Canon Inc. in March 1966. It has a Canon FL lens mount compatible with the large range of FL series lenses. The FT can also operate the later Canon FD series lenses in stop-down mode, but the earlier R series has a different lens aperture mechanism and cannot be used, although the bayonet fitting is similar. The standard kit lenses were Canon's 50mm f/1.8 ; 50mm f/1.4 and 58mm f/1.2, the body-only option was offered later.
The FT QL was introduced in March 1966 as one of a series of three nearly identical cameras released around this time. The first was the Canon FX which had a built-in meter, but no through-the-lens (TTL) metering, instead using a window on the camera body front. The later entry level FP has no built-in meter. The FT QL was the final model at the top of this sector, and was developed to combat the growing popularity of the Pentax Spotmatic variants as well as the Topcon RE SLRs.
The camera's introductory retail price in 1966 was ¥ 54,800 (equivalent to ¥219,024.11or US$ 2,009.22 in 2019) [1] . [2]
The FT QL and its sisters were an important step for Canon, leading to a number of improved versions such as the FTb and the F-1 professional camera system. FT QL production ended in 1972 after the FTb was introduced.
The cloth focal plane shutter has speeds from 1 sec to 1/1000 and B. The electronic flash sync speed is 1/60. A delayed action timer gives an 8 – 10 second delay, using the same front of body lever that actuates the stop-down metering. The mirror can be locked up for vibration reduction or for use with special FL lenses like the original 19mm f3.5 wide angle which projects deeply into the body and would foul the mirror.
The FT QL released a year after the pellicle mirrored Canon Pellix. However, it differs from the Pellix models, having a normal quick-return reflex mirror and offering stop-down TTL metering. The TTL metering is semi-spot in nature and works through a prism incorporated in the viewfinder condenser/screen assembly. The later Canon F-1 has a similar prism for metering in its removable screen. The Canon FT viewfinder screen is not user changeable. The pentaprism finder is fixed like the similar FX and FP models but unlike some earlier Canon R reflexes.
The QL designation was a reference to Canon's successful "quick load" system. A stainless steel sprung hinged device inside the rear door makes film loading simpler than competing cameras of the era, allowing the user to lay the film's leader over the drive gear and take-up fingers and close the back. It also made it "repeatable" - by always putting the same sprocket hole over the drive gear, the user could rewind a partially-shot roll (leaving its leader out) and put it back in later. This allowed the user to click past the already-taken frames (with the lens cap on) and then continue. This made it possible to switch back and forth between types of film: black and white, color negative, and color slide.
An accessory device, the Canon Booster, worked only with the FT QL and Pellix QL. It is a plug-in device that sits on the accessory shoe and increases the metering sensitivity by a factor of 16 for measuring exposure in poor light. Its operation was considered clumsy and best kept for tripod use.
During the production run of the FT QL, Canon quietly upgraded some components and made minor cosmetic changes. Some of the changes are listed below. All changes listed apply to Canon FT QL serial number 627704:
- Text font size become bolder and more legible.
- The battery charge lever font color has been changed from blue to black.
- The serial number has been relocated from the rear of the camera, next to the viewfinder, to the top plate, below the battery charge lever.
- The "Canon Camera Company. Inc." text is removed from the back of the camera.
- The "Made in Japan" text is relocated from the rear of the camera to the bottom of the camera.
- The screw-in battery compartment lid adds a coin slot for easier access.
- The film pressure plate is significantly larger for better alignment.
- The mirror lock up lever is slightly larger for easier handling.
- The circular hump is removed from the back of the camera, under the film rewind knob.
- The rear film transport area next to the shutter has an extra step for smoother operation.
Canon FL refers to a lens mount standard for 35mm single-lens reflex cameras from Canon. It was introduced in April 1964 with the Canon FX camera, replacing the previous Canon R lens mount. The FL mount was in turn replaced in 1971 by the Canon FD lens mount. FL lenses can also be used on FD-mount cameras.
The Canon EF is a manual focus 35mm single-lens reflex camera produced by Canon between 1973 and 1978. It was compatible with Canon's FD-mount lenses. The EF was built as an electro-mechanical version of Canon's top-of-the line wholly mechanical Canon F-1. The shutter is mechanical at all speeds ½ second and faster, but at 1 second and longer the shutter is all electronically controlled, allowing AE exposures from 1/1000 to 30 seconds. The EF shares the F-1's rugged construction and tough metal body. Unlike the F-1, the EF does not support any motor drive for film transport. Neither does it provide any interchangeable viewfinder.
In photography, through-the-lens metering refers to a feature of cameras whereby the intensity of light reflected from the scene is measured through the lens; as opposed to using a separate metering window or external hand-held light meter. In some cameras various TTL metering modes can be selected. This information can then be used to set the optimal film or image sensor exposure, it can also be used to control the amount of light emitted by a flash unit connected to the camera.
The Canon T90, introduced in 1986, was the top of the line in Canon's T series of 35 mm Single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras. It is the last professional-level manual-focus camera from Canon, and the last professional camera to use the Canon FD lens mount. Although it was overtaken by the autofocus revolution and Canon's new, incompatible EOS after only a year in production, the T90 pioneered many concepts seen in high-end Canon cameras up to the present day, particularly the user interface, industrial design, and the high level of automation.
The Canon F-1 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera produced by Canon of Japan from March 1971 until the end of 1981, at which point it had been superseded by the New F-1 launched earlier that year. The Canon FD lens mount was introduced along with the F-1, but the previous Canon FL-mount lenses and older R- series lenses were also compatible with the camera with some limitations. The Canon F-1 was marketed as a competitor to the Nikon F and Nikon F2 single lens reflex cameras by Nikon.
The Canon New F-1 replaced the F-1n as Canon's top-of-the-line 35mm single-lens reflex camera in September 1981. Like the earlier models, the New F-1 takes FD-mount lenses. Although no date has ever been confirmed, it is thought that the last New F-1 was made in 1992. It was officially discontinued in 1994, and factory support ended in 2004.
The Canon FTb is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera manufactured by Canon of Japan from March 1971 replacing the Canon FT QL. It features a Canon FD lens mount, and is also compatible with Canon's earlier FL-mount lenses in stop-down metering mode. Launched alongside the top-of-the-line F-1, the FTb was the mass-market camera in the range. Its QL designation referred to the Quick Load feature introduced by the FT-QL which allowed changing film in the middle of the roll to change types of film, as well as making film loading easier.
The Olympus OM-2 is a professional single-lens reflex film system camera produced by Olympus of Japan from 1975 to 1988.
Nikkormat was a brand of cameras produced by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K., as a consumer version of the professional Nikon brand. Nikkormat cameras, produced from 1965 until 1978, were simpler and more affordable than Nikon-branded cameras, but accepted the same lenses as the Nikon F series cameras.
The Minolta X-700 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex film camera introduced by Minolta in 1981. It was the top model of their final manual-focus SLR series before the introduction of the auto-focus Minolta Maxxum 7000.
The Pentax LX is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera produced by Pentax in Japan. It was introduced in 1980 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Asahi Optical Co., and was produced until 2001. It is the top-of-the-line professional, or "system", camera in the Pentax manual focus range, with manual and aperture priority automatic exposure modes and an advanced light metering system. The LX uses the K mount, which is the Pentax proprietary bayonet lens mount, and has a large body of accessories. The camera has several unique or uncommon features, and compared with contemporary professional camera bodies from rival manufacturers, like the Canon New F-1 or Nikon F3, the LX body is smaller and lighter, weighing in at 570 grams with its standard FA-1 finder.
The Pentax Spotmatic refers to a family of 35mm single-lens reflex cameras manufactured by the Asahi Optical Co. Ltd., later known as Pentax Corporation, between 1964 and 1976.
The Canon Pellix is a manual-focus single-lens reflex (SLR) camera released in 1965 that uses a stationary half-silvered mirror behind which a metering cell is raised during light level metering.
The Konica Hexar RF is a 35 mm rangefinder camera which was sold by Konica. It was introduced to the market on 13 October 1999. and subsequently discontinued some time before the end of 2003. The camera used the "Bayonet Konica KM-mount", a copy of the Leica M-mount, thus sharing interchangeable lenses with those designed for Leica cameras and others compatible with them. The Hexar RF has a combined rangefinder/viewfinder modeled on that of Leica cameras, a similar body shape and size - and so is similar to Leica M-mount cameras in many aspects of operation.
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A pellicle mirror is an ultra-thin, ultra-lightweight semi-transparent mirror employed in the light path of an optical instrument, splitting the light beam into two separate beams, both of reduced light intensity. Splitting the beam allows its use for multiple purposes simultaneously. The thinness of the mirror practically eliminates beam or image doubling due to a non-coincident weak second reflection from the nominally non-reflecting surface, a problem with mirror-type beam splitters. The name pellicle is a diminutive of pellis, a skin or film.
The Auto-Reflex and Autoreflex is a series of 35mm SLR cameras made by Konica from 1965 to 1988. All these models have the Konica AR bayonet.
The Kodak Retina Reflex is a discontinued series of four single-lens reflex cameras made by Kodak in Germany between 1957 and 1974, as part of the Kodak Retina line of 35mm film cameras.
The Konica FP-1, introduced in 1981 and discontinued in 1983, was a 35mm SLR camera with TTL metering and a large range of exchangeable optics.
Canon’s F series is Canon’s series of manual focus 35 mm single lens reflex cameras. The first professional camera, the F-1, was introduced in March 1971 while the final camera, the New F-1 High Speed Motor Drive Camera, was released in February 1984. All have a Canon FD or FL lens mount compatible with Canon’s extensive range of manual-focus lenses.