Canon New F-1

Variants & identification

1. The quantity for the Los Angeles edition, about 9,000 to 9,900, and the LA serial prefix come from Chris Whelan's Chasing Classic Cameras alone. The estimate of under a hundred High Speed cameras is Wikipedia's and cites nothing. The page carries the single-source flag for these.
2. Canon has published no production total. Wikipedia's dates are that the last body is thought to have been made in 1992, that the model was officially discontinued in 1994, and that factory support ended in 2004; the first of those is stated as unconfirmed.
3. The metering range is EV 1 to 18 on Canon's museum page and EV -1 to 20 on mir.com.my's transcription of the specification sheet and on Wikipedia; the wider figure may be for the AE Finder FN or a later revision of the sheet. Recorded under disputed.
4. mir.com.my calls this camera the "F-1n" throughout its site, which is the collector trade's name for the 1976 mechanical F-1. Listings titled F-1N are read from the photographs.

• New F-1 Los Angeles 1984 Olympic edition: Canon was the official camera of the Los Angeles Games and the New F-1 was so designated. Cosmetic only: camera-wiki describes matt black with engraved letters filled with corn-yellow paint, a special strap, and no special lens. Whelan dates the bodies from November 1983 to at least April 1984 and notes that the gold wears off, which is why many survivors read as plain New F-1s at a glance.
• New F-1 High Speed Motor Drive Camera: Marketed February 1984 at 1,300,300 yen for the body set, as a limited edition for press photographers: 14 frames a second at the H setting, 10, 5 and 1 at the others, a 36-exposure roll in 2.57 seconds, the fastest continuous shooting in the world at the time on Canon's own account. Speeds 1/30 to 1/2000, electromagnetically controlled.

Specifications

Format

24×36mm on 35mm film, hinged back

Finder

Interchangeable: Eye-Level Finder FN as standard, AE Finder FN for aperture priority, Speed Finder FN, Waist-Level Finder FN and FN-6X. Thirty-two focusing screens of thirteen types, and the screen sets the metering pattern. · 0.8× magnification · 97% coverage · no rangefinder image

Shutter

four-axis horizontal-travel focal plane, titanium curtains, hybrid: mechanical at the fast end, electronic at the slow end · 8s – 1/2000 and B; the fast speeds work with no battery, the slow speeds and the A position need it · flash sync X at 1/90, German socket with locking pin and hot shoe · self-timer

Film advance

single-stroke lever, 139° with a 30° stand-off, partial strokes allowed; automatic frame counter reset

Back

hinged, with a memo holder; interchangeable with the Data Back FN

Meter

Silicon photocell, TTL full-aperture match-needle; centre-weighted, selective-area (partial) or spot depending on which focusing screen is fitted. EV 1 to 18 at ISO 100 with an f/1.4 lens on Canon's museum page, EV -1 to 20 on mir.com.my and Wikipedia. Exposure compensation of plus or minus 2 EV. Aperture priority with the AE Finder FN, shutter priority with the AE Motor Drive FN or AE Power Winder FN. One 6V cell, 4LR44 alkaline or 2CR-1/3N lithium.

Motor drive

AE Motor Drive FN, AE Power Winder FN — Either one enables shutter-priority automation; the body alone is manual or, with the AE finder, aperture priority.

Weight

795 g

Dimensions

146.7 × 96.6 × 48.3 (mir.com.my and Wikipedia); Canon's museum rounds to 147 × 97 × 48 mm

Country

Japan

Original price

149,000 yen body only, 181,000 yen with the FD 50mm f/1.4, 201,000 yen with the FD 50mm f/1.2, September 1981 (Canon Camera Museum). High Speed Motor Drive Camera 1,300,300 yen, February 1984. (today ¥211,000)

Accessories

AE Finder FN, Speed Finder FN, Waist-Level Finder FN, FN-6X · AE Motor Drive FN and AE Power Winder FN · Data Back FN

What reviewers say

• Jim Grey (Down the Road) (blog) — "The New F-1 is too often in the way." He would rather shoot his F3. The build and the finder display earn praise, and waking the meter with a half-press rather than the wind lever is a good idea, but the controls sent him to the manual: the shutter will not fire with the lens on A unless the AE finder is fitted, depth-of-field preview does not work in aperture priority, the rewind release is awkward, and low strap lugs tip the camera into the body.
• Cody Thompson (35mmc) (blog) — A working camera for night shifts: aperture priority and manual, an illuminated finder, and "the best low light focusing screen of any manual focus camera I own". He thought of selling it and kept it. His one complaint is the needle swinging between 1/30 and 1/1000 under flashing emergency lights, which is the light rather than the meter.
• Ben Kepka (35mmc) (blog) — "Nothing short of amazed" by an inherited New F-1: built like a tank, and the hybrid design gives aperture priority, double exposure, compensation and an electronic self-timer without giving up the mechanical speeds. Aperture priority is what sells it to him, coming from an M6, an FM2 and an OM-1. No criticism offered.
• Kea Nacolatabua (Shoot It With Film) (blog) — A New F-1 reviewed as "an excellent beginner 35mm SLR but also a solid upgrade": all-metal, modular finders, both priority modes, full-aperture metering, and a film advance whose motion is "incredibly satisfying". Against it, the electronic speeds need the battery, the cell drains fast in the cold, and the body is big and heavy.
• Chris Whelan (Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris) (blog) — On a Los Angeles edition whose gold has mostly worn off: the camera works perfectly, and the worn finish makes it a body one can actually use rather than shelve. He gives the LA serial prefix, a build window of November 1983 to at least April 1984 and a run of roughly 9,000 to 9,900, and advises against trying to repaint the gold.

History

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Photographs

Live listings

• Read!![EXC+5] Canon New F-1 AE Finder SLR 35mm Film Camera Body from Japan — $154.99 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• [Near MINT in Case] Canon New F-1 Speed Finder FN Viewfinder From JAPAN — $157.29 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• [EXC] Canon New F-1 Eye Level Finder FN 35mm SLR Film Camera from Japan — $209.00 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• Canon New F-1 SLR Film Camera Body F1 (1981) #942 — $240.22 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• [ NEAR MINT- ] CANON NEW F-1 Eye Level Finder 35mm Film Camera from JAPAN — $247.90 · eBay · likely new-F-1 NEW
• [Almost MINT] Canon NEW F-1 AE Finder 35mm SLR Camera Body From JAPAN — $259.99 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• *Exc+5* Canon New F-1 Eye Level Finder Film Camera Body From JAPAN — £202.43 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• NEAR MINT- Canon NEW F-1 Sucher auf Augenhöhe 35mm Filmkamera SLR aus Japan — €243.30 · eBay · likely new-F-1 NEW
• *Aperture Problem* Canon New F-1 SLR Film Camera Body F1 (1981) - 401 — $269.99 · eBay · likely new-F-1 NEW
• [ NEAR MINT--] Canon New F-1 Eye Level 35mm SLR Film Camera Body from JAPAN — $274.99 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• SN30××× [Exc+5] Canon New F-1 F1 AE Finder 35mm Film Camera Black From JAPAN — $279.99 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• Canon New F-1 Eye Level Finder FN 35mm SLR Film Camera Body [Near MINT] JAPAN — $285.00 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• Canon New F-1 Body Only Tested & Serviced (Please Read Description) — £219.52 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• [Near MINT] Canon NEW F-1 AE Finder 35mm SLR Camera Body From JAPAN 1469 — £222.50 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• [Near MINT] Canon NEW F-1 AE Finder 35mm SLR Camera Body From JAPAN — $289.99 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• [Tested] Canon New F-1 AE Finder Black Body SLR 35mm Film Camera From JAPAN #526 — £227.00 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• [NEAR MINT] Canon NEW F-1 AE Finder SLR 35mm Film Camera Body From JAPAN 2941940 — $297.00 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• Read [Exc+5] Canon New-F1 Eye Level Eyelevel Finder 35mm Film Camera From JAPAN — £230.08 · eBay · likely new-F-1
• Canon F-1 New with AE Motor Drive FN 35mm Film Professional Body — £239.99 · eBay NEW
• Canon New F-1 SLR Kamera Body Gehäuse — €290.00 · eBay · likely new-F-1

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Listings updated 2026-10-19. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.