CANON T90 Is it still worth buying ????

[pityacka]

Title says enough, doesn't it ? Wanted one several years back, but had just read that it had an internal battery which would expire after a few years. The only way to get it replaced was by a professional. So that put me off. I would still like one, but the potential problem re the battery is giving me cold feet. Their price has dropped considerably in the last 2-3 years. Who has got one which has never let them down after many years ? Who has bought one 2nd hand a few years back, and it is still doing the job for them ? Let me hear all your opinions, both for and against. - I would love to buy one and ponce round town with it, so that people could say, "IS THAT A DIGITAL CAMERA ? "

[carlb]

Cant help as such, but found these
http://acecam.com/message/7252.html
http://www.flickr.com/groups/49231982@N ... 419035313/

Hope it helps

[Kevgermany]

There's a canon yahoo group. Lots of knowledgable guys there. And lots of info in their archives. Friendly bunch.

I don't think the internal battery is an issue - I had a T70, and the internal battery lasted at least 15 years. I always wanted one, but never had the cash.

However - a lot of T90s were bought as investments, weren't used and as a result moving parts siezed/died and are no longer available. If you want one, get some expert advice before buying.

[pityacka]

carlb, and Kevgermany, Thanks for your answers. I will have a look at your links,Carl; and Kev, I came across the Yahoo T90 group yesterday and joined. This morning I went searching there, and found the answers to my questions, I think. If the internal battery fails, then the camera does not cease to operate. It merely keeps the LCD on when the main batteries are removed. I had a Contax 167 with a similar set up. When that internal battery failed it had to be sent for replacement to a Contax technician, and even then damage to the elect. curcuit could still result.
So I can now forget about the 'threat' of the failure of the internal battery, and hopefully find a one that does not have the sticking magnets problem; and as you say that can be caused by storing the camera without use over a period of time. Advice seems to be : when not using it regularly, take it out of storage, operate the shutter a few times, and bingo all is well. Keep doing it at weekly intervals.
Thanks both,
Fred.

[pityacka]

Thanks for the previous posts and links, all of you. I have now got a Canon T90 with the 50mm lens. It has been well looked after and the feel of it is remarkable, even though I have used Nikon F4 and F5; and 3 x Canon EOS. I have found the Yahoo Canon T90 group very friendly and helpful.

[Kevgermany]

Great, good to hear. It's a peak in Canon's development - last/greatest film camera, still had the FD mount and most of the features of the early digital bodies. Some great lenses around as well. There may be an EOS to FD adapter, not sure. From what I can remember pretty much all the FD mount lenses fit, and I think most of the earlier FL mounts as well, but check that out before trying!

Have been thinking more about the internal battery. Somewhere on the web I saw instructions on how to replace it on the T70. You may find the same for the T90. Also I think the reason the internal battery lasted so long on my T70 was that I always had a set of good alkaline batteries in it. Checked regularly there's little chance of leakage, and if one does leak, it's found early and easily cleaned up.

If so it'd widen the lens choice.

[pityacka]

Thanks for that kevgermany. Have also bought a 35-105mm f3.5 Canon lens, which is supposed to be one of the best they produced. Other than that I will be looking for probably prime lenses, the 200mm or the 300m. I will have to forget the Canon FD 'L' lenses as they are still very costly.
I have always been on the lookout for a Vivitar Series 1, the 70-210 f2.8(constant). Only ever seen their 70-210 f2.8/4, or their 70-210 f3.5 advertised. I dug out an old magazine from the 1990's to recheck the advert, and yes, they did make it with apert. of 2.8 at 70mm and 210. A few nights back on ebay my eyes popped out - there was one for a price of £40. I thought some dummy was selling what had been found in his grandad's loft ! When I checked it has a faulty iris, but "when repaired it will be worth £300." and also the remark, "if it was not faulty I would not sell."
The T90 handles beautifully, and focusing is easy and quick due to the bright viewfinder/screen. I have been more than happy with it. One went on ebay at the weekend together with 6 Canon FD lenses, for the sum of £90, or just over.

[Kevgermany]

Someone got a bargain...

I always lusted after a series 1. But at the time(early 1982) I bought the f/4 aperture with it's matched multiplier, because I wanted the extra pull that it gave me for wildlife photography. The lens was OK, even at f/4 but the converter was poor despite Vivitar's claims. Result was 2 stops of light gone and lots of blur. Was better using fine grain film and no converter. I decided after a shortish time that it had been an error, but too late to change without losing a lot of money. Ended up hiring mirror lenses, which weren't brilliant, but gave me the reach I wanted and eventually bought a Tamron SP 500mm f/8 mirror, which was fantastic compared to the hired ones - and most other lenses. The Tamron Sps were as good as the Vivitar Series ones, but with the advantage that the mount was interchangable. So you could put the mount on the camera and just change the lenses, although it was easier on Canon to remove lens plus mount. There were different versions of the adaptall mount, but the later ones were great.

The Makinon lenses were pretty good as well.

I ended up buying a canon 20-200 (roughly) f/4 about 10 years ago. Probably every bit as sharp as the Series 1, but not as fast. A lot easier to find as well....

Good luck on your lens hunt. Don't get tricked into paying too much by collectors.

[pityacka]

Kevgermany, Had a good read of your last posting re the lenses. Buying the T90 has got me bitten by the Canon FD bug. As a result of that I went and bought a Canon A1, and what a beauty - solid and good to use. First couple of films through and no disappointment from either the T90 or the A1. Also managed to get myself the Canon FD 300mm f/4 and will be trying that out laer today. Before I got the 300mm I thought I would check on the 200/300 L lenses, thinking they might be going cheap. No such luck for they are holding their prices. Not to worry though, as my parents used to say, "You can't have everything in life."

[Kevgermany]

I really liked the A1. It belonged to my first wife, and when she went , it went. I missed the camera .

Make sure you always have a spare battery, I seem to remember (it was 30 years ago) it being heavy on batteries.