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| The gorgeous EOS-1N |
Cameras are indeed like buses on this blog. Only two cameras for the
whole 2023 and three already for the 2024. Seriously though, I have been
looking for a Canon EOS-1N for some time now, this came up for £70 and I
bought it without second thought. I wanted to see how it compares to
its more exotic variant, the Canon EOS-1N RS - a camera I never really
warmed up to due to its size, clunkiness and noise.
* Historical context
I
am not going to go into too much details about it, make sure you have a
look at MIR's excellent write up on the Canon EOS-1N but the camera
came out in November 1994 replacing the original Canon EOS-1 after a 5
year production run. Nikon had still the venerable F4 in production
(went out 1 year before the original Canon EOS-1 and a year after the
introduction of the new EOS-1n).
The Canon EOS-1N became an
instant hit with the pros who already found the Nikon F4 to be obsolete
as an AF module. The Canon EOS-1N was ahead of the competition as it was
offering features and an array of Pro lenses unmatched at that point by
Nikon or Minolta.
The Canon EOS-1N was selling well until the
moment it was discontinued in 2001. Even when sold simultaneously with
its successor, the Canon EOS-1V, the (N) was actually selling like hot
cakes.
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| Practical Photography loved it |
* Initial impressions
The moment you pick up the Canon EOS-1N you are instantly impressed by its design. It is not without its flaws (more about it later) but it looks streamlined and all important buttons are visible with a quick glance and within easy reach. The Canon EOS-1N feels very comfortable in my hands due to its weight (around 900gr with lens and battery) which is Nikon F90x category - certainly nothing like carrying around an F4 or F5.
There is a great degree of human engineering involved in its design. The camera is very comfortable to hold and you can easily reach all buttons whilst holding the grip. Once you look through the viewfinder, the view is bright and uncluttered, very similar to that of the EOS-5 but with a 100% view coverage although I think the EOS-5 might be slightly brighter (?).
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| Popular Photography loved it too.. |
Once you switch it on, the AF is quick and assertive, again very similar to that of the EOS-5 but unfortunately the sound of the shutter/mirror or film advance isn't. The Canon EOS-1N is a louder camera than the whisper quiet EOS-5. But on the positive side, the Canon EOS-1N is equipped with gaskets that make the camera splash and dust proof.
Overall, you cannot mistake this camera. It is a pro level and it shows it.
* The AF system
The Canon EOS-1N inherits the AF system of the EOS-5 but with a few improvements. First of all, it maintains the unorthodox choice of 4 vertical sensors with sensitivity up to f/5.6 and a central cross-type sensor of f/2.8. This is quite a strange option as it requires lenses of f/2.8 or faster in order to operate. In reality though you won't have a problem, the camera will focus but you need fast lenses in order to gain in speed and accuracy. I have used the EOS-5 with a cheap sigma 28-70f/3.5-4.5 and never had an issue.
The Canon EOS-1N does not have an infrared AF assist lamp like the EOS-5 so subjects of low contrast can be an issue. But it has an improvement over the EOS-5: the AF tracking is more effective. If you select AI-Servo focus and focus on the central focusing point, the camera communicates the distance to the rest AF points. As a result if your subject moves to another AF point, the new sensor will continue tracking from where the previous left it. It is not as sophisticated as the system on the Nikon F5 thpugh - the F5 has three cross type sensors and two more (top and bottom) which are slightly misaligned so that they work better with horizontal/vertical lines. The AF points in the F5 are connected with a thin array of CCDs that detect change of the subject and engage the sensor that the subject is heading towards. Despite that, the Canon EOS-1N does a good job with focus tracking, better than the EOS-5.
Another similarity with the EOS-5 revolves around choosing the AF point. Three times out of five, with all the sensors on, the EOS1N will choose the one with the subject closest to you. The rest times will choose the middle AF point.
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| Top view of the camera |
* The light metering system
The Canon EOS-1N takes the very well
regarded metering system of the EOS-5 and adds a "fat-spot" option. In
all honesty there is no need to re-invent the wheel, the EOS-5 is
extremely effective camera and there is no need to change something that
works so well.
Just like in the case of the EOS-5, the Canon
EOS-1N links the AF points with spot metering and this was greatly
appreciated by professionals.
This generation of Canon cameras
were the last that kept a nicely balanced AF/meter bias. With the later
cameras (i.e EOS3, EOS1v, EOS300v, 10D, etc..) the meter became far more
biased towards the main subject that could over-expose if the person
wore a white t-shirt or visa versa (underexpose with black). That is
something I disliked on my EOS300v and 10D.
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| Rear view of the camera |
* The not-so-good stuff
No camera is perfect and of course neither is the Canon EOS-1N. The things I don't like are:
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The compartment door on the right. It hides certain buttons regarding
the custom function, drive mode, autobracketing, battery check and reset
button. It is impossible to open if you are wearing gloves and two of
the buttons are too small. It's saving grace is that those buttons are
not needed often so probably you won't have to fiddle too much with it
(as opposed to the Dynax 700si).
- The camera holds a meter
reading for about 12 sec. The viewfinder LCD panel does not switch off
for 12 seconds. Battery consumption galore.
- The vertical bar on
the right of the viewfinder. Feels odd being there. Why to have two LCD
panels in the viewfinder, one bottom and one on the right? Makes it
feel more clunky.
- Noise levels - my biggest disappointment.
When the press release came out in early 1994, Canon claimed that the
new Canon EOS-1N would be 8 times more quiet than the previous EOS-1.
Everyone thought it would incorporate the advance mechanism of the EOS-5
which uses belts. But the final product ended up using worm gears which
are louder (but arguably more robust). As a result, the Canon EOS-1N is
much louder than the EOS-5 but also significantly louder than the F4/F5
(especially in silent mode).
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| The compartment door. The Clear and the CF buttons are too small |
- Although Canon tried to make the EOS-1N a very customisable camera, they started linking seemingly unrelated buttons to do certain functions. The pick of this confusion is that (through custom functions) you can change aperture using the AF point button, or select AF points by pressing the exposure compensation button (plus rotating the quick control dial). How bizarre!
- Canon shouldn't have included Depth programme amongst the classic options (manual, TV, AV, P).
- I don't know if this is of any interest to anyone but there is no mirror lock. Custom Function 12 let's you pre-fire the mirror up before taking a picture though.
* Battle of the Titans: the Canon EOS-1N vs the Nikon F5
Now, I
am not going to include the F4 to this comparison as the F4 is 6 years
older camera. I love mine and I use it a lot but the Canon EOS-1N is far
more advanced than it. Let's stick the EOS-1N vs F5 comparison.
- Ergonomics:
The
Canon EOS-1N is almost half the weight and 2/3 of the size of the F5. I
have been using the F5 for a long time now and I feel more familiar
with it but both cameras have excellent ergonomics. A small detail that
makes a lot of sense to me: with the Canon, you use the right hand to
press buttons with your thumb and rotate the dial with the index - with
the F5 it is the other way around. I actually prefer the way Canon does
it; in Nikon's case it is a reminiscence of 1980s ergonomics (the input
dial on the original F801).
- Built quality.
Both of them are
professional cameras, built to the highest standards. The F5 has a
double, self-adjusting shutter mechanism designed for 150.000 actuations
whilst the EOS-1N has a single shutter tested for 100.000 actuations.
Also the F5 has a titanium alloy prism and at certain areas a 3mm thick
chassis made of magnesium alloy. The F5 feels like a metal anchor ready
to be dropped.
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| Size comparison of the three cameras |
- AF speed.
Again, in practical terms both are good enough for what you need it for. The F5 has much stronger motor to rotate the lens and at times it can also damage them. Also the F5 does not display any hesitation in locking focus. Overall, I find the AF on the F5 more responsive.
- Meter accuracy
Another one that probably you won't notice much difference. Have a look on my previous post regarding meter accuracy. The F5 passed all tests with excellent but both cameras are going to leave you satisfied.
- Noise levels
The F5 is more quiet when you put the quiet mode on but the EOS-1N has a better silent rewind mode. When handholding them, the greater weight of the F5 aided by the use of counter-balancer (genius!) makes possible using slower speeds. The F5 also feels better internally isolated from vibrations.
- Viewfinder
Both 0.7x with 20mm eye-relief but the F5 has a massive prism that makes the view feel much bigger. Canon has a smaller prism due to its streamlined design. The Canon EOS-1N does have the advantage of highlighting red the focusing points. The F5 doesn't.
- Battery consumption
The Canon EOS-1N is a much more battery efficient camera although it is using the more to difficult to find 2CR5 batteries. The Nikon F5 is using 8 AA batteries but is going though them like eating spoonfuls of cereals.
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| Weight difference between the three cameras |
The F5 is a camera system designed to be tailored to different needs. It accepts different focusing screens, prisms and backs. The Canon EOS-1N accepts different focusing screens and motor drive. Both cameras offer a myriad of custom functions, some of these being borderline daft. My favourite include: the F5 offers a custom function that allows you to change the diameter of the centre weighted metering and the Canon EOS-1N offers leaving the film outside the canister after rewinding.
Overall, both cameras will do the job you ask them to do but don't overlook the difference in weight. After a day walking around with the F5 I start wishing I had the F90x with me. No such issues with the EOS-1N. The Canon EOS-1N will do it's job in a very civilised manner and probably give you a receipt at the end of the day. The Nikon F5 will chew through the film, spit out empty batteries, rip of your cheap lens and then hammer the nails on the wall to hang the picture.
* The dreaded "BC" error
Unfortunately, not everything is great with the EOS-1N. More and more of them start suffering from the dreaded BC error. This is a general error code, very often translated to "Battery Check" as it is shown when battery is low.
What "BC" error actually refers to is when something goes wrong and the camera has switched to debug mode. In order to understand it a bit better we need to dig into Canon's repair manual.
If you press and hold the Clear button together with the battery check button, an error code will appear on the top display. Something that looks like this:
This is actually 4 different error codes. I painted them in different
colours to distinguish them. The bottom number in yellow will be between
1 and 9. This gives you an indication as to where the error was
detected. Here is a matrix with those errors. Usually, the stuck mirror
issue is codes 6 and 7.
Now the rest three codes are in hexadecimal and need further deciphering. Zero means that the switch is on and one means it is off.
As i said, the most common error is 6 and 7 for the Canon EOS-1N and requires the mirror magnets to be cleaned. The electromagnet used to operate the mirror box gets dirty and sticky. As a result, the camera returns an error of the mirror not being reset. There are plenty of videos online with quick remedies but the only solution is to have the camera properly serviced - unfortunately, there are not many workshops which will be willing to work on them and some others - even if they repair it - would not necessary offer warranty. If anyone knows of any repairman please leave a comment below.
Following some links on Japanese websites and comments on Facebook groups, there are some people suggesting certain remedies. One of the more popular is attaching a piece of rubber on the inside of the front plate, in a way that when put together, it applies slight pressure on the electromagnet. I am not sure why would this help - possibly bad contacts on the board? Another popular remedy suggests cutting a small slit on the plastic that protects the magnets and spray a tiny amount of electronic parts cleaner. Both claim that have solved the issue permanently. I don't know....
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| Taken with the EOS-1n |
* Using the Canon EOS-1N
There is no denying that the Canon
EOS-1N is a pleasure to use. In my view, it is a much better camera than
the Canon EOS-1N RS but that's just me. It is very comfortable to hold
and the weight is not an issue. One thing that made the whole experience
so positive is how streamlined the camera body is without sacrificing
the user interface - everything is out there for you to access.
I
could finish the review here in a very "lived happily ever after"
manner. But it wasn't meant to be. My sample developed the "BC" error
halfway through the first roll of film. Mine seems to be an error "9"
without any more information in hexadecimal - its linked to the mirror
switches on the circuit board. Tough luck I suppose - I removed the film
and fed it through the F801s to finish it.
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| Oh God no... the dreaded "bc" error |
* Conclusion
In an alternative universe i would have said
something along these lines: "What is not to like? The Canon EOS-1N
became a classic the moment it was launched and it still remains one -
school perfect !"
These cameras are prone to malfunctions and
mine was not an exception. Canon still uses the same type of
elecromagnets in their DSLR line, plenty people online experience this
with their beloved EOS-1D Mark III - magnets multinationing like this
appear since the legendary T-90. When will Canon learn?
It might
sound like a blasphemy for many but in the long-run, an EOS-5 might be a
better option. Same meter and AF, more quiet and does not have the BC
error. Yes, the EOS-5 suffers from broken command dials but most of them
out there are already replaced by the new ones (which are redesigned
not to break). Mine broke within the first 3 weeks of purchase and was
replaced in 1997 under warranty and since then it never missed a beat.
And it is not only me who thought of that, Philip Greenspun thought the
same on his initial impression review of the EOS-1N back in 1995.
Not recommend.
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