[net.rec.photo] A1 Blues

whaley (11/10/82)

#N:uiucdcs:20900001:000:1415
uiucdcs!whaley    Nov 10 10:12:00 1982

Hope this subject hasn't been beat to death already here; I'm new
to the net.  I have a Canon A1, almost new.  I can't stand it.
Having grown up with a Spotmatic II, I am used to easy depth of
field preview; forget it on the Canon.  I also do not like the
fact that at low light levels, the camera goes below 1/60th
second before the lense is open all the way.  That seems to me
to violate common sense for "quick" shots, which is what
automatic is for anyway, right?

What I wonder though, is: is there a better automatic camera now?
I find the Canon's led readout in the viewfinder unparalled,
their electronics (which I know something about) superb.
Other cameras don't seem to display f-stop, etc.  I guess I'm only
interested in Nikon or Olympus, and electronics don't seem to have
come to them as fully.  Also, one universal problem is that camera makers
are afraid in program mode to allow depth of field preview because
it requires the small battery to hold the lense stopped down.
The Canon also doesn't use the f-stop ring on the lense to select f-stop
for aperature priority; a nuisance.

My problem is that I'm stuck with a camera that doesn't do depth of field
but can't find any other camera that has all the neat features that the
are good on the Canon?  Am I missing somebody's neato camera that has
everything?
Any comments?  And do the photo mags have articles on problems
with automatic cameras?