I’ve been using a Canon FTb since grade school. It’s a simple, mechanical camera; the only thing the battery does is run the meter behind the match needle display in the viewfinder. I always liked the fact that the shutter release had a lock on it, and that the battery had an on/off option. The finish of the body that I have is all black, so it looks more like a Canon F1. The viewfinder was cut and dry, with the shutter speed shown in a corner, and a circle and needle used for matching aperture to the shutter, based on the metering, on the opposite side. The only thing that bothered me growing up was the maximum shutter speed of 1/1000. When I got an F1, a new world of 1/2000 was there for me to use.
I took the FTb out in February with the 50mm f/1.8 lens that has been on there for decades, and loaded it with some expired film. Below are the results from that shoot. The bokeh in the image of the angel with its wings spread in the trees reminds me of why I like the rendering from lenses for film. The shot is at f/1.8, and the out of focus background becomes this collection of overlapping circles of light and shadow that I don’t always see with my newer lenses.
Canon 50mm f/1.8 S.C.
Kodak Gold 100
