Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-03-07)

subscribe (^03303331113) Iwww.amateurphotographer.co.ukI7 March 2020 45
Ifthemarketwastore-ignite,a
newkindof camerawasneeded.
Canonfilledthatgapin 1983with
theT50,whichhadallthe
advantagesof anSLR– in particular
a through-the-lensviewfinderand
acceptanceof interchangeable
lenses– in a camerathatwasas
easyandconvenienttouseasa
compact.Similarthinkingfollowed
withtheintroductionof theT70
andT80in 1984and 1985
respectively,followedin 1986,by
theT90.Andthatoneturnedout
to be a truly iconic camera.
CanonT90
TheT90wasthelastmanualfocus
SLRmadebyCanonbeforetaking
theautofocusroutewithitsEOS
cameras.Itsmodernisticdesign
wasthankslargelytoCanon’s
associationwithGermanindustrial
artistLuigiColani.Hewasknown
forfar-out,futuristicproducts
whichtooka stylistic,and
sometimesimpractical,lookat the
shapeof everydayobjects.The
resultwasa camerawithsmooth
curvesaroundthepentaprism
hump,continuingin a comfortable
handgriptoppedbytheshutter
release.Itsdesigncontrasted
acutelywiththesharp-edged
angularlookof most
contemporarySLRs.
Inside,thetechnological
advancementswereequally
revolutionary.TheT90boasted
whatCanoncalleda Multiple
MeteringSystem.Itsvarious
meteringmethodswerenot
entirelynew,butputtingthemall
intoonecamerawassomething
of aninnovation.Here’swhatit
offered:centre-weightedaverage
metering;13%partialarea
metering;2.7%spotmetering;
multi-spotmeteringtomeasure
andcompareeightareasof the
picture;highlightand shadow
spot metering.
Thenthereweretheexposure
modes:shutterpriorityand
aperturepriority,bothwitha
selectablesafetyshiftfunction;
standardprogram;variableshift
programwithsevenprogram
options;stoppeddownauto
exposure;stoppeddownwithfixed
index;fullymanual;automaticflash
controlwithCanonSpeedlights.
Allthesefunctionsweresimply
setbymeansof twobuttonsanda
rotatingwheelbehindtheshutter
releasethatfellconveniently
undertherightindexfinger.
Informationonthesettingswas
seenonanLCDpanelonthetop
plateandLEDshutter/aperture
settingsin theviewfinder.
Continuingtheautomatedeaseof
use,filmloading,windingat upto
4.5framespersecondand
rewindingwereallautomatic,
controlledbythreemotors.
Everythingwaspoweredbyfour
AAbatteriesthatslottedintothe
baseof thecamera.
Accessoriesavailableforthe
T90includedSpeedlights,macro
ringflash,lenshood,datamemory
back,commandback,wireless
controller,close-uplenses,
bellows,right-angledfinder,
remoteswitch,interchangeable
focusingscreensandmore.
Therevolutionarylookof the
CanonT90andhowit was
usedbecamea stronginfluence
onthewaycameradesign
progressedintotheautofocus
eraandonintotoday’sdigital
world.In 1986it wasa world
beater.Butin 1987Canon
launchedthefirstof itsautofocus
EOScameraswitha new,
incompatiblelensmountandthe
T90 was consigned to history.
Right:TopplatesoftheT-seriesshow
thedifferentcontrolsforvarying
typesofautomation.Toptobottom
in theordertheywerelaunched:
T50, T70, T80, T90 and T60
BUYTHET50if youwantsimple,
easy-to-use,fully-autofunctions.Plump
fortheT70if youneedmorecontrolover
theautomation.IgnoretheT80,whichis
nowmoreof a collector’sitemthana
practicalcameratoday.Fortop-of-the-
rangeversatilityconsidertheT90andif
you’relookingforgood,basic SLR usage
with no frills, buy a T60.
BeawarethattheT90is proneto
stickingshutters,evidentwhenpressingthe
shutterreleaseresultsonlyin an‘EEE’error
messageontheLCDpanel(picturedleft)
andtheworld‘HELP’lightingupin the
viewfinder.Theinternetis awashwithsimple
curesthatcan,butmoreoftenthannot,
don’twork.Theonlyrealrecourseis for an
expensive professional repair job.
Buying a T-series camera