Adding to my collection

Back in the 80s I used to dream about these cameras. Furthest is a Canon EOS 650 and in the closest is a Canon EOS 630 (600 in Europe). I remember the T90 being released and drooling over that, but there was no way I could shake my parents down for £500, and I had already bought myself a Canon T70 from working in my grandfathers factory.

And then straight after the T90 was released was the holy Canon EOS 650. This was the camera that had done Autofocus (something we take as granted these days) correctly. Canon had made that choice to make a new bigger mount (EF), dump a 30 year history with the FL/FD mount and start again. The motor was in the lens (they tried that out with the T80), and there were no mechanical linkages between the camera and lens.

Canon got the EF mount and the EOS system utterly spot on and took themselves back into the professional market again. If you don't know your history - the reason you see lots of Canons at sporting events (big white lenses) is because the motor mounted in the lens was far superior in operation to the motor in the body and a mechanical link to the lens.

So whilst Nikon, Pentax and Minolta all messed around with a mechanical linkage, and some backwards compatibility, Canon forged a new path.

And as a kid in the 80s who wanted a career in photography, I just drooled over some of this kit.

What a long way we've come when you can buy this stuff off Ebay for next to nothing these days. The 650 cost me $8 the other day, and the 630 $5. In fact, the US Post Office made more in delivery than the cameras cost.

I have started a Praktica (and Praktina) collection, but Praktica was never a brand in the US, so my collection of 10-15 bodies has stalled a little. And they are so heavy to transport, it's difficult to add them to my checked in luggage when I travel. So I've kinda started a new Canon collection. I'll get back to the Prakticas at some point though - probably when I have a solution to transport them here without costing more than the cameras were purchased for.

I also have a battery on the way for these two EOSes. Neither will live with the battery in them, but it'll be great to see them fire up again.

And if you are wondering why I've shoved my cheapo 80-200 Canon lens on the 650 it's because it came with no body cap. Not that it really matters, but why be mean to this kit? Body caps are on their way from Ebay as well.