Hi

I would like to purchase a T90 and am wondering what I should look for in terms of usability. Is there any concern with the internal battery and older cameras? Any and all help/comments are appreciated.

David Armour dlarmour@hotmail.com

-- David Armour (dlarmour@hotmail.com), February 14, 2001

Answers

I've occasionally considered getting a T-90 body, and haven't done so yet, but if I were to, I would want one with a PC terminal, which was added as a modification to some of them. I guess the idea was that with TTL flash metering, no one would want such a thing.

-- David Goldfarb (dgoldfarb@barnard.edu), February 15, 2001.

The T90 was built pretty much only in 1986 & 1987; I've never heard of any with date codes (inside the film chamber under the up/down meter buttons) other than A or B.

The internal battery can certainly fail; especially after 14 years. Current is not drawn from it as long as the main batteries are installed. I'd bet that most of the new-in-box cameras have dead internal batteries by now. This is a easy job to do if a replacment can be found. I think Canon used a fairly standard unit that should be easy to find.

The LCD displays are also a candidate especially if physically damaged or overheated. Some spares are available.

The common complaint is that the shutter magnets stick. This causes an EEE on the display. Some say the whole shutter has to be replaced while others say just the sticking part. Some repair people have been able to clean it. My experience with F-1N and A series cameras is that the magnet's pole pieces get sticky and when left cocked tend to stick together. A bit of alcohol loosens them up and they work again. I have read that some repair people do the same to T90s to get them going. Canon does not supply shutters any more but someone else said that the shutter magnet is similar to that in some EOS bodies and can be replaced.

The motor drive can develop some problems where it sounds like it's really laboring and/or it goes into low speed mode and one of the display arrows starts to flash.

The T90 is sensitive to the force needed to actuate and stop down a lens. Some lenses cause 'help' to be displayed. (This happend to me on a 'new' lens; replacing the lens solved the problem - it had a sticking diaphragm). Note that this tends to occur on long lenses.

T90s that have been held a lot have a smooth finish and a thumb mark on the back cover. T90s that have run a lot of film have the paint worn on the film path in the film chamber and also have marks on the pressure plate.

Sad to say, but personally I'd consider any T90 to be disposable rather than repairable and budget myself accordingly. While there's a good chance of getting it repaired it will cost $$$ and take time. I have two repair manuals for the T90 to help me or a repairman should I need to.

For a long term repairable camera I bought an F-1N and a repair manual. It's too bad that the T90 had such a short production life; it was a fabulous design but had no direct offspring. EOS is more of a niece or nephew.

Cheers,

Duane

-- Duane K (dkucheran@creo.com), February 16, 2001.

I have a couple of T90s and love them.

The internal battery only holds the memory when changing the main batteries. This would only really effect the frame counter if you changed batteries in mid roll. And then the camera will rewind when it hits the resistance at the end of the roll.

It does seem that the shutter prefers to be used. Most people who have had their cameras for a while and use them often don't have as much trouble as those who use them seldom.

With buying one used, I would carefully check the battery compartment for any signs of leakage from batteries. Most people used alkaline batteries and if they didn't use the camera often, they probably left the batteries in too long once. Minor leakage can be cleaned, but if it was major it normally leaks into the body and kills a circuit board above the closed end of the battery compartment.

They do tend to pick up certain wear patterns as Duane mentioned, plus nicks and white spots around the base and battery compartment. Not a big deal, but does reduce the value.

-- Terry Carraway (TCarraway@compuserve.com), February 17, 2001.

The T90 represents an epitome of design and useability not only for Canon but for 35mm SLRs overall. I much prefer them over the Canon F1N with motors (similar performance but marked weight difference!) I have two of these beauties, and am (reluctantly) going to sell them, along with a covey of lenses etc. as my eyesight is no longer good.

-- GD Mangold (gdm@netins.net), May 24, 2001.