It's a question photographers have been asking since time immemorial – or since the 1970s, at any rate: which is best? Canon or Nikon? The brave souls over at the Hydraulic Press Channel are committed to finding out. And they're going to do so in the only way they know how - by using a hydraulic press. In the yellow corner: a Nikon FA. In the red corner: a Canon AE-1.
We don't want to ruin the outcome of this unconventional two-way test before you've watched the video (apart from anything else, we're far from clear on the criteria of the contest) but we dare you to only watch it once.
That's great. This doesn't tell us anything we don't know. Also, we don't know the strength of the press anyway. For all we know, it's one of those 80,000 lb presses that will pretty much compress anything into a pancake. Not a very useful video.
What's with the negativity? it's not like he crushes one-of-a-kind museum pieces... these cameras can be bought cheaply at flea-markets, garage sales, ebay... it's an inanimate object... it's not like he's putting a live poodle under the press or microwaves baby dolphins.
and honestly, if you can't enjoy cookie monster being squeezed flat - maybe work on your sense of humour ...
Not actually fair as the Canon AE-1 is a cheaper camera than the Nikon FA, much cheaper. If they did the Nikon FM against the AE-1, that would be appropriate. A rematch is in order!
I have both a Canon FT and a FTBn in the other room. They are all-metal beasts you can drive nails with. But I must say even crushing an AE-1 is cringe-worthy to me.
I stand somewhat corrected. The FA, FM & FE all shared a basic copper aluminum body(the FA was the most expensive of the three due to its auto matrix metering). A body far sturdier than the heavily plastic, but far cheaper AE-1. A better Canon contender would have been the Canon A-1 which was of metal construction and the Nikon FA equivalent. The Canon FTBn was execeptionally well built and a highly underated camera in its day. Ah, the good olde days....
Que pena. Yo tengo aun una camara Canon AE 1 con lente 50 mm F 1.4 (que aun toma buenas fotos) similar a la que destruyo el moustro ese y siento que notas como esta no deben de ser presentadas en este medio. Los fotografos amamos nuestro equipo porque nos permite realizar nuestro arte.
This was just some fun with blocks of aluminum and plastic. They're just objects. I think all the negative nellies here need to realize that the real humor lies in the underlying debate about "which camera is better?"
@Akron - like the fact that the photographer makes the difference much more than the gear. That's the humor ... that people even debate hardware at all!!
Photography for me is an emotional exercise. It is me capturing my own, and my contemporaries', lives and times. As such, the tools I use to do so assume some emotional significance to me as well, because they are inextricably linked to the moments I experienced and captured. To this day I still have and cherish my GDR - made first camera, a Beirette, that probably isn't anything special optically or otherwise, but my grandfather who passed away many years ago gave it to me to instill his passion for photography in me, and as such it is a link between a man I adored and myself. It is the camera I used for years to capture childhood vacations with my family on Agfa slide film.
I think at least some of us who wince at this video wince not because of the destruction of a material object but because we can imagine the potentially limitless stories behind these cameras. Who were they owned by? Where were they taken, what memories were captured with them, what fleeting moments of time preserved?
I don't have an opinion one way or the other, but I understand why some people may wince at the video.
These aren't rare guys. You can find stores packed to the ceiling with them and can be had for $150 in working condition. There is no evidence that either of these were working.
I enjoyed this video, Barney. And yea, I watched it more than once.
I haven't watch the video (because I am in subway) but don't understand why people would get entertainment or educational value out of it. This is like the guy smashing an iPhone against a large piece of magnet and proclaim iPhone is affected by magnet. There is no value and the act itself makes me feel the producer and reposter are desperately crying for help because they feel their life is equally pointless. Sure there is money and fame but we all know that's not all there is to life.
This should have bees saved for the April Fools issue. I collect cameras and have myriad "old" digitals. They are all working- I wouldn't do this to any of them. There is in my mind something "obscene" about this useless stupid video. VRR
This is hillarious, !!!! Thank you for showing this on DPREVIEW. I really enjoyed it. Loved how the result was examined and a win declared for Nikon. It puts a whole new perspective on camera testing.
I am a photographer and I find this funny. But if anyone wants to remain attached to some old camera you can sell all your furniture and start buying broken stuff on eBay just to prevent that it ends in the trash.
IT'S JUST AN OLD CAMERA, MILLIONS WERE MADE, SOME END UP IN THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN, SOME ARE IN USE, SOME ARE BEING CRUSHED, SOME WERE PROBABLY USED TO KILL SOMEONE.
i hope next post wont be about killing someone with a camera. it could be as much useful and disgusting as this one. you know i once saw leaked iphone vids and selfy of few surgeons after of course of human patients operation, they were dancing and having fun in front of lying body, it's there job they do it on daily basis they cut, slice, sew people but its surely not for public. I think if anyone planing to commit act of vandalism, it shouldn't be public affair. what u think??
If logic isn;t for u i hope you you understand it one day. .. its just not right to be here. you can crash anything at home, as often and much as you like, just dont share it. its a really bad taste.
Making your own masterpiece and crush it after completion, that could be fun (cf. sand castles, card castles, dominos etc.).
But destroying a masterpiece made by a third party is just being a brat having fun at the expense of somebody smarter than you. Just what little apes love to do.
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