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There are some things to like about the Canon AE-1. It uses FD glass, which is both relatively cheap and abundant.
And so I brushed off my dusty AE-1 and start shooting film again, with no real objective other than to try and spark passion. And boy did it. So why is the Canon AE-1, a light-tight box of room temperature mayonnaise, so popular? It’s part of the depressing truth about film photography in the 21st century that we’re attaching value to those that are prone to break the least (the X-Pan notwithstanding) . Essentially, this camera is popular because a lot of it can break and you can still use it to take photos. And they made a lot of them. It’s in the same boat as the Pentax K1000, a camera that’s the result of a company taking a good camera, the Pentax KX, and taking out all the features of interest. To Control The Shutter Speeds you simply have to use the dial on the right handside which has the numbers 2 – 1000 on it. Simply rotate the dial to choose your desired shutter speed. Changing the ISO on the Canon AE-1 also requires using this dial. One the one hand, hats off to Canon for integrating three critical functions into minimal camera real estate. On the other hand, changing ISO often requiring asking for the assistance of a small child to use their slight and delicate hands to perform the tactile gymnastics needed to achieve this feat. It’s like no one was actually asked to use it before someone signed off on the design. To Attach a Flash you simply have to slide it into the hotshoe, located on the top middle of the prism. When using flash, ensure you are using it at the correct flash sync speed.The Canon AE-1 shutter speed dial is a fantastic piece of design, if you want to feel like you’re fondling a gear from a reject version of Mouse Trap while also slowing you down as you shoot. It’s made from cassette case grade plastic, and gives all the satisfaction of reheated oatmeal made with too much soy milk when used. And because it’s integrated into the film advance lever, you can’t adjust the dial with your thumb. Meaning you always have to take your finger off the shutter to change the shutter speed. Cool. In fairness though, there’s nothing wrong with the AE-1, the differences are very slight and they don’t make any difference to your final image. The AE-1 and A1 take the same brilliant lenses and this levels the playing field. Also, functionally, there isn’t much difference in the way you use these two cameras. The design of the Canon AE-1 can be described as typical of a Japanese SLR made in the mid-70s, which is a polite way to say almost completely unremarkable. The greatest design triumph on the body is the inclusion of the old-school skinny Canon logo, which is an act of typographic perfection so complete that the company was forced to change it to a bloated mess of a logo to cause people to buy more gear to fill the empty void in their hearts. We weren’t worthy
The AE-1 is a fairly simple camera to use once you get the hang of it. Until then, I’ll cover all of the important things that you need to know about how to use it. Top View Of Canon AE-1 At its most basic, a viewfinder on a SLR should allow you to compose your shot and obtain critical focus. With a split prism, the Canon AE-1 is able to do that with aplomb, so bravo on covering the basics. However in every other way, using the AE-1’s viewfinder is an act of frustration.
Canon AE-1 Design
To change the aperture, look at the lens from the top view, you’ll see numbers from 1.8 to 16, or similar. Rotate this ring to choose the aperture that you want. You can also shoot this camera in shutter priority by pushing in the small button about 1cm away from the letter ‘A’ and rotating it until it is in the ‘A’ position. So profound was the experience of the AE-1, even 40 years on, I would not consider buying a Canon camera. That is how much owning the AE-1 hurt! To focus, you simply have to rotate the end of the lens until you find your image is in focus. You will see numbers in white and orange, the white is in Feet and the orange is in meters, this shows you at what distance you are currently focussing on. It also shows you how close is the closest you can focus, which, in this case, is 0.6 meters, or 2 feet. Otherwise, you have to look out for fungus or dust in your lenses as you do with all SLR cameras, fungus and dust are very common, they don’t always make your lens too bad to use, but after a certain point, it’s far too much! I also fell in love with my Canon AE-1 that summer; I'd spend the next two years of high school bringing it with me everywhere I went including many solo train trips to Hoboken, New Jersey, where I'd shoot street photography along the waterfront. I also used it to shoot the next 28 issues of Dan's Zine, which came to a close with issue #36 as I prepared to head off to college (summer, 2006). I'd acquired a shiny new D300 and all things film photography became an afterthought. My AE-1 would remain untouched for many years to come
About the same time, a pal of mine had a Canon A1 and F1. Both of them broke in annoying and expensive ways. He replaced them with an old Nikon F2Sb, which I eventually bought from him when it was well over 10 years into a hard-used life, and it was an absolute delight! It lived alongside my Olympus cameras for many years. So I enrolled in a summer darkroom photography course at the local community college. And much to my excitement, a fully-manual camera was at the top of the list for course materials. I'd spent the next couple years working on personal project, part self-documentation, part observation, called " Analog 3086." The sole purpose of the project was to foster a stronger relationship between myself and photography. If you want to save money, it’s a good idea to use out of date film, which can still provide some very good shots. How To Use The AE-1 By my second year in college I'd acquired a shiny new D300 and all things film photography became an afterthought. My AE-1 would remain untouched for many years to come.
Why Is This Popular?
Damage to the battery door is also quite common for an AE-1, usually the bottom corner of the battery door can end up damaged and in some instances, the door may be missing completely. This is not the end of the world as the battery does sit in position quite nicely. You can replace the door but you would obviously have to find another door in good condition, you would be able to find out how to replace the door on youtube. Boring, all this “hate” about cameras, in particular if it is about a Canon product (I am no fanboy!). Nobody would write such a review about a Nikon. My main SLR for many years was a Nikon FM-2. Let me cite one passage and swap brand/camera names: “…the design of the Nikon FM-2 can be described as typical of a Japanese SLR made in the mid-70s, which is a polite way to say almost completely unremarkable. The greatest design triumph on the body is the inclusion of the old-school skinny Nikon logo”. Well, you can easily recognize that this and other passages in this review would apply perfectly to an FM-2 or many other cameras made by different brands during that period of classic industrial design. Unfortunately, because the AE-1 is quite old and it is quite an electrical camera, there are a few common faults for you to look out for to ensure you’re getting a quality camera. If you want to know how this camera compares to others, how much you should be paying, some of its common issues and much more then read on! Canon AE-1 Specs
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