The Canon AE-1 Program was introduced in April of 1981, nearly 5 years after its predecessor the AE-1, This camera in the collection was made in February of 1982. The AE-1 Program was developed in response to users wanting the AE mode featured in the Canon A-1, the mode set both the shutter speed and aperture automatically making it easier for the user.
Even with the automatic functions the camera can still be controlled by the user using shutter priority auto-exposure and full manual modes can still be used for creative use. The camera could support the A-1’s Power Winder MA but also supported the faster Power Winder A2 which could advance the film by about 2 frames a second.
A few downfalls the have been reported about the camera was the slow high speed shutter of only 1/1000 of a second due to the cloth curtain. Another issue was seen more in the studio with a slow flash sync speed of 1/60 of a second. The last and more prevalent nowadays is that due to the electronics the camera has been maintenance heavy and with fewer and fewer people who are capable of doing the repairs it’s becoming harder and more expensive to maintain the camera.
I have not had a chance to shoot with the camera so I can’t relate any personal experience with it just yet, but I am looking forward to give it a shot.
The Specs:
Type of camera: Single lens Reflex (SLR)
Film/picture format: 35mm film producing a picture format of 24x36mm supporting an ISO range of 12 to 3200.
Lens Mount: Canon FD Bayonet Mount
Lenses: Canon mount FD prime and zoom manual focus lenses
Shutter: Cloth Curtain, Four-axis, horizontal-travel focal plane shutter. Shutter speeds ranging from 2 – 1/1000 of a second electronically controlled.
Exposure metering: Provided internally, TTL full-aperture counterweighted averaging metering or TTL stopped-down metering. Four AE modes: shutter speed-priority AE, program AE, Preset Aperture-priority AE, and Flash (speedlite) AE.
Viewfinder: 94% coverage of image area, with 0.83x magnification
Focussing screen: interchangeable with 8 optional screens
Reflex mirror: Automatic instant-return with lock up capability
Depth-of-field preview: Yes, with use of stop down lever
Frame counter: additive.
Power source: One 4LR44 alkaline battery
Camera Back: fixed hinge.
Body Finish: metal with black leatherette