Canon AE-1 Manual 1: Interface | Features, Buttons, Demonstration, Explanation, Layout, and History
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ส.ค. 2020
- Canon's AE-1 35mm film SLR introduced many people to photography. Though only made for two years, the AE-1 has a place as one of the most widely used and recognizable cameras ever made. This compact, light camera offered a substantial feature array at a competitive, entry-level price. The Canon AE-1 also introduced a new tier of Canon mid-market cameras to the world and introduced automatic, shutter-priority shooting as the default option to the camera market.
Canon achieved design optimization through the AE-1's computer-designed modular structure, computer designs that reduced the parts required by about 300 pieces, and plastic body and operational components that cut costs and weight. The construction has led to this camera having a considerable usable life, but the plastic components wear more easily than metal and can break in less time.
The first-ever CPU-controlled camera, the AE-1 features automatic exposure (hence the name AE) and metering that took between 0.001 and 0.04 seconds, depending on available light.
The precursor to the Canon AE-1 Program, the AE-1 has somewhat better construction, especially with the metal base plate instead of a plastic base plate, and somewhat simpler interface.
The Canon AE-1 has two weaknesses, however. The battery door on these can break and, as of this videos' recording, they are increasingly hard to replace. Also, the computers, called the flex, are starting to fail with age. I see around 300 of these a year, sometimes more, and two years ago 3% had failed flexes. This year, more than 10% have had failed flexes. The trend seems to indicate that the AE-1 computer systems are reaching their lifespan. Unfortunately, once that part fails, the repair is expensive enough that buying a new camera is cheaper.
Also, the AE-1 is not an ideal student camera. Designed primarily for automatic shooting with a manual mode that largely feels like an afterthought, the Canon AE-1 isn't the ideal student camera. That said, if you are a student with one this camera can be used in manual mode to help you learn the art and practice of film photography to the greatest extent practical.
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Video Index:
Skip the Intro: 0:15
Canon AE-1 Overview: 0:35
The Canon AE-1 vs. AE-1 Program: 5:26
Canon AE-1 Features -- Top: 7:24
Canon AE-1 Features -- Front: 9:59
Canon AE-1 Features -- Back: 11:35
Canon AE-1 Features -- Bottom: 11:51
Canon AE-1 Features -- Inside: 12:23
Lenses that will not work with the Canon AE-1: 15:28
Things NOT to do with your Canon AE-1: 16:26
Like this Video and Subscribe to the David Hancock Channel: 20:00
Link to Video 2:
• Canon AE-1 Manual 2: O...
References:
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camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/C...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_AE-1 - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
This was a great video! I just recently got seriously interested in film photography and my dad has kept my grandpa's Canon AE-1 so this will be the camera I learn on. Your videos have been so so helpful, thank you.
Thank you!
Thank you this is extremely helpful!
Thank you!
There is a way to cancel the self-timer, you push the battery check button :)
I didn't know that. Thank you!
Thanks. I am shooting film for the first time and you are exclusively the person teaching me how to use the AE-1 that a family friend gave to me that had belonged to her late husband as she noticed my already established digital photography hobby. I thank you v much
Thank you and that's a great first camera!
Thanks for this!
Thank you!
Awesome review, and impeccably thorough as usual. When shopping for an AE-1 or AT-1, there is a simple way to determine how heavily it's been used. The shutter speed dial is made of cheap plastic, and the serrated teeth on the edge of the dial wear visibly with use over time. If these teeth are all uniformly sharp, then you've got a barely used survivor someone got as a graduation gift and put away and forgot about. Heavy use will be indicated by a section of severely or completely worn off serrated teeth.
Oh that's an awesome tip and I never put that together! Great point and thank you very much!
Oh, joy! A family friend recently gifted me an A-1 and an AE-1 2 really nice leather Canon neck straps… and the AE-1 is completely scratchless on the chrome part and the teeth you mentioned are still as sharp as I image they were when this thang was purchased 40ish years ago! A survivor!
Loved this video. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Can you make a video about how to remove the Data/date back?
Thank you! For the data back removal, it's super simple. With the back open, there's a small pin at the top of the hinge. Just push it down and tilt the back off. If the pin doesn't move, it's a screw and may be tightened down.
Great video, David! I just ordered a Canon AE-1 which will be my first ever film camera. Would you recommend using the sunny 16 method, using the camera's light meter or a light meter app to guide my photography. Subscribed!
Thank you! Use the light meter in the camera. It's going to be way more accurate than a hand-held light meter or the Sunny 16 Rule.
My uncle gave me one in a bundle of cameras. Stuck a new battery in it and it fired right up. Loaded some expired Kodak 100TMax in it and have been shooting it.
Have another with a non working meter, but it seems to work pretty good in all manual mode.
Nice!
Hi, David! I am complete beginner and just learning how to use a film camera. When you release the tension in the shutter springs, don't you lose an exposure on your film? Thanks a lot!
If you have film in the camera you'll sacrifice one frame, but that's cheaper than repairing a broken camera.
I just resurrected my Canon AE-1 from storage after 25 years. I had forgotten several operational details and found your video great for refreshing my memory.
The reason for this resurrection is the impending Saturn/Jupiter conjunction Dec 21st. I'd like to capture the event on film and thought using the AE-1 would present an interesting photographic challenge! What speed film would you recommend? Shutter speed/ aperture suggestions? Think I have a tripod somewhere as well. I once had a shutter release cable but it is long gone.
Some camera functions are not working at this point. I hope it is the battery which has been sitting in the compartment for several decades. There appears to be no leakage however. Plans are to take this to a local camera shop and have it cleaned.
Is shooting the night sky with this a crazy idea? Any suggestions appreciated!
Deb
Thank you!
That's going to be a hard technical challenge for sure. If you want color film you're limited to 800 ISO on the fast end. For black and white you can get Delta or Kodak 3200. Those are both 800 ISO films that can be pushed effectively. Delta shot at 1250 ISO and developed as 3200 ISO film works very well. Kodak Tri-X can also be pushed to 1600 ISO and beyond but will be very high contrast.
For exposure times, probably in the minutes. I assume you have a tracking mount and long lens or telescope to use for this. If so, just use your film camera like you would a digital camera but calculate the added exposure time based on your film.
Whatever film you select, read the manufacturer data sheet for reciprocity failure and then adjust your exposure time based on the datasheet info.
Thanks for the prompt reply.
This is primarily an experiment so will take your advice and see what happens!
Great video instruction. The best part? Steinbeck!
:D He's the most popular part of the channel.
The AE-1 I inherited happened to be in pristine nearly-mint condition and even had the hotshoe cover/ battery door key. After 1 and ½ rolls, it fails on me and rendered the camera unusable until I got it fixed for about $45.
That's a very fair price for an AE-1 repair. They usually run me $95 to have repaired.
Thanks for the review! I have a question, i want to get either canon ae-1 or nikon fe, which one should i get?
Well, they're functionally very different cameras. The major and most important difference is that with the FE you pick the aperture (which controls depth of field) and the camera picks the shutter speed, and that shutter speed is steeples meaning that it could be 1/552 of a second if needed. Worth the AE-1 you pick the shutter speed in full stops and the camera picks the best aperture, which is generally done in third or half stops. Have you watched my video about the FE?
I still have my Grandfathers AE-1. I don't use the body. But I do use the FD le ses on my current Canon DSLRs with an adapter from Fotodiox.
Nice! FD lenses have areal magic on digital.
@@DavidHancock Yes they do and I also have my Dads old Minolta camera and lenses. I also have the MD to EF adapter from Fotodiox as well. So i have about 6 old lenses between those two old SLRs that I can put on my 90D and my R7 using the adapter from Canon for EF to RF adapter.
Hi! I have the same objective, only that instead of an "A" in green it brings a circle hahaha does this affect the automatic mode of the camera? my lens is a 50mm 1.8 from a canon ftb ql
No affect at all. The green circle means the same thing as the "A".
Liked mine well enough, but hated the shutter sound. Much preferred an F1, or FTb with a nice metallic click.
I can see that for sure.
Have you thought about making some comparison videos? I never had an AE-1 (or any Canon SLR), but always thought that e.g. the Fujica AX line from that time is very much the same, feature wise - and I bought too many of those because they can be found dirt cheap, especially here in Germany with a Porst label. Since I won't buy Canon due to the over-the-top ebay prices I could never compare them directly, but would usually tell others just to grab a Fujica if they want cheap and don't already have Canon glass. Am I wrong here? :)
Just in general, such comparisons could apply to many "2nd-class" makers and I think would be interesting for beginners in times ebay prices increase so much. E.g. I lately discovered my love for Cosina. I could imagine something like "popular film cameras and cheap alternatives".
I have, but I'd be competing with a lot of formats that are better for that type of information than TH-cam. If I recall there are some websites that allow spec comparisons of different film cameras, which would be an easier way to process that information.
Do Fujicas accept Canon lenses? I'm honestly not sure not having used one before.
@@DavidHancock No, they have Fujinon glass, also cheap to find because somewhat exotic and often relabeled. But I really like the lenses I have and Fuji's not known for bad glass afaik. :)
I know there are a lot of websites, but I think of some younger people in their twens I recently sold cameras to or gave tips, completely new to film and rarely ever leaving youtube or instagram. They aren't spec nerds, just heard that Canon is good because youtuber x uses it and are then shocked by the prices on ebay. :)
Hey hopefully you can help life bought a CANON AE-1 and it works great but my shutter release button doesn’t stay stuck in, I’ve noticed it has not fallen out. Why is this and how can I get it to stay?
The shutter button should not stay stuck in. After you press it, it should pop back into place.
What’s the round thing on the front of the camera opposite of the AE-1 logo?
Flash sync port
Why are your lens blades closed towards the end of the video? Mine doesn't close when I adjust f stop only when I take the pic.
Your camera is working correctly. I may have had the DoF preview engaged to close the aperture manually.
I have a question… Are we able to remove the viewfinder of this camera and add a waste level one?
Not on this camera.
What happens to the image when the shutter curtain has white spots? And the film rail is roughly scratched??
White spots shouldn't be an issue. That could be a bit of mildew or dust, or just discoloration due to an issue on curtain manufacturing, hard to say. It happens off and on to these cameras and doesn't affect function. Likewise the film guide rails being scratched won't affect your image because the film's image area doesn't touch those.
@@DavidHancock thank you
when I look through the camera I see a red M and it will not let me pull back and take another picture how do i fix this??
There are a few possibilities; let's hope it's the first.
1- Which lens is on it? If it's the standard type of Canon lens with a green "A" or a green "O" and the lens' aperture ring is set to that, then the problem will be either the second or third option. If it's a different lens than one that has that specific green character, try a lens that has that green letter.
2- If the issue is not the lens, there could be a mechanical problem with the camera's coupling with the lens. This requires repair.
3- This, unfortunately, is the most likely scenario: The camera's electronics are dead or dying and you need a new camera. The replacement of the electronics is very expensive and I don't know anyone doing it. If the camera means a lot to you, you could probably find a repair person willing to swap the top and bottom plates with a functional camera. The problem you're describing is increasingly common with the AE-1 bodies, especially those with low serial numbers.
my exposure preview button is stuck depressed and the camera does not meter properly now. Ive tried pulling the button out but it is just pressed forever now. I find no info on this online, does anyone know what to do?
I'd run that past the Fix Old Cameras channel. I don't know how to fix that.
@@DavidHancock will do thanks
What is this small hole on the top right front site of the camera ??
Good catch. I missed that. That's the flash PC port.
@@DavidHancock thank you sir!!
I’m looking to buy a cover for that hole and I can’t find it .
@@GreekUplifter They're out there. You're looking for a Canon A series flash port cover. It'll look like a small, black mushroom. Any flash PC port cover will work, but the Canon A series ones will fit better and be easier to remove.
Seems my film rewind button is stuck.
What is the undicator between the shutter and the film rewind button?
The film rewind button is on the bottom of the camera, so I'm not sure what indicator you mean.
@@DavidHancock sorry. I meant tge film advance lever is stuck
@@joycm6330 Got it. First thing to check is if the shutter was triggered. The film advance won't work until the trigger was fired. If the shutter won't fire, check that the battery is good because the camera requires that. Lastly, if you're at the end of your roll of film, then the advance lever won't work. Let me know if any of those work or not and we'll take it from there.
@@DavidHancock Hey i am having the same problem with this and have gotten a new battery and tried everything. Any more suggestions before I look to replace the camera?
@@danielyoon906 Just these points. If it still isn't working, and you want to repair it, Joe at slr35 is who I would use.
You're wrong about one thing! If you start the timer you can press the little button with the label that has a circle and a line through it to cancel the timer!!
Thank you for catching that! :D
@@DavidHancock oops, sorry about that, didn't realize it was already pointed out
@@squishyshit It's okay. I forgot that I had mentioned that.
The AE-1 has too much internal plastic and aging 1970's electronics. I'm sticking to using the pure metal and mechanical Canon F-1.
The F-1 is definitely preferable, especially the old F-1.
Don't count out the FTb, the F-1's "prosumer" kid brother. You can find FTb's in top shape for a fraction of what you'd pay for an F-1 in comparable condition.
Pressing the battery check button will cancel the self timer mode
Thank you!