Canon

My first "good" camera was a Canon AE-1, at this time when a person asked about a 'good' camera they meant an SLR. I remember my first camera, I received it for Christmas in '68. That was the Kodak 126, the drop-in load 126 film canister thing. I don't still have it, as you know me, tools plus inoperative camera equals parts pile.

However I still have the AE-1 and it still works fine thank you. I also have the box it came in, price sticker still there, instructions, and all the included accessories. Also, not for sale. I have the original lens box the 50mm f/1.8 FD lens came in with the camera, alas it suffer a fatal lens aperture malfunction, ( review: tools plus inoperative).

Canon, at this time, was using the very strong FD mount, which was the updated version of the FL mount. It used a separate ring to tighten the lens to the body, the lens body didn't rotate and there was almost no wear to the mount, keeping the critical film to flange distance constant. To be honest the other mounts that do rotate don't appreciably wear that much. Some of the complaints against the rotating ring were that is was fiddily to use, and not as convenient as the standard mounts the others were using, ie poke the mount in and twist. I don't recall the mount being particularly bothersome.

The AE-1 was Canon's newest production for us new to photography, my experience was very limited and I not knowing any better was just as happy as I could be. There were two ways of using new automation to measure the light and correctly expose the film, one was aperture priority; you set the aperture and the camera would measure the light, compare it to settings of film speed and set the shutter speed to correctly expose the film. The other was you set the shutter speed and voila like above the camera set the aperture. Soon the cameras were setting both, but that will be in the future.

It Begins

The Photojourney Begins





The summer of '76, I wondered into a local department store and asked the clerk to show me his best camera. The conversation went something like this, "Show me your best camera." I have since learned that the question is inbred in us. What's the best camera? What's the best lens? What's the best film, body, manufacturer, and car?

I just added the car.

Instead of laughing me to scorn and driving me into some other hobby, like heavy drinking, he cursed me to photo-damnation.

"Here." he said.

Then I was presented with Canon's AE-1.



A quick review: At this time photography was under going one of its many advancements. Most bodies were heavy metal, large, strongly built structures that manufactures thought us photogs wanted. Strong, reliable, and dependable these bodies are in 2000+, still going and going. However, the camera handed to me wasn't one of these, it was the new idea that smaller was better. Maybe new isn't the word. Canon wasn't the first to make a lighter and smaller body but they did have a superb marketing division and a really nice camera body to boot. The AE-1 marks one of those milestones that define the path of the photojourney of many people. It had several cutting edge features and blended them well. Right size, feel, reliabilty, etc.



No, I didn't buy it right then. It was $288 and of course I had scrape up that amount. Today I'd just put it on a card (a nearly maxed out one) but then, I was young and single and used that foreign stuff called cash.