Canon A-1 to AT-1

Frontman said:
I remember reading the ads for the Canon A-1 when they were placed in National Geographic, the term Canon used in the ad was "hexa-photo-cybernetic". As a 11 year old would-be photographer, and die-hard Star Wars fan, the A-1 appealed to me.
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Ever since I read this I can't stop seeing my A-1 on the shelf and imagining it as an Imperial camera. It would totally be Darth Vader's camera.
 
If anyone would like to cure the Canon 'Cough' themselves I have a series of images showing how to do it.
I cut the end off an AE1 to show the part which needs reaching with a bent hypodermic needle, through the top left lens plate screw when looking at the camera body from the front. Its an easy job to do and so far synthetic gun oil seems to be the best way forward with the 7 A1 bodies done so far. All are working as expected 2-3 years on.
 
Broke down and bought a F1N. I love the AT-1, and since my RF has been sent off for repair it's been my main camera. My only issue with it is that the meter isn't very sensitive in low light. It'll still be a great take anywhere/backup camera.

Edit: Sold it
 
wakarimasen said:
I am a little surprised that no-one has leapt to the cameras' defence so far!
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I have had an A-1 for just a few weeks now (given to me by a friend) and in Manual Mode it really is fool proof...you have a shutter speed control knob and then there's your aperture ring on the lens...point it at what you want it to meter and set the numbers...that is "Manual Mode"...if you can't do that don't blame the camera...
 
I sit here reading this thread right after I opened up the box with my A-1 in it. Needs a battery, so I can't test it. It's a little grungy, but a good brushing should take care of that. And it has the grip, so I don't have to go chasing after one of those, though they are more plentiful than the one for the Nikon FA. It looks pretty good in basic black. Hope it works as good as the AE-1P I got last year, and gave to my brother (almost kept it for myself). But Av and Tv? Why not just A and S? The shutter wheel is a nice touch, with the timed slow speeds to 30 seconds. But then flash sync is at 1/60. Hey, no camera is perfect, and I suspect I'll get the hang of using this one too. After I download and read the manual.

PF
 
grapejohnson said:
Don't get me wrong, I love the lenses. Getting out of A mode on the lens seems to happen in my camera bag or somesuch, and not while I'm out shooting. It wouldn't even be that big of a deal to me, really, if the camera just told me in a way other than the little M that I always seem to miss. If it metered correctly due to this change in aperture I would still want to use the camera. That's my main issue -- the meter.

Edit: I have the older breech-mount version of the 50 1.4, maybe it clicks over less sturdily.
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Maybe you could do what I do? If you don't want it to move, tape it! I use decorators tape, the cream coloured type and then just black it out with a marker pen.
I tape up everything that bugs me like the d700 flash to keep it waterproof, clip on hoods that unclip in the bag, Manual / auto selectors on lenses etc. I know when I grab my camera out of the bag that it's set the same way I left it. It may not look pretty but it works.
Regarding the A series Canons, I bought a new AE1 in 1980 and used it for years along with 28 and 50's. It was a great camera, very reliable, squeaked a bit but kept working. I left Canons in 1996 after an AE1 program let me down. A Canon CLA didn't fix it! I just lost faith in them so switched to Nikon.
 
I picked up a A1 kit about 4 years ago and sent it off for a cla. Came back LN. Thankfully I got the manual with it (download if you need it) cause it is a little quirky with stop down DOF in manual mode and then returning to AE operation. I don't quite understand why there had to be a manual mode in this camera beyond the fact it gave you a DOF preview. What would it take to stop down a lens; In the past you'd push a button to stop down the lens for preview. I guess it was that DOF was mainly a mechanical thing in the past and the electronic wizardry was not quite there yet due to needed contacts or the associated electronic linkages in the lens? There were a ton of lenses out there that could be used with the camera but none that I know of that allowed electronic DOF preview. So they wound up with a work around to allow this ability with all the existing lenses and we wind up with a somewhat complicated procedure.

The whole manual operation thing is really a way for one to control exposure totally. That means, without the camera doing it for you automatically. This can be thought of as when one wants to do portraiture using strobes with a hand meter for balancing the setup. On the other hand, adjusting the exposure when in auto exposure operation is done thru the compensation dial for say overly bright or foggy scenes or just to skew the exposure to one side or the other for whatever reason; You also can change the TV dial. This really is the sticking point for alot of photographers who want full manual mode such as with the older camera's with match needle metering in which they had a exposure readout thru the needle. The thing is they didn't necessarily have both a shutter speed and aperture setting readout in the viewfinder; It was usually one of the other. In the case of the A1 when in manual mode, when you push the preview switch or shutter button you get a readout that gives the recommended aperture as if the camera was in AE operation, not necessarily what one would have previously set on the lens for whatever reason, but maybe having to do with what DOF was needed. One has to transfer the recommended aperture setting if one wants the exposure recommended by the camera (at the TV setting), or change the aperture to under or over expose the scene from the cameras recommendation. From the way I see it, many complaints about using manual exposure with this camera is really having to take their eye out of the viewfinder (or remember the aperture setting they set) in order to transfer the electronic meters recommended setting, Many did anyways cause many cameras as stated didn't have the full readout's in the viewfinder anyways, and well we all forget settings and have to look away to remind ourselves or to change them.

I was much surprised with the small size of the camera and the metering seems really good. It's a good camera for low light shooting with EV -2 and using a top tier, but cheap lens like the 50mm F1.4 SSC. The other thing that doesn't seem to draw very many praises is the stepless shutter speeds, a big step up over manual cameras and a good thing for shooting E6. It also incorporates a viewfinder eyepiece blind thru a small lever.

Overall it's just a different way of working. It really is a camera created on the cusp of total automation where computer thin film boards were in their infancy and we hadn't quite reached the do everything electronic camera.
 
Found the battery for the camera (there was one sitting here on the desk the whole time), and gave it a check-out. Really neat double-exposure feature, and easy to set. The fact it is self-cancelling is nice too. Got to get the hang of interpreting the readouts in the finder. And I've got to clean the grunge off the outside. But I've already got a 277T flash from a T50 set-up, and hung onto some FD lenses from my previous foray into Canonland. Oh, and it looks so good in basic black, with just the right amount of corner brassing. I will admit though, it's not going to be the same as an AE-1P, but some fun should ensue when I load it for a test shoot.

PF
 
This morning the A-1 I bought from the OP arrived. It looks to be in better shape than my backup, and Scott sold it to me for roughly half what it would have cost to repair my main one.

Now, all I have to do is find some film...
 
Finally got around to shooting the A-1. It handles very well, and I should get the results back this evening. Didn't try it in Program (I kind of forgot to), but used mostly the Shutter Priority. The read-outs were much easier to see in practice than with most of my other cams. That will make it hard to part with if I decide to divest myself of the Canon gear.

PF
 
I started my fotografical life with a Canon AE-1P.
Great little cam and good for learning the first steps, but I hate the shutter priority!
Then I got an A-1 and an AV-1
I love the A-1 and still use it very often - not as much as in my schooldays where I used it for newspaperwork but still 3-4 films a year.
The AV-1 might be the thing you want:
apperature priority - light - reliable - easy to handle and lovely on the bellows!

I keeped all my Canon FD stuff for all these years after Canon killed this mount for f...ing EOS and never ever thought of selling it, because it never let me in the rain - allways working without any problems!
 
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