Canon A1 or Other AE Options- Opinions Please

[Gid]

I have a Canon F1 plus some FD glass (breech lock). I fancy having an AE option (with aperture priority) and the A1 looks like it might be a good bet (I know about the squeaky shutter stuff). Any opinions on the A1 - ease of operation, performance of AE? Any other FD options with aperture priority - excluding the early T stuff which is ugly IMO?

I have done a search, but it didn't bring up very much of relevance.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

The T70 was a really good camera, funky as it looked. The problem with the T series now is that the lithium battery they used to maintain the shooting information memory are dead or dying, and they are not user replaceable.

I liked the A1, but the LED's are pretty power hungry and the film advance is rough compared to a Nikon FE for example. With the MA motor drive, the A1 is a screamer, though, and the build quality seemed pretty good.

 

[al1966]

If you dont require manual override there is always the AV1 that is just about the cheapest A series on the used market, my wife has one and loves it. from memory I think the AL1 also was aperture priority, also the F1n had a finder that made it aperture priority. The A1 is probably the most desirable of the A series though. I had both the A1 and a T90 and a few others in the eighties (they were stolen). I thought they were great cameras though of all of them I preferred the AE1P and the original F1. There are places that can solve the squeaky shutter.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Actually, A-series shutter squeal results from using the camera. But it is easily resolved, even by yourself if you are a little technically inclined. Lots of instruction on the web. Nice camera.

 

[Gid]

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

 

[Al Patterson]

Actually, A-series shutter squeal results from using the camera. But it is easily resolved, even by yourself if you are a little technically inclined. Lots of instruction on the web. Nice camera.

I must be lucky, but neither of my A-1s suffers for shutter squeal.

Great camera BTW.

 

[sahe69]

T90 is an excellent camera, but is of course a very different animal compared to the A-1. The only thing I didn't like about T90 was its sound.

 

[Aziz]

The A-1 is built like a champ. It's been dropped by me a few times and still functions great, try that with a modern day SLR. It takes a little time to get used to where certain buttions are (ex. AE lock). I'm actually quite impressed with the FD glass as well. The 50 1.4 does not dissapoint.

 

[sahe69]

I've had two FD systems which I've both sold, and I still find myself longing for the 24/1.4, 55/1.2 and 85/1.2, even after owning Contax SLRs with those nice Zeiss glasses.

 

[rogue_designer]

F1N with the AE finder?

 

[CameraQuest]

To me the T90 was far and away the best manual focus Canon film SLR, nothing else was even close. And don't get one within the almost as important 300TLL flash.

Stephen

 

[SteveM]

I had an A-1 for almost 30 years and as an AE camera it is excellent. Compared to your F-1 it will feel significantly lighter and not as rugged, and it is more compact. I liked the LED readout of shutter speed and aperture in the viewfinder, but you can switch that off if it is distracting. Changing between program, shutter and aperture priority is a flip of a switch, but don't get it if you also want easy manual exposure. It excells at what it is built for, which is autoexposure. I shot slides exclusively and exposure was always very good. Great camera, never had the shutter squeek, but I always wanted an F-1. They are a bargain nowadays.

 

[kuzano]

Read about Canon T90 "The Tank"

Read about Canon T90 "The Tank"

I've had the A1 for a long time, and it is a great performer and durable.

However, a friend bought a T90, and I was amazed at how exotic the metering became in that model. Uses all the FD lenses. So, I bought one. The metering is extremely wide ranging in features, and the body was the model for the EOS autofocus system.

You do have to be careful in shopping. There was an error called the eee error. There are a couple of people who fix the error for a bit over $100 and will add a flash synch socket for a few more dollars. So, I picked up a T90 with the eee error and had it repaired and the socket added. They are on eBay very often, and without the error, often go for $300, while with the error, often sell for $100.

Mine is quite an incredible camera, with the ability to use the old lenses (manual focus) on a very contemporary body and metering system.

Here's what Steve Gandy has to say about it.

http://www.cameraquest.com/t90.htm

And here are the MIR pages for the T90

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/canont90/index.htm

OOPS... didn't see stephen post above

 

[kramynot2000]

A1 is a great camera

A1 is a great camera

I have an F1N, A1, AE1P, and T90 and the camera I find myself reaching for first is the A1. Its light and I don't worry about dropping or scrathing it. Mine doesn't have the shutter squeak (althogh my AE1P does).

I find the wheel used to adjust the shutter speed or aperature, depending upon what mode I'm in, to be very easy to find while I'm composing my shot.

 

[Al Patterson]

I use mine mostly for train chasing. The 70-210 F4 zoom is great, the 35-105 F3.5 zoom is excellent. Always wanted the 50mm 1.4, but I have the 1.8 that came with my AE-1, so I never bothered to upgrade to the faster lens.

 

[Gid]

Thanks again guys.

My concern with the T90 is the eee error and the possibility of the LCD packing up (another reported potential problem). Also, I'm not that keen on the styling (better (much) that the earlier Ts) - too much like the EOS650 and 5D that I have.

The A1 looks like the best bet - seem to be plenty around at reasonable money - AE with a fairly rugged body. Might be a good partner to my F1.

 

[gavinlg]

Not really answering your question, but I really like FD canon optics. They're severely underated in the SLR world. I actually much prefer them to the equivalent ais Nikkors. The actual SLRs themselfs (a1/AE1/AV1/F1) may not be as slick and svelte as say the olympus/pentax ones but they're robust, very functional and satisfying in use.

 

[caperunner]

A1 or AE1-p both excellent cameras.