
This is the first instalment of a series on extraordinary cameras. The Canon AE-1 is not only a classic milestone in the history of film cameras, it also occupies a special place since it was the first modern SLR in our home. Beforehand, photography was rather challenging – you had to calculate distance and focus. Family photos were time-consuming, and the subjects quickly got tired of posing awkwardly, unless you had a landscape or flowers in front of you. In those days, finishing a 36-frame film took months. It was expensive to develop the prints. On the other hand, you would sit down and share the photos, trying to remember together where this frame was shot. Purchasing the Canon AE-1 was a game-changer. It was faster, it offered a system of interchangeable lenses, and it turned photography from a documentary practice to fun. Mind you, it was not cheap: the cost was between 600 and 700 DM, which amounts to approximately 800-900 Euro in today’s age.

We took pictures when family gathered for birthdays and holidays, or when we traveled on vacation once a year. Subsequently, the stack of negatives and prints of a family archive neatly fits into a couple of shoeboxes and a few albums. By comparison, shooting digitally means amassing tens of thousands of images, storing them on hard drives and computers, and possibly forgetting them.

Picking up the Canon AE-1 is a joy. The ergonomics are brilliant, the weight is perfect with 750g, the shutter noise and the film advance are smooth and crisp after all these years. Great Japanese engineering. It is not complicated to handle, since it was designed for the enthusiast. As in the 1980s, the camera fulfills the mission: to improve the photographic quality of your images, to allow people to learn the craft, and to make lasting memories.

The Canon AE-1 can be the workhorse for analog images, or it can be the Sunday treat. In my kit, the standard 50mm and a 28mm get the most traction. I am not a big fan of the old zoom lenses, so I try to stick to the primes. It is ideal for your photo walk around town, picking up some details or the occasional wider angle, here at use in the local industrial mining area.

You cannot go wrong if you stash the Canon AE-1 in the bag for a stroll around. The camera does what the best sports referees attempt to do: It stays out of the way, allowing you to focus on the composition. There is a reason Canon sold millions of copies. It put a sophisticated electronic device into the hands of the consumer.

Links:
https://casualphotophile.com/2015/09/17/canon-ae-1-program-vs-ae-1-camera-review/
Manual: https://www.butkus.org/chinon/canon/canon_ae-1/canon_ae-1.htm