 Justin G. |
AE-1 vs. AL-1 For the old-timers! haha I'm really really wanting to get an ae-1 outfit with a 50mm f/1.4 or 1.8 but I don't know if i'm ready for full time manual controls.. I surely don't have enough money for a good light meter and I shoot now with an elan 7e. I saw an AL-1 outfit for a good price which has Av, and that's all I shoot with now. so ... my question. does anybody know if the al-1 is rugged and durable, or should I go with the classic everyone raves about the AE-1. lets say you say get the ae-1, any tips on how I should meter? i could get the ae-1 program, but it only has program and Tv (as well as full manual obviously). anyways..lets say I get this, what's a good technique on controlling DOF using Tv. as you can see i'm in a jumble and I really want an oldie rugged camera with a 50mm f/1.4 one more! do they make adapters to put an FD mount on my EOS? thanks so much. don't get lost in what I wrote! .justin.
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Kerry L. Walker |
Old timers? Hey, I resemble that remark! The AE-1 has a meter, along with SP and manual controls. I am not sure if there is an adapter available for the FD lenses. Maybe some of the OLD Canon shooters can tell you that.
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Justin G. |
Haha thanks so much Kerry. Ok so I guess I'm confused. I don't know anything other than my Elan...AE-1 has a meter. So can I set the lens for 1.8 (or 1.4 depending) and it will meter the "correct" exposure? You said it also comes with SP, shutter priority? Thanks for helping.
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Kerry L. Walker |
One other thing, you can control the DOF in Tv (SP for us oldies) the same way I control the shutter speed when I shoot with my Olympus in AP mode. Just adjust the shutter speed until you get the aperature you want. I do the opposite. I adjust the aperature until I get the shutter speed I want. I can't say for certain, but I would bet the AL-1 is as durable as the AE-1. The AE-1 sold so well because of its SP mode, which is the mode most snapshooters of that day were comfortable with.
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Justin G. |
The AL-1 looks pretty durable, it looks metal frame and such..anyways with some research I could've answered my own question, shame on me. well at least I think I figured it out....Ok... scenario, tell me if this sounds good. i'm shooting portraits and want my shallow DOF, so i'm going with aperture 1.8, 2.8 somethign around there, so I set that on the lens. ok i'm going to guess a correct time on the ae-1 and the camera meter will tell me under-over exposure.correct? if so then I could just compensate/correct to get a good exposure. so if the meter says on f/1.8 hey 1/500 is 2 stops under then i'm just going to figure out in my head to move down to 1/125. does all this sound right? it sounds right on to me, but hey i'm the youngin
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Kerry L. Walker |
You can do the same thing in SP mode. If you have the shutter speed set at 1/125 and the meter reads the aperature at f/4 but you want to shoot at f/1.8, just adjust the shutter speed until the meter reads the aperature at f/1.8.
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Jon Close |
Justin, you may have already found these sources, but just in case: You can review the specs and features of the different models at the online Canon Camera Museum. A source with even more information, including in-depth descriptions, photos/illustrations, and instrucion manuals for the different models is http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/SLRs/index.htm. User manuals for these old models are available online at http://www.canonfd.com/choose.htm. RE - FD to EOS adapters: Re - metering with the AE-1 or AE-1 Program:
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Jon Close |
Oops, there is a slight variation with stop-down metering with the AE-1P: Adjust the shutter speed so that the meter needle matches the stop-down mark by 5.6 in the viewfinder, rather than matching the value set on the lens.
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Will Turner |
All of the A-series Canons are pricepoint cameras intended for amateur use. Canon specifically designed these models to undercut their competitors in price by using various cost savings in material and design, and they sold very well. In addition, some of the A-models were cheapened in material quality over the years in order to maintain price advantage. The A-1 I am not certain of, but in the case of the AE-1, in higher serial number cameras this model had several changes in internal parts from metal to plastic. Now that these cameras are much older, problems have started to show up in used bodies. The use of a cloth shutter requires more frequent cleaning and lubrication on A-bodies so equipped. Most A-bodies at this point need complete replacement of dried-out lubricants in the mirror linkage, film advance, and shutter, and cleaning or replacement of the 'permanently lubed' magnets. Then there is the mirror linkage problem (Canon squeal), not just caused by loss of lube but by excessive wear in the flywheel bearing. The shutter wire is often frayed, at least in AE-1 cameras, and could use replacement. AE-1 Programs sometimes suffer from intermittent failure problems that are difficult to track down. Various A-bodies can have issues with bad release capacitors and solenoids as well. The battery door design wasn't the best idea and sometimes breaks. Canon's pro F-1n and F-1N are by contrast built to a much higher standard, and tend to be much more reliable and durable cameras. In newer models, Canon later made the T-90 which was specifically redesigned in certain areas to address some of the A-body shortcomings. If I needed an older Canon with the FD mount, I would go for the F-1N (in excellent condition) or a T-90.
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