Had a doctor appointment Wednesday that left me feeling very tired. At the last moment I decide to stop at a local thrift. Walked in and saw a camera laying on its back behind a showcase. Asked to see it and found a Canon A1 with motor drive and 35mm Canon lens. It is in very good condition. This is the topic that pissed me off in another forum when a "pro" told me film was dead and how much better digital is. A couple others jumped into the fray and then an admin called me out (need a finger . Don't do much there anymore. I'm a Nikon man (couple F2's) but I picked up a very nice Canon AE-1 Program with an additional 135mm lens ($15) for a niece to use a few months ago. The A1 works perfectly though the battery is dying. Unlike my Nikon FA the Canon does not work at all with a dead battery. I downloaded the manual. Even got a roll of film. With discount $12 plus tax .

I concur with you on film cameras. Imo also, they are much better than the digital ones. I have an old Zenit ( Soviet brand ) with Carl Zeiss lens and two others digital, but i can't compared them to the image of the old Zenit.
Congrats, that's a great camera.

I have had an AE-1 Program w/50mm lens, and a 28mm wide angle and 70-210mm macro zoom w/power winder and flash. I don't use it much, but I bought it new back in 1980 and have had it ever since. I carry one of my 3 pocket digitals more just because they're so handy and "instant", but there's never any thought of totally replacing film.

The battery is an easy find most drugstores and good hardware stores will carry the alkaline version.

Be very careful when you open the battery door they tend to be easy to break on A-1's you will have to remove the action grip as the door is under neither it.

That Winder A will take regular AA's

How does the shutter sound? if you fire it at say 1/60th does it have a snappy sound or more of a weasing sound almost like a long sneeze?

Canon A series need to have the mirror dampener relubed about every 7-10 years and almost all of the ones you see now are way past due for a Clean Lube and Adjust service.


If you have an questions drop by the Canon FD forum on Photo.net I am one of the moderators there.

www.photo.net

http://www.photo.net/bboard/forum?topic_id=1546

I have a rather extensive Canon FD collection I'm down to 11 bodies and 38 lenses. and a couple apple boxes of accessories.

be glad to help

By the way which 35mm lens did you get?

Speed? f3.5 f2.8 or f2.0 Chrome locking ring or chrome locking button front element concave or convex ?

Whew! The doctor exam took more out of me than I imagined. Mark thanks for the info and I'll check out the site. In answer to your questions: It doesn't have the wheeze yet (the AE-1 does), the lens is 2.8, convex, locking button. It's a nice handling camera though I do miss some sort of dead battery operation like with my Nikon FA. Couple months ago a pricer at a thrift got pissed and priced things low so I picked up a pair of 50mm Canon lenses for less than $2 each.

Gotta love thrifts! I just found the other day a 2X converter adapter for Canon FD series mounts. That means my 500 stock lens becomes a short 100mm lens. All for $3 in leather case to boot. Couldn't pass that up!

It's in my camera bag now .....

Nice job, Maestro!

I have never been an early adopter, and am more an advocate of
technologies that are allegedly "outmoded". Like say, vinyl.
Nikon is great, but there is nothing wrong with a topline Canon.

Film is NOT dead. It's entirely possible that with processing volume
dropping, it will become prohibitive to process a high volume of it.

however, the medium worked quite well for 150 years, so I'm
thinking it's proven.

Is anyone out there using larger format stuff, like 4x5, and are
you doing your own development, or what is the cost of getting
it processed at a lab?

So I stopped by an unnamed (to protect the manager) thrift. Strolled into the back and saw an aluminium case sitting atop a cart. No price tag. Opened it up and found: two Canon lenses, 50mm/f1.4 & 135mm; a Vivitar 300mm; eight filters; Canon and Vivitar flashes; remote cable; and several extra caps. strolled up and asked the manager, What's up with the photo stuff? everything but the camera. He said, "Yeah, I know. It probably 'disappeared' at the warehouse." He was a little pissed. Shot the breeze with him as I looked the stuff over. He asked a couple questions and I told him it was a Canon set up. Then he told me that if I could use it I could have it! He was really pissed. We've built a rapport as I've spent some money there. Got it all home and found it to be in perfect condition. No key for the case though . Last Saturday I picked up a 200mm screw mount Fujinon and case for .88¢ there.