Canon AE-1 SLR

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themike's picture
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Canon AE-1 SLR

I came across one of these, and am wondering if how anyone else feels about them. I was wondering about worth, rarity, etc. It has all original manuals, and lenses. It also has a zoom and telephoto lens.
thanks all,
theMIKE

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Re: Canon AE-1 SLR

Very solid camera. I've been using one of its descendants, the Canon T70, for about 20 years. The main difference between the AE-1 and the T-series is that the T's have auto-winders and more electronic controls, but they use the same lenses and share some mechanicals. They take excellent photos.

You don't mention if you bought it or not, or what the cost is. I'd say, the camera body itself is worth maybe $50, a standard 50mm lens another $25 or so. Hard to say what the zoom & telephoto lenses are worth; it all depends on what magnification they have and what brand they are. If you can get the whole package for $100 or less, it's a bargain.

themike's picture
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Actually, the camera was give

Actually, the camera was given to me. It was bought used but in very good condition in the mid-eighties. It is still in great condition, with no scratches in the body or any of the lenses.

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That's even better!

Hard to beat free!

They really are solid cameras. The AE-1 does set the aperture automatically, but a lot of the controls are manually set, it's especially important to know what you're doing. Picking up a good book on photography at the library will go a long way, and just play with it to get a feel for how works. And since it's film you're exposing, you'll need to kind of keep track of your settings and your subject for each exposure until you're comfortable with how it works.

Another possibility for learning it is to check to see if there are any community education programs for photography. That might be hard to find these days though, what with all the inexpensive ultra-auto-digital cameras there are these days. But you'd have to spend A LOT of money on a high-end digital camera to get the quality photographs the AE-1 will get you.

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