Review of the legendary Canon AE-1

I’m joining the choir and happily declare that Canon AE-1 is an awesome camera. This is going to be a mini review and my two cents about it. As a quick side note, I’d like mention that I’m not interested too much of the specs and the other usual (technical) stuff. AE-1 is a really popular camera that has been reviewed a lot, so I don’t feel like repeating exactly the same facts as everybody else.

As you probably already know, AE-1 is really affordable, but doesn’t mean it’s an inferior camera. The price/quality ratio is great and you really get a bang for your buck. I got mine in 2006, if memory serves, and paid about 50€ for it. Nowadays I think you can get them even cheaper.

Ergonomics

The ergonomics are almost perfect. Event though I prefer a smaller camera bodies personally (like Olympus OM-1) the size of AE-1 is spot on in terms of ergonomics. OM-1’s size is definitely a compromise in ergonomics when compared to each other. AE-1 fits in the hand like a glove. I also enjoy the shape of the battery hatch, which acts as a small grip. It feels like you’re getting a solid grip and not going to drop the camera.

Buttons and dials

The button and dial layout is also damn nice to use, although somewhat displeasing to the eye. I am a sucker for good looking knobs and dials and aesthetically AE-1 isn’t a looker knob-wise. But that’s why a have my OM-1 and the look of the buttons aren’t really the most important aspect anyways. Shutter speed dial is at a perfect location and it has a perfect friction and turning resistance for enjoyable use. ISO selection has been said to be a hassle to use, but I’ve had not any problems with it.

Film advance lever is pure genius. They’ve engineered the gears cleverly and you’ll need to crank it a shorter distance than in most cameras. Only a rather small thumb movement is needed. Small, but significant improvement.

Built quality and sex appeal

The body is supposedly mostly plastic but you can’t even tell that. It feels very solid and well built. It is somewhat lighter though compared to some of the cameras from the same era. That kinda gives away that the body utilises a plastic structure. The top and bottom plates though are aluminium and the exterior definitely doesn’t feel plasticy at all. Except the leatherette, which looks and feels really fake. If it would have real leatherette, it would be ten times better looking camera.

Speaking of looks — AE-1 looks pretty decent. It isn’t the coolest camera but not the ugliest either. It looks vintage, but for my taste, not quite vintage enough. It is sort starting to look like an eighties product, rather than sixties or seventies. But it will do — it will do.

Mechanically I think the camera is superior. I’ve never had any problem with my AE-1. It never malfunctions or jams. Pretty bullet proof built quality and reliability. Shutter and mirror sound are semi good too. Semi. It doesn’t sound as good as a Leica or Olympus OM-1. The sound is more like a clank rather than a swhoosh. Not the ugliest clanks by any means. A minor minus point.

Viewfinder is a bit small and dim for my taste, but on the other hand, I’m again comparing it to Olympus OM-1, which is my favourite camera and has a really big and bright viewfinder. I guess almost anything looks dim compared to that. Nothing wrong with it though. It works and does a good job. Very sharp image!

Shutter release could be better. It is electronically controlled so it doesn’t have that super tactile mechanical feel to it. Pressing it half way will turn on the light meter, which is a really good feature. There is no separate on/off switch for the metering, that you’ll have to remember to turn back off after shooting. Sometimes though I fire it accidentally while checking the meter. There is a separate button for that too, but for some reason I never use it.

Shooting modes

In my opinion AE-1 works the best in the shutter priority mode. Sometimes I’m worried about where the camera is going to take the metering from, but usually the exposures are good. Just sometimes, I meter from somewhere else than the middle of the frame, let’s say there is a shadow area in the corner of the frame that I want to set my exposure for, then the shutter priority might not be the best option, because it always meters from the center of the frame, as far as I understand. Sometimes it is super fun and convenient to have the shutter priority mode at your disposal, even though normally I like to shoot full manuél. Having shutter priority option speeds things up sometimes.

Going full manual with AE-1 is doable too, but I have the feeling it isn’t it’s intended use. The best way is to set the aperture to the auto -position and just choose the shutter speed you want to use. I’d actually prefer aperture priority over shutter priority, but that you cannot do with AE-1. But right, shooting fully manually is a bit of pain, because the light meter shows you what aperture setting it thinks you should be using. You will have to check back and forth the meter and the aperture dial.

Conclusion

That’s really all I can tell you about the AE-1. I’m totally recommending it. Image quality and other performance factors doesn’t need any introduction what so ever. It takes really good and sharp images like any other quality SLR. If you can get one for cheap, there is no excuse not to get one.