My mom bought a AE-1 when it was first released in 1979. She gave it to me last year, shoots like it's new. It truly is one of the greatest cameras of all time.
I have one from 1978. I love it! Just found out yesterday, that if you look on the inside back of the camera, where the film cartridge sits, you can look up the number online, and it tells you the year it was made!
@@grainydaysss i get made fun of for having a corolla with roll down windows, then i take photos im disapointed about and come home to watch some GD videos
I also have been a corolla driver for 6 years. The corolla does what it is supposed to. The AE-1 too; I find it pretty reliable. And after so much years since design-in, it is still a beauty, especially in black (mine is silver....)
My second camera I bought new was the AE1 back in the 70s. I bought it as a backup to my Canon F1 for an upcoming trip to Spain. I shot mostly slide film through it and used a 35mm FD lens for travel. I mounted an 85mm FD lens to the F1 and shot mainly BW film with that. Sadly I lost the AE1 years ago when I lent it to a friend and it subsequently got destroyed when their house flooded during a hurricane. I've since replaced it but haven't shot with it although I probably will now that you've triggered those memories and inspired me. Thanks.
When you said, "Straight from your grandparents' attic"...ouch! I'm old enough to have first purchased my AE1, brand new, back in 1977. I can tell you that it was state-of-the-art back in the day.
God, I love your sarcasm. Absolutely killin it, man. Cheers from the good ol' Poland! Will be following thoroughly. Edit: BTW, a Helios is a 58mm f/2.0 lens, just sayin :)) Although it hates direct sunlight.
Side note: There's actually two types of FD lenses: FD and nFD (new FD) Basically the original FD lenses had a chrome ring near the base, thus dubbed as "chrome-nosed FD lenses". nFD is just the newer version without the chrome nose, with minor updates. So nFD is just a bit sexier.
Yeah but the chrome ring looks Hella cool and I was shocked to find my FD 1.8/50 (nFD) was made of plastic after it cracked! My older brother had the chrome ring lens and it's metal I think. One of the cool things about these cameras is the battery life measures in years and that's with leaving it switched on: the off position is just a lock against accidental exposure.
I used a Canon AE1 Program in the Army. It never let me down. My favorite shots was of a mortar platoon in pitch black. I took the shots through a Aviator's Night Vision Imaging System AN/AVS 6(V)2. I bought the Canon used just for the field.
This is the third video I've watched from this channel. At first I thought he's trying too hard with the jokes but he gets funnier the more you listen to him. I died when he said "3 basics of photography - iso, shutter speed and disappointment" HAHAHAHAHA subscribed
I have one of these Canon AE-1 cameras that is in need of seal replacement. But in all I never really thought I would fall in love with it. Being that it considered a "beginner" camera it take nice pictures with the right film and set up. That double exposed picture even though by accident looks pretty damn cool. Liked the video on the camera and great pics also.
Great video however i used the AE1 and A1 during my Navy days for recognizance and still this day once in a while for personal and weddings with great results with my FD lenses. Keep up the good work...!!!
Great wit dry humour an flow I ordered camera subbed an follow your channel after video . I had the camera from 77 but someone stole it in 85 . I kept lenses have three of them 50-1.4 135 mm an a wide angle lens. Glad your channel popped up.
You need to give FD glass another chance. I got the 50 f1.4 / 35 f2 and 135 f2.8 and they are all delivering outstanding image quality. I find your videos quite funny and entertaining. Subscribed !
I do also have the 50 f1.4 that I use both on the AE-1 Program and adapted on my Fuji XT-3 and is a great lens. Also the 28f2.8 and 35f2.8 are performing great. I test shot them first with digital and “pixel peeped” before purchasing...
"It's a pretty good camera for learning about the three basics of photography: ISO, shutter speed, and disappointment".....LOL. Your videos are the best on the internet, man. Thanks for doing what you do.
My buddy bought this in 1978 and I bought a Nikon FE. We were juniors in high school. He’s a pro photographer today still shooting Canon and I’m still a Nikon guy. Awesome cameras in the day.
An AE-1 was my first 'real' camera back in 1978 or so...still have it, and the shot counter counts up as it should. Could be your FD lenses were a bit iffy. I've been using my older FD lenses on a Sony A7R2 and A7R (since converted to IR) with a Novoflex adapter and they work surprisingly well, not to mention the A7R2 has in-body stabilization. Of course, it depends on the particular FD lens Some of the FD 'L' lenses are still very good performers (80-200L and 20-35L). And if you use the radioactive FD 35/f2 you won't need a yellow filter for B/W film. Enjoying your videos and your sense of humor.
It's interesting seeing the depth of field preview button on film this camera, since it still has a place on some of Canon's DSLRS today. My old Canon Rebel T7i had one, but I didn't even realize it was there for like a whole year lmao
I think you may have just had bad experience with the FD lenses. I have two of them (50 and 80-200) for my Canon EF film camera and the sharpness has never let me down. (Its literally just the EF. Like the first canon EF camera). I bought them both from KEH
yea it's possible, I used the 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4, and 300mm 2.8 (I think? Can't remember that last one) and they were all kind of soft from my experience. I've seen some red ring FD lenses, those are probably better
@@grainydaysss Yes the FD lenses with the red ring are the L lenses (short for luxury). I own most of the normal new prime lenses, and a 80-200mm L lenses. I always got extraordinary results in all aspects. I also carry the AE1, A1, F1 (had a battery issue 5 years ago, but solved), and the Canon T90 (cla'ed 2 years ago). They all work like a charm. Very happy with them. I think you just just bad luck with your lenses. Said that good luck with film photography, real FUN..
As someone who uses the camera themselves, I don't understand the hype about the AE-1. It is a great camera, but try finding a Canon AV-1 or A-1 which have aperture priority instead of shutter priority. Also, there's no exposure comp which kinda sucks
Hmm good points, I guess it depend on preference. Yea there is no exposure compensation dial, but you could just change the iso setting on the camera I suppose
AE-1 has a manual mode which allows you to expose as you like. AV-1 has only 1/60 s in manual mode. You were supposed to adjust the ISO for exposure compensation.
I think it's funny how, 4 years after this video is uploaded and 2 years of owning a Digital SLR, this video helped me discover that the tiny button by my lens on my camera is a field of view preview button
I have no idea which FD lenses you didn’t like. There were a few of those that were mediocre at best, but for the most part, they are pretty sharp lenses. Especially when you get into the SSC, or the L series. I used the 85mm 1.2, super sharp, it even gives a pretty sharp image at wide open, actually sharper than my EF series 85 1.2II. I love your videos.
As someone who drives a original flavor potato chip ass Corolla; your intro made me laugh. As a depressed soy boy, your dry humor did it for me. Subbed
Get a Spotmatic and use those M42 lenses the way God intended to. Apart from automatic aperture closing, you also get open aperture metering if you have the Spotmatic F and SMC Takumar lenses. Not to mention that your lenses will have proper orientation when fully screwed too.
I think you definitely got unlucky with your FD lenses. Ive got a few of them, and they're able to resolve to levels where i'm limited by the pixels of my Fujifilm, which as its a cropped sensor with 26mp.
Watch out for the mirror spring. That camera is notorious for that going out. You’ll be able to tell almost immediately because it will sound weird. And when you get the pics back you will notice there is a portion at the top of the negative that is unexposed.
Alright I feel personally attacked. That water and salad had NO business messing my stomach up like it did after haphazardly driving to Taco Bell for a Crunchwrap supreme after having seven shots of tequila. You sir, have no idea how rough it was. Appreciate the laughs. Stellar work.
grainydays I have the Frankly Disappointing lens as well, for a Canon A-1 though. Disappointed about 65% of the time, but that might be because my shitty skills or just lazy (impatient) scanning. It should be fucking awesome.
I have the 50mm 1.4 too and I always get amazing quality from it. The newer plastic version is the best I think. The 28mm 2.8 on the other hand... I've owned 2 of them and they were both soft mid frame.
Got to agree about the FD disappointment. I have a 50mm 1.8FD with this camera and I only really like black and white images. Not to crazy of the color images I get with this camera/lens combo. I never considered a m42 adapter. That would actually make this camera a lot better to use.
I bought one new, and one used a looooong time ago. Somehow they got lost in a move. My wife, whom I married twenty years ago has one. I am just fixing to break it out, along with a Canon EOS 1 that I recently got hold of. Time for me to go down a rabbit hole. I love film, and it has far to long since I shot it.
thanks to your years of influence, today the first film camera i bought myself arrived - no prizes for guessing my big reveal, it's an AE-1 (Programme) and shoutout to the New Zealand Rugby Team, because it too is all black
I was a sales person and then manager of a large, well stocked camera department when this camera came out. I watched the video out of nostalgia rather than because I hoped to learn something new about it. The AE-1 is a perfect example of what advertising can do for an inferior product. It was, and is, the absolute worst camera of that generation. Its heavy. Its not ergonomic. Its the ONLY "automatic" of the generation to prioritize shutter speed over aperture. The winding mechanism always feel like it has sand in it and a few years later the shutters all develop a squeel as the lubricant dries up. Top that off with their predilection for locking up for no apparent reason (you can either take them in for repair, or if you knew what you were doing you can take off the bottom plate and manually break the contacts thereby resetting it). The battery is unique, it actually a STACK of 4 S76 size cells in a sleeve to produce 6v instead of the common one or 2 S76 cells used by every other camera. The winder is ridiculously noisy and maxes out at a blistering 2fps. In short, unless a customer absolutely HAD to have the camera they saw on TV or in a magazine, I'd sell them virtually ANYthing else. OH, and the previous generation of FL lenses work on them just fine, though none were spectacularly good. I believe FD lenses designate those who use an internal breechlock system instead of the 'turn the ring to mount' of FL lenses. Probably one of the reasons they are often soft, the internal breech lock system doesn't account for wear to distance to the film plane can vary whereas at least with FL lenses you can always turn the silver mounting ring a little more to take up any slack caused by wear. The next generation camera, the AE-1Program would accept a "motor drive" that actually had a grip handle, though the weight of the batteries makes it arguable that it actually improved the ergonomics at all. The other changes were a user changeable focusing screen and the "program" or dummy exposure mode where the camera would use preset aperture/shutter speeds selected in a linear progression allowing for point, focus and shoot with no thought needed. The family of cameras offered at that time were the "new" F1 professional camera, the A1, AE-1Program, AE-1, AV-1 and AT-1, all but the F1 sharing the same form factor and most accessories. Frankly, if you insist on carrying such a film camera, the A1 is actually heads and shoulders above all the others with a very usable digital viewfinder display and ability to do a true 5fps with motor drive MA attached. . Oh, and if you do want to use one, go for the 50/1.4 lens, at least its multicoated. The common 50/1.8 is not.
Found a AE-1 Program at a flea market last weekend with a 50mm lens, and Tamron 80-210mm lens (with case) for $40... Couldn't believe my luck. Shutter works, getting film in soon to test it all out.
Hey from Scotland :) So I just bought an AV-1 for £35 from a charity shop, and it came with a 50mm canon FD lens. It was an absolute steal. As far as I can tell it looks brand new. The shutter fires and the film winds so that's all I know for now. On the AV-1 I can't even adjust my shutter speed. I get a 1 60th of a second option or auto and that's it. It's as basic as a shooting experience as I think money can buy. But I absolutely love it. Later this week I'm going to shoot my first roll of kodak gold 200. I cannot wait. After getting my first few rolls of film developed I plan on getting another film camera which I can get more hands on with like shutter speed etc. Any advice on what my next camera should be? My budget would be about 100 pounds :)
That's a black model AE-1 with a winder. It's a shutter priority SLR meaning user sets shutter speed the camera body sets the aperture. If I were to shoot film I would get now a hybrid model that can run even when the battery is dead like Nikon F3 or its older models or Canon F1n or older models. Hybrid cameras were top of the line during the 80's. With a battery its shutter speed can be set from 30 seconds up to its highest (1/2000) and without a battery it still works with mechanical shutter speeds from flash synch up to its highest. Can any current DSLR now run without a battery? And here's a trivia for you, what Hollywood car racing movie sort-of popularized Canon AE-1 when the principal actor used it to take photos of racing cars on the track?
This was my first legit film camera back in the 00's. Loved it. Especially the aperture preview and double exposures. Only problem was that the lubrication for the mechanical parts inside would get too thick in cold weather (Michigan - 8 months out of the year) and lock up till you warmed it back up in your coat. So it would be one shot and 5 minutes of warm up, then the next shot. So annoying.
to anyone looking to buy this camera I'd suggest to consider A1 instead, much better value. Don't take Jason's comment on FD lenses too serious, there're many great lenses at a bargain price. Great video though 👍
I don’t usually leave a comment like this but you’re really good at explaining stuff and make it fun to watch! Please do more vids like this! +sub :)))
Holy shit your humor sends me every time, and your photos are so insanely, just, wow. Like you seriously are a fantastic photographer. Love the channel!!
You’re good at making videos but in this one I thought it was a bit odd that you didn’t talk at all about the shutter prio aspect, and what you think about that way of shooting.
