For me, film is a more intimate medium to work with than digital. From a personal project titled Analog 3086.

There are some things to like about the Canon AE-1. It uses FD glass, which is both relatively cheap and abundant. These days, I still use my AE-1 from time to time for sentimental reasons, but it's largely been retired (replaced by a Nikon FM2). Fortunately, the lessons it's taught have been well-learned, and I don't just mean exposure values. It's taught me how to slow down and reconnect with my childhood photographic curiosity, the one that sent me careening down my present career path some 17 years ago. It's taught me how to slow down and reconnect with my childhood photographic curiosity You’ll also probably need to replace your light seals which is very common in old SLR cameras. If you are getting light leaks in your images then you definitely need to replace your light seals which is very easy to do as you can see here. Final Word By my second year in college I'd acquired a shiny new D300 and all things film photography became an afterthought. My AE-1 would remain untouched for many years to come. The Canon AE-1 shutter speed dial is a fantastic piece of design, if you want to feel like you’re fondling a gear from a reject version of Mouse Trap while also slowing you down as you shoot. It’s made from cassette case grade plastic, and gives all the satisfaction of reheated oatmeal made with too much soy milk when used. And because it’s integrated into the film advance lever, you can’t adjust the dial with your thumb. Meaning you always have to take your finger off the shutter to change the shutter speed. Cool.The AE-1 is a great SLR camera and it was popular for a good reason. In this day and age though, i think there are much better and more reliable alternatives for a better price, something like the Nikon FM surpasses the AE-1 in my opinion and it’s a very similar price. That being said, it’s still a very good camera that will help you to learn more and more about shooting film professionally. I'd spent the next couple years working on personal project, part self-documentation, part observation, called " Analog 3086." The sole purpose of the project was to foster a stronger relationship between myself and photography. To Attach a Flash you simply have to slide it into the hotshoe, located on the top middle of the prism. When using flash, ensure you are using it at the correct flash sync speed.

Personally, I would choose the A1 but that’s purely for aesthetics and the light meter of the A1. If these things don’t bother you and you want to pay a little bit less, the AE-1 is a fine choice. What Kind Of Photography Is The AE-1 Best For? The AE-1 is a fairly simple camera to use once you get the hang of it. Until then, I’ll cover all of the important things that you need to know about how to use it. Top View Of Canon AE-1 What started out as mostly a joke blossomed into a full-blown amateur journalistic/photographic obsession. By the time May rolled around, we were printing at least 50+ copies an issue (eventually closer to 150+). With the school year coming to a close I was eager to learn more about photography. Up until that point I'd only really paid attention to composition, but suddenly the idea of exposure control and handling my own film seemed like a brave and exciting new world. The idea of exposure control and handling my own film seemed like a brave and exciting new worldBoth the Canon AE-1 and A1 were incredibly popular cameras and if you’re looking to buy one then it’s likely that you’re trying to see which of these two is better. Read more about the Canon A-1 here! Skateboarding was my earliest photographic obsession. I shot this in 2004 for a cover of Dan's Zine, a monthly publication I published with some friends. Will Best, Taildrop. To focus, you simply have to rotate the end of the lens until you find your image is in focus. You will see numbers in white and orange, the white is in Feet and the orange is in meters, this shows you at what distance you are currently focussing on. It also shows you how close is the closest you can focus, which, in this case, is 0.6 meters, or 2 feet. Personally, I would choose the A1 but that’s purely for aesthetics and the light meter. If these things don’t bother you and you want to pay a little bit less, the AE-1 is a good choice. If you want to save money, it’s a good idea to use out of date film, which can still provide some very good shots. How To Use The AE-1