Canon AE-1 Program

Canon AE-1 Program

image by Dirk HR Spennemann (Image rights) Manufacturer: Canon Date of Production: 1981-? Variants: none(?) Type of Camera: SLR Film type: 35mm Lens: FD Lens Mount Shutter: Four-axis, horizontal-travel focal-plane Shutter speed range: B, 2s-1/1000s Viewfinder: optical TTL ASA/ISO range: 12-3200 Flash: X-sync automatic-switching sync contacts Exposure Modes: Manual, Shutter Priority, Program AE Exposure Metering: TTL Center-weighted Focusing: manual Focusing areas: N/A Continuous Shooting: N/A Film advance: lever Rear LCD monitor: N/A Battery: one 4LR44 alkaline battery Weight: 565g (20oz) Dimensions: 145,5 x 89,5 x 50mm

AE-1 Program in silver finish

AE-1 Program body in black, without its 'action grip'.

Images by Dirk HR Spennemann (Image rights)

The AE-1 Program is a 35mm SLR camera made by Canon in 1981. Canon describes it as a successor to the enormously successful AE-1, released five years earlier. Many users wanted the program auto exposure mode found on the A-1, whereas the AE-1 has only shutter-priority AE (and metered-manual exposure); so when designing its successor, Canon added a program AE mode, and upgraded the support for a new power winder (A2). The AE-1 Program became even more popular than the AE-1.

The camera also has the A-1's 'Action Grip', the detachable (and so frequently lost) grip on the front right of the body.

The AE-1 and AE-1 Program were both enormous financial successes for Canon, in part because they pioneered cost-cutting measures that competitors had difficulty matching. The AE-1 series of cameras employed plastics and metalized plastics, pervasively in its assemblies, whereas its big brother the A-1 was built far more robustly with machined gears. As a result, the AE-1 program (just as the A-1 despite its more sturdy build) often suffers from shutter squeal, or worse, catastrophic failure that is not economically repairable. Despite this, because of its relative scarcity and historical popularity, the AE-1 Program retains value on the used market according to KEH and other various dealer pricing data.

Links

• Modern Classics Review
• Lionel's Canon AE-1 Program overview at 35mm-compact.com
• AE-1 Program and AE-1 Program chrome and French notice (pdf) at www.collection-appareils.fr
• Canon AE-1 Program Camera Manual (PDF) : Photo-Manuals.com
• AE-1 Program Price Data at Camera Repair dot Com's price data
• The A Team an article about the SLR A models, AE-1, AT-1, A-1, AV-1 and AE-1 Program at Classic Cameras by RaúlM.

Canon Cameras