Canon AL-1

image by OZBOX (Image rights)

The Canon AL-1 was a new type of manual focusing SLR. It had a through-the-lens focusing aid, that means the same type of distance CCD sensor as later used by autofocus SLRs. The camera was introduced in 1982 by Canon. In 1984 the camera was marketed as "official product" of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The AL-1 supports aperture-priority auto-exposure similar to the AV-1. Unlike the AV-1, it also supports manual exposure with a limited set of shutter speeds (1/15 - 1/1000). The metered shutter speed is visible through the pentaprism finder, as are the focusing control LEDs. The green LED between two red LEDs indicates correct focusing of the middle of the image.

While the overall body style is very similar to the AV-1, the AL-1 adds a grip that contains the two AAA batteries used for power. It was available in both chrome and black styles and is compatible with the Winder A and Winder A2.

top view with strobe image by Uwe Kulick (Image rights)

Canon AL-1 in black with Canon FD 35-105mm f3.5-4.5 zoom image by Bob MacCallum (Image rights)

Links

• Modern Classics Review
• imaging samples on pbase.com
• wikipedia
• Canon AL-1 at Sylvain Halgand's www.collection-appareils.fr (in French)

Canon Cameras