[Spareribs]

I know, I recently got the Nikon D5000 DSLR camera and I love it. But theres a part of me that loves film very much. Admitingly, I have never owned a film camera before and learning the basics was confusing and awkward and I made some really dumb mistakes like yesterday  when I did not load the film properly and I submitted a blank roll and embarrassed myself when the lady at the CVS drug store told me there were no shots and today after another attempted shoot, I did not rewind the film properly and stupidly opened the camera, exposing the film to the light and some of my pics were ruined. But it's worth it because the pics that did come out were wonderful!
 

The Canon AE 1 35 mm SLR was made from 1976-1982 and over 5 million were sold world wide. As a result it is so easy to find on eBay and dirt cheap too. My unit was made in 1980 and recently refurbished.  There's nothing like film. I'm lovin it!
 

 

[Ypoknons]

hahaha even months into my life with FE2/FM2s I was opening the film at the wrong time when I was tired, loosing a few good shots. But there are very valuable lessons from using a basic camera such as an AE-1, no more lazy auto exposure and zooming.  

 

[Spareribs]

I'm thinking about getting the FE as well and using the Canon as a dedicated black and white film camera since you can't pop the color and B n W films back and forth in one single camera.

 

[DanTheMiataMan]

You have an AE-1 Programable it seems from the photo... I have a AE-1 and also a old Full Metal body cannon bastid is like 15lb's

 

[intoflatlines]

Nice camera!
 
I have a Canon AE-1 also, but the older full manual version, with all black body. I love that thing.

 

[Punnisher]

Cool! It's exciting using a nice film camera. I use a Pentax ME Super with 50mm f/1.4 lens. It's a great camera.
 
I actually have a similar Canon camera with a 50mm and 28mm lens. It's my Dad's and the light meter lever needs work, but it's an extremely solid camera.

 

[marantzfan]

I inherited my dads old AE-1 back in high school in the 90's when I took photography.  I still to this day use and love this camera.  Good pickup there!

 

[leftnose]

I don't care what anyone says, film still has a place in this world.  It's the difference between Vinyl and CD/MP3.  Film just has a look and feel that hasn't been replicated yet.
 
I have my dad's Leica M3 and Nikon F3 for when I want to go either totally old school or mostly old school.  I have my own Canon A2 when I want to use film but not go old school.  I don't have a DSLR as I'm waiting for the price of full frame models to drop a bit.

 

[Spareribs]

 
Quote:

You have an AE-1 Programable it seems from the photo... I have a AE-1 and also a old Full Metal body cannon bastid is like 15lb's

Actually it's the regular AE 1, not the programable. I just used that photo from a search engine but it pretty much looks identical despite the slightly different model in the pic.

 

[bastogne]

Out of curiosity, how much did you pay for the AE-1?  I'm asking because I'm trying to sell mine.

 

[Spareribs]

I paid $69.95 on eBay from a camera dealer and it was refurbished by the seller. I paid an extra $20 for the 50 mm lens and the seller threw in a detachable flash as part of the deal so I paid a total of $89.95 for the whole kit including the strap, battery and CD Rom with the original manuel. It was in near mint condition with some barely noticable scratches on the bottom.
 
The AE 1 normally goes for around $40-$60 I think with the lens included. If it is refurbished (meaning that it was lubricated, refoamed for light leaks and cleaned) it will go for around $100 which is a bargain IMO.

 

[francisdemarte]

Congrates on a wonderful classic camera! 

 

[jpelg]

Terrific camera. My dad took me to a local camera shop on my 16th birthday and bought me mine, which I still have. I still love the basic ergonomics of the classic 35mm cameras. Shutter speed/ASA dial, aperture ring, focus ring - done. No buttons or deep-nested menus - simple. For the kind of pictures I was taking at the time (mostly sports related), I preferred shutter-priority automation on the AE-1 too, which only Canon & Konica had at the time, compared to the more common aperture-priority.
 
Just took mine out of the box a few days ago for the first time in quite a while, and noticed that the felt strip where the mirror meets the prism when it flips up has deterioriated to nothing. Not sure if this will cause extraneous light from the viewfinder to affect exposure. Will have to run a roll of film thru it to check it out.
 
Congrats on a getting a great camera at a great price. Enjoy!
 

 

[John2e]

I purchased that Camera new when I was 13.   Brings back some nice memories.  Enjoy! 

 

[sportster44]

I have my grandfather's AE-1, still use it occaisionally, and I'm trying to get my Dad to cough up his since he last used it about 10 years ago. I'll send it for a servicing of the shutter before I use it. Also ended up with my Grandfather's Taron 35mm rangefinder. looking for a donor camera to get this one serviced sine they are as rare as hen's teeth.