I'm going to be getting a camera pretty soon here. It's a Canon A-1 from the mid to late 70s. Any of y'all know much about it or have any experience with it? It was my father's for quite some time, then he gave it to my sister, and now it just sits unused in the bedroom. Is there anything I need to do to make sure it will be okay? Do I need to take it into a camera shop for a cleaning and/or a "checkup"?
My sister told me it had a bunch of different filters for glare and stuff, but being a camera noobie I have no idea what they are nor look like. Any insight?
Should I even bother with this camera, or is it going to be too much of a hassle?
noo take it! learn. have fun.
Yeah man, definitely take it. The A-1 is a great camera. Those all manual SLRs from the 70s are all built like tanks. i personally learned on my mom's old Minolta SRT, which is a pretty similar camera. i still have it, and love it. The nice thing about those cameras is that they force you to learn how a camera works. You seem to enjoy learning the mechanics of things, and that's something that you'll enjoy doing and benefitting from. The more you know about all the different factors that effect the way an image turns out, and are actually in control of those things yourself...the better a photographer you'll be if you get a fancy camera with all the "bells and whistles."
i personally think those cameras are like the good ol' GS. They are perfect for learning on.
Quotei personally think those cameras are like the good ol' GS. They are perfect for learning on.
+1
I learned 35mm photography in high school with a Canon AE-1. Have fun with it, while film is still around. One day you can tell your grandkids about 35mm film and they can roll their eyes.
"Mom! Grandpa Alphafire is having one of his "spells" again! He's telling us they used to take pictures with a metal box and a long strip of plastic!"
Have fun and experiment with it. I started out with a 35mm Yaschica SLR that my old man brought back from Japan in 1969 when he was in the Navy. Still have it - and still use it when I go to the road course for photos and need the big zoom lens and instant shutter for action shots.
There is a good photography book I got a while back by a guy named John Hedgerow or something like that. It gives a good introduction to setting shutter speed, aperture, and the basics of filters. I'd pick up something like that to give you a starting point and then just have some fun with it!
i guess i'll have to disagree with all of you. i have a digital slr. and often, i thought about purchasing a film camera many times. each time, after a thorough evaluation, i've concluded that i'll never use a film camera over a digital. i'm just too used to digital workflow.
in my opinion, film sucks especially for a beginner trying to learn in and outs of photography. let's just say, you just learned about shuttle speed, f-stop, iso, lenses, filters, composition, etc...and you go out and take some shots. it'll take a couple of days to see the results with film. on the other hand, with a digital, you get instant feedback. you can change your settings, and shoot again and again. also, you won't drain your money on negetives or developing your work either. bottomline, you'll learn faster and enjoy photography more with a digital camera.
Jetswing, i understand your point...and it's a good one. i TA'd an intro photography class a couple years ago, and we used a digital camera hooked up to a monitor to demonstrate how aperture and lens length affect depth of field, the concept of equivalent exposures, the effects of various lenses and filters, and a myriad of other things. It was wonderful to have immediate visual results. However, we used it to teach students how to use their film cameras, and forced them to shoot in full manual.
Each has their own advantages. With film, you can pick up an old manual SLR outfit with a great range of lenses for super cheap (in Alpha's case FREE). Shooting in manual will force you to learn how a camera works, not how vari-programs work. And digital SLRs are not cheap. If you don't know for sure that you are going to really get into photography, dropping $700+ on equipment you might not even use that much is not usually the best idea. And film cameras hold their value because the technology isn't going anywhere. You can sell an old SLR for what you paid for it. A digital will be obsolete in 2-3 years time.
i personally think that getting an old camera when you're getting into photography is the way to go. If you love it, upgrade in due time. i personally swore i'd never go digital...but i have. i love my digital cameras. i take more pictures than i did with film, cause i don't feel like i'm "wasting film." However, i don't think i'd be half the photographer i am now if i'd started with my D70.
So, for anyone who starts with a dSLR...good for you, but definitely invest in a good book that explains the basics of photography, and commit to shooting in manual exposure and manual focus for a couple months till you know what effects what and why. What's the point of an SLR anyway if it's just a big, heavy point and shoot?
That's my 2 cents.
with an old 35mm slr you are most likely forced to shoot fully manual. IMO that is key to learning photography. knowing how to use manual features is the most important part in becoming a good photographer. its important to understand exposure, DOF, shutter spd, aperature size etc. with a point and shoot or even a dslr, beginners will most likely shoot in auto. which we all know is ghey. secondly i also think its important to understand the development process. i wish i could go back to highschool and take a course in the darkroom. there you learn vital things such as contrast, saturation etc.
also it is a proven fact that at this point, digital still has a long way to come before it will match the quality of 35mm
I earned my living as a pro photographer for 11 years. (Before the sea got to me)The Canon in question is a great quality piece of kit. I would agree that digital is great aspecially the lo-no cost aspect of taking hundred of pictures but with film you will have to think more which will do no harm at all if you really want to learn about photography. Film and processing can cost a fair bit but set against this you can assemble a great outfit for very little outlay this will allow you to try out all sorts of things, I would not rush into using filters but if you get into it they can enhance monochrome in a way you won't believe. If you are shooting colour stick with an A1 or skylight filter, it will protect your lens if nothing else.
The board's old friend Kerry has a good Canon film outfit with several lenses and camera bodies, he also shoots a lot of digital perhaps he would give you his take on it. I know he enjoys both. I have recently upgraded my digital kit but I still keep a couple of old film SLRs, one is so low tech that it does not even call for a battery which can be a terrific advantage at times.
Using film sucks... But, everything else about the camera is cool.
I have an old totally manual Canon somewhere... Nothing like setting up the perfect shot and realizing you forgot to wind the film. :laugh:
film has been on it's way out. digital has already surpassed the film. in 5 years time, film will be obsolete. nikon have already discontinued their entire film lineup. even the high-end pro who still refuses to migrate towards digital, they at least own a digital camera as a backup. the film photography workflow just doesn't work anymore (in most cases).
personally, i shoot both manual and auto. it depends on the subject and my mood. with landscape it's always manual. people - auto. unless it's in a studio setting which then it's always manual. yes, the best of the pros shoot in auto!
there's no reason why you can not be displine and learn the fundamentals of photography with a digital camera. everything is depended on your attitude and work ethic, not the equipment.
i definitely agree with cal on the battery advantage of film camera. i know i've ran out battery in the wilderness rendering the camera totally useless.
well we could debate this topic all day. and frankly im not that knowledgeable on the subject anyway. but i found a few things..
here is an article stating why film will never be obsolete
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/filmgoingaway.htm
here is an article by the same guy debating film vs digital
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/filmdig.htm
Haven't read those yet...but i've enjoyed some other readings on that guy's site. Regardless of where this debate could possibly go (as weasel pointed out, it could go on forever)...i think everyone can agree that a free camera is better than no camera. So, please take the A-1. :thumb:
interesting thing for film camers, if you can find it its called (i believe) infra red film. makes for weird pics my dad used to deal in cameras waaaaaaay back in the days of old. ive got his collection of antiques and a few a1's also i love the dig stuff but also love the manual stuff ie the film stuff too
What's film? :icon_mrgreen:
i would explain it to you but i would have to take you back 20 years :icon_mrgreen:
Go for it.
The internet is an awesome resource. Use the internet to find basic photography skills and concepts.
If you like what you're shooting, tinker futher. If you toy around you'll start to develop an eye for good photos and then be able to mentally picture what the image will look with camera setting x and y.
If you still enjoy taking photos after all that reading and practice - pick up a used high end film SLR camera (canon, or nikon) and invest in some basic lenses which you can then transfer over to your digital SLR when you purchase one.
A word of warning: photography is super expensive, and if you're used to non-artsy hobbies it gets annoying really fast because the investment:pleasure ratio is kinda odd.
Well, I finally dug the camera out of the closet. Here's what I got:
(http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b123/AlphaFire_X5/Photography/2006-05-19010.jpg)
And the camera itself:
(http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b123/AlphaFire_X5/Photography/2006-05-19012.jpg)
No manual came with it, so I'm pretty much lost without it. Gonna look around the web and see what I can find. Lots of film in the bag to use, so at least I don't have to go buy a bunch. We'll see how I progress.
If that lens on the top right is a 50mm lens... i would suggest using that one for a while.
the 50mm prime is a great lens, sharp and able to get a really nice feel for depth of field with most 50mm canon prime lenses. (read: too much depth of field often for beginners and 50mm lenses and large fstops... so good for learning)
Read up on:
exposure, apature, ISO, and focusing, and composition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-number
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutter_speed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposure_%28photography%29
That's a nice camera outfit, Alpha. Those wikipedia articles are decent. There's also plenty of good books out there...check the library.
A google search brought up several online manuals for your camera too. This one's a lo-res, but still readable scan of the original manual. And there's plenty more.
http://www.canonfd.com/pdf/a1.pdf
Have fun with it...and post back with any questions. It seems like there are plenty of people on here who know what they are doing when it comes to photography.