Canon A-1
Encyclopedia
Single-lens reflex camera
A single-lens reflex camera is a camera that typically uses a semi-automatic moving mirror system that permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging system, as opposed to pre-SLR cameras where the view through the viewfinder could be significantly...
(SLR) 35 mm film
135 film
The term 135 was introduced by Kodak in 1934 as a designation for cartridge film wide, specifically for still photography. It quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 120 film by the late 1960s to become the most popular photographic film format...
camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
for use with interchangeable lenses. It was manufactured by Canon Camera K. K. (today Canon Incorporated) in Japan from April 1978 to 1985. It employs a horizontal cloth-curtain focal-plane shutter
Focal-plane shutter
In camera design, a focal-plane shutter is a type of photographic shutter that is positioned immediately in front of the focal plane of the camera, that is, right in front of the photographic film or image sensor.-Two-curtain shutters:...
with a speed range of 30 to 1/1000 second plus bulb
Bulb (photography)
Bulb, abbreviated B, is a shutter speed setting on an adjustable camera that allows for long exposure times under the direct control of the photographer. With this setting, the shutter simply stays open as long as the shutter release button remains depressed...
and flash synchronization
Flash synchronization
In a camera, flash synchronization is defined as the firing of a photographic flash coinciding with the shutter admitting light to photographic film or electronic image sensor. It is often shortened to flash sync or flash synch....
speed of 1/60 second. It has dimensions of 92 millimetres (3.6 in) height, 141 millimetres (5.6 in) width, 48 millimetres (1.9 in) depth and 620 grams (21.9 oz) weight. Unlike most SLRs of the time, it was available in only one color; all black. The introductory US list price for the body plus Canon FD 50 mm f/1.4 SSC lens was $625. Note that while the list price was $625, this camera generally sold for 30 to 40% off, which is roughly $375 to $435.
The A-1 is a historically significant camera. It was the first SLR to offer an electronically controlled programmed autoexposure mode. Instead of the photographer picking a shutter speed to freeze or blur motion and choosing a lens aperture f-stop
F-number
In optics, the f-number of an optical system expresses the diameter of the entrance pupil in terms of the focal length of the lens; in simpler terms, the f-number is the focal length divided by the "effective" aperture diameter...
to control depth of field
Depth of field
In optics, particularly as it relates to film and photography, depth of field is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image...
(focus), the A-1 has a microprocessor programmed to automatically select a compromise exposure based on light meter
Light meter
A light meter is a device used to measure the amount of light. In photography, a light meter is often used to determine the proper exposure for a photograph...
input. Virtually all cameras today have at least one program mode.
Features
Photographic lens
A camera lens is an optical lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically.While in principle a simple convex lens will suffice, in...
with the Canon FD breech lock mount
Lens mount
A lens mount is an interface — mechanical and often also electrical — between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is confined to cameras where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the single lens reflex type or any movie camera of 16 mm or higher gauge...
(introduced in 1971) or Canon New FD pseudo-bayonet mount (sometimes called the FDn mount, introduced 1979). This excludes all of Canon's EF bayonet mount
Canon EF lens mount
Introduced in 1987, the EF lens mount is the standard lens mount on the Canon EOS family of SLR film and digital cameras. EF stands for "Electro-Focus": automatic focusing on EF lenses is handled by a dedicated electric motor built into the lens...
autofocus lenses (introduced in 1987). During the late 1970s and 1980s, there were approximately 55 Canon FD lenses available for purchase. They ranged from a 7.5mm f/5.6 fisheye to an FD 800mm f/5.6 telephoto, and included lenses with maximum apertures to f/1.2 and a line of L-series lenses of exceptional quality. Accessories for the A-1 included the Canon motor drive
Motor drive
A motor drive, in the field of photography, is a powered film transport mechanism. Historically, film loading, advancing, and rewinding were all manually driven functions...
MA (automatic film advance up to 5 frames per second), the Canon Databack A (sequential numbering or date stamping on the film), and the Canon Speedlight 155A (guide number 56/17 (feet/meters) at ASA/ISO 100) and Canon Speedlight 199A (guide number 98/30 (feet/meters) at ASA/ISO 100) electronic flashes.
The A-1 is a battery powered (one 4LR44 or PX-28) microprocessor controlled manual focus SLR with manual exposure control or shutter priority
Shutter priority
Shutter priority refers to a setting on some cameras that allows the user to choose a specific shutter speed while the camera adjusts the aperture to ensure correct exposure...
, aperture priority
Aperture priority
Aperture priority, often abbreviated A or Av on a camera mode dial, is a setting on some cameras that allows the user to choose a specific aperture value while the camera selects a shutter speed to match. The camera will ensure proper exposure...
or programmed autoexposure. A fifth mode is "stopped down AE", in which the aperture is closed and alterable by the photographer and the camera selects the shutter speed based on the actual light reading. This differs from aperture priority in which the aperture is not closed until a photograph is taken and the shutter speed is calculated based on the light measured through the fully open aperture. Stopped down AE is therefore useful if there are concerns about depth of field and focus or accuracy of exposure. It is the first SLR to have all four of the now standard PASM exposure modes. It has a viewfinder exposure information system using a six digit, seven segment per digit, red alphanumeric LED display on the bottom of the viewfinder to indicate the readings of the built-in centerweighted, silicon photocell light meter. The focusing screen
Focusing screen
A focusing screen is a flat translucent material, usually ground glass, found in a system camera that allows the user of the camera to preview the framed image in a viewfinder. Often, focusing screens are available in variants with different etched markings for various purposes...
also has Canon's standard split image rangefinder and microprism collar focusing aids.
Design history
Beginning with the amateur level Canon AE-1 of 1976, there was a complete overhaul of the entire Canon SLR line. The 1970s and 1980s were an era of intense competition between the major SLR brands: Canon, NikonNikon
, also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...
, Minolta
Minolta
Minolta Co., Ltd. was a Japanese worldwide manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It is perhaps best known for making the first integrated autofocus 35mm SLR camera system...
, Pentax
Pentax
Pentax is a brand name used by Hoya Corporation for its medical-related products & services and Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company for cameras, sport optics , etc. Hoya purchased and merged with the Japanese optics company on March 31, 2008. Hoya's Pentax imaging business was sold to Ricoh Company, Ltd...
and Olympus
Olympus Corporation
is a Japan-based manufacturer of optics and reprography products. Olympus was established on 12 October 1919, initially specializing in microscope and thermometer businesses. Its global headquarters are in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, while its USA operations are based in Center Valley, Pennsylvania,...
. Between 1975 to 1985, there was a dramatic shift away from heavy all-metal manual mechanical camera bodies to much more compact bodies with integrated circuit (IC) electronic automation. In addition, because of rapid advances in electronics, the brands continually leapfrogged each other with models having new or more automatic features, and less expensive components and assembly. The industry was trying to expand out from the saturated high-end professional market and appeal to the large mass of low-end amateur photographers keen to move up from compact automatic leaf shutter rangefinder camera
Rangefinder camera
A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus...
s to the more "glamorous" SLR but were intimidated by the need to learn all the details of operating a traditional SLR.
The A-1 is the high technology standard bearer of the landmark Canon amateur level A-series SLRs. The other members of the A-series are the Canon AE-1
Canon AE-1
The Canon AE-1 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex film camera for use with interchangeable lenses. It was manufactured by Canon Camera K. K. in Japan from April 1976 to 1984. It uses an electronically controlled, electromagnet horizontal cloth focal plane shutter, with a speed range of 2 to 1/1000...
(released 1976), AT-1
Canon AT-1
The Canon AT-1 is a 35mm FD-mount single-lens reflex camera manufactured by Canon of Japan from December 1976. It was produced purely for export and was never sold in the home Japanese market. It was a version of the popular AE-1 but without the shutter-speed priority auto-exposure mode of that...
(1977), AV-1
Canon AV-1
The Canon AV-1 is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera with a FD lens mount, introduced by Canon Inc. in 1979. The AV-1 was very similar to the 1976 AE-1 but provided aperture priority autoexposure rather than the AE-1's shutter speed priority AE...
(1979), AE-1 Program
Canon AE-1 Program
The Canon AE-1 Program is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera that uses Canon's FD mount lenses. It was introduced in 1981 as the successor to the Canon AE-1, five years after that camera's introduction. The major difference was the addition of the Program AE mode first seen in the A-1...
(1981) and AL-1
Canon AL-1
The Canon AL-1 was an FD mount, 35mm single-lens reflex camera introduced in March 1982. Its main feature was the "Quick Focus" focus-assist system that was aimed at those who had trouble focusing through the viewfinder—either novices, or those with poor eyesight—and was intended to...
(1982). They all use the same compact aluminum alloy chassis, but with differing feature levels and outer cosmetic acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plastic panels. By sharing most major components, and an inexpensive horizontal cloth-curtain shutter, costs could be spread out over a larger production volumes. The A-1 represented Canon's bid to defeat Nikon through more features and the cheapest price.
The A-1 caused a sensation when it was released in early 1978. Most photographers were amazed at its advanced features, years ahead of the competition, but in the face of changing technology, not all comments were positive. Professional photographers worried about the long term reliability of its consumer-level mechanical and electronic components under heavy daily use, the relatively slow flash sync and top shutter speeds. Traditionalist photographers complained about an "excess" of automation ruining the art of photography, a criticism that was leveled at all of the newly-automated cameras released in the 1980s. However, automation turned out to be the right way to entice many new amateur photographers on a budget, and paid off very well for Canon.
The Canon A-1 was a runaway best seller, as it offered new SLR buyers considerable features and value for the price. It was reliable for its day in amateur usage. But as competitors brought out their own programmed SLRs, the A-1 began to show its age. This is especially true for its horizontal cloth-curtain shutter, viewfinder information display and autoflash control. The A-1 was due for replacement when the Canon T90
Canon T90
The Canon T90, introduced in 1986, was the top of the line in Canon's T series of 35 mm Single-lens reflex cameras. It was the last professional-level manual-focus camera from Canon, and the last professional camera to use the Canon FD lens mount...
came out in 1985. Canon's abandonment of the FD lens mount for the EOS design also had a significant effect on demand for the A-1 on the used market. But it is still regarded as one of the most fascinating SLRs of its generation and many are still in regular use.