Film cameras for beginners: Canon A1

Canon A-1

The canon A1 is another massively successful 35mm slr camera which is still used and recommended for beginners today. It started manufacturing from 1978 and it was the first slr that the user to be able to shoot in a electrical auto exposure mode allowing you to get good exposures every time without any knowledge of photography. But for what we want it can also be shoot in full manual although it only gives you the read out of a suggested shutter speed and aperture in the viewfinder and has no needle or even LED meter so shooting in full manual does have some hinders on this camera.

Specs:
Modes: The A1 can either be shot in aperture priority, shutter priority or full manual. So this does like i said have an advances specs wise in terms of modes over the fully manual cameras, but that being said if you're a beginner trying to learn photography i would urge you to stay away from any automated modes and just stick to full manual.

Shutter: The A1 had a shutter speed range of 30s to 1/1000 plus bulb mode which will keep the shutter open as long as the shutter release is held down and it can also be used with a shutter release cable for long exposures or to reduce shake.

Self timer: Has a self timer which can either be set to 2 seconds or 10 seconds

Iso/asa range: The A1 has a iso/asa range of 6 to 12800.

Hot shoe(flash mount): The A1 uses a standard hot shoe.

Flash modes: The A1 has electronic flash AE and manual flash modes.

Flash sync: The flash sync for the A1 (the fastest shutter speed that will sync with the flash) Is 1/60th which is pretty standard

Lens mount: The A1 can use any lens with the Canon FD breech lock mount but it can also use Canon's Newer FD pseudo bayonet mount, FL lenses and some of the R series lenses. This opens up a big variety of lens to choose from and should make it easier if you wish you search markets and other places like that for lenses if you get an A1.  

Light meter: The A1 only has a digital read out guiding you on what settings to use, it will show what shutter speed and aperture it thinks you should use in the viewfinder. I much prefer a TTL match needle.

Power: It takes four lr44 cell battery and cannot run without having batteries in it.

Motor drive: The A1 is compatible with a motor drive which will allow you to get up to 5 frames per second.

Price: On ebay you can find them from around £60 - £70 and up but if you look around markets, flea markets, car boots, charity shops and the like they can be had for much cheaper, although always check the cameras before buying as they could have some big underlying problems.

My thoughts:
I think the canon A1 is another great camera, it allows for the user to go beyond the fundamentals and basics and use things such as auto exposure modes, auto flash mode and a motor drive. This being said it does fall short slightly when compared to some of the cameras when just using full manual mode due to there not being any kind of needle or even LED meter, it will let you pick the shutter speed and aperture yourself but the meter will only show you what it suggests you to use which for manual mode is kind of counterintuitive but nonetheless many have used this camera in the beginning and have learned a great deal from it, it's just something to keep in mind. It should definitely be on your list of considerations. Another thing that could be an opposing factor is that because it has a lot more electronics there technically is more of a change that something could go wrong with it or more that could be wrong when buying it so make sure that you trust the seller well or check the camera well before buying it, but that being said the it does have good build quality and i haven't heard really heard of any stories of constant faulty electronics with this camera.