Canon AE-1 Program Issues

tomwazza

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I sold my Canon 30d and lenses about 18 months ago because at the time I couldn't warrant having so much value tied up in something that I rarely used. I found sometimes that although I wanted to take a camera out with me I didn't want the bulk that comes with a DSLR and all of it's accessories.

I spent about half the money on buying a decent point and shoot, but after a few weeks of using it I started to regret getting rid of my 30d, as you can imagine I missed having some of the manual controls I once had.

I was in a bit of a catch-22, on the one hand I wanted to have something that allowed me to be more creative and on the other I didn't want to tie up money into a camera that I would probably use infrequently.

The solution I came up with was to get into 35mm film cameras, I thought it would allow me to be more creative at a lower cost, lenses are a fraction of the cost of they're digital equivalents. Also it would force me to develop my shots, whereas historically I've always done some post-processing and then just stored them in a folder location of my HDD.

Anyway after a bit of research I decided my first SLR was going to be a Canon AE-1 Program. I picked one up off eBay along with a 50mm f1/8 lens and they both arrived last week.

I went to an event this weekend and really enjoyed using it, although I must admit I kept going in the wrong direction when focussing, and I quite often forgot to wind on the film after taking a shot.

However, I have got a few issues I was hoping to get some guidance with:-

- when I look through the viewfinder it's quite dirty and murky, it's ok to use, I just wish it was a little cleaner because I find it a little distracting. I think the fault is with the focusing screen, however I'm struggling to find out how to clean/replace it? (I can see replacements on eBay for £10)

- the mirror was quite dusty but I used some eclipse cleaning fluid and some lint free cloths to give it a clean, it's better than it was but I think my technique isn't very good. The eclipse evaporates, but it leaves a residue on the mirror?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
 
Search for fix old cameras on Youtube, there's a couple of videos on the AE-1 might be of some use?
 
http://www.mir.SPAM/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/SLRs/ae1pgrm/html/index7.htm

Most older cameras are similar in the way you change the focus screen (if they are replaceable)

Take the opportunity to clean what you can with the screen out.
 
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Thanks Guys, I'd looked on YouTube and was struggling to see anything specifically for the AE-1 program.

I had seen the MIR page, but had hoped for some user experience.

Will post up some details to let you know how I get on.
 
Thanks Guys, I'd looked on YouTube and was struggling to see anything specifically for the AE-1 program.

I had seen the MIR page, but had hoped for some user experience.

Will post up some details to let you know how I get on.
It's a bit terrifying the first time you do it!
I've done it with a couple of Contaxes and once you know what you are doing it is fine.
The difficulty is that they are 30 odd years old and the bits have that number of years gunk glueing them together.
 
Thanks Guys, I'd looked on YouTube and was struggling to see anything specifically for the AE-1 program.

I had seen the MIR page, but had hoped for some user experience.

Will post up some details to let you know how I get on.

I should've check the Fix Old Cameras youtube channel before posting. There is stuff on there for the A-1 AE-1 and AE-1 Program, but not to change the focusing screen :whistle:
 
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