Canon AE-1 surprise. What to do?

nigpd

nigpd

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My Dad has been rooting around in his loft and has found my Mum's Canon AE-1, power winder and some Canon/Vivitar lenses (Canon 50mm f1.8, Vivitar 55mm f2.8 Macro and Vivitar 75-205mm f3.8), all from around 1980.

I intend to put these to use, as it will be a real buzz to know my Mum used the kit last and a bit different to my 5DIV

As a start, I am looking at getting everything serviced/cleaned at Newton Ellis in Liverpool and hopefully have everything back in working order.

If all goes well, I'll be on an enjoyable learning curve as I get to use film for the first time, so am wondering if you good chaps would have recommendations for a good quality film to try and what spec to use for landscapes, please?

Is there anything else I should consider in preparing to use film? I have a light meter somewhere, but don't know if the AE-1 would need this help

TIA

As an aside, I had a good chuckle at the 1980 introduction manual

Canon.jpg
 
First questions are , Colour or black and white or slides ?
 
I have found that the meters in both my AE-1 are very good. The chances are a new battery and it will work fi e without a CLA.
Have fun with it.
 
I'd be tempted to run a film through it before splashing out on a service, which is why the late, lamented Poundland Agfa was ideal for checking out old cameras. Unless you have access to b&w processing, best stick to colour print C41 processing. Many here use Filmdev for processing, but maybe you will be lucky enough to have a local company who still processes?
 
Peter B said:
I'd be tempted to run a film through it before splashing out on a service, which is why the late, lamented Poundland Agfa was ideal for checking out old cameras. Unless you have access to b&w processing, best stick to colour print C41 processing. Many here use Filmdev for processing, but maybe you will be lucky enough to have a local company who still processes?
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I bookmarked the link , Thanks for that :)
 
Peter B said:
I'd be tempted to run a film through it before splashing out on a service, which is why the late, lamented Poundland Agfa was ideal for checking out old cameras. Unless you have access to b&w processing, best stick to colour print C41 processing. Many here use Filmdev for processing, but maybe you will be lucky enough to have a local company who still processes?
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Thanks for the tip, @Peter B, I'll get a film and run it through. Any suggestions of what film to try, before I dive into the unknown pool of choice?

Also, what is C41 processing in layman's terms, please? This is a whole new world and a whole new language
 
nigpd said:
Thanks for the tip, @Peter B, I'll get a film and run it through. Any suggestions of what film to try, before I dive into the unknown pool of choice?

Also, what is C41 processing in layman's terms, please? This is a whole new world and a whole new language
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C41 processing is for colour films. It's a different process to that used for black and white films. Most labs will do C41, but not all will do B&W, especially high street places.

Slide film uses another process called E6.
 
FishyFish said:
C41 processing is for colour films. It's a different process to that used for black and white films. Most labs will do C41, but not all will do B&W, especially high street places.

Slide film uses another process called E6.
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Thanks for the quick response, much appreciated.

I'll look for a "starter for 10" colour film for landscape shots and send it off to Filmdev

It's going to be a very exciting journey, seeing the last person to use the camera was my Mum back in the 80s. Very emotional
 
nigpd said:
Also, what is C41 processing in layman's terms, please? This is a whole new world and a whole new language
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C41 is the type of chemistry for processing both color negative and Ilford XP-2 Super chromogenic black and white films for prints. Color slide film requires E6 processing.
Hope your camera is in working condition. Good luck!
 
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It's a very good idea to have it serviced etc. I would be very surprised if it didn't need new light seals and it's always better to do a 'controlled' movement of the loading/winding mechanism rather than just jumping straight in with a film. Old lubricants dry up and go sticky and old light seals can do the same as well as deposit lots of 'black bits' of foam throughout the viewfinder and mirror assembly.

Just recently I've had to do a repair on an Olympus OM1 where the owner had done just this - by forcing it he snapped a small lever and I'm struggling to find a replacement for it. I'll probably have to buy a donor camera from the Evil Bay.

Good luck with it, it's nice to have something to use that means so much to you. :)
 
On Friday, Took the AE-1 into Newton Ellis, Liverpool for a service. An initial looksee showed light seals were perished and it was a bit dusty inside. Shutter mechanism didn't squeak, which was unusual but a good sign.

The 50mm 1.8 was also showing signs of being a bit cloudy inside, so that's being seen to at the same time

3 weeks to wait, so am studying the user manual in the meantime
 
I'm sure you'll have fun using the AE1, as others have said, the meter should be good enough for slides and certainly for print film, except in more backlit situations where you'll have to use good judgement to compensate the exposure. The only niggle I found with the AE1 was that the shutter speed dial could be moved if it snagged on clothing, but I was using two cameras at the time so it might not be an issue for you.

As for lenses, the Canon FD 35-70mm f/4 (constant f/4, not the later variable minimum aperture FD 35-70 version) is a hidden gem and pretty damned sharp at any focal length, and mint-ish ones often sell for less than £50. Watch for play in the zoom mechanism though, as the parts are no longer available to fix this, and the repair cost would be prohibitive even if they were). Hope this is useful.
 
Mr Badger said:
I'm sure you'll have fun using the AE1, as others have said, the meter should be good enough for slides and certainly for print film, except in more backlit situations where you'll have to use good judgement to compensate the exposure. The only niggle I found with the AE1 was that the shutter speed dial could be moved if it snagged on clothing, but I was using two cameras at the time so it might not be an issue for you.

As for lenses, the Canon FD 35-70mm f/4 (constant f/4, not the later variable minimum aperture FD 35-70 version) is a hidden gem and pretty damned sharp at any focal length, and mint-ish ones often sell for less than £50. Watch for play in the zoom mechanism though, as the parts are no longer available to fix this, and the repair cost would be prohibitive even if they were). Hope this is useful.
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Thanks for your thoughts and lens recommendation @Mr Badger, much appreciated
 
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