Canon AE-1 Program
Discussion
Just been handed a Canon AE-1 Program 35mm film SLR by a friend and asked how much it's worth and whether it's any good. It has a 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5 FD lens, a 70-210mm f/4 FD lens and a Speedlite 188A. Condition seems fair but the battery has run out. The zoom ring on the 35-70mm lens doesn't appear to want to go all the way to 35mm, it stops at ~40mm.This example is all black whereas most of the ones you see on eBay etc. have a black and silver body.
Any ideas?
Any ideas?
_rubinho_ said:
Just been handed a Canon AE-1 Program 35mm film SLR by a friend and asked how much it's worth and whether it's any good.
Tuppence ha'penny; very good (in its time).Really a job for Fleabay. There's a thriving market in film cameras and certainly lenses can still be used (although I think they might need an adapter from pre-AF days (the reason I moved from Canon to Nikon in 1997!) and there are plenty of people out there looking for bargains. Lens might not be worth sending off for professional repair though.
Battery will cost next to nothing, I expect, then you can check if it's working. Whether black or silver.... well I remember having AT-1 and AV-1 in silver and an AE-1 in black. Not sure that either were the more rare or sought after.
Edited by K12beano on Tuesday 15th January 09:52
K12beano said:
_rubinho_ said:
Just been handed a Canon AE-1 Program 35mm film SLR by a friend and asked how much it's worth and whether it's any good.
Tuppence ha'penny; very good (in its time).Really a job for Fleabay. There's a thriving market in film cameras and certainly lenses can still be used (although I think they might need an adapter from pre-AF days (the reason I moved from Canon to Nikon in 1997!) and there are plenty of people out there looking for bargains. Lens might not be worth sending off for professional repair though.
Battery will cost next to nothing, I expect, then you can check if it's working. Whether black or silver.... well I remember having AT-1 and AV-1 in silver and an AE-1 in black. Not sure that either were the more rare or sought after.
Edited by K12beano on Tuesday 15th January 09:52
Definitely have a look on eBay to get an idea of price, or if you can, check out your local independent photographers - they always seem to have some old Canon kit hanging around.
Just the other day on this forum someone was looking for an SLR with a good viewfinder, including a microprism, for good manual focussing. Probably not worth a lot.
Iirc the AE1 Program was supplied in about eqaual numbers in black and silver an black. Earlier models AE1 without the "Program" facilities attracte a surcharge for black so the more traditional silvered and black were more prevalent and the earlier lens monts for FL and FD had silver rings for the bayonet fitting.
Don;t know much about the 35mm zoom but the 70-2300 f4 may be OK,, though not worth a lot these days. There were, however, several versions over the years and certain version had a better reputation than others. A little research should turn up the information about which and how to identify them if you think it's worth finding out. I may have some links somewhere. Some of the old lenses have been slightly more popular recently since they are a cheap way of getting good glass for Micro 4/3rds bodies with video use in mind.
The flash, if still working, is a manual flash basically. Will work but unlikely to be sophisticated. I bought a mint, unused 199A version from ebay a few years ago for about £20. I would assume if it works it has to be worth a fiver to someone but have not checked recently.
If the camera works one thing to test for, should you decide to use it, is the foam light seal around the back. This started to disintegrate through age on my AE1. I had it replaced by an official repair centre but I don't think I have used it since as my film playing back then was mostly using an A1 and an F1 and it was around the time I bought a 400D to find out how pointless digital was going to be without a huge investment in new lenses.
The rest is history.
Iirc the AE1 Program was supplied in about eqaual numbers in black and silver an black. Earlier models AE1 without the "Program" facilities attracte a surcharge for black so the more traditional silvered and black were more prevalent and the earlier lens monts for FL and FD had silver rings for the bayonet fitting.
Don;t know much about the 35mm zoom but the 70-2300 f4 may be OK,, though not worth a lot these days. There were, however, several versions over the years and certain version had a better reputation than others. A little research should turn up the information about which and how to identify them if you think it's worth finding out. I may have some links somewhere. Some of the old lenses have been slightly more popular recently since they are a cheap way of getting good glass for Micro 4/3rds bodies with video use in mind.
The flash, if still working, is a manual flash basically. Will work but unlikely to be sophisticated. I bought a mint, unused 199A version from ebay a few years ago for about £20. I would assume if it works it has to be worth a fiver to someone but have not checked recently.
If the camera works one thing to test for, should you decide to use it, is the foam light seal around the back. This started to disintegrate through age on my AE1. I had it replaced by an official repair centre but I don't think I have used it since as my film playing back then was mostly using an A1 and an F1 and it was around the time I bought a 400D to find out how pointless digital was going to be without a huge investment in new lenses.
The rest is history.
I paid £30 for a mint 70-210 FD lens off Fleabay a while back, and I think the camera may be worth something similar. They were a popular camera in their time, so there are a few of them around. Have a look through Fleabay listings, as that should give you some idea what they are going for.
LongQ said:
...bayonet fitting.
Oh that brings back memories. Weren't they a beautiful bit of technology to use. I loved the way the "breech lock" used to part-spring into place when you offered it up and you just needed a slight tighten for it to be in place. Why don't they make kit like that any more!!! 
Beautiful cameras to handle!
K12beano said:
LongQ said:
...bayonet fitting.
Oh that brings back memories. Weren't they a beautiful bit of technology to use. I loved the way the "breech lock" used to part-spring into place when you offered it up and you just needed a slight tighten for it to be in place. Why don't they make kit like that any more!!! Beautiful cameras to handle!
Lost on the later models of lens of course.
The thing was that for the general engineering standards of the day these cameras (and all like them with the possible exceptions of some of the Russian stuff) were just sooo tactile and 'perfect' there was no need to actually use them. The joy of handling them and playing with the features justified the purchase - assuming one likes matters of engineering.
When I finally bought an old but good condition F1 a few years ago that pretty much took things to a new level. Not so much the finish - but the heft of the thing. As solid as anything, as they say. Wonderful.
I definitely have as I have never sold any of my kit. The only camera I no longer have was my very first, a Zenit EM. Seem to recall it just gave up the ghost after years of abuse and ended up in the bin. Replacement camera was an AE1, which I still have, together with all the subsequent cameras and lenses. As most film cameras came with a 50mm lens as standard, I now have quite a handful of that particular lens.
K12beano said:
yes: Just the other day on this forum someone was looking for an SLR with a good viewfinder, including a microprism, for good manual focussing.
That will have been me, the thing I'm.most worried about metering, I suck at metering by eye and don't want to carry a seperate one around. Let me know what you decide to do tho ^_^laam999 said:
K12beano said:
yes: Just the other day on this forum someone was looking for an SLR with a good viewfinder, including a microprism, for good manual focussing.
That will have been me, the thing I'm.most worried about metering, I suck at metering by eye and don't want to carry a seperate one around. Let me know what you decide to do tho ^_^I sold one on Ebay a couple of months ago, got £39 for it with a 50mm lens
laam999 said:
That will have been me, the thing I'm.most worried about metering, I suck at metering by eye and don't want to carry a seperate one around. Let me know what you decide to do tho ^_^
If you've got an iphone, theres an app called, believe it or not, Light Meter! Its pretty damn accurate.Lovely Camera he AE1-P, I bought one with the F1.4 50mm, just felt so right to use. I should have kept it but I sold it and kept an A1 instead with the 1.4.
I'm not keen on the 35-70 zoom though, it felt a bit low rent compared to the earlier lenses. I doubt it's worth repairing either, it wouldn't fetch the cost back.
I'm not keen on the 35-70 zoom though, it felt a bit low rent compared to the earlier lenses. I doubt it's worth repairing either, it wouldn't fetch the cost back.
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