« Gakken Pinhole Camera | Main | Sony Ericsson w810i »
December 29, 2006
Canon AE1
The biggest hole in my camera collection (besides a hasselblad or some other really nice camera) is a fully manual 35mm SLR. I have wanted a Pentax k1000 ever since I used one in high school, but one has never presented itself to me. My Pentax ZX5n is a great camera, but it is too easy to rely on the automatic settings and let the camera do all the work. Sometimes you just want a wonderful old machine. The cranking to advance the film. The needle light meter. The manual focus. The physical motion to set the aperture and shutter speed. And don’t forget the glorious sound when the shutter releases. If there is a more wonderful sound in the universe, I would like to hear it.
Well, you can imagine my delight when a friend of my Betsy’s learned of my camera collection and donated a Canon AE1 to my cause. What a great little machine! It was well cared for, and once I replaced the battery this thing was ready to go. I won’t bore you with the technical specs but rather close with a recommendation that you pick up an old manual SLR. As digital continues to make these old beasts “obsolete” the price is a steal. If you are like me and you learned to take pictures with these cameras, reconnecting with the past might just reinvigorate your love for photography.
Posted by Adrian at December 29, 2006 10:35 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.adrianhanft.com/cgi-bin/MT/mt-tb.cgi/59
Comments
i have a canon AE-1 and it could very well be my
favorite camera to use.
Posted by: Michael at May 4, 2007 7:32 AM
I'm glad you found an AE1. I got my grandmothers' and a mess of lenses for it, and it's been marvelous, it's nearly my favorite camera to use, more than my Rebel XT. Great site too, btw. I want to be you when I grow up.
Posted by: pete at June 10, 2007 11:40 PM