Canon AE-1 User manual

canonTHE UJJ§cll
The Basic Steps to Picture- Taking
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Congratulations on your pur-
chase
of a Canon AE-1. We
know that you are anxious to
start taking pictures with it.
Our first hint for taking great
ones is to read these instruc-
tions. Follow the steps in
order and become well ac-
quainted with the camera .
Then, once you have a good
understanding of PART I,
move on to PART II. It con-
tains a lot of information you
won't find elsewhere. The
brief time spent in reading
these instructions is a sound
investment in satisfaction and
enjoyment .
Symbols
9' Signals an important DO.
®Signals an important DON'T.
Copyright © 1980 by Canon Inc.
All rights reserved.
Printed in Japan
2
CONTENTS
1. Attach the lens ... . ...... .
2.
Set the lens for AE photography
3. Load the battery ... .... .. ... .
4 .
Check the battery ....... .... .
5. Before
loading film, learn to operate
basic controls
6. Set the ASA .
7. Load
the film
8. Learn to hold the camera correctly
9. One shot at a time . ..... .
10. At the end of the roll , rewind
the film .. .. ...... ... .
*Dedicated Flash Photography
*Self- Timer .. . ...... .
*Carry ing the Camera .. .
* Pre-Shooting Checklist . .
pp.3-4
p.5
p.6
p.7
p.8
p.9
pp.10-12
... p. 13
pp.14-15
. . . p.16
. .. p.17
pp . 18-19
p.20
p.21
Camera parts are labeled on the insides of the foldout
flaps at the beginning and end of PART II.
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The instructions in this section
concerning the lens are for an FD
lens without a chrome mount
ring. If your lens looks like this
one with a chrome mount ring,
read its instructions for handling
the rear cap and mounting it on
the camera.
1. Attach the Lens
Remove the rear lens cap by
turning it in the direct i on of
the arrow until it stops and
pulling it out.
To reattach the rear lens cap,
align it with the lens as il-
lustrated. Then lightly push
it in and turn it clockwise until
it stops.
Remove the body cap.
3
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To mount the lens, first align
the rounded red positioning
point on the lens with the red
dot above the camera mount
as illustrated.
8 If your camera looks like
this, with a red
dot show-
ing inside the camera
mount, do not mount the
lens yet . First press in
the small chrome button
as shown to release the
stop·down slide. Then
mount the lens. Leave
4 the
stop-down slide as it is.
Then turn the lens in the
direction of the arrow until
it stops and the lens release
button pops out with a click.
Make sure the lens release
button has popped out. Other·
wise, the lens will not work
properly. DO. NOT press the
lens release button while
mounting or it will not pop
out.
[S' When film is loaded, make sure
it
is completely advanced to
the next frame before mount·
ing the lens.
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Remove the front lens cap.
To remove the lens, turn it in
the direction of the arrow,
while pressing the lens release
button, until 1t stops.
2. Setthe Lens for AE(~~~~~~~c) Photography
While pressing in the AE lock pin, turn the aperture ring in the
direction of the arrow until "A" click-stops at the aperture index.
"A" will be in line with the red dot on the camera. If you forget
to do this, automatic exposure will be impossible.
~
1. AE photography is possible only w i th a Canon FD lens. See PART II,
p.24 for how to use a non-FD lens on the AE-1 .
2. Some
Canon FD lenses have a green circle in place of the "A" mark. It
means the same thing as the "A" mark.
5
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3. Load the Battery
Remove the viewfinder cover
from the accessory shoe.
Open the battery chamber
cover using the viewfinder
cover.
Load
one new battery so that
its poles are in the directions
indicated by the diagram in-
side
the battery chamber.
Correct Batteries
Silver Oxide 6V
AI kaline-manganese
6V
6
Examples
Eveready (UCAR) No . 544,
Mallory PX 28 , JIS 4G13
Eveready (UCAR) No . 537
Without a battery, the AE-1 's shutter will not"
work and it will be impossible to take a
picture . We recommend carrying a spare
battery .
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Insert the negative end first.
Then push
down and insert
the positive end. Close the
chamber cover.
8 Don't touch the battery
poles. Wipe them and the
camera contacts with a
clean, dry cloth before
loading to prevent poor
contact from dirt.
4. Check the Battery
Press the battery check button
while looking through the
viewfinder. The meter needle
in the viewfinder will move.
~
X
t
-------
'
OK
If the battery is good, the
meter needle will rest at or be-
low the battery check index.
If there is not enough power,
it will rest above the index.
Replace the battery.
1. With normal use, the battery should last about one
year.
2. It is necessary to take special precautions with the
battery when ;tou are shooting in very low tempera-
tures(belowO C,32 ° F). SeePARTII,p.30 .
7
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5. Before Loading Film, Learn to Operate Basic Controls
Turn the shutter button lock
lever
to "A" .
i@I' Turn the shutter button
lock lever to "L" to pre-
vent accidental shutter
release or battery drain
whenever you are not
using the camera.
8
Turn the film advance lever in
the direction of the arrow
until it stops. You may turn it
in one continuous stroke or in
several short strokes . When
film is loaded, this will ad-
vance it
to the next frame.
The AE-1 has a
two-step
shutter button . Press it half-
way to turn the meter on and
to get a meter reading in the
viewfinder. Gently squeeze it
all the way down toreleasethe
shutter . You cannot release
the shutter again until the film
is advanced.
8 NEVER JAB the shutter button! Pressing it gently is im-
portant for getting sharp pictur e s.
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6. Set the ASA
Lift the knurled ring around the shutter speed dial and turn it until the ASA speed of your film is
aligned with the green index. This is absolutely necessary for getting correct exposure .
9
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7. Load the Film
Pull the rewind knob up until
the back cover pop s open.
A plastic ins c; t is attached to the
pressure plate of a new AE-1 to
protect it in transport. Before
loading the first film cartridge, it
is important to remove this insert .
It may be thrown away.
10
The AE-1 uses color (negative
or slide) or black and white
film in standard 35mm car-
tridges. Place the cartridge in
the film chamber as shown.
Then push the rewind knob
down , rotating it until it drops
into its normal position .
Pull the film leader across the
camera and insert
it into any
slot of the take-up spool.
'q Shield the film from direct
sunlight while loading.
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t
t
Advance the film once. Check
that the film perforations are
engaged in the teeth
of the film
transport sprocket and the
take-up spool.
8 While loading the film, take
care
not to touch the shut-
ter curtain, the film rails
or the pressure plate (parts
in red) .
The
film should be taut. If there is slack, gently turn the rewind
crank in the direction of the arrow until it stops. Close the back
cover.
11
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Take several blank shots, releasing the shutter
and advancing the film, until the frame counter
reads "1" (the dot following zero). While doing
this, keep an eye on the rewind knob. If it
rotates in the direction of the arrow, the film is
loaded correctly .
12
Each time you advance the film, the frame
counter also advances to the next frame . It can
count up to 38 frames. The numbers 20 and
36 are in orange to call your attention to the
fact that rolls with those numbers of frames
are
or are almost finished .
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8. Learn to Hold the Camera Correctly
The slightest movement of your body during
cause blur in
the picture. To reduce chances of this, hold the
camera as steady as possible with your left hand supporting the
camera and lens. Press both elbows to your body and lightly
press the camera to your cheek or forehead. For a vertical shot,
steady at least one elbow against your body. Spread your feet
slightly apart, one foot ahead of the other, and relax. If a wall or
a tree is available, lean against it.
~
There is, of course, no one correct way to hold the camera. Experim e nt to find the
most comfortable way for you of holding it steady . It may help to practice in
front of a mirror.
13
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9. One Shot at a Time
Set a shutter speed by turning
the shutter speed dial until
a number from 60 to 1000 is
aligned with the index.
14
11111111111111111
DD
DO
1111111111111111 1
60
125
25 0 500 I 000
Then look into the view-
finder and press the shutter
button HALFWAY. The meter
needle will move to tell you
whether the shutter speed you
have set wi II give correct ex-
posure.
If the meter needle points
to the red zone at the top of
the scale or if the red LED
(Light-Emitting Diode) blinks
below
the scale, turn the shut-
ter speed dial as shown. Other-
wise, exposure wi II be correct
at the shutter speed you have
set.
8 Do not set the shutter speed dial between the cl i ck - stop set-
tings.
Note that it does not turn past "1000" or "8".
mm
See PART II, p. 14, if you must set the shutter speed dial to a number
below "60". If action is a particularly important element in the shot, you
may wish to refer to PART II, p.13 , for more information on choosing a
shutter speed.
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Compose the picture. Center your subject in the viewfinder if
possible. Turn the focusing ring until the main subject is sharp.
Must be Eyecup 4S. I tried attach-
ing it to the eyepiece and it made
viewing lots more comfortable.
Press the shutter button all the
way down to take the picture.
lmm
If there is light , such as th e sun or
a window, behind your subject,
press the backlight control switch
as you press the shutter button .
See PART ll,p.20 .
15
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10. At the End of the Roll, Rewind the Film
You can tell you have reached
the end
of the film by the
frame
counter and the film
advance lever. Either the film
advance lever will not turn
at all or it will not turn all the
way . First press in the rewind
button . You may immediately
let go of it.
Then turn the rewind crank in
the
direction of the arrow until
the frame counter, which
counts backwards as you re-
wind , reaches " S" .
® DO NOT open the back cover until you have rewound the film
back into the cartridge. If you do, light falling on t he film
may ruin all of the pictures.
16
Then open the back cover, re-
move the
film cartridge, place
it back in its canister and have
it developed as soon as pos-
sible.
~
The rewind button rotates as you
rewind the film . When the film
is completely rewound, it stops
rotating .
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* Dedicated .Flash Photography
Load the flash with batteries
and slide it
into the AE-1's
accessory shoe. Tighten
the
lock nut.
~
Canon offers four Speedlites (133A,
155A, 177A, 199A) for theAE-1.
With slight differences, all four are
used in
almost the same way . See
PART II, p. 33, and the Speedlite 's
instructions for more details .
a-- Make sure the AE-1 's shut-
ter speed dial is not on
"B". Any other setting
is okay .
[]
9
OFF
Turn the Speedli te's ASA film
speed dial to the correct ASA
speed and push the aperture
selection switch to tile green
or red "A" position .
[OJ
i
OFF
Turn the Speedlite's main
switch ON.
After the pilot
lamp glows, press
the shutter
button to take the picture.
For correct exposure, the subject must be within a certa in
range
of distances from the camera. The required distance
range
is shown on the flash by the curve which is the same
color as the setting of the aperture selection swi tch . After you
focus, check the l ens' distance scale to make sure the focused
distance
is with in the range shown by the curve.
Do not shoot before the pilot lamp glows or exposure may be
incorrect .
17
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*Self-Timer
Advance the film to the next
frame .
~
~ Use the viewfinder cover
to cover the eyepiece
whenever your eye is not
to it at the moment you
take a shot. If it is un-
covered, stray light enter-
ing from the rear may
cause underexposure .
18
Push the self-timer lever for-
ward to uncover the self-timer
lamp .
8 The AE-1 sets the ex-
posure the moment you
press the shutter button .
Do
not stand in front of
the lens while pressing the
button or exposure may
be incorrect .
To start the self- timer, press
the shutter button. The self-
timer lamp will begin to blink .
When it
stops blinking ten
seconds later, the shutter will
be released
automatically .
mm
Following exposure, unless you
want to use the self-timer for the
ne xt frame, reset the self - timer
lever to "A" or "L" .
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If you have started the self-
timer and wish to cancel it
before shutter release, press the
battery check button.
Oh, no! I already started the
self-timer and I wanted to stop it so
I just pushed the lever back in, but
as soon as I did that, the shutter
released.
You're going to have a
great picture of an
empty chair! Try press-
ing the ba ttery check
button next time.
19
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*Carrying the Camera
Thread the ends of the strap
through the rings on the
camera as shown.
~
For carrying the camera, in
particular, insert it into its
semi-hard
case (optional acces-
sory) as shown. You can still
take a picture while the camera
is in the case by turning the
top cover down .
To remove the top cover, turn
it down, then push it straight
up and out. Turn the lens'
focusing ring to infinity (
00
)
for closing the top cover.
1. Do not forget to turn the shutter button lock lever to "L" to prevent accidental shutter release while carrying
the camera.
2.
The camera case must be removed for l oading and rewinding film.
20
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