Mark's Canon A1 Page
I was thrilled to find this one in a thrift shop for $25 bucks. It mounts FD lenses. Launched in 1978, this was the top of Canon's A model line. It supports shutter priority AE, aperture-priority AE, program AE mode and manual mode. A dedicated flash allows auto flash exposure also. LEDs in the viewfinder show the settings. There's a wheel for exposure compensation, for intentionally over or under exposing the film, and a lever to allow intentional double-exposures. I tested it with the Canon 155a flash also, it was detected OK in viewfinder, set shutter speed and aperture, and seemed to work. It's a smaller, lighter camera like the Nikon EM I also have, which is good. I did pull the bottom plate off to see if the shutter release magnet is OK, looks like it was replaced already.
Test roll shows no light leaks, shutter and meter OK.
These are from the first test roll, Feb 2023, taken with Arista Ultra 200 film. These were all taken in manual / match needle mode, as switching any lens into auto mode causes and error message, and no shutter function. It's gonna need a CLA (Clean / Lube / Adjust). No light leaks, meter and shutter accurate. Developed this myself with Ilford chemistry. Also tested the Canon FD 28mm lens sn 288051, worked OK.
This is one of my favorite views, the park entrance at Newcomer Street. This was a series of shots with different shutter speeds and apertures, all equal exposures, to test the meter and shutter. They all came out the same, proving those systems are accurate. Canon 55mm F1.8 lens, sn 6858358.
Waterfowl on the Columbia River. Canon 135mm prime lens, sn 292502.
Monument left for a young woman. Canon 135mm prime lens, sn 292502.
Flash test, taken with Canon Speedlite 155a in darkness. This is the flash designed for this camera. Canon 55mm F1.8 lens.