AE-1 in black

[Cycler]

And what's wrong with plastics? Used correctly it's a brilliant material for making cameras out of! my brother took a lot of his holiday pictures with a 16-on 127 camera which just had a wire frame 'viewfinder'. Leitz machined CL bodies from ABS. As interlens spacers plastics brought lens prices within reach of most folks; previously brass/alloy spacers cost a bomb in machining time.

 

[Mackinaw]

From a Modern Photography article in 1976 (when the AE-1 was introduced), all AE-1 cameras have a brass base plate. The top plate is made of plastic that is coated with a layer of nickel and chrome.

Jim B.

 

[AgX]

As you say: when the AE-1 was introduced.
Things change over time.

 

[cb1]

I had a 1981 Black AE1P, my dad said he had to order it. Last year I replaced it with a "new" Black AE1P of Ebay. There are a lot of Black AE1Ps out there.

 

[benjiboy]

Plastic is such an insulting term. The manufacturer thinks it's a poison term.
Far more correct to call it "Resin". You can charge more $$$ for it.

It's possible that there were some available with metal base plates but I doubt it. "never say never"

Anyway the black Canon cameras were never rare The popularity of the "chrome" camera was it's $20 or so lower price.
At the shop I worked at probably 10 or 15 chrome to 1 black.

In the U.K John we sold the black ones for £10 more which is roughly about the same as you.

 

[flavio81]

From a Modern Photography article in 1976 (when the AE-1 was introduced), all AE-1 cameras have a brass base plate. The top plate is made of plastic that is coated with a layer of nickel and chrome.

Jim B.

One of the APUGgers here (I think it was Henning Serger) told there were some AE1s with brass base plates and then other with plastic base plates.

Personally, one of the toughest cameras i've used was the EOS 650 which has a plastic shell. Once, the camera fell from my hands and into the floor. It just bounced and practically nothing happened to it !

 

[AgX]

I got AE-1s as well with brass as with plastic base cap.

 

[Montaggio]

I bought mine new in about 1980 - had to special order it in black. Took about a month to get it in. I'm don't think there was much of a price difference. It might have been $10 at the time. Still have it.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Definitely from brass. I guess they started with brass and later changed to plastic.

(By the way: one can't plate plastic with brass.)

You can chrome-plate plastic;so why not brassing;actually, I believe brassing is an intermediatestep to chroming.

 

[AgX]

You mix up metals. You most probably think of Copper.

-) Brass is not a pure metal. It is a alloy.

-) galvanizing such alloy is possible on metal, but even more tricky than with a pure metal.

-) galvanizing plastic with brass is not done.

-) there are more modern ways of coating plastics with metal but I have yet not seen it done with brass and those techniques were not in use at the times of the A's anyway.

 

[Andrew K]

The black version of the AE1 and AE1 program is far less common than the chrome one. The reason is price- here in Australia the black one would have cost 15-20% more, and these cameras cost a good 2-4 weeks wage when they first came out.

When I was repairing these cameras you would see maybe 1 black AE1 for every 50 chrome ones. With the AE1 P the ratio was around 1 in 30.

The AE1 was one of the A series that had metal top covers. From memory the AT1 was metal too. The AL1, AV1, AE1P and A1 top covers were all polycarbonate. Strangely the A1's had a metal bottom cover...

You would occasionally see one with a crack in it, but it took a pretty big knock to break one. I once had a AE1P a friend bent when he fell off a ladder. He put a small crack in the top cover maybe 5mm long near where the strap lug is (I melted the cover back together) - but he managed to bend the chasis of the camera over 2mm!

I repaired it so that the film plane was parallel to the lens mount, but the chasis had a bend in it so you couldn't mount a motordrive or winder to it! Still took great photos..

Thanks for the memories..

 

[AgX]

The AE1 was one of the A series that had metal top covers. From memory the AT1 was metal too. The AL1, AV1, AE1P and A1 top covers were all polycarbonate. Strangely the A1's had a metal bottom cover...

So far I thought all A-models had plastic top covers. An idea taken over from Pentacon who introduced such.
No, the plastic likely is not PC but ABS, as the latter is easier to chromatize.

Yes, I found at AE-1 samples as well with plastic as metal bottom covers.