I’m not OP but expressed I had an A-1 with the same problem in #5.
I was aware of the on/off display switch but it didn’t work, hence the question.
Massaging it 10-15 times back and forth actually brought it to life - so thanks for the tip @Woutervg97 - if not for your encouragement I would have deemed it broken.
I also check cameras as part of my job and I think more than 50% of the Canon A1 and AE1 I see are defective, typically film advance/mirror lockup/ shutter curtain issues. We get more AE-1s than A-1s of course.
That is a high failure rate but these two models were after all pioneering in cheaper materials to reach a very aggressive low pricepoint - so maybe not surprising.
On a side note: I have observed that we get as many Nikkormat EL and ELW (contemporary with AE-1 and similar functionality) in as AE-1s.
Since the AE-1 was selling in the millions and EL/ELW was selling in far lower numbers it says something about the durability difference that we still see so many Nikons.
The Nikkormat is also much more likely to be operational, maybe ~75%.
In all fairness - I checked the local mid-70’s price lists, and the Nikkormat retailed for more than twice of the AE-1.
The AE-1 and to some extent the A-1 was revolutionary in the price vs feature category at the time, but perhaps not so much durability.
The irony of the matter is that we can sell an AE-1 for 3 times as much as an EL - and where the AE-1 is sold in a few days, the Nikkormat takes months.
- and much to my surprise; customers don’t seem to care about the terrible “sneeze” sound we sometimes hear from the Canons - probably because it is the first analog SLR for many so they don’t know what to expect.
I was aware of the on/off display switch but it didn’t work, hence the question.
Massaging it 10-15 times back and forth actually brought it to life - so thanks for the tip @Woutervg97 - if not for your encouragement I would have deemed it broken.
I also check cameras as part of my job and I think more than 50% of the Canon A1 and AE1 I see are defective, typically film advance/mirror lockup/ shutter curtain issues. We get more AE-1s than A-1s of course.
That is a high failure rate but these two models were after all pioneering in cheaper materials to reach a very aggressive low pricepoint - so maybe not surprising.
On a side note: I have observed that we get as many Nikkormat EL and ELW (contemporary with AE-1 and similar functionality) in as AE-1s.
Since the AE-1 was selling in the millions and EL/ELW was selling in far lower numbers it says something about the durability difference that we still see so many Nikons.
The Nikkormat is also much more likely to be operational, maybe ~75%.
In all fairness - I checked the local mid-70’s price lists, and the Nikkormat retailed for more than twice of the AE-1.
The AE-1 and to some extent the A-1 was revolutionary in the price vs feature category at the time, but perhaps not so much durability.
The irony of the matter is that we can sell an AE-1 for 3 times as much as an EL - and where the AE-1 is sold in a few days, the Nikkormat takes months.
- and much to my surprise; customers don’t seem to care about the terrible “sneeze” sound we sometimes hear from the Canons - probably because it is the first analog SLR for many so they don’t know what to expect.
