I am a long time (47 years) Canon user, although almost all of my photography since 1993 is large format. I have owned an FTb, a Pellix, an AE-1 and an AT-1. I still have one of each except (unfortunately) the Pellix. They have all been great cameras with consistent and accurate TTL metering. The interchangeability of FL and FD lenses is a real plus. My top favorite was the Pellix (Basically an FTb with a Pellical mirror) that I bought in 1970. Since the mirror did not have to move (there was a slight loss of speed, though) the camera was as quiet as a rangefinder. For a real hands-on, manual experience, I would get an AT-1 in good shape.