Is my Canon AE-1 working properly?

Hey everyone, very glad to have stumbled upon this community. Happy to be here.

I just purchased a Canon AE-1 with a 50mm f/1.4 lens. I have a few concerns and I cannot determine if there is an issue with the camera or not. This is my first experience shooting film, but I have a thorough understanding of the exposure triangle and photography in general. The film was developed by hand in a small Darkroom in my city. I did not do it myself.

Album: http://imgur.com/gallery/SXuvD

My two concerns are lack of sharpness, and poor image quality. Many of my images are lacking sharpness across the frame. I am not sure if this is because I was shooting wide open in low-light environments, or I just totally missed. I am quite sure the latter is not the case, I took my time to focus every shot.

In regards to image quality, some of my negatives came out pretty garbage quality. A few came out okay, but I would say overwhelmingly the quality is poor. I have seen plenty of other photos from the same camera model that came out with a much higher quality, using the same film. Such as the photos in this video my digitalrev. My AE-1 is old and worn, but everything seems to be working properly. I have noticed that the mirror does not reset after an exposure, unless I am shooting wide open at 1.4. I must wind the film to reset the mirror when this is the case. I took my time with each exposure and paid close attention to my light meter. I also took quite a few shots in shutter priority mode to see how the camera would do. Still very poor quality shots.

I've attached the album with all of the photos from the Kodak Color 400 roll, and a few of the good/bad photos from the Agfa roll (these are in the beginning of the album).

EDIT: I went through the album and made some notes regarding my concerns.

Kind of hard to tell any particular failure.
From your description the camera is not working correctly and is in need of servicing, other functions may be affected as well.
As long as the camera is not working properly it will be difficult to tell if a "bad" picture is the fault of the camera or the photographer.
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I wonder if someone disassembled the camera and got the mirror and focus screen out of alignment.

Do any of the screws look like they've been tampered with by an inexpert person?

The mirror should always return instantly - so something is wrong.

It could be so many different things. Hard to say exactly what is wrong. Maybe try a different lens.

How old was the film? Considering the mirror does not return correctly, there is definitely something wrong with the camera; however, the results you got might be from old expired film or filmed stored in the heat. When you look at your negatives do the lower quality images look over/under exposed? Or does the film it's self look degraded?
If the camera body is bad you can always keep the lens and buy a used body on the cheap.

Theo Sulphate said:

The mirror should always return instantly - so something is wrong.

Click to expand...

Even more complicated: the return of the mirror in this case only works at open aperture.

AgX said:

Even more complicated: the return of the mirror in this case only works at open aperture.

Click to expand...

Yeah...that is weird. I was thinking it was suffering the final conclusion of the "Canon Squeak".....but that would not be aperture specific, would it.?

do you wear glasses? if yes, do you use them while taking pictures?
I wear glasses, when I don't wear them my photos are a little out of focus.
if glasses are not the issue. how is the shutter speed? are you shooting below 1/60?

If the mirror is not returning properly it will cause an error in focus. When in the down position it should be against a stop at the base of the image opening in the mirror box. That stop may have a rubber bumper on it that has deteriorated and allows the mirror to go further back than it should, it could be sticking just before the stop from bad seals also. There should be a foam seal at the top of the focus screen that the mirror rests against when in the up position. That foam can turn sticky and cause the mirror to stick in the up position but the aperture setting should not affect it.

Are you sure the lens is the correct type for the camera? http://www.butkus.org/chinon/canon/canon_ae-1/canon_ae-1.htm or http://www.butkus.org/chinon/canon/canon_ae-1_program/canon_ae-1_program.htm
An incorrect lens may fit on the body but not function correctly.
A slightly bent aperture lever in the body may be causing the mirror to hang on it unless the aperture is at the wide extreme.

Use a depth of field calculator such as http://fcalc.net/ to determine the DOF for a given aperture/f stop/ focal length/ format combination. f1.4 gives a very shallow DOF and the slightest movement of the camera forward or backward will put the point of focus off. The focus distance in many of your samples suggest you were 3 to 4 meters from the subject, at f1.4 your DOF is .25 meters to .44 meters. A 1 cm movement of camera location will translate into .2 meters or more change in the point of focus in the scene.
The rule of thumb is 1/lens focal length is the slowest shutter speed one can safely use hand held. When I was in my 20's I could hand hold 1/8 second with a 50mm or wider lens, today its 1/100 on a good day.

As a final test set the camera up on a tripod and point it at an angle. to a fence or brick wall. Mark the point of focus on the fence/wall and expose wide open. A ruler or tape measure works well for this.

See post #4 in https://photrio.com/forum/index.php?threads/canon-ae-1-repair.153116/

shutterfinger said:

Are you sure the lens is the correct type for the camera? http://www.butkus.org/chinon/canon/canon_ae-1/canon_ae-1.htm or http://www.butkus.org/chinon/canon/canon_ae-1_program/canon_ae-1_program.htm
An incorrect lens may fit on the body but not function correctly.

Click to expand...

shutterfinger has the right of it. If the lens is an older FL type, it will only work in manual mode and not in the AE-1's auto mode. The A setting on an FL lens has an entirely different function than the FD and new FD lenses have. I believe it allows the camera to close and open the lens diaphragm to your setting of your choosing when you fire the shutter, remaining wide open for focusing and composition until that time. The M setting is full manual.

In contrast ,the FD lens A setting allows the camera to chose the aperture for you.

However the sticky mirror issue is either adding to the problem or if the lens is the correct FD type (which will work in auto mode) would be the problem. The mirror on my AE-1 and AE-1P return to correct position immediately the exposure is made.

I just went through a similar fact finding exercise having been given a Canon FT with a FL 50mm f/1.4 by my division director at work.

shutterfinger said:

A slightly bent aperture[-simulator] lever in the body may be causing the mirror to hang on it unless the aperture is at the wide extreme.

Click to expand...

That is a very good idea!
Though it would be very hard for that moving vertically, right-angled lever to interfere with the clipped corner of the mirror. Anyway, one can lift up the mirror without harm (touching just the front edge) and see during its movement if there could be an interference.

UPDATE:

Thanks for all the comments guys. I played with the camera a bit and figured out the problem. The aperture in the lens is not working properly which explains the poor focus and exposure issues. It seems to only be working at wide apertures. past 1.8 its done for. I'm going to exchange the camera today.

With all FD breech look lenses you can easily check the working of the automatic diaphragm:
just push with a pen or so that button inside the breech lock part of the mount. That will activate the automatic twist of the breech lock ring, then the aperture ring can be set to F16 and by pushing that automatic diaphragm lever at the mount the working of the diaphragm can be checked.
Basicall the same for New FD lenses, but unlocking that lever is more tricky.