Using a Canon A-1 mostly in manual mode?

jay moussy · Feb 17, 2021

Local antique-y shop still has the $50 Canon A-1 body and winder I posted about a few months ago, been sitting there the whole time. Very clean, no sign of abuse.

it would be nice to have, along my A-1 Program, but..
I went back a month ago to do a battery check, but access to battery door is weird with winder assembly on, and did not have the manual handy to take apart properly.

I would be using it mostly in manual mode, and on auto, who knows how the electronics may be.

Help me need decide what to do!

AgX · Feb 17, 2021

I find for manual mode, when using a built-in meter; a camera much more appropriate that got:

1) spot metering
2) a good meter display (either needle & paddle or needle &fixed markers, as long as deviation from point-on can be read in stops)

There is not much of such in the Canon FD-range.

MattKing · Feb 17, 2021

The A-1 is fine in manual mode - as long as you are using a hand meter.
Switching to manual turns the meter off, so if you intend to use the built in meter you have to meter in Auto and remember the indicated settings.

Oren Grad · Feb 17, 2021

jay moussy said:
I went back a month ago to do a battery check, but access to battery door is weird with winder assembly on, and did not have the manual handy to take apart properly.

I would be using it mostly in manual mode, and on auto, who knows how the electronics may be.

Apologies if you already know this, but just in case: the shutter is electronically governed and the camera requires a battery to operate even in manual mode.

cerber0s · Feb 17, 2021

jay moussy said:
Local antique-y shop still has the $50 Canon A-1 body and winder I posted about a few months ago, been sitting there the whole time. Very clean, no sign of abuse.

it would be nice to have, along my A-1 Program, but..
I went back a month ago to do a battery check, but access to battery door is weird with winder assembly on, and did not have the manual handy to take apart properly.

I would be using it mostly in manual mode, and on auto, who knows how the electronics may be.

Help me need decide what to do!

I had one years ago, it works perfectly fine in manual mode. As long as you have a FD lens you also get full metering, no need to use a hand held meter if I recall correctly.

As they age they do develop a "squeak" when you shoot, a CLA will take care of that. I loved mine and sometimes regret selling it.

AgX · Feb 17, 2021

I guess it is time to define "manul mode" in the meaning of this thread.

flavio81 · Feb 17, 2021

The A-1 is ideally used on auto mode. It has an exposure compensation dial and an exposure lock, to help with auto mode. I seldom used the A-1 in manual mode.

Oren Grad · Feb 17, 2021

AgX said:
I guess it is time to define "manul mode" in the meaning of this thread.

= manual exposure mode = user sets both shutter speed and aperture. That's all.

Whether the user determines the desired exposure via meter built in to the camera, uses a separate meter, or just sets the exposure from a reference table or from experience is a separate, unrelated question.

AgX · Feb 17, 2021

Why then did you refer to the battery? To me that was unrelated too.

Defining the topic as you did, why then the OP raised the question at all? The great majority of Canon FD cameras allow manual mode in this sense. And I am sure the OP knows this too.

jay moussy · Feb 17, 2021

AgX said:
I find for manual mode, when using a built-in meter; a camera much more appropriate that got:

1) spot metering
2) a good meter display (either needle & paddle or needle &fixed markers, as long as deviation from point-on can be read in stops)

There is not much of such in the Canon FD-range.

Yes, the A-1 has numerical display in viewfinder, I think (my recollection reading the manual), not as intuitive.

RLangham · Feb 17, 2021

It'll be a pain. It only shows the exposure that the camera would choose if you were in shutter speed priority mode--technically the camera body will be in shutter priority mode if you're using the aperture ring to put it in full manual--it will not tell you what setting you have it on. I like it when I want to shoot aperture priority mode and I want to use my FD lenses. Otherwise it's not a camera I use a lot.

But it is a fairly nice camera for what it is. It's a fairly solid feeling and classic body that offers no less than three types of autoexposure. The hitch is that, unlike some of the other cameras in the A series, it doesn't use the aperture ring for anything in autoexposure mode. When you're shooting aperture priority, the shutter speed dial actually changes into a dial with aperture numbers on it.

Manual exposure on this camera is really just there for using accessories like the macro bellows and other non-general use cases.

AgX · Feb 17, 2021

I am a Canon FD-guy. And I even got an A-1, but with lame mirror. And I shall disassemble it and properly repair that. One day. But I shall not use it in manual-mode. Therefore I got an older FD model, the FTb. The othr FD cameras for manual operation to my mind are the F-1 and New F-1. That's it.

Chan Tran · Feb 17, 2021

AgX said:
Why then did you refer to the battery? To me that was unrelated too.

Defining the topic as you did, why then the OP raised the question at all? The great majority of Canon FD cameras allow manual mode in this sense. And I am sure the OP knows this too.

I can't really understand the OP post but it seems that he has problem checking the battery and even replacing the battery. He said he intends to use the camera in manual mode because he suspect the electronic is iffy. For that it makes sense to remind him that the A1 won't work if its electronics is bad.

AgX · Feb 17, 2021

I got your point.

Bill Burk · Feb 17, 2021

I got out my A1 to see what’s up.

Without a battery I could only push the double-exposure lever and cock the shutter which is already cocked.

There is no way to use Manual without a battery the shutter release is electronic.

But put a battery in and Manual is possible and as others mention you see the recommended f/stop and then you have to be responsible to set the lens according to the displayed aperture (assumes you took the lens out of A mode and selected an f/stop).

Really it’s not that bad. But carry two spare batteries.

jay moussy · Feb 17, 2021

OP here, I should say that, originally learning with my Nikon FM, I tend to think SLRs the FM way, mostly, and as I saw the rather cheap A-1, thought, and hoped I could, at worse, operate it a bit in the same manner.
Maybe it is just not the right fit, even with all in working order?

Using a Canon A-1 mostly in manual mode?

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