Quote-start

Canon A1

Quote-end

5 Jul 11th, 2003 

6 Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful

Advantages:
Total control, Reliability, image quality

Disadvantages:
Not for novices  :  - ), weight

Recommendable Yes:

Detailed rating:

Picture Quality

Range & Quality of Features

Ease of Use

Overall Look & Design

Value for Money

berrysoft

berrysoft

About me:

Member since:11.07.2003

Reviews:2

The A1 is great if you have a fair bit of photographic knowledge & want to get more experience in traditional 35mm film photography. It's not the easiest camera to get to know if you're just starting - although, as long as you can deal with the manual focussing, you can just put it on "auto" & fire away.

Had an A1 for nearly 20 years & put (literally) thousands of film through it. Dragged it all over Europe & bits of the US. Utterly reliable and, with Canon or Vivitar Series 1 lenses, excellent image quality. I Don't use Canon flash - I prefer off-camera units.Multi mode:
  • Full auto
  • Shutter priority
  • Aperture priority
  • Flash
  • Aperture override

I've used this camera with 3200 ASA colour film & 2 minute exposures (4 x 30 seconds using multi-exposure!), with the bellows, the 5FPS motor drive (not to be confused with the power winder), 2x converter etc and it always just works perfectly. Using it in extreme cold (20 deg C), keep it under your jacket otherwise the battery stops working... Most accessories are available at good prices now so building up a kit is not too expensive.

Many A1's have been used by Pro's & Semi-Pro's so, when buying secondhand, check that the shutter fires at both low & high speeds & doesn't "buzz" at high speeds - if it does, it's badly worn. Check the lens comes off/goes on cleanly & look for signs of wear on the lens mount. Most A1's were black & it's common for some of that to be worn - don't let it put you off.

Best lens I've used on it - Canon 20mm F2. If you're going where there are mountains, it's fabulous :-) 

How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines

exceptional

very helpful

helpful

somewhat helpful

not helpful

off topic

Products you might be interested in »

Minolta Dynax 404SI

Minolta Dynax 404SI

Analogue Cameras - SLR - 135mm - with Built-in Flash - with Red Eye Reduction

User reviews (6)

Buy now for only £ 149.95

Olympus E-30

Olympus E-30

(+) Fold out LCD screen, Image Stabilization, Zuiko lens quality, Picture quality, Flash options
(-) Noise in low light, Too many buttons, Badly laid out, Too many gimmicks

User reviews (2)

Buy now for only £ 695.49

Canon EOS 3000V

Canon EOS 3000V

Analogue Cameras - SLR - 135mm - with Built-in Flash - with Red Eye Reduction

User reviews (3)

Buy now for only £ 299.99

Nikon F5

Nikon F5

(+) Fast, reliable, tough, accurate...youname it.
(-) Weight and price tag.

User reviews (2)

Buy now for only £ 350.00

Canon EOS 300

Canon EOS 300

(+) Light weight and Very Easy To use
(-) None that i have found

User reviews (23)

Buy now for only £ 229.95

Olympus IS 200

Olympus IS 200

Analogue Cameras - SLR - 135mm - with Zoom - with Built-in Flash - with Red Eye Reduction

User reviews (1)

Buy now for only £ 229.95

Comments about this review »

stencil 11.07.2003 22:41

a warm welcome to ciao and a great first op! regards, stencil

claireatwh 11.07.2003 15:16

Some bits a bit technical for me, but some useful words of advice. Nice Op.



More reviews »

Canon - Canon - review by MarcusPerkins

Advantages: Huge Spec, Ease of Use
Disadvantages: No built in flash

Canon - Canon - review by MarcusPerkins MarcusPerkins 31.08.2000 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Canon - Canon

Canon - Canon - review by sjlambert

Advantages: Suitable for beginners and more creative photographers
Disadvantages: Can't think of any

Canon - Canon - review by sjlambert sjlambert 05.05.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Canon - Canon

Canon - Canon - review by Moonraker

Advantages: Easy to use
Disadvantages: Against todays cameras it may seem big

Canon - Canon - review by Moonraker Moonraker 05.09.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Canon - Canon

Canon - Canon - review by Ciren

Advantages: 3 different modes
Disadvantages: difficult to find 2nd hand now - all snatched up quickly

Canon - Canon - review by Ciren Ciren 31.12.2000 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Canon - Canon



Are you the manufacturer / provider of Canon - Canon? Click here