This camera was my first major one I bought back in 1981. It was THE one to have dollar for dollar.It was loaded with so many features,it left a learning photographer (myself) plenty of room to grow into it,ANDit was very reasonable.

NONE EVER!! Even to this day,18 years later!

The A-1 was and still is to me a wonderful camera. If you have one and it's in good shape,enjoy it BUT guard it with yor life.This camera is getting had to come by in good shape.It is a rare jewel that helped us evolve to where camera's are today.It was alittle ahead of it's time,BUT that's Canon for ya! I own two,and I'm never letting them go!

Customer Service

Can't comment. Never had to use them.

Similar Products Used:

canon AE-1, canon (old)F-1 canon T-90

Durable, dependable, affordable

Never had any problems with this model.

A truly excellent camera, this is what I was trained on over 15 years ago and, after trying other cameras (including some of the newer more automated slr's), i picked up my first A1. I have been using mine now for over 10 years with no problems at all (none of my many Canon's are victims of the classic shutter-whine problem that plagues Canon's of this era). It is more solidly built than newer cameras so i can take it anywhere with little fear of damaging it (and, also unlike the newer cameras, the battery will last for years of regular use).
Accepts the full line of FL/FD Canon lenses and the A and M series winders so there is a great deal of flexibility possible with this camera system.
A-1 bodies in excellent shape are becoming rarer these days so the price is going up on them. I would recommend buying one now (and maybe a spare) while they are still fairly reasonably priced.

Customer Service

Never have needed to service this camera so can't say anything about the cust service side...

Similar Products Used:

AT-1, AE-1 (and AE-1P), AL-1, FT-b, TL-b, F1, etc...

It is a cheap (far cheaper than F-1New) camera that works well in association with the Canon Autobellows for macro.

Shutter as on every manual focus from Canon (excepted T-90)

Usefull camera.
If you have one, keep it!
If you think about buying one, think twice this camera is really old now.

Customer Service

We have an excellent CS from Canon in Belgium. They are real pro's!

Similar Products Used:

Canon: AE-1, T-90

it was built to last, great metering, bright display, great lenses

no problem whatsoever except the slow flash sync, and no mirror lock-up

great camera for a beginner or someone wanting some automations. no plastic on any parts of the body. only real downfall is that they no longer make new lens for it.

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

nikon fe2,fm2n,f3hp; canon ae1,f1; pentax lx,k1000

One of the first super easy to use auto SLR's. But can also be used in manual. Dependable.

nope.

If you can find one used for sale this is a stellar camera.

Customer Service

never needed it.

Similar Products Used:

Canon FTb and AE-1

Simple and easy to use. Aperture and Shutter priority modes available or full manual operation when you want it as well. A solid camera that can handle some heavy use without a complaint. (and it is nice to have a camera that the battery will last for years in...).

The A-series Canon cameras have developed a reputation for that annonying shutter return whine mentioned in the earlier review here but none of my A's have shown any sign of it yet despite many years of hard service. This is a great camera, extremely durable and trouble-free.

I learned to take picture on one of these cameras over 15 years ago and i've always been happiest when using one ever since.
I've tried many other cameras both newer and older but none have worked as well for me. Far and away the favorite of my current collection of camera bodies.

5 stars for the Overall rating of course but I'll give it only 4 stars for Value because the bodies are getting harder to find and more expensive for the good/excellent condition ones.

Customer Service

Never had to bring it in for servicing so i couldn't say...

Similar Products Used:

Most of the Canon A-series line, (AE-1, AT-1, AL-1, etc...) as well as the EOS bodies.
Numerous Nikon N and F series

* At the time this camera came out it was considered to be a major breakthrough
* one for the first cameras to offer TV and AV auto exposure modes ona single camera in additon to the manual exposure mode
* electronic shutter was noted for it's high accuracy (in comparison to mechanically timed shutters like those found in the Leica rangefinders)

* This camera and others like it (AE series) suffered from a shutter friction problem which resulted in a noise or sqeak when the shutter was released. While this did not effect the exposure it was enough of a problem that I gave the camera away to a friend.

Great when it came out, but never really lasted due to the shutter noise problem. This camera lead to the T-90 camera, Canon's crowning manual focus camera with heavy electronics. The T-90 was the stepping stone to the EOS auto focus cameras (note simular vewfinder between T-90 and EOS-1).

Customer Service

beware of camera repair sites that do not fix the shutter properly. They sometimes use oil to reduce the noise. This oil can leak out into the camera body and to the mirror dampener foam strip. The result is when the mirror slaps the foam the oil sprays out onto the mirror surface.

Similar Products Used:

Canon F-1
Nikon F series
Minolta 9000
Leica M6
Canon T-90
other Canon T series cameras

easy to work with takes nice pictures

none

real nice camera happy with it

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

mostly pocket cameras