Gear Talk # 6 – Canon AE-1 Program

Mark Zanzig

JANUARY 2024 – A Canon AE-1 Program camera with Canon FD 50mm 1:1.8 lens. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com

My First Love

Born in 1965, I grew up with analog cameras. My mother had inherited the passion for photography from her father, and I am happy that she infected me with the photography virus early in my life. The first camera that I can remember was her Kodak Retinette 1B, a 35 mm camera that was protected by a robust brown leather pocket. I took my first shots with that camera in the 1970s.

After a short period of shooting Polaroids, from 1980 to about 1982, my mother upgraded to a Canon AE-1 Program that came with a kit lens, a Canon FD 50 mm f/1.8. It had been a big investment for our family at the time, but this move really got me hooked to photography.

It was my first love, and it became a deep one.

It had everything I could dream of:

  • Av Exposure Mode – for controlled, creative work with the aperture
  • LED exposure meter – for more precise exposures
  • FD lens mount – for big variety of lenses
  • Compact, sturdy metal body
  • Minimal power consumption
  • Holder for label of film package
  • Action grip for improved stability
  • Super reliable

(More details about the AE-1 Program body can be found at camera-wiki.org.)

For more than two decades I kept shooting with the Canon AE-1 Program. I knew the camera, I liked the camera, and I could (usually) get the results I wanted with the camera. Over time I purchased several lenses for my portfolio that – in its final state – enabled me to shoot from very wide angle (17 mm) to tele (500 mm).

I brought this equipment plus plenty of films for longer trips to Portugal (1988), Italy (2000), Canada (2002), the USA (2003), South Africa (2004), Rome and Scotland (both 2005), as well as countless shorter trips.

2002 – Mark Zanzig with his Canon AE-.1 Program camera in British Columbia. © Petra Zanzig

One thing that I disliked is that one of my bodies developed what is known in the AE-1P community as ‘shutter squeak’ – a short, high pitched mechanical noise that could be heard when the mirror was moving up or down during an exposure. It replaced the nice CLACK sound and did not sound good at all, irritating me and everyone close to me. Two good news: the issue did not affect image quality, and it can be fixed – but back then I did not care enough to get a repair. I just endured the noise and kept shooting.

During our trip to Scotland, though, I realized that the analog times were really coming to an end. It just did ot feel right any longer to fiddle around with expensive films and be uncertain about the results until the film came back from the lab. Using P&S cameras, I had experienced digital photography for a couple of years by then, and I liked the convenience. As a consequence, I switched to a Canon EOS 1Ds mark II in September 2005 with just two zoom lenses in the beginning, a 24-70mm and a 70-200mm. While money was not really tight, the new body plus two L lenses were serious investments, and so I sold off the complete analog equipment.

Truth is, as much as I loved the AE-1 Program from 1982 to 2005, I have never looked back at analog photography after 2005, ever.

Today, after more than two decades experience with digital photography, I still appreciate that I started photography with analog cameras. This helped me understanding exposure settings as well as develop a certain efficiency when shooting. You know, today one can fire away happily (and yes, even I do it sometimes!) and sort the mess in Lightroom later on. It is not uncomon to come home from a wedding with 2,000 images on file. Back then, you couldn’t do that because it was too expensive. You simply had to carefully think about your photo, compose it and then shoot one, two, maybe three frames if you wanted variants. This experience is still useful today.

Do I recommend beginners to switch (back) to analog photography then? Hell, no! It is just too expensive, especially when you’re a beginner. Why waste your money on film, development, and prints? Before doing so, you may consider emulating an old analog camera and style. You can do that with any decent DSLR today. Just nail the ISO (100, 125, 200, or 400. If you are brave, use 1000.) Auto ISO is not allowed! You can select a b&w image mode (if you want to shoot b&w photos.) Then set yourself a hard limit of 24 or 36 exposures and use the same ISO setting and image mode for all your images!

Once those images are “used up” you’ll have to put in a break of about two to three minutes (to “change the film”) before re-adjusting the ISO and image mode for the next batch of images.

You may only shoot single exposures – no continous shooting, please. Continuous shooting was possible with the Canon Power Winder A but just a two exposures per second. If your DSLR allows this speed, you may go for it. But keep in mind that the 36 exposures of your film will be gone in just 18 seconds. And then you’d have to wait for two to three minutes (see above.)

To encourage efficient shooting, you may also think about handing over 5 to 10 Euros to your S.O. for each of these virtual 36 exposure film rolls. This way, you’ll quickly consider a hard limit of two (maybe three) virtual rolls of film per day. Still, this can result in 72 to more than 100 images from a single day.

What’s more, you should disable preview and review, maybe by covering the display with black cardboard. Just judge the image by what you see in the viewfinder. In terms of exposure modes, you will want to go with just Av, Tv, M, and P. Oh, and please do not forget to put the focus to manual (strictly no AF allowed.) Needless to say, image stabilizers are a big no-no as well. Just disable them. 🙂

But I get carried away. Here’s a very detailed site containing instructions on how to actually shoot with a Canon AE-1 Program. Reading it sends shivers down my spine because it feels like meeting your ex on the street and remembering all the good times you had together – but well knowing that the times have changed, and there’s absolutely no future for you as a couple. 😉

Here are my top-12 favorites shots with the AE-1 Program bodies:

1987 – Capela da Nossa Senhora da Rocha, Alporchinhos, Portugal, on a sunny summer day. © Mark Zanzig
1988 – Blue hour at the west coast in Portugal. Shot with Canon FD 28 mm f/2.8. © Mark Zanzig
1989 – Close-up of a hand in a black leather glove grabbing the iconic star hood ornament badge of a Mercedes Benz car. © Mark Zanzig
2002 – Amphitrite Lighthouse on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada right after sunset. © Mark Zanzig
2002 – Columbian Ground Squirrel in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. © Mark Zanzig
2003 – Photographers capture a sunbeam that turns the red walls of the Antelope Canyon in Arizona into bright orange. © Mark Zanzig
2003 – Highway 163 near Kayenta, Arizona, looking North. © Mark Zanzig
2003 – Two hikers walk in the Queens Garden, seen from the Rim Trail at the Bryce National Park, Utah. © Mark Zanzig
2004 – Shortly before sunset, a paraglider lands in Camps Bay, Cape Town, South Africa. © Mark Zanzig
2004 – View across Maitland Beach near Port Elizabeth, South Africa. © Mark Zanzig
2005 – Caerlaverock Castle, Scotland. © Mark Zanzig
2005 – Two ship wrecks rest on the coast of the Isle of Mull near Salen, Scotland. © Mark Zanzig

By the way, on my site are hundreds of images that were shot with that camera model. Hope you like them as much as I do. 🙂

The high resolution image

Capture Date & Time14-JAN-2024, 09:55
LocationUnterhaching, Germany
CameraCanon EOS-1D Mark IV
LensCanon EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
ISO100
Exposure1/30 sec at f/8
Digital Image Source FormatCanon Camera RAW (CR2)
Edited Image FormatJPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB
Edited Image Dimensions4470 x 3264 Pixels
Copyright© by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com