# CANON AE-1



## tevo (Sep 5, 2011)

I can get a Canon AE-1 in good condition with 2 flashes, a 1:3.875-150mm, a 1:2.8 35mm, and a 50mm 1:1.8 for $150 from a friend. Worth it?



I am also planning on getting a Nikon FM or an FM2n with a 50mm lens, any resources on where to buy those / more information on the body itself / compatible lenses?


----------



## compur (Sep 5, 2011)

tevo said:


> I can get a Canon AE-1 in good condition with 2 flashes, a 1:3.875-150mm, a 1:2.8 35mm, and a 50mm 1:1.8 for $150 from a friend. Worth it?



Seems a little high to me (though I am a notorious cheapskate).




> I am also planning on getting a Nikon FM or an FM2n with a 50mm lens, any resources on where to buy those / more information on the body itself / compatible lenses?



The Nikon SLR lens mount has gone through an evolution since it's introduction in 1959
with the Nikon F camera. This original version of the mount is now referred to as the F mount.
The first major change was in 1977 with the introduction of "AI" (auto indexing) lenses.
Then came the AI-S mount followed by the auto-focusing AF and AFD lenses. Other 
changes followed. 

The FM2 can use AI, and AI-S lenses (which are all manual-focus) and can also use the 
auto-focus AF or AFD lenses but focused manually.

Many of the early F-mount lenses have been converted to AI and these can be used as well.

The earlier Nikon FM model can use all the FM2 lenses plus the earlier F-mount lenses though
using these early lenses requires a little added procedure to get a correct meter readings.

Both use the same motor drive accessory and share many parts. Both are also fine cameras 
which are widely respected. The FM is older, of course, so extra care should be used in finding 
one in good condition if you choose to get one.  The FM2 has a much advanced shutter over
the FM and better metering and interchangeable focusing screens -- all very nice improvements.

KEH.com and eBay are probably the most popular sources for purchase.


----------



## tevo (Sep 5, 2011)

compur said:


> tevo said:
> 
> 
> > I can get a Canon AE-1 in good condition with 2 flashes, a 1:3.875-150mm, a 1:2.8 35mm, and a 50mm 1:1.8 for $150 from a friend. Worth it?
> ...



The reason the price is high is because I would be buying it directly from a friend of mine who needs money, and I am happy to give a little bit more.

Thank you for your information on the Nikon Lenses, very helpful. I have never heard of KEH.com, I'll check it out! When you say the Fm2 has an advanced shutter, what exactly do you mean?


----------



## compur (Sep 5, 2011)

^ You're welcome.

The FM has shutter speeds to 1/1000.  The FM2 has speeds to 1/4000.  The FM2 can also be used with flash
at higher shutter speeds than the FM.


----------



## tevo (Sep 6, 2011)

compur said:


> ^ You're welcome.
> 
> The FM has shutter speeds to 1/1000.  The FM2 has speeds to 1/4000.  The FM2 can also be used with flash
> at higher shutter speeds than the FM.



from what i can see there is around a hundred dollar price gap between the fm2 and fm.. and i read somewhere that there is an fm2 and an fm2n, and the n supposedly has a better shutter, are you familiar with this?


----------



## pixilstudio (Sep 6, 2011)

digital... viva la revolition


----------



## compur (Sep 6, 2011)

tevo said:


> from what i can see there is around a hundred dollar price gap between the fm2 and fm.. and i read somewhere that there is an fm2 and an fm2n, and the n supposedly has a better shutter, are you familiar with this?



Yes.  There were actually 3 major versions of the FM2.  The first one had titanium shutter curtains and flash sync 
speed of 1/200. Then the titanium was replaced with aluminum curtains and then the flash sync speed was upped 
to 1/250. Those with the 1/250 sync are unofficially referred to as "FM2N"

The difference between these models in actual use is minuscule but the titanium curtain models and 1/250 sync
models usually sell at a premium (as do the black paint ones).

There were 2 versions of the FM -- the first having a "shutter mode" switch surrounding the shutter release and
the later one without it.  Again, there is no great reason to prefer one over the other as far as shooting is
concerned.


----------



## tevo (Sep 7, 2011)

@compur, i ordered a Nikon FM chrome body, and an f/1.8 50mm lens. Only ran me about 150 dollars, just a good starting point. The next step for me (in the future) is to get a FM2n.


----------



## compur (Sep 7, 2011)

Great!  The FM and FM2 are among my favorite cameras and Nikon lenses are top notch.


----------



## tevo (Sep 7, 2011)

compur said:


> Great!  The FM and FM2 are among my favorite cameras and Nikon lenses are top notch.


yeah i'm hoping i like it too!  any suggestion for film? i know i want 35mm b&w, but i know nothing about the quality of different brands


----------



## compur (Sep 7, 2011)

tevo said:


> any suggestion for film? i know i want 35mm b&w, but i know nothing about the quality of different brands



I would recommend getting some color print film. Get 100 speed and shoot outdoors in daylight.
Brand and exact type doesn't really matter at this point. 

Get accustomed to using your camera's meter and other controls and have fun.

Worry about the rest later.  One step at a time and all that.


----------



## tevo (Sep 7, 2011)

compur said:


> tevo said:
> 
> 
> > any suggestion for film? i know i want 35mm b&w, but i know nothing about the quality of different brands
> ...



why color? i<3b&w c;


----------



## compur (Sep 7, 2011)

tevo said:


> why color?



At this stage it's easier to get an acceptable image with color photography than with B&W.

If you must shoot B&W you can use a chromogenic film such as Iilford XP-2 or Kodak BW400CN which 
can be processed at most any lab.

But, keep in mind that newbies are frequently disappointed in their first B&W images gotten from a lab 
because good B&W images take work. Most  lab-printed B&W images are terrible. It's really best to take 
a photo course and do everything yourself (film processing, printing, etc) to really learn B&W and get 
what you want out of it.

But, maybe you'll get lucky. 

Tip:  If you get one image per roll that you like -- don't worry, you're doing fine.  Most of us don't get
much more than that (if that).


----------



## tevo (Sep 8, 2011)

compur said:


> tevo said:
> 
> 
> > why color?
> ...



well in the past, i have composed and set a shot with my dslr, then moved the settings over to the film and gotten DECENT results.. but i understand what you mean. ill probably buy a few rolls of both color and b&w


----------



## Josh66 (Sep 8, 2011)

compur said:


> Tip:  If you get one image per roll that you like -- don't worry, you're doing fine.  Most of us don't get
> much more than that (if that).


Oh ... come on.  It's not _that_ hard!  


I would agree that B&W is 'harder' than color though, because with color - you have all those colors contrasting with each other.  In B&W, all you have is the light.  (Kinda simplified, but I hope you get the point.)

Colors that may contrast with each other a lot in color might be almost the same tone in B&W.  So, while it may look like a nice and contrasty scene to the eye, it might be flat in B&W.

To _really_ get the best results, you'll also want a few colored filters...


----------



## tevo (Sep 8, 2011)

O|||||||O said:


> compur said:
> 
> 
> > Tip:  If you get one image per roll that you like -- don't worry, you're doing fine.  Most of us don't get
> ...



colored filters for B&W film? sounds tasty. explain this more?


----------



## compur (Sep 8, 2011)

tevo said:


> colored filters for B&W film? sounds tasty. explain this more?



Here's a reference:
Using coloured filters with black & white film


----------



## tevo (Sep 9, 2011)

compur said:


> tevo said:
> 
> 
> > colored filters for B&W film? sounds tasty. explain this more?
> ...



thanks much, got my body/lens today!

(Nikon FM w/ Nikon f/1.8 50mm)

That little lens shoots well on my D7000


----------



## tevo (Sep 13, 2011)

FOR THOSE WHO CARE:

Got a Nikon FM with a Nikon E 50mm prime..

and was at my grandparents today. my grandfather says "i should really show you my old nikon sometime"

*shows me his old nikon*

Nikon FG-20 w/ 80-200, and another 50mm prime. and a vivitar flash. and several macro filters.

"you can take anything you want from it, i dont use it"


had more fun with that thing in 10 minutes than i think he ever did the entire time he owned it. SCORE


----------



## cabledawg (Oct 1, 2011)

compur said:


> tevo said:
> 
> 
> > colored filters for B&W film? sounds tasty. explain this more?
> ...



Compur, that was an amazing read!  I also have a Canon AE-1 but I've never shot B&W, so this is a new trick to use next time I do family photos.  There are also some links on that page for polarizers and other filters that I'm going to check out.


----------



## Corto (Oct 28, 2011)

compur said:


> tevo said:
> 
> 
> > why color?
> ...



Good advice, I always get a roll of kodak 400 12exp when I get a new film camera. Just to get an idea of what its capable of.


----------



## Crollo (Mar 18, 2012)

compur said:


> Seems a little high to me



What delusional world do you live in? It's more expensive to buy just *ONE* of those lenses individually then the entire package! Take me to your world where buying a 50mm 1.8 + 35mm 2.8 + 75-150mm 3.5 costs less then $100, I'd love to live there.


----------



## compur (Mar 19, 2012)

Crollo said:


> What delusional world do you live in?



The USA.



> It's more expensive to buy just *ONE* of those lenses individually then the entire package! Take me to your world where buying a 50mm 1.8 + 35mm 2.8 + 75-150mm 3.5 costs less then $100, I'd love to live there.



Your shopping skills must be as poor as your forum manners.  Generic lenses with those specs can easily be bought online for about $20 or less, especially since the OP didn't specify that the lenses offered were made by Canon.  I sell generic used lenses like these for about $10-$15 at local camera shows, as do my fellow sellers.


----------



## Crollo (Mar 20, 2012)

compur said:


> Generic lenses



When was that stated? He didn't even state the brand of the lenses, only the specs. Either way, lenses don't lose their value [exception of wear, fungus etc] and people who sell $100 worth of optics for $10 just because 'the lens is old' are fools, but I'm only more then happy to use their sales for my own bargaining goods... Picking up a 50mm 1.8 for 10$ is pretty fun, especially when it would cost me over $120-150 to buy it for a 'new' mount.

To OP: That body + lens combo is a steal, consider that just buying a EF 50mm f\1.8 would cost you more then that entire combo. Too bad you didn't grab it.


----------



## compur (Mar 20, 2012)

Crollo said:


> When was that stated? He didn't even state the brand of the lenses, only the specs.



Exactly.  That was my point (which you might have noticed sailing over your head).




> To OP: That body + lens combo is a steal, consider that just buying a EF 50mm f\1.8 would cost you more then that entire combo. Too bad you didn't grab it.



EF lenses don't fit an AE-1 which uses FD lenses. And if you consider an AE-1 with a few lenses for $150 a "steal" I have lots and lots of cameras and lenses you can "steal" from me.


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Mar 20, 2012)

Girls. You're both pretty.


----------

