How to Use a Canon A-1 35mm Camera
Fit your lens if you haven't already., Turn the camera on., Turn on your viewfinder display., Open your viewfinder blind., Check your battery., Load your film., Set your film speed., Set your lens' aperture ring to "A"., Get up and get out there and...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Fit your lens if you haven't already.
The steps below describe how to fit original FD lenses with a silver locking ring, the kind which were typically sold with the camera at the time.
If yours doesn't have this, it's a late-70s-and-onwards "new FD" lens, and the instructions will differ somewhat; in the instructions below, replace the part with twisting the silver locking ring with twisting the whole lens itself until it audibly locks into place.
Remove your body cap.
Remove your body cap if you have one, as well as the rear lens cap on the lens.
Line up the two red dots...
Line up the red dot on the lens with the red dot on the body and gently drop the lens into the mount. ...and twist the silver locking ring to tighten it into place.
Twist the locking ring clockwise, that is, clockwise if you are looking from it from the front.
It won't lock into place, but instead it will get progressively tighter.
Don't overtighten this, but do make sure it is firmly in place. -
Step 2: Turn the camera on.
Rotate the main switch from "L" to "A".
Canon's manual recommends leaving this at "L" when you're not using the camera to conserve battery life.
It might not be worth bothering with this, especially if you're not using one of Canon's power winders for the A-1; just handle your camera carefully (so as not to hit the shutter button) and you'll be okay., This is a small lever right next to the large ASA dial on the left of the camera (if you're looking from the back).
Turn it clockwise to uncover the white dot.
This will turn on the display in your viewfinder (and you want this)., Uncommonly, the A-1 has a blind on the viewfinder to stop stray light entering the viewfinder on long, tripod-mounted exposures.
It's a neat enough feature, but most of the time, you will not need this.
If it hasn't been done already, turn the small lever to the left of the viewfinder window clockwise to open the blind., The A-1 is an electronically controlled camera that will not work with a low or dead battery; the shutter will refuse to fire if it is.
Press the battery test button (illustrated).
If the LED next to the shutter button doesn't blink at all then your battery is dead.
If it does not blink very rapidly (several times per second), then it's low, and you should replace it.
Pick up a few cheap 4LR44 (aka A544) cells and replace them., This is just like any other rear-loading SLR.
Pull your film rewind knob upwards to open the back of the camera.
Place your film in the film chamber, and draw the leader of the film over to sit in one of the slots, and so that the bottom of the leader is engaging the film transport sprocket.
Close the back of the camera, push the shutter and then wind the film on.
Repeat until the frame counter shows that you're on the first frame.
While you do that, watch the rewind knob on the left as you wind the film on on; this should turn as you wind it on, and if it doesn't it probably means your film isn't loaded correctly. , This is necessary for automatic exposure to work accurately.
The film speed dial sits around the rewind crank, and has a silver unlocking button on the side, as illustrated.
Push this in, and then rotate the dial to the same as the ASA (same as the ISO) speed rating of your film., This will allow the aperture to be set by the camera; for the most part, this is what you want (it always is, unless you're doing fully manual exposures for some reason)., The next part of this guide will walk you through using the A-1. -
Step 3: Turn on your viewfinder display.
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Step 4: Open your viewfinder blind.
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Step 5: Check your battery.
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Step 6: Load your film.
-
Step 7: Set your film speed.
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Step 8: Set your lens' aperture ring to "A".
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Step 9: Get up and get out there and take some photographs.
Detailed Guide
The steps below describe how to fit original FD lenses with a silver locking ring, the kind which were typically sold with the camera at the time.
If yours doesn't have this, it's a late-70s-and-onwards "new FD" lens, and the instructions will differ somewhat; in the instructions below, replace the part with twisting the silver locking ring with twisting the whole lens itself until it audibly locks into place.
Remove your body cap.
Remove your body cap if you have one, as well as the rear lens cap on the lens.
Line up the two red dots...
Line up the red dot on the lens with the red dot on the body and gently drop the lens into the mount. ...and twist the silver locking ring to tighten it into place.
Twist the locking ring clockwise, that is, clockwise if you are looking from it from the front.
It won't lock into place, but instead it will get progressively tighter.
Don't overtighten this, but do make sure it is firmly in place.
Rotate the main switch from "L" to "A".
Canon's manual recommends leaving this at "L" when you're not using the camera to conserve battery life.
It might not be worth bothering with this, especially if you're not using one of Canon's power winders for the A-1; just handle your camera carefully (so as not to hit the shutter button) and you'll be okay., This is a small lever right next to the large ASA dial on the left of the camera (if you're looking from the back).
Turn it clockwise to uncover the white dot.
This will turn on the display in your viewfinder (and you want this)., Uncommonly, the A-1 has a blind on the viewfinder to stop stray light entering the viewfinder on long, tripod-mounted exposures.
It's a neat enough feature, but most of the time, you will not need this.
If it hasn't been done already, turn the small lever to the left of the viewfinder window clockwise to open the blind., The A-1 is an electronically controlled camera that will not work with a low or dead battery; the shutter will refuse to fire if it is.
Press the battery test button (illustrated).
If the LED next to the shutter button doesn't blink at all then your battery is dead.
If it does not blink very rapidly (several times per second), then it's low, and you should replace it.
Pick up a few cheap 4LR44 (aka A544) cells and replace them., This is just like any other rear-loading SLR.
Pull your film rewind knob upwards to open the back of the camera.
Place your film in the film chamber, and draw the leader of the film over to sit in one of the slots, and so that the bottom of the leader is engaging the film transport sprocket.
Close the back of the camera, push the shutter and then wind the film on.
Repeat until the frame counter shows that you're on the first frame.
While you do that, watch the rewind knob on the left as you wind the film on on; this should turn as you wind it on, and if it doesn't it probably means your film isn't loaded correctly. , This is necessary for automatic exposure to work accurately.
The film speed dial sits around the rewind crank, and has a silver unlocking button on the side, as illustrated.
Push this in, and then rotate the dial to the same as the ASA (same as the ISO) speed rating of your film., This will allow the aperture to be set by the camera; for the most part, this is what you want (it always is, unless you're doing fully manual exposures for some reason)., The next part of this guide will walk you through using the A-1.
About the Author
Betty Castillo
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