International Camera Museum : Blue Moon Camera and Machine

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Canon A-1

Manufactured by Canon from 1978 until 1985, the A-1 is a significant camera because it was the first 35mm SLR to be capable of full program exposure, therefore, also the first SLR to have all four of what are now considered the common PASM exposure modes: Program, Aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual. In terms of setting exposure, the A-1 can do it all. It even has a fifth exposure mode, stop-down AE exposure, so that the older FL lenses could be used with a form of aperture priority auto exposure.

The A-1 does bear some strong design similarities to the AE-1 and any user familiar with that camera will pick up the A-1 and find it quite comfortable. Like the earlier AE-1, the A-1 still makes use of a horizontally-traveling cloth shutter that has a top speed of 1/1000th and a flash sync of only 1/60th. Its automatic exposure functions also necessitate an electronically-governed shutter that cannot work without battery power.

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Canon 24mm f1.4 L FD - Sample Images

The Canon 24mm f1.4 L FD is among the rarest and most desirable Canon FD lens designs. Introduced in 1979, it features an aspherical element in its 10 element / 8 group optical formula which helps to maintain excellent sharpness even when shot wide open at f1.4. Distortion is negligible, and flare and falloff are very well controlled. This lens creates unique possibilities for low-light interior photography. The Canon 24mm f1.4 L FD's expansive angle of view, combined with the shallow depth of field inherent at the f1.4 aperture (especially when focused near to the 1-foot close-focus distance) produces a unique look. Bokeh, not usually a consideration in ultra-wide lenses, is distinctive, with a pronounced "cat's-eye" shape and a concentric ring pattern within.

Canon A-1 reskinned in blue

Warning! Warning! Severe temptation ahead!⁠

You have been warned.⁠

When our repair tech brought in this Canon A-1, revamped in a shimmery blue leatherette, our staff productivity ground to a halt. All of us felt compelled to ogle at this beautiful 'new' camera. One of our employees, Sophia, looked at it and described it as "approaching dragon... not quite all the way to dragon, but getting close." How cool would it be to be the photographer behind a Canon A-1 skinned in close-but-not-quite-dragon skin?

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Zachary Carothers with his Canon A-1

Our good friend, Zachary Carothers, of Portugal. The Man came in to the shop to pick up his Canon A-1 in preparation for an upcoming trip south. He loves this camera and was thrilled to get it back. He had been helping lead a youth film workshop and the shutter had started malfunctioning. Thankfully cameras like this are nearly infinitely repairable due to the massive numbers of them produced during the heydays of film. There is no shortage of spare parts. And sure, generally the repair bill is higher than a replacement camera, but that ignores any sentimental value accrued by traveling the world with a specific camera, or having had the same camera for decades and decades.