I have bought and sold a lot of film cameras over the past 12 years and as I wrote a few blog posts ago, there are a few I have regretted selling. One is the Canon A-1. I bought my first A-1 from a photographer friend in Alameda. He was dumping his 35mm gear and taking a giant leap into large format 4x5 photography. I shot a few rolls in the A-1 and, deep into GAS, put it away and moved on to other cameras.

When I finally decided I had way too many film cameras and wanted to reduce my collection to just a few that I loved and shot regularly, the Canon A-1 didn’t make the keeper list. Thinking back, I am not sure why I decided to sell my A-1. It was a pleasing camera to use; small, lightweight and capable. And I got very good results from the camera and the FD lenses.

A few months ago while browsing eBay, a nice Canon A-1 popped up in my feed. I dove into the listing and saw a nice camera from a seller with good feedback. Prices on A-1s, on many film cameras for that matter, have jumped up considerably the last few years. This one was a bit more money than I wanted to spend, but it looked well cared for and the seller seemed honorable. So I bit.

Of course, having sold off all of my Canon FD gear, I needed a lens. While I waited for my camera to arrive, I went shopping for a 50mm f/1.4 Canon FD lens and found a nice late version for a decent price. The camera and lens arrived within a few days of each other.

I popped a battery into the Canon, fitted the lens and put the camera through its paces. Everything seemed to work just fine, but the camera had the Canon squeal, an annoying sound that A-1s,AE-1s and similar models make. Doesn’t seem to affect operation, but the wheezing of the shutter drives me crazy. So I packed up the camera and lens and sent both off to Jim Holman at ICT for a CLA.

My camera was back in a flash from Jim, relieved of its cough and fully serviced. I loaded up a roll of Kodak Color Plus and took the Canon for a test drive.

A Weekend With The A-1

While the A-1 has several shooting modes; shutter priority, aperture priority, manual and program, I love just setting this camera into the full program mode and using it like a point and shoot. On Saturday, I took the camera on a hike at Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen, CA. The 1400 acre park, on the slope of Sonoma Mountain, features some wonderful trails, historic structures and the ruins of Wolf House, a 15,000 square feet home Jack was building for his beloved wife Charmian that burned just before they were set to move in. It was a delightful day with warm sun and a cool breeze.

The park has a variety of trails, from open meadows near vineyards to shaded strolls along stands of California Redwood.

I learned a lot about Jack London that day. He was an interesting man…a novelist, journalist, photographer, explorer, farmer…and he deeply loved his wife Charmian. In Charmian, he found his true love. His soulmate.

The next day, we packed up some snacks and loaded our dog up for some fun on the beach. Kimmie loves a good game of fetch.

There were gale force winds that day on the Sonoma Coast. Kimmie demonstrates.

I enjoyed my reunion with the Canon A-1. While I am more of a Nikon man, I really do like the Canon FD lenses and I think the A-1 is the best FD platform for me. You never want to say never, but I am pretty certain I won’t be selling this camera anytime soon. I like it and it’s nice to use a copy that is functioning as- new.

Some other observations from this weekend of photography:

I enjoy shooting the dogs at play, but I think I need a telephoto lens. I am considering the Nikkor 80-200mm AF-D or AF-S zoom (not the latest versions for sure, but best for my budget) to use on my F4 and F100. It’s a big lens, but manageable. It has a built in tripod collar and has good reviews. I want an auto-focus lens to properly capture the pups at play. Let me know if you have any input for me.
I’ve been ordering film from Amazon. They seem to have my favorite film stocks, especially Kodak. Prices are decent and I get my film the next day. I have had good results from the Tri-X I bought off of Amazon, but so-so results from color. As is the case with lots of Amazon stuff, you really don’t know where the products are sourced. In the case of film, storage is important and who knows how or where when it comes to Amazon. I am thinking I will go back to buying from B&H, Freestyle and the Shot On Film Store. I feel they take more care.