Miss my old Canon AE-1

RickB · Aug 30, 2016

Before digital, I had a couple of Canon AE-1 35 mm film cameras that I really liked. My favorite lens was a 28-85 f 2.8 zoom. I could do quite a bit with this, and usually did everything manually. I now have a Finepix digital camera that has pretty good resolution. However, it is quite cumbersome to shoot manually. It is a real pain to adjust the f-stop or shutter speed, so I just leave it on auto. Is there a DSLR that would function a little like my old Canons where I could turn the barrel of the lens to set the aperture, and something simple to set the shutter speed? I hate having to go through all that computer menu stuff. I would like interchangeable lenses, but I don't want to break the bank. I could start with one basic zoom lens, and expand later as needed.

bratkinson · Aug 31, 2016

For just about any DSLRs out there, the pre-DSLR age lenses would provide the manual aperture setting you seek. For example, using a Canon-specific 3rd-party adapter, mounting FD and FL series lenses will work just fine. That's the good news. From what I've read, bird photographers frequently purchase an older, manual (FD/FL) long telephoto (400mm and longer), and use that on their DSLRs as the cost of an EF series long telephoto is just to pricey for most hobby photographers.

Setting shutter speed will still have to be done using a wheel of your choice on the DSLR. I don't know if all brands and models allow modifying which wheel does what, but using the one on the top of the body near the shutter release is usually the best position.

The bad news is that the older lenses do not have focusing motors inside of them, and must be manually focused using the appropriate ring on the lens. The problem is determining when the lens is accurately focused, as there is no split-ring or other image focusing capability visible in the view finder. There are after-market DSLR focusing products that solve that problem. However, using 'live mode' where the image is shown on the LCD on the back of the camera, one can do a pretty good job of focusing. The difficulty of using the LCD image to focus with is that it is too small too determine if it's exactly as desired or the subject is slightly out of focus, necessitating multiple 'close enough' focus shots. Even with new lenses and DSLRs, sometimes manual focusing is required when there is insufficient light and/or contrast for the camera to automatically focus. I've resorted to 'bracket' focusing in these situations twisting the focus ring in 'stops' either side of where I generally focused the subject. Like using exposure bracketing, the goal is to get one or two just-right images out of 8-10 shots.

astroNikon · Sep 1, 2016

My Nikon stuff does just that. But as mentioned the ViewScreens nowadays do not have the split focus screen as they did in the past. So it's a bit hard to manually focus.

But, for example with Nikon, many newer lenses do not have the aperture ring. The older AF/AFD Autofocus lenses do, and you simply turn off the AF on the body and you can focus manually. And you can set the Aperture manually on the lens itself.

If you like the older controls you also may like the Nikon Df camera, which is a Full Frame camera but designed with the old knob interface, and can be purchased used too. ==> Nikon Df | Classic Nikon DSLR with Modern Features Inside

here is a used one ==> Nikon Nikon Df Used Items Used DSLR Cameras and SLR Cameras | Buy, Compare & Review | Adorama

RickB · Sep 1, 2016

Yes, that Nikon Df is exactly what I'm looking for. Too bad it's way out of my price range. Is there anything like that in the $500 range?

spiralout462 · Sep 1, 2016

Why not use a Canon Ae1? I do on a daily basis. Newer doesn't always mean better.

astroNikon · Sep 2, 2016

RickB said:
Yes, that Nikon Df is exactly what I'm looking for. Too bad it's way out of my price range. Is there anything like that in the $500 range?

Many of the newer Mirrorless cameras have those features.
I don't know much about mirrorless though.

I have a Nikon P7800 (small sensor) that has full manual controls. But it's a 1/1.7 inch sensor. So it's much harder to control than a larger sensor camera in anything but ideal lighting.

edit: you may want to look at used Fuji Mirrorless cameras as they seem to have all the manual controls. Some use "micro 4/3rds" sized sensors and APS-C and FullFrame.