Carsten-Schmitt and his Weapon of Choice: Canon AE-1

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“It was cool as an easy-to-use, gateway drug for getting back into analogue photography,” says Carsten Schmitt (@carsten-schmitt) as he recalls on how the Canon AE-1 reignited his passion for shooting on film. In this interview, he talks about what makes this nifty SLR a must-have gear for photography enthusiasts.

Name: Carsten Schmitt
LomoHome: @carsten-schmitt
Location: Saarbrücken, Germany
Weapon of Choice: Canon AE-1

Tell us more about yourself and what you do.

I’m a German guy in his late thirties who leads two lives. On one side, I live in the Matrix where I work for a big software corporation. In the real world, however, I dabble in photography and writing. These days I try to spend more time in real life doing things that bring me joy. Occasionally, these lives overlap like when I have to travel the Matrix for business reasons and can bring a camera.

You can find out a bit more about me on my blog.

Why is the Canon AE-1 your Weapon of Choice?

I had a hard time deciding which camera to feature in this article. The Canon AE-1 is, in fact, not necessarily my most favorite camera. I have too many cameras and I love them all. So I do love my Canon, but there are others which have more history, “cooler” or which might be “better”.

However, the Canon AE-1 is dear to my heart. When I was thinking about this interview, I realized that the majority of my photos were made with it. It was cool as an easy-to-use, gateway drug for getting back into analogue photography some five years ago. It is a great general purpose SLR and it has the fastest lens that I own, and the widest lenses that I own. Also, people keep giving me AE-1 bodies so now I have three of them and several lenses. Therefore, I am also not so concerned about it when I go someplace. Of course, I look after my equipment but sometimes I am just more likely to take one of my Canons on a trip than, say, one of my expensive Leicas.

Any memorable experiences you’ve had while using this camera?

Well, I got my first one with a crap zoom lens for 35 EUR and it brought me back into analog photography so that’s memorable for sure. It also taught me a lesson to look after my equipment because it turned out that lens was busted and thus my first roll of film came out blank. But I also shot my first roll of Tri-X in my AE-1 and I still remember thinking “Holy Shit!” when I had developed that roll and looked at the results. Tri-X instantly became one of my favorite films then. I also pretty much learnt the basics of photography—-focal lengths, apertures, depth-of-field, and what-have-you—-with this camera.

Would you recommend the Canon AE-1 to other Lomographers? If yes, to whom do you have in mind?

Absolutely! If you are after a quality SLR with a wide choice of excellent yet affordable lenses you should really consider the AE-1. It was so common that there are still plenty around so they are cheap and easy to get. It offers a very accessible way into film photography in terms of availability, affordability, and ease-of-use. But cheap doesn’t mean bad quality in this case! You can use it to learn the basics but with the wide selection of lenses and accessories the system will grow with your skills.

When using this camera, what are you favorite subjects to photograph and why?

For me this is a general purpose camera. I have my fastest and my widest prime lenses for it, so I like to take it when I need low light performance, for photographing people, or for landscapes. I take it to city trips and vacations. I used to carry it around every day but I am switching to smaller cameras for that. It really is an all-rounder.

Any tips or tricks with using the Canon AE-1?

Don’t be a cheap skate! You can get an AE-1 for next to nothing so I suggest you invest in some good Canon FD lenses. The f 1:1.4 50mm prime is excellent and costs only a fraction of its modern equivalent. Apart from some specialty lenses the whole range is very affordable yet good. This is not a camera that was meant to have a lo-fi look and whilst you can certainly use it for that, I suggest you stick some quality glass onto it and let it show you what it can do.

What’s your most favorite camera, film, or accessory? If you are proud of your Weapon of Choice, drop a line at eunice.abique@lomography.com and share your story with the rest of the community!

2016-06-04 #gear #weapon-of-choice

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drummond, djmusician, theblues, pan_dre, srcardoso, alcastan, mickedi, rik041, carsten-schmitt & sirio174.

5 Comments

sirio174 · 2016-06-04 15:27
My Canon Av-1 with the FD 50/1,8 and my AE-1 Program with the nFD 50/1,4 are great! I prefer the AV-1 for "sentimental" reasons and because it is lighter than AE-1p!
icequeenubia · 2016-06-06 08:46
Thank you for granting us this interview, @carsten-schmitt!
carsten-schmitt · 2016-06-06 09:00
@icequeenubia My pleasure! :-)
bobbyjonc · 2017-05-14 04:14
Hi @carsten-schmitt, you said there are cameras that are cooler and better, care to share what are those? I got my Canon AE-1 Program a few days ago, my first film camera, and I love everything about it except for its shutter squeak. I'm thinking of selling it then get a Nikon FM2 or an Olympus 35 SP.
carsten-schmitt · 2017-05-15 09:58
@bobbyjonc Well, that's a bit of a vague question. What I meant was, "cooler" or "better" in my view, and in my collection. Everyone will have different favorite cameras, depending on their needs and preferences. If you are happy with the AE-1 (that shutter squeak can be fixed quite easily from what I understand) than there is no reason to switch. It is a great camera!
As for the ones you mentioned I don't have any experience with them, so I cannot compare them. I quite like my Minolta XG-1, which is kinda in the same league as the Canon, but you can get lenses and stuff a little cheaper as they don't quite have the same "name" as the Canons, but undeservedly so I think.
On the upper end, price-wise, are my Leicas. I own a IIIf and an M3. I love both, they are wonderful and the lenses are *fantastic*. However, I also love them because they are such nice pieces of camera design and there is that Leica nimbus. Do you need a Leica, though, to make better pictures? No, certainly not. In my case, there is a bit of the collector aspect as well.
I recently acquired an Olympus Pen FT, which is wonderful in many respects but the glass I have for it could be faster... Plus, there is the half-frame format which has its pros and cons, so it's probably not a camera for everyone.
I'm afraid that does not really answer your question, does it? I'd say, stick to the Canon for a while until you get the hang of it. There are many great and affordable lenses for the FD bayonet. Then, maybe get your hands on a rangefinder camera (maybe borrow one) to try whether you like that better than SLRs. If you want to go medium format, try a Bronica. They are very good (again, very good lenses), but they won't break the bank like a Hasselblad would.
Does that help?