Specifications#
- Brand
- Canon
- Model
- AE-1
- Camera type
- Film SLR
- Released
- 1976
- Lens mount
- Canon FD
- Film format
- 35 mm film (135)
- Image area
- 47.5 × 41.0 mm (Medium format 53.4 × 40 mm)
- Crop factor
- 0.69×
- ISO range
- 25 – 3,200
- Weight
- 590 g (20.8 oz)
- Focus
- Manual
- Metering
- EV1 to EV18 @ ASA 100
- Exposure modes
- Shutter priority, manual
- Flash
- Hot shoe, PC socket
- Battery
- 4SR44 6 V battery
- Dimensions
- 87 × 141 × 47.5 mm
- Successor
- Canon AE-1 Program
- Made in
- Japan
- Production
- 1976-1984
Specifications merged from Wikipedia and Wikidata. Spot an error? Tell us.
Sensor size compared#
Focal length equivalents & field of view#
Multiply any focal length by 0.69 to get the full-frame field of view. Angles are for a rectilinear lens focused at infinity.
| Lens on this camera | Full-frame equivalent | Horizontal | Vertical | Diagonal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 mm | 14 mm | 97.0° | 88.6° | 112.4° |
| 23 mm | 16 mm | 91.8° | 83.4° | 107.5° |
| 28 mm | 19 mm | 80.6° | 72.4° | 96.5° |
| 32 mm | 22 mm | 73.2° | 65.3° | 88.9° |
| 35 mm | 24 mm | 68.3° | 60.7° | 83.7° |
| 45 mm | 31 mm | 55.6° | 49.0° | 69.8° |
| 55 mm | 38 mm | 46.7° | 40.9° | 59.4° |
| 63 mm | 43 mm | 41.3° | 36.0° | 52.9° |
| 80 mm | 55 mm | 33.1° | 28.7° | 42.8° |
| 90 mm | 62 mm | 29.6° | 25.7° | 38.4° |
| 110 mm | 76 mm | 24.4° | 21.1° | 31.8° |
| 120 mm | 83 mm | 22.4° | 19.4° | 29.3° |
| 150 mm | 103 mm | 18.0° | 15.6° | 23.6° |
| 180 mm | 124 mm | 15.0° | 13.0° | 19.8° |
| 250 mm | 172 mm | 10.9° | 9.4° | 14.3° |
| 350 mm | 241 mm | 7.8° | 6.7° | 10.2° |
Depth of field table#
Total depth of field at each subject distance, using a circle of confusion of 43.5 µm (the 0.030 mm full-frame standard scaled by the crop factor).
| Focal | Aperture | 50.0 cm | 1.00 m | 2.00 m | 3.00 m | 5.00 m | 10.0 m | Hyperfocal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 mm | f/1.8 | 3.6 cm | 14.9 cm | 61.6 cm | 1.44 m | 4.44 m | 36.4 m | 13.1 m |
| 32 mm | f/2.8 | 5.6 cm | 23.3 cm | 99.1 cm | 2.42 m | 9.08 m | ∞ | 8.44 m |
| 32 mm | f/4 | 8.0 cm | 33.8 cm | 1.51 m | 4.06 m | 29.4 m | ∞ | 5.92 m |
| 32 mm | f/8 | 16.3 cm | 73.8 cm | 4.84 m | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | 2.97 m |
| 63 mm | f/1.8 | 0.9 cm | 3.7 cm | 15.3 cm | 34.9 cm | 98.3 cm | 4.08 m | 50.7 m |
| 63 mm | f/2.8 | 1.3 cm | 5.8 cm | 23.9 cm | 54.5 cm | 1.55 m | 6.73 m | 32.6 m |
| 63 mm | f/4 | 1.9 cm | 8.2 cm | 34.2 cm | 78.6 cm | 2.27 m | 10.8 m | 22.9 m |
| 63 mm | f/8 | 3.8 cm | 16.5 cm | 70.0 cm | 1.66 m | 5.33 m | 72.4 m | 11.5 m |
| 107 mm | f/1.8 | 0.3 cm | 1.2 cm | 5.2 cm | 11.9 cm | 33.5 cm | 1.36 m | 146 m |
| 107 mm | f/2.8 | 0.4 cm | 1.9 cm | 8.1 cm | 18.5 cm | 52.2 cm | 2.13 m | 94.1 m |
| 107 mm | f/4 | 0.6 cm | 2.7 cm | 11.5 cm | 26.4 cm | 74.8 cm | 3.08 m | 65.9 m |
| 107 mm | f/8 | 1.2 cm | 5.4 cm | 23.1 cm | 53.2 cm | 1.52 m | 6.61 m | 33.0 m |
| 176 mm | f/1.8 | 0.1 cm | 0.4 cm | 1.8 cm | 4.3 cm | 12.2 cm | 49.7 cm | 396 m |
| 176 mm | f/2.8 | 0.1 cm | 0.6 cm | 2.9 cm | 6.7 cm | 19.0 cm | 77.4 cm | 254 m |
| 176 mm | f/4 | 0.2 cm | 0.9 cm | 4.1 cm | 9.5 cm | 27.1 cm | 1.11 m | 178 m |
| 176 mm | f/8 | 0.4 cm | 1.9 cm | 8.2 cm | 19.1 cm | 54.4 cm | 2.23 m | 89.2 m |
Equivalent aperture#
Exposure is identical at the same f-number on any format; equivalence only describes depth of field and total light.
Night-sky exposure limits#
Longest exposure before stars trail. The NPF rule accounts for pixel pitch and is stricter than the classic 500 rule — use it for pin-sharp stars on high-resolution sensors. (NPF needs a known resolution and is omitted here.)
| Focal length | 500 rule |
|---|---|
| 20 mm (14 mm eq.) | 36.3 s |
| 29 mm (20 mm eq.) | 25.0 s |
| 35 mm (24 mm eq.) | 20.7 s |
| 51 mm (35 mm eq.) | 14.2 s |
| 73 mm (50 mm eq.) | 9.9 s |
Handheld shutter speed guide#
The reciprocal rule uses the equivalent focal length. High-resolution sensors may need one stop faster than this for pixel-sharp results.
| Focal length | No stabilisation (1/equiv. focal) | With 3-stop IS | With 5-stop IBIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 mm | 1/25 s | 0.3 s | 1.3 s |
| 73 mm | 1/50 s | 1/6 s | 0.6 s |
| 145 mm | 1/100 s | 1/13 s | 0.3 s |
| 290 mm | 1/200 s | 1/25 s | 1/6 s |
Lenses for the Canon AE-1#
Native Canon FD lenses in our database (12 total). Also adaptable: T-mount (T2), M42 screw mount, Deckel (DKL), Canon FL, Tamron Adaptall, M39 / LTM (Leica thread).
- Canon FDn 24mm 1:2.8 24 mm
- Canon FDn 28mm f/2.8 28 mm
- Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C. 50 mm
- Canon FDn 50mm 1:1.4 50 mm
- Canon FDn 50mm 1:1.8 50 mm
- Canon FDn 100mm 1:2.8 100 mm
- Canon FDn 100mm f/2.8 100 mm
- Canon FDn 135mm 1:2.8 135 mm
- Sigma 180mm f/5.6 APO Macro 180 mm
- Canon FD 200mm f/2.8 S.S.C. 200 mm
- Canon FDn 200mm 1:4 200 mm
- Tokina 500mm f/8 RMC Mirror Lens 500 mm
Film stocks for the Canon AE-1#
Films currently made in 135 format.
- ADOX CHS 100 II ISO 100
- ADOX CMS 20 II PRO ISO 20
- ADOX Color Mission 200 ISO 200
- ADOX Color Mission Helios ISO 3
- ADOX HR-50 ISO 50
- ADOX Scala 50 ISO 50
- Agfa Copex Rapid ISO 50
- AgfaPhoto APX 100 ISO 100
- AgfaPhoto APX 200 ISO 200
- AgfaPhoto APX 400 ISO 400
- AgfaPhoto Color 400 ISO 400
- Argenti ARF+ Reporter Film Plus ISO 400
- Argenti Nanotomic X ISO 32
- Argenti Pan-X ISO 100
- Argenti Scale-X ISO 100
- Bergger Pancro 400 ISO 400
- CatLABS X FILM 320 ISO 320
- CatLABS X FILM 320 Pro ISO 320
Similar cameras#
Other Medium format 53.4 × 40 mm film cameras from around the same time.
Frequently asked questions#
What is the crop factor of the Canon AE-1?
The Canon AE-1 has a crop factor of 0.69× relative to 35 mm full frame (diagonal 62.7 mm vs 43.3 mm).
What size is the Canon AE-1 frame?
47.5 × 41.0 mm (Medium format 53.4 × 40 mm), an area of 1948 mm² — 225% of full frame.
What lens mount does the Canon AE-1 use?
The Canon AE-1 uses the Canon FD (flange distance 42.00 mm).
How long can I expose the night sky with the Canon AE-1?
With a 29 mm lens (20 mm equivalent) the 500 rule gives 25 s.
Sources & licences#
- Wikipedia: Canon AE-1 — CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q55674 — CC0
Last updated October 03, 2026 · How we calculate · Sources