Canon AL-1
Encyclopedia
Canon Inc.
is a Japanese multinational corporation that specialises in the manufacture of imaging and optical products, including cameras, camcorders, photocopiers, steppers and computer printers. Its headquarters are located in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan.-Origins:...
AL-1 was an FD mount
Canon FD
The Canon FD lens mount is a physical standard for connecting a photographic lens to a single-lens reflex camera body. The standard was developed by Canon of Japan and was introduced in March 1971 with the Canon F-1 camera. It was the primary Canon SLR lens mounting system until 1987 when the...
, 35mm
135 film
The term 135 was introduced by Kodak in 1934 as a designation for cartridge film wide, specifically for still photography. It quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 120 film by the late 1960s to become the most popular photographic film format...
single-lens reflex camera
Single-lens reflex camera
A single-lens reflex camera is a camera that typically uses a semi-automatic moving mirror system that permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging system, as opposed to pre-SLR cameras where the view through the viewfinder could be significantly...
introduced in March 1982. Its main feature was the "Quick Focus" focus-assist system that was aimed at those who had trouble focusing through the viewfinder
Viewfinder
In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and in many cases to focus, the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main optical system. Viewfinders are used in many cameras of...
—either novices, or those with poor eyesight—and was intended to head off competition from the first full-autofocus
Autofocus
An autofocus optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus fully automatic or on a manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system has to be done manually until indication...
cameras from other manufacturers, such as the Pentax ME F
Pentax ME F
The Pentax ME F was an amateur level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex camera. It was manufactured by Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. of Japan from November 1981 to 1984...
.
The QF focus-assist system searches for the greatest image contrast in the subject using three linear CCD
Charge-coupled device
A charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...
arrays in the base of the camera. Light is diverted to these sensors through a partially-silvered mirror. When the contrast in the image is greatest, the image is the least blurred and thus in focus. Below the viewfinder image, two red arrows indicated which direction to turn the focusing ring to achieve focus, which is indicated by a green circle lighting in between the two arrows. Contrast detection is the system used for autofocus
Autofocus
An autofocus optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus fully automatic or on a manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system has to be done manually until indication...
on most compact digital camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
s in recent years.
As a lower-end camera, the AL-1 did not offer a long list of features. Instead, Canon focused on providing core functionality and lowering price. The AL-1 provides focus-confirmation, aperture-priority autoexposure (controlled by a through-the-lens silicon photocell), and a small selection of manual shutter speeds, including 10 second self-timer. It also added a larger grip, and the convenience of using of AAA cells for power. Its body was constructed from a special polycarbonate
Polycarbonate
PolycarbonatePhysical PropertiesDensity 1.20–1.22 g/cm3Abbe number 34.0Refractive index 1.584–1.586FlammabilityV0-V2Limiting oxygen index25–27%Water absorption – Equilibrium0.16–0.35%Water absorption – over 24 hours0.1%...
that was then painted to imitate metal. An ISO hotshoe, motor-drive connections, and cable-release socket provide an acceptable level of compatibility with accessories. It was also the last SLR camera to carry Canon's 1960s-era logo on the pentaprism.
The camera uses Canon's breech-lock FD mount, and so users could choose from the wide variety of Canon FD lenses, as well as those from third parties. Users could also utilise Canon R and FL lenses, but with some limitations.
Notably, the AL-1 marked Canon's first public foray into autofocus technology. While far from a true autofocus system, the camera acted a test for Canon engineers as to the feasibility of contrast detection for SLR cameras. Due to the camera's lack of features, it was never overly popular and so it would be 1985 before Canon expanded on the concept, even though its competitors raced ahead. In 1983 Nikon
Nikon
, also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...
introduced the F3AF, a special version of their pro-series F3
Nikon F3
The Nikon F3 was Nikon's third professional single-lens reflex camera body, preceded by the F and F2. Introduced in 1980, it had manual and semi-automatic exposure control whereby the camera would select the correct shutter speed . The Nikon F3 series cameras had the most model variations of any...
, which utilised a special viewfinder with a built-in autofocus system connecting electronically to a motor in the lens. In 1985 Minolta
Minolta
Minolta Co., Ltd. was a Japanese worldwide manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It is perhaps best known for making the first integrated autofocus 35mm SLR camera system...
introduced the Maxxum 7000
Minolta Maxxum 7000
The Minolta MAXXUM 7000 35mm SLR camera was introduced in 1985. It marked a significant milestone in photography as it was the first camera to feature both integrated autofocus and motorised film advance, the standard configuration for later amateur and professional single lens reflex...
(Dynax 7000 in Europe and Asia), the world's first body-integrated autofocus SLR. Canon reacted to this with the T80
Canon T80
The Canon T80 is Canon's first autofocus 35mm single-lens reflex camera. It was introduced in April 1985 and discontinued in June 1986 and is part of the T series of FD mount cameras, and is not compatible with Canon's later EOS system and its autofocus EF-mount lenses. Instead, three special...
, which integrated the focus system into the body and, as with the F3AF, connected electronically with a motor in the lens.
In 1987, Canon abandoned the FD mount in favour of the EF mount
Canon EF lens mount
Introduced in 1987, the EF lens mount is the standard lens mount on the Canon EOS family of SLR film and digital cameras. EF stands for "Electro-Focus": automatic focusing on EF lenses is handled by a dedicated electric motor built into the lens...
along with the EOS
Canon EOS
The Canon EOS autofocus 35 mm film and digital SLR camera system was introduced in 1987 with the Canon EOS 650 and is still in production as Canon's current DSLR system...
camera system, which uses the same concept as the T80 but with a new and incompatible mount designed around an all-electronic interface.