The Canon AE-1
1976
The first single-lens reflex controlled by a microprocessor, mass-produced with electronics and plastics and sold to amateurs on television. It turned the SLR into a consumer product.
How it began
By the mid-1970s Japanese SLRs were good but complicated and expensive. Canon designed the AE-1 to be built cheaply in large numbers, with electronic modules and plastic parts, and advertised it heavily, including on television.
How it works
The photographer picks a shutter speed; a built-in light meter measures through the lens, and a microprocessor sets the aperture automatically. A battery powers the shutter and electronics. It was one of the first cameras with a central processor managing its functions.
Why it mattered
The AE-1 sold in the millions and brought automatic SLR photography to amateurs. It showed that electronics, not precision mechanics, would drive cameras forward, which led to autofocus and eventually to digital cameras.
Limits and what replaced it
Without a battery it does not work, and it has no manual-exposure aperture priority or autofocus. Canon’s fully electronic EOS system (1987) succeeded it.
Today
A favourite of today's film revival, widely bought second-hand.