How rare are black AE-1 Programs and why?

I really wish I could find a near mint black AE-1 P some day. I

really love this camera and I would absolutely like to have one in

all black. I know they exsist and I have seen pictures. But I have

never seen one in real life at a camera shop that sells used equip.

Why are they so rare, I mean what kind of production run were they

on and why were they produced for so short (presumibly) a run? Why

were they made at all for that matter, my reason for wanting one I

guess or was it some anniversary or something?

You would be well advised to get an A-1. They are black, do everything an AE-1 P will do and they are a better camera.

<a href="http://www.keh.com/shop/product.cfm?bid=CA&cid=02&sid=newused&crid=5335407">KEH</a> has them all the time.

There are many on the auction site, but be prepared to have it CLA'd to get rid of the mirror squeak. I will add that an A-1 plus CLA is closing in on the even better T-90. Then of course you might get the "EEE"'s. So I am looking for the all black FTb(n) or EF or F-1 or.....!!!! Good luck!

You can get the Mirror-box lube for $30-40, so you don't need to budget a full CLA, for an otherwise perfectly working Canon A-1. I got a MINT- A-1 for $125 including the 50mm f1.4 lens. It needed the mirror-box lube to get rid of an occassional squeek, That service cost me $30 + round trip shipping (around $12) so at the end of the day, I got a minty and perfectly working A-1 for under $170, including the f1.4 lens. That's half the cost of a T-90. And, BTW, I didn't want a motor, nor the weight of the motor.

Try ebay they run about $125.00 condition will vary and the closer to mint cosmetically the higher the final bid will be. Mine cost $115.00 on a BUY IT NOW purchase it does have slight brassing at the corners and did get a CLA (as does any camera coming into my Kit)They are not really rare just not as common as the chrome ones. And while the A-1 is an excellent camera there are a couple of BIG advatages the AE-1P has over it's older brother. The interchangeable screens for one (yes you can change screens in an A-1 but not in the field in a few seconds. Also the Viewfinder is substantally brighter in the AE-1P. This can be very important if the body is to be used with slower lenses like long telephotos or combo's with doublers. My wifes birding Kit an AE-1P chrome 400mm f4.5 with 2X-A extender uses the AE-1P body rather then one of the four A-1's I have sitting mostly idle around here because the viewfinder does not black out like it does with the A-1.

 

IMHO

 

Mark W.

Hi!<P>

 

To at least attempt to answer your original question, the black-body AE-1 Programs are only rare in a relative sense. They were part of the normal production run for the camera, but since the purchase cost was at a premium over of the chrome-body cameras, relatively few of them were bought. Off-hand I don't know if the brand-new cost for a black-body AE-1 Program was approaching that of a brand-new A-1, in which case folks probably just opted for the black-bodied camera with more features (i.e., the A-1). As an aside, Canon offered black-body cameras for all the normally chrome-body models (AE-1, AE-1 Program, AV-1, AL-1, and from what I understand, the AT-1 near the end of its production run -- although I've never seen one myself).<P>

 

The black-body AE-1 Programs are out there, and really not that difficult to find; what <B>IS</B> difficult is finding one in the condition you are seeking for a reasonable price. They do seem to be popular collector's items.