Canon AL-1 Program

Economy little brother to the famed Canon AE-1, the AL-1 comes at a much friendlier price point with most of the features and gorgeous stylings of the AE-1.

"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. However the battery door is one of its weakness as most of the cameras that are found today on the market have their battery door broken or that has been changed. Its body was constructed from a special polycarbonate 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.

In 1987, Canon abandoned the FD mount in favour of the EF mount along with the EOS camera system, which uses the same concept as the T80 but with a new and incompatible mount designed around an all-electronic interface." (Wikipedia).