Canon AE-1

This was originally my dad's camera. When I first became interested in film photography he gave it to me to practice, and then eventually he gifted it to me and it became my own.

While it may look intimidating to a beginner, it is a somewhat easy camera to get started with since it has a light meter and automatic exposure. That being said, it gives you all the control you'd need and uses interchangeable lenses.

The camera feels heavy and metal. The viewfinder is large and comfortable. It has a split image focusing system, which operates a lot like a rangefinder, using an internal prism system.

I love this camera and think of it as a nearly perfect design object. I don't shoot it very often anymore, but primarily only because of its size and weight.