Specifications#
- Brand
- Canon
- Model
- AL-1
- Camera type
- Film SLR
- Released
- 1982-03-01
- Lens mount
- Canon FD
- Film format
- 135 film
- Image area
- 47.6 × 42.1 mm (Medium format 53.4 × 40 mm)
- Crop factor
- 0.68×
- ISO range
- 25 – 1,600
- Weight
- 490 g (17.3 oz)
- Focus
- Manual
- Metering
- EV3.5 to EV18
- Flash
- Hot shoe
- Dimensions
- 86.5 × 142.1 × 47.6 mm
- Made in
- Japan
Specifications merged from Wikipedia and Wikidata. Spot an error? Tell us.
Sensor size compared#
Focal length equivalents & field of view#
Multiply any focal length by 0.68 to get the full-frame field of view. Angles are for a rectilinear lens focused at infinity.
| Lens on this camera | Full-frame equivalent | Horizontal | Vertical | Diagonal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 mm | 14 mm | 97.2° | 90.1° | 113.1° |
| 23 mm | 16 mm | 92.0° | 84.9° | 108.2° |
| 28 mm | 19 mm | 80.7° | 73.9° | 97.2° |
| 32 mm | 22 mm | 73.3° | 66.7° | 89.6° |
| 35 mm | 24 mm | 68.4° | 62.0° | 84.5° |
| 45 mm | 31 mm | 55.7° | 50.1° | 70.4° |
| 55 mm | 37 mm | 46.8° | 41.9° | 60.0° |
| 63 mm | 43 mm | 41.4° | 37.0° | 53.5° |
| 80 mm | 54 mm | 33.1° | 29.5° | 43.3° |
| 90 mm | 61 mm | 29.6° | 26.3° | 38.9° |
| 110 mm | 75 mm | 24.4° | 21.7° | 32.2° |
| 120 mm | 82 mm | 22.4° | 19.9° | 29.7° |
| 150 mm | 102 mm | 18.0° | 16.0° | 23.9° |
| 180 mm | 123 mm | 15.1° | 13.3° | 20.0° |
| 250 mm | 170 mm | 10.9° | 9.6° | 14.5° |
| 350 mm | 238 mm | 7.8° | 6.9° | 10.4° |
Depth of field table#
Total depth of field at each subject distance, using a circle of confusion of 44.1 µm (the 0.030 mm full-frame standard scaled by the crop factor).
| Focal | Aperture | 50.0 cm | 1.00 m | 2.00 m | 3.00 m | 5.00 m | 10.0 m | Hyperfocal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 mm | f/1.8 | 3.6 cm | 15.1 cm | 62.4 cm | 1.46 m | 4.52 m | 38.2 m | 12.9 m |
| 32 mm | f/2.8 | 5.7 cm | 23.6 cm | 1.00 m | 2.46 m | 9.33 m | ∞ | 8.33 m |
| 32 mm | f/4 | 8.1 cm | 34.3 cm | 1.53 m | 4.15 m | 31.8 m | ∞ | 5.84 m |
| 32 mm | f/8 | 16.5 cm | 75.0 cm | 5.01 m | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | 2.94 m |
| 64 mm | f/1.8 | 0.8 cm | 3.6 cm | 15.0 cm | 34.2 cm | 96.5 cm | 4.00 m | 51.7 m |
| 64 mm | f/2.8 | 1.3 cm | 5.6 cm | 23.4 cm | 53.5 cm | 1.52 m | 6.57 m | 33.3 m |
| 64 mm | f/4 | 1.9 cm | 8.1 cm | 33.6 cm | 77.0 cm | 2.22 m | 10.5 m | 23.3 m |
| 64 mm | f/8 | 3.8 cm | 16.2 cm | 68.5 cm | 1.62 m | 5.18 m | 63.6 m | 11.7 m |
| 109 mm | f/1.8 | 0.3 cm | 1.2 cm | 5.1 cm | 11.6 cm | 32.7 cm | 1.33 m | 150 m |
| 109 mm | f/2.8 | 0.4 cm | 1.9 cm | 7.9 cm | 18.0 cm | 50.9 cm | 2.08 m | 96.4 m |
| 109 mm | f/4 | 0.6 cm | 2.6 cm | 11.2 cm | 25.8 cm | 72.9 cm | 3.00 m | 67.5 m |
| 109 mm | f/8 | 1.2 cm | 5.3 cm | 22.5 cm | 51.8 cm | 1.48 m | 6.42 m | 33.8 m |
| 179 mm | f/1.8 | 0.1 cm | 0.4 cm | 1.8 cm | 4.2 cm | 11.9 cm | 48.6 cm | 404 m |
| 179 mm | f/2.8 | 0.1 cm | 0.6 cm | 2.8 cm | 6.5 cm | 18.6 cm | 75.7 cm | 260 m |
| 179 mm | f/4 | 0.2 cm | 0.9 cm | 4.0 cm | 9.3 cm | 26.5 cm | 1.08 m | 182 m |
| 179 mm | f/8 | 0.4 cm | 1.8 cm | 8.0 cm | 18.6 cm | 53.2 cm | 2.19 m | 91.1 m |
Equivalent aperture#
Exposure is identical at the same f-number on any format; equivalence only describes depth of field and total light.
Night-sky exposure limits#
Longest exposure before stars trail. The NPF rule accounts for pixel pitch and is stricter than the classic 500 rule — use it for pin-sharp stars on high-resolution sensors. (NPF needs a known resolution and is omitted here.)
| Focal length | 500 rule |
|---|---|
| 21 mm (14 mm eq.) | 35.0 s |
| 29 mm (20 mm eq.) | 25.3 s |
| 35 mm (24 mm eq.) | 21.0 s |
| 51 mm (35 mm eq.) | 14.4 s |
| 73 mm (50 mm eq.) | 10.1 s |
Handheld shutter speed guide#
The reciprocal rule uses the equivalent focal length. High-resolution sensors may need one stop faster than this for pixel-sharp results.
| Focal length | No stabilisation (1/equiv. focal) | With 3-stop IS | With 5-stop IBIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 mm | 1/25 s | 0.3 s | 1.3 s |
| 73 mm | 1/50 s | 1/6 s | 0.6 s |
| 147 mm | 1/100 s | 1/13 s | 0.3 s |
| 294 mm | 1/200 s | 1/25 s | 1/6 s |
Lenses for the Canon AL-1#
Native Canon FD lenses in our database (12 total). Also adaptable: T-mount (T2), M42 screw mount, Deckel (DKL), Canon FL, Tamron Adaptall, M39 / LTM (Leica thread).
- Canon FDn 24mm 1:2.8 24 mm
- Canon FDn 28mm f/2.8 28 mm
- Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C. 50 mm
- Canon FDn 50mm 1:1.4 50 mm
- Canon FDn 50mm 1:1.8 50 mm
- Canon FDn 100mm 1:2.8 100 mm
- Canon FDn 100mm f/2.8 100 mm
- Canon FDn 135mm 1:2.8 135 mm
- Sigma 180mm f/5.6 APO Macro 180 mm
- Canon FD 200mm f/2.8 S.S.C. 200 mm
- Canon FDn 200mm 1:4 200 mm
- Tokina 500mm f/8 RMC Mirror Lens 500 mm
Film stocks for the Canon AL-1#
Films currently made in 135 format.
- ADOX CHS 100 II ISO 100
- ADOX CMS 20 II PRO ISO 20
- ADOX Color Mission 200 ISO 200
- ADOX Color Mission Helios ISO 3
- ADOX HR-50 ISO 50
- ADOX Scala 50 ISO 50
- Agfa Copex Rapid ISO 50
- AgfaPhoto APX 100 ISO 100
- AgfaPhoto APX 200 ISO 200
- AgfaPhoto APX 400 ISO 400
- AgfaPhoto Color 400 ISO 400
- Argenti ARF+ Reporter Film Plus ISO 400
- Argenti Nanotomic X ISO 32
- Argenti Pan-X ISO 100
- Argenti Scale-X ISO 100
- Bergger Pancro 400 ISO 400
- CatLABS X FILM 320 ISO 320
- CatLABS X FILM 320 Pro ISO 320
Similar cameras#
Other Medium format 53.4 × 40 mm film cameras from around the same time.
Frequently asked questions#
What is the crop factor of the Canon AL-1?
The Canon AL-1 has a crop factor of 0.68× relative to 35 mm full frame (diagonal 63.5 mm vs 43.3 mm).
What size is the Canon AL-1 frame?
47.6 × 42.1 mm (Medium format 53.4 × 40 mm), an area of 2004 mm² — 232% of full frame.
What lens mount does the Canon AL-1 use?
The Canon AL-1 uses the Canon FD (flange distance 42.00 mm).
How long can I expose the night sky with the Canon AL-1?
With a 29 mm lens (20 mm equivalent) the 500 rule gives 25 s.
Sources & licences#
- Wikipedia: Canon AL-1 — CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q63019 — CC0
Last updated October 03, 2026 · How we calculate · Sources