| Brand | Canon |
| Release Year | 1976 |
| Release Price | 81,000 yen (~$740) |
| Lens Mount | FD Mount |
Introduced in April 1976, the Canon AE-1 was a very successful camera worldwide. When the Canon AE-1 came out, TTL manual-metering models (including the Canon FTB QL were still the mainstream in the 35mm SLR market. Auto-exposure models were still at the very top end of the SLR market. They were expensive and produced in small numbers.
The Canon AE-1, however, was designed from the ground up with five major units and twenty-five minor units. They were centrally controlled by a microcomputer. By incorporating electronics, the parts count could be reduced by 300. The manufacturing of the camera was also highly automated. This made it possible to produce a low-cost camera having high-end features.