5 frames with a Canon Av-1 and a Elicar 28mm f2.8 – A.K.A. “Don’t think, React” – by Gael Berthon

I was looking for a 35mm f2.8 for my Canon A1. After telling a friend about it, he sent me a Wallapop offer from a guy selling a Canon Av-1 with a M42 35mm f2.8 and a FD to M42 Mount, all for 30 bucks and 10 minutes away from my home. Bought it and left it on a shelf, just using my A1 with that lens the Av-1 body came with, for a while.

A few month later I participated in a small project and wanted to have the option of having 2 lens with me and not willing to swap lens every now and then… And so… Took that Av-1 from the shelf to have 2 bodies with me that day. Something that a really rarely do. It’s its lightweight that charmed me that day, compared to my bulky A1.

The Canon Av-1 is an extremely simple Aperture priority only camera (and so, battery powered which is its main downside), that I mainly use with a Elicar 28mm f2.8, M42 mount. That lens was given to me by a friend back in my “youth town ” in Marseille, France.

I live in Madrid, Spain for the last 13 years, where we have about 300 sunny days per year. That Av-1 and my 28mm set to f16 to f22, pre-focused at 1.5meter… It became almost instantly my “don’t think, react” camera.
As for the aesthetic, I usually use Kodak Tri-X pushed two stop and I love being really close to my subjects in the street. Needless to say that I do like high contrast quite a bit.

All 5 pictures presented here are from the Av-1 with a Promura 35mm f2.8 or an Elicar 28mm f2.8 (altho just one picture is with the 35mm). The film used was Kodak TriX pushed 2 stops (ASA1600) that I processed in D76 (1+1) for 13min15sec. My agitations do change from roll to roll, depending of what I shot that day and what I expect to get, contrast wise. Altho I have made prints in darkroom of those negative, what I’m presenting here are scanned negatives (Epson V550).

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