Being a hobbyist photographer. The majority of photographers the world over are simply hobbyist shooters. There is no denial of this. Canon had recognized this ratio of hobbyists vs. professionals from as early as the mid-60s although its high quality and reasonably-priced 35mm SLR cameras were made available and aggressively promoted from the mid-70s onward. The first of such models was the Canon AE-1 of 1976. Yes, there were other Canon 35mm SLR cameras aimed at the hobbyist shooters long before that, like the Pellix, FT-b, FT-b QL and EF, to name a few. The AE-1 differs in ONE big way - it was easy to use for both beginners and amateurs, partly due to the use of its Shutter-priority AE mode and the inclusion of the world's first CPU (Central Processing Unit) inside a camera. The worldwide success of the AE-1 - over five million units sold, a record (for a single model) that still stands today, had enabled Canon to stamp its mark as the world's largest and innovative camera manufacturer. The AE-1 marked the introduction of a whole range of high performance Canon 35mm SLR cameras, known as the A-series, which later included models like the AT-1 (1977), A-1(1978), AV-1 (1980), AE-1 Program (1981) and AL-1 (1982). The A-series made way for Canon's T-series of SLR cameras, beginning with the T50 of 1983, the T70 in 1984, the T80 in 1985 and the highly-acclaimed T90 of 1986. The T90 was the predecessor of the current EOS series models. It was Canon's most advanced manual focus SLR camera and most of the technology available in this model was adopted for the hugely successful EOS cameras of today. The EOS System of Canon cameras, which uses a totally new lens mount and EF lenses with built-in AF motors, is incompatible with the manual focus FD lenses that the A-series and T-series models were famous for. Professional and advanced amateur users of Canon's manual focus SLR cameras did not welcome the introduction of the EOS System at first but the hobbyists did, turning the EOS series into the world's best selling AF 35mm SLR cameras. Not until the arrival of the original Canon EOS-1 in 1989 did the professional and advanced amateur user decide to follow suit in switching over to the EOS System. The rest is history. Now, what exactly constitutes a hobbyist shooter, anyway? Actually, this designation applies to any photographer who does not make a living or career out of photography. It includes anyone from the beginner who knows next-to-nothing about photography, to the amateur and advanced amateur (!!?). Yes, advanced amateur shooters are included in this category although their sentiments seemed to follow that of professionals in being finicky and more critical in their choice of equipment and preferences in photographic styles. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 .