Canon AE-1 - Manual (Page 48)

shutter speed dial until the meter needle
inside the viewfinder moves into the proper
exposure range. To confirm this, turn the
shutter speed dial while looking into the
viewfinder and pressing the exposure pre­
view switch at the same time. It is convenient
to turn the shutter speed dial with your
forefinger in order to swiftly cope with the
speed of fast moving subjects. When using
shutter speeds slower than 1/30 second,
the camera should be placed on a tripod to
avoid the possibility of camera shake.
3 Viewing and Focusing
Focusing is performed in the small round
area in the center of the viewfinder. The
smaller central circle is a split-image focusing
screen and around it is the microprism ring.
The split-image rangefinder ascertains that the
image is "in focus" when the image divided
horizontally in half matches and becomes
one complete image.
The microprism rangefinder presents a
clear and steady image when in focus. The
microprism conveys a broken, shimmering