But after talking to the Pros at Helix Camera in Chi, I found that the body of the AE-1 was made of 'plastic'. The first Canon or any 'top grade' brand to go that way.
So finding that out my decision was then pretty simple -- go Nikon. I got the Nikon FE and the MD-10 Motor Drive. It's been Nikon Only since then. And that was for any camera in our family including a point and shoot 35mm for the wife (which she still uses).
Plus there was one other difference between the AE-1 and FE that was pretty important to me. The Canon AE-1 was Shutter Priority, the Nikon FE was Aperture Priority. And controlling Depth Of Field was (and still is) everything. But the AE-1 'Plastic' Body sealed the deal for me for Nikon.
Not that the AE-1 or Canon is bad, many pros still use them(1).
It's kind of like in the field of music and electric guitars. The 'fight' over Gibson Les Paul vs Fender Stratocaster and which is 'better' will go on forever among players.
Lots of cameras use polycarbonates instead of metal castings. If you drop one of each on the sidewalk the plastic frame just might suffer less damage. In a salt air atmosphere like I live in plastic wins. The shutter priority issue only exists in auto mode, it’s not a big deal for me.