Light meter on camera?

Question

Well I have taken photography for about 1 1/2 a year ago. I ordered a camera ( canon ae-1 slr 35mm) it a little different since i used to use a pentax. my only problem is when i look through it i can see the light meter but it reads 22,16,11,8,5.6,4 etc. on all my other camers i have used none of them had these stops. my teacher always taught me to keep the line in the middle. also the light meter does not work until i slightly press on the button, and then it lights up ..kinda confused since ive never had a camera like this. am i supposed to get the line in the middle(directly on 5.6) or is that just the f stop

Answer 1

It's a shutter priority camera, you select the shutter speed, the camera selects the aperture. It also has manual mode. Pushing the shutter button half way activates the meter. This is normal. More AE 1s were sold than any other 35mm camera to date.

Answer 2

Well, what the camera does instead of giving you an idea how over/underexposed the shot is, it gives you what it thinks the aperture should be set.  It is a little bit of a change from the ol' Pentax K-1000, but I've taken the transition pretty easily.  

And yes, the light meter does not activate until the shutter is partially pressed.  The AE-1 will take a little getting used to, but I've found I like the camera alot.  It's become one of my main cameras.

And do you have the 50mm prime lens with that?  I love that lens...  Never really worked with a fast prime lens before, and I'm getting spoiled.