In the early 1980s, the SLR still dominated and metering systems diversified as camera makers competed fiercely to offer the better camera. The confusion may have turned off buyers as more people began to avoid SLRs. In 1981, 35mm SLR production peaked at 7.67 million units. Two years later, this amount shrank by more than 30 percent to 5.37 million units. Amid such market conditions, the Canon T50 was introduced as a wave-of-the-future 35mm SLR camera. It was the first T-series camera. The camera was designed to respond to the user automatically. It was easy to use and anybody could take pictures with it. It had a power winder giving a continuous shooting rate of 1.4 frames per second, as well as an advanced auto-exposure mode and TTL program AE. In 1983 when it was introduced, the T50 won the Good Design Award from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. The T50 did not have power rewind, relying on a manual crank. The camera's electric systems were powered by two AA batteries in the grip, which gave enough power to shoot 75 24-exposure rolls, or 50 36-exposure rolls. The T50 (and subsequent T series models) used a vertically travelling metal blade shutter which allowed for faster shutter speeds and higher flash X-sync speeds. The camera came with a FD 50mm f/1.8 lens and Canon made many lenses available to fit the Canon FD lens mount.