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In praise of EOS…
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Got an EOS50e on eBay for ?35 recently, for two reasons:
So I could use my set of Canon lenses and adapted m/f lenses for shooting film.
So my 17-40L would go as freaky wide as its makers intended (it’s only 27mm equivalent field of view on a 30D).
and I have to say it’s a revelation. For a camera that’s much older than the 30D, it feels remarkably similar in use: similar size and weight although slightly more plasticky feeling; all the same control dials; simpler autofocus with only three points and simpler metering pattern, but with the really rather good and useful eye-controlled AF points and DoF preview.
On the strength of a few reels of film, I can say that it’s got great metering (and film latitude makes up for most shortcomings), very precise focus (sharpest 35mm pics I’ve ever taken), and for a tiny fraction of the price of a 5D is a total no-brainer super cheap way into full frame for Canon users. 7×5″ prints, even minilab ones, are sharp enough to be scanned up to a credible 4000+ pixels on the long edge.
I’d thoroughly recommend one to any crop sensor Canon DSLR user. Even if you don’t think you need fullframe, just being able to get properly wide with the 17-40 or other wides instead of having to get a 10-22 is a real moneysaver.
I must pull my 50e out again before my remaining rolls go completely out of date. It hasn’t seen daylight (or nightlight) since I bought the 400D last year. It’s a more solid camera and generally nicer handling camera to shoot with – I like the big viewfinder and I often think I’d be better off with only the 3 focus points on the digital too, but then I remember the other benefits of digital and don’t take it out.
I just bought a 1nHS from ebay. cant wait to get my hands on it, see what my 17-40 looks like
I’ve had a similar experience, I have a 400D and a couple of months back bought an old EOS 5, it’s 15 years old (I think) and it’s fantastic! It’s far nicer to use than the 400D, bigger view finder, nicer control layout and does 5 fps.
//Cian
The neat thing is, I’ve kind of done my apprenticeship with my earlier D30 and now 30D, fired off tens if not hundreds of thousands of shots with them that I’d never have done with just a film camera, so now I have a lot of experience with stuff like guesstimating how to meter a scene for optimal exposure, and can get a whole roll of pretty well exposed and sharp shots (so that only my compositional skills are called into question ;)
It’s great, and it’s really hardcore to show up at an event with three cameras dangling round yer neck and be able to say “yeah, this one’s loaded with b/w, that one’s loaded with colour and yeah, that other one’s one of them new-fangled digital things” ;) But it can be hard choosing which one to grab for any particular shot! (the third one in the trinity is a Nikon F70 by the way, so I’m now truly impartial, and even sometimes allow the odd Nikkor lens to go on a Canon body if they’re behaving themselves and deserve a treat ;)
Hard to beat the EOS film cameras. The 1V is the best 35mm film camera ever made. Compare it to a 1D…no comparison to the way it’s built (I know it doesnt have a screen, button etc). I have a Eos3-HS and it’s such a lovely camera, fits the hands perfectly and is almost as rugged as the 1V. Doesn’t get out very often anymore unfortunately. But works perfectly. You can pick up 1n’s for next to nothing and if they’ve been looked after, they’ll work a treat….in the mid-90’s they were the dogs! (I hate the plasticy thing covering the buttons though!!)
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