Canon EOS Camera with best low light AF

Hello

 

Currently I have a tamron 45mm VC, I use it on an eos 620.

 

The reason I have this lens is it enables night photography under ambient lighting (under streetlights, inside by lamps, etc etc) with 400ISO film without needing a tripod or having to push.

 

But the AF in low light like this is quite bad with this camera.

 

I have read about the eos 100 (elan) and its IR focus assist. You can see it on the front and there is mention of this feature on the 100's Wikipedia page. The purpose was to, I assume, improve contrast and help focus in and around EV 0-2. Canon EOS 100 - Wikipedia

 

It seems they have removed this on subsequent models. Is this because it did not work?

 

I am thinking that perhaps the eos 100 would be my best option, although perhaps later cameras would be better at focusing in low light even without the IR beam or whatever it is? Here are the models i am considering.

-eos 100 (elan)

-eos elan ii

-eos 1

-eos 1n (a stretch $$ wise, but could)

-eos elan 7ne

-canon rebel t2

 

I am sure all of those are better cameras in other ways than the 100, but really the only thing I want to upgrade for is better low light AF in single point AF mode.

 

Thank you in advance for sharing your wise wisdom :)

The IR focus assist of my EOS Elan IIe worked quite well in total darkness, though it has an effective max range of about 10 -15 feet. Also note that the lens AF mechanics can also have an impact. The Canon 50 f1.8 II could be somewhat unreliable with the Elan II in low light while the much slower 28-105 F3.5-4.5 USM (with a real ring type USM AF motor), was very reliable in very low light. Don't know anything about your Tamron.

The IR focus assist of my EOS Elan IIe worked quite well in total darkness, though it has an effective max range of about 10 -15 feet. Also note that the lens AF mechanics can also have an impact. The Canon 50 f1.8 II could be somewhat unreliable with the Elan II in low light while the much slower 28-105 F3.5-4.5 USM (with a real ring type USM AF motor), was very reliable in very low light. Don't know anything about your Tamron.

 

hmmm, thank you. 10-15 feet is kinda what I suspected. That would be useful for me...only about 20% of the time. Good to know.

The EOS 7NE and Rebel T2 are the two newest, so I would assume they have the best low light AFperformance. I would go with the 7NE for its better viewfinder and other features.

 

If you can afford it, I have read that the EOS 3 and 1V have great low light AF performance.

Edited March 13, 2019 by mike_sowsun

The Canon EOS 620 was the "professional" model of the first EOS cameras (650 & 620).

EOS 650 http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00Vlot

EOS 620 http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00Vv2v

 

These were the ur-EOS cameras, and almost any later EOS camera will outpreform them.

 

Look at the Canon Museum site for details. Canon Camera Museum