Canon EOS 3 Information

For those of you who are seeking some good information on Canon's New EOS 3 body, try this site at <a href="http://www.camera.canon.com.my/what_new/product/eos3_n.htm">Canon Marketing</a>

I'm surprised no one has commented on this yet. I checked the site, and the specs/features are VERY impressive. If I had the money (I don't) I would go against my better judgement and buy one as soon as it hits the stores. No doubt I will end up owning one in a year or two if it turns out to be as good in real life as it is on paper. It is also nice to read that all of the 550EX functions including cordless TTL slave flash works will work with my Elan IIe.

Ok, here are some comments...<p>

The specs on this do sound impressive, but isn't this just a bit of over-kill? I've never been much of an AF person (more than happy with my Nikon F3), so my opinions are perhaps a bit off the beaten track. I guess I wasn't aware of any glaring deficiencies in modern AF systems. I suppose that if all those AF sensors would let you follow a subject and keep his eyes in focus, it's be usefull. The ability to AF at f8 is the only major step forward that I see.<p>

I'm not real familiar with the EOS line of bodies, but this does sound like Canon's latest attempt at an N90s/F90x killer (I know the price is lower, but how much extra will the booster cost?). Maybe Nikon will have to respnd with an N100/F100. What I'd really like to see though, is a N70/F70 with DOF and an x-sync of 1/250. Oh well, I'm starting to stray here.... --Jeff

Geoffrey,

 

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I'm not sure what Nikon's suggested retail price for the N90s is, but recently B&H was selling them in the $800 range (USA warranty). I'm going from memory here, but the SRP for the EOS3 is about $1900. Speculation was that this would end up as about an $1100-1200 street price. I wish it would be cheaper than the N90, but doubt it. We'll find out in December when they go on sale.

 

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I don't want this to become a Nikon vs Canon thread. Canon users are excited about this camera for the same reason Nikon users are anticipating the N100. A lot of useful features have come out in recent years, but no single camera in the line combined them all until now. I for one am not going to run out and buy one in December, but might if I had the money, since I do need another body, but not badly enough that I can't wait. I just have to use manual focus gear if my EOS dies.

As someone, somewhere said it before: HUSH!!! and don't complain about new, advanced and improoved cameras/accesories made by one ( anyone) manufacturer. Competition is good and as long as they(Canon, Nikon, Minolta, etc etc) compete, we, customers can only win. The gear gets better, selection bigger, prices usually lower. That's what most of us want, right?

If someone doesn't like all the new "gimmicks", just get a simple, manual-all camera, take pictures and be happy.

have a good day/night yo all...:)

After listening to a Canon guy trying to sell the EOS 3 to a room full of professional photographers tonight (and maybe some not-so-professional geeks like me) in Toronto, and after holding one in my very own hands for almost 5 minutes while attached to a EF 24mm/1.4L, my comments:

 

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0) The guy said Canon is going after the Nikon F5 with this camera. Not having used an F5, I can't say if that was more typical bluster than the real strategy. Considering the price difference, I tend to the bluster hypothesis.

 

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1) With the booster, and the NiMH battery, the camera is rather heavy compared to the EOS 5/VG-10. Alot of the weight was the battery though. The booster attachment is *way* better than the cheesy connection between the VG-10 and the EOS 5 though. Mainly because of the metal construction (another reason for the increase in weight).

 

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2) The AF, Drive, etc buttons on the back of the EOS 5 are now on the top left of the camera. Instead of 4 buttons, there are 3, and you have to do some finger-dancing to activate the usual functions: hold the MODE button down and press another to adjust motor drive (etc). A user-interface flaw in my opinion.

 

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3) There is a DOF preview button.

 

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4) Canon's usual user-interface is the same: wheel on the back of the camera, and a wheel by the shutter release. Once you figure out the way to change modes etc (it took me 10 seconds without using a manual), everything is similar to the EOS 5.

 

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5) Eye relief for the viewfinder is typical for Canon. Sigh.

 

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6) Eye controlled focus is standard -- there will never be, according to this guy, a non-eye-controlled-focus model. I didn't try it out, but if Canon can be believed, the ECF is vastly superior to that found on the A2E and similar. I got the impression that Canon is expecting few people to disable the feature -- unlike alot(?) of current A2E/5 users. (Like me).

 

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7) Eye-control works in both horizontal and vertical modes now.

 

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8) Being a geek, I liked the 45 focus points. As you swivel around with continuous AF activated, the little red rectangles flash and flitter, and just looking at them makes you feel like something important is happening. It'll probably grow wearisome after a day behind the viewfinder though.

 

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9) AF is supposedly wickedly fast (not counting the time to rack the lens back and forth). I had a wide-angle lens, so I couldn't test this claim very well. With the booster set to 7fps (maximum), auto-focus is achieved for each frame as the film is pumped through the camera.

 

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10) The manual-mode exposure meter is much nicer on the EOS 3, compared to the EOS 5. [The A2e manual-mode meter is a total joke, of course.] Wider range -- +-3 EV --, marked in 1/3 EV increments. It is oriented vertically, on the right side in the viewfinder.

 

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11) Shutter and motor-drive noise was *much* higher than the EOS 5. However, the battery in the camera I was using was on its last legs -- which makes even my EOS 5's motor-wind signifigantly louder. But then, I could always hear the shutters and motors of the other EOS 3 samples around the room.

 

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12) Screaming away at the full 7fps, auto-focus tracking each one, is quite cool. Though I can't see how often such capability would be required; why not just buy a movie camera instead?

 

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13) Brand new shutter design. The guy went on about this at some length, but the most important detail is (astrophotographers take note): there is almost no battery drain while the shutter is open.

1000 hour exposures on a single battery. Or so Canon claimed.

 

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14) Supposedly -- we weren't allowed to test these claims -- the EOS 3 is more robust. The shutter is supposed to hold up better ("100,000 cycles", which seemed low to me) and the camera will resist water better than the all-plastic sieve used with the EOS 5.

 

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15) Like the EOS 5, IR LED's are used to monitor film transport. Hence, you can't use infra-red film in the EOS 3.

 

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16) Canon admitted that their flash systems were less than optimal in times past. If the song-and-dance is even vaguely correct, the EOS 3 + 550EX is a major improvement. In addition to doing things better, the camera can control entire fields of flashes [wireless] in various ways. It is hard to test the claims without said acreage of flashes, and loading some film into the camera. And I don't use flash anyways, so I wouldn't know where to begin.

 

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Anyways, overall, I liked the camera. I also liked the 24mm/1.4L lens. And I especially liked the EF 400/2.8L they had; easily the most expensive thing I've held in my hands in quite a while. I was pleasantly surprised to find it looks alot heavier than it is.

 

Sorry if I offended anyone. I was simply hoping to spark some discussion.<p>

I do agree that new products are good for the industry, even if I'll never use them. Oh, and the multi-spot feature sounds cool as well. BTW Darek, what do you think of Minolta's latest offering?<p>

I guess what I was trying to ask is if 45 AF focusing points are really necessary? I mean were people complaining that the other models were short by that many? or do you think that this is more of a "see what we can do" marketing-hype kind of thing? At least they did make some improvements to ECF, and clearly Canon is treating that as a feature and not a gimmick. Like I said before, I'm sorry if I offended anyone, and I do see a purpose for AF.<p>

Brad, the N90s isn't a complete camera (or at least competative to the EOS 3) without the MF-26 (adds bracketing and multiple-exposure, in addition to is data imprinting features) so add $180 the the N90s's price and it's a little closer to the EOS 3. No doubt grey market N90s will be cheaper for the time being.<p>

 

Okay, this is Brad talking. I didn't want my comments at the top of the thread again. When I first heard the rumors about 45 eye controled focus points I never thought they would do it. I was really hoping for at least 11. 5 in the middle, and 3 each above and below. Since I haven't had my hands on one I don't know how they are arranged, but as long as the eye control is acurate, the more the better.

 

As for comparisons with the N90s, I have never been able to figure out why Nikon makes you pay almost $200 to get a control back for simple functions like multiple exposure. At the same time, I wish Canon had an optional back for the more useful things the Nikon backs can do like timed exposures and data functions(?).

 

I don't think you offended anybody, I just wanted to make sure everyone knew I was not going to let this turn into a Canon vs Nikon thread.

I looked at a picture of the focus points on the EOS 3 on a web site and they all seemed clustered around the center of the viewfinder image.

 

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So 45 focus points seems like a gimmick.

 

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The focus points on the Nikon F5 are also too tightly packed around the center.

 

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To be useful, there ought to be focus points at least at the traditional "rule-of-thirds" points both horizontally and vertically as well as at the center and perhaps in between and one space beyond.

 

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Sensitivity to both vertical and horizontal lines and spot metering ought to be available at all the focus points.

 

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That could be covered with about 21 points and cover practically every conceivable shooting situation.

 

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It certainly could be done, given current technology.

 

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But until Canon starts making high eyepoint viewfinders, I won't be looking through one. If Minolta can do it, Canon can too.

Hey techno-freaks,

 

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Jeff- I didn't feel offended. My post was intended to be kind of funny, although I was serous about development and advanced technologies finding their way to consumer-oriented products. How much of it is a gimmick and how much is really usefull in any kind of photography?-that's another question. All the clutter around the EOS3 release is a marketing "job" and Canon is not any different here than the rest of the photo-business. That reminds me of their Ultrasonik lenses that are really not ultrasonik, but since Ultrasonik is good and sells well, than why not cashing on it?...You want Silent Wind and Rewind- go manual, you want perfect autofocus- try Bob Atkin's(I believe) eye controlled digital(=use your eye and your fingers...).

Of course who would buy such a "sophisticated" camera, right?

Nikon puts RGB meter and 8fps autofocus in F5- isn't that overkill...go and buy a video camera instead.

Minolta has eye-activation, cool, but if you turn it off its useless, if its on, try to hang the camera on your neck, let it bang off your chest(or belly for some of us :) and the gimmick is going and going like an Pink Energizer Bunny.

Well, Canon has its ECF, now with 45 point and they still located around the very center of the viewfinder...how much is that better than one big wide-area sensor?

 

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Well, I'm getting hungry, so thats all for now and I'm looking forward to more techno discussion here.

Darek

There is a CF to set ECF to 11 points only, which would make it a lot easier. On the other hand, 45 focusing points in predictive mode will no doubt make the life of sports and wildlife photogs easier.