opinions on eos 620

<p>I have an opportunity to pick up a eos 620 for next to nothing but before i do I want some opinions of others who have used it...specifically is the focus fast enough to track moving objects (Like airplanes, hockey) as that is what i will be using it for primarily...?</p>

<p>I can't answer your question directly, but it's a film SLR that sells from $8 on eBay - see eg item number: 370262345639. There is a bit of interesting history about the camera in the auction description (completed auction, no affiliation with the seller). If you can get it for that amount of money, why not just give it a try?</p>

<p>I have the EOS 600/630, and I believe the 620 is of the same generation. A good camera, but the autofocus is in no way up to todays standards. I like it for shooting fixed or slow moving subjects, but it would be a real pain to use it to shoot sports.</p>

<p>I have a small collection of EOS film cameras including the 630, 10, and 3. If you want an cheap EOS to take sports with I'd go with a model that had a pellicle mirror, the EOS-RT or or EOS-1N RS come to mind. The older cameras simply don't have the speed we're used to now days, but these cost as much as the much newer and all around better EOS-3. In the end though this is about the EOS-620 that you can pick-up locally (I assume) for cheap. Remember, when it was made it wasn't top of the kine, it was ranked below the EOS-10 & EOS-1, making it the "advanced amateur" model. I'm sure you could shot sports with it as I'm sure it's been used by people in the past for this same purpose, you just need to learn the limitations of your gear.<br>

<a href="http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/eos/eoscamera/620/index.htm"> Here's a good page to view about the 620 and other EOS camera of that era. </a></p>

<p>The EOS 650 is technically the first-ever EOS lens, but in actual reality, the 620 was the "professional" model that was introduced so near to the same time as to not make any difference. When it was new, it was fairly pricey as the top-end camera for the new mount. These two were the ONLY two EOS cameras at the time.</p>

<p>It's a fine camera, though you do have to be aware that any 22-year old camera may have some issues. I have bought two of them on eBay for next to nothing and they both work very well. The focus may be a little pokier, but it's not really troublesome, and was considered very fast by the standards of 1987 when compared to manual focusing in reviews of the day.<br /> Here's the start of EOS as it was presented in a Canon ad in <em>Popular Photography</em> of November 1987.</p><div></div>

<p>As for speed, remember that one of the aspects of the EOS system is that the lens motor is where the actual mechanical action is taking place so these older models are not slower in terms of moving to the focus position. Such differences as exist are essentially in how the focus is <em>determined</em> , not how it is <em>achieved</em> .<br>

The 50mm f/1.8 was the original lens and I don't think that the mark ii is any faster than the first model, which many people prefer today because of its metal mount. Some people complain about its speed of focus, but most find it acceptable.</p>

<p>The AF is first generation and AF tracking flat out sucks. I had a 630 which was used for IR film. It did good ok still subjects in good light.</p>

<p>As others have said it's a first generation EOS camera. In one sense that makes it very interesting - you can see many (but not all) of the EOS features that we love - but in another sense you have to be aware that is exactly that, a first generation EOS camera with all the limitations that implies. AF, especially, will be very slow. Looking back at that first generation, the best camera was the EOS600/630 - it was almost a 'generation 1.5' camera, and the AF was speeded up a bit. (Though to nowhere near today's standards. Or even yesterday's....) I had an EOS 650 which I bought new in 1988, i.e. when it was still a current model, and I kept it until it was stolen from my house a couple of years ago. I still have an EOS 600 (630 in N America), but I haven't used it for years.</p>

<p>There is an achilles' heel in these old EOS cameras, however: the shutter blades can become sticky and fail to open. Worse still, this can happen intermittently. Have a look at <a href="../canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/007bSb">this post</a> here on photo.net for a description.</p>