Buying a New Canon

[joel_kantrowitz]

I have had an old AE1 for 25 yrs and am looking to buy a new Canon

SLR. I have been evaluating the Elan 7EN and the EOS 3 cameras & the

24-85/3.5-4.5 & 24-70/2.8L lenses. I'm leaning towards the cheaper

body (Elan) and more expensive lens (2.8L). I know I know, its

heavy! Any other thought about this strategy? I assume I will be

using this lens 90% of the time. Is it too heavy for the Elan body?

[jon_austin]

"Too heavy" is a purely personal consideration; one long-time large format user recently posted about how lightweight and easy to handle 35mm gear is!

 

If you do decide on the 24-85 lens, shoot me an e-mail and I'll make you an incredible deal...

[michael_villarmia]

My recommendation would be to buy a used Elan 7 and stretch your money to get the expensive glass. Maybe primes would be good for this situation, too.

[suman]

I also second the opinon for Elan7, a very nice body in used market. However you will be happier with EOS3 if you don't care about extra bucks. You are absolutely right in your approcah of cheap body/good lens.

[jim r]

Fast glass is nice, but what type of shooting do you do? I just bought a used EOS 3 and the difference between it and an Elan 7 (which I also own) is substantial. Unless you need a quiet shutter and never shoot active kids or sports, the 3's the way to go.

 

If zoom lens image quality is acceptable to you over primes, get an EOS 3 with the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. I think even a new EOS 3 and new Tamron 28-75 is cheaper (and lighter) than the 24-70 f/2.8L alone, AND you'll love the bigger view finder and MUCH faster AF than with an Elan 7.

 

J

[jim_larson1]

Another factor: Go to camera store and try out the kit. You may be surprised by the ergonomics.

 

On the face of it, the Elan and 2.8L sounds like a winner. Do you need the improved AF or weather sealing of the EOS3?

[arthur_byrnes]

Sounds like the perfect time to consider going digital!!

 

Almost nothing from your AE1 will work with the EOS system weither it is film or digital.

 

The features of the Digital Rebel are close to the AE1. I liked my AE1, and believe that if its features worked for you, then the Digital Rebel will serve you well.

 

Since you have to buy new lenses and a new body, you should seriously think about your future in photography.

 

I know that switching to digital has improved my photography tremendously, since the little cash register in my head no longer goes off with each click. In fact my desire to shoot is higher since the equipment is always there and ready, and I get instant gratification, no waiting for a photolab etc.

 

Being able to take tens of pictures when in the past I would have only taken one or two has given me a better eye. And now that I can practice and not have my mistakes cost a lot of money, it is leading to more professional looking shots...

[michael_peters1]

How does the quality of the Tamron SP 28-75/F2.8 XR compare with the 24-70/2.8L? I suspect the L is better, but is the Tamron lens good enough that it's lighter weight would be justification to use it instead?

 

The Tamrom is signifigantly lighter.

I have no idea on the quality as I've never used it (so this suggestion admittedly might be a laughable joke).

[joel_kantrowitz]

Thanks for all the responses. I am still leaning towards an Elan over the EOS3 and will put the extra $400 I save towards better lenses. A few more questions. What is the difference between Elan 7, 7E, 7N and 7 NE?

 

Back to the lense question: Most of my pics will be on vacation or hiking or family type shots. The way I see my options are as follows: spring for the 24-70/2.8L (approx $1075; 960g weight) or go with 17-40/4L ($600, weight 500g) plus 85/1.8 (not an L lense; $300, 425 g weight). The second option would be a little cheaper and the lense weight on my camera would be less, though the total weight of the 2 lenses would be the same as buying the 24-70. How do all these lenses compare? What do you all think?

[hiromu_kurosaki]

I just ordered ELAN7N. The difference between 7 and 7N is,, 7N is newer, has E-TTLII, and whatelse?? I don't know. The difference between 7 and 7E or 7N and 7NE is apparently the "E", eye controled focus.

 

As for the lens, if your choice is either 24-70 or 17-40+85, then I would go with 24-70. I switched back from Digital, but when I was shooting with 10D, 17-40 was my main lens. But now with no cropping factor, 17-40 is way too wide to me. The wider end of my 28-135 is pretty much wide enough now, so i don't usually carry my 17-40 anymore.

 

Since your main use seems to be taking pictures on vacation, the in camera flush of Elan may be handy. Although it doesn't work well with large 24-70...

 

Thanks.

Hiromu

[michael_villarmia]

Joel,

 

An often used comparison of the Elan 7s is found <a href="http://photonotes.org/reviews/eos-elan-7/">here.</a> A preview of the Elan 7NE is found <a href="http://bobatkins.com/photography/eosfaq/elan7n.html">here.</a><p>

 

As far as your lens options, the choice to go with a zoom is excellent since you will be doing a lot of hiking, but having a set of 24/50/85 or 100 Macro primes would be what I would pick. This is mainly because of the telephoto/macro features of the 100mm Macro, and the faster 50mm f/1.8 for use later in the day.

[jim_larson1]

I would argue the 17-40, 85/1.8, and 24-70/2.8L are basically comparable quality image wise.

 

I would agree that the 17-40/4L is a tad wide for a film SLR main lens. 24-70 would be more optimal.

 

For a film camera, I would recommend a 24-70/2.8L with a 70-200/4L.

For a 1.6 cropped digital camera, I would recommend a 17-40/4L, 50/1.8 (or 1.4), with a 70-200/4L.

 

In regards to flashes: It is amazing what you can do with a decent tilt/swivel flash. Get one!

[joel_kantrowitz]

What about the issue of your primary lense (24-70) weighing 950g ? Carrying that around all day, is that a bit much?

[mikestryinagain]

I just switched from Canon F1, A1, and AT1 with lots of FD glass to EOS because my 47 year old eyes cant focus like they used to. After much research, I picked up a used A2 and VG10 grip and bought a new 28-105 3.5/4.5 lens. I have been using this since early march, learning about autofocus and EOS features, and its a fantastic camera at a dirt cheap price. Used bodies are running $150 to $200 typically, a little more if you want an EOS 5 (European version) that has a better exposure scale in manual mode. I would put your money on the glass. Of course, as stated above, have you evaluated going digital?

[yakim_peled1]

>> I'm leaning towards the cheaper body (Elan) and more expensive lens (2.8L). I know I know, its heavy! Any other thought about this strategy?

 

I think it's a very wise decision. A good lens will last forever while a body (and especially a film one) is not much more than a light-tight box. I still have the Elan 7e but have 5 primes which out-price the body several times.

 

Recommendations? For a much better handling I'd suggest the BP-300 and E1 handstrap. I have them and think they are invaluable.

 

Happy shooting ,

Yakim.