fusion s Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 I am having trouble deciding on what to buy as an SLR CAMERA. I am considering between The EOS3, ELAN EII, Nikon N80 and the Pentax MZS QD. I would consider buying EOS 3 due the robust body.... the others are light in weight.Nikon and Elan suffer good autofocus in low light.... Is this true? What accesories would one consider to buy.... ex the 550 EX Flash for canon, a Power drive? Can any one please help me? I was considering of buying the EOS 3 since i would rather afford only one to camera... One 35mm at the moment and one Digital SLR in the future, since they are currently very expensive. Does one need to have several cameras for a good job? Or have good quality lenses? Thx in advance for the support given. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_macman Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 Definetely the one that's not on your list: Canon Elan 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_macman Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 A 420EX flash for that one and a BP-300 battery pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_macman Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 >> a Power drive? There's no such thing. Power drives are external motors you attach to 70's and early 80's manual cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raczoliver Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 I don't know about the Elan EII (what's the non-US name???) and the Pentax, but the F80 does not compete in the same field as the EOS 3, and I guess you can see that from the price too. The EOS 3 is much more similar to the F100, and it is also a better camera than the Elan 7 (EOS 33). But the question is: do you need it? Apart from the fact that it does not meter with the old manual lenses, I am completely satisfied with my F80, because the type of photography I do does not require anything more. I probably wouldn't feel so if I did a lot of sports and action. So do YOU need a high end camera like the EOS 3? If yes, then the F80 won't be enough. If not, then why spend so much money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raczoliver Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 Whether you need one or more cameras depends on many things. I use two cameras because I like to shoot both colour and black and white. So one is loaded with colour film, and the other with black and white. Sometimes I load them with the same film, but keep different lenses on them, so I won't have to change those. If you take a lot of pictures in harsh conditions where your camera might get damaged, a backup comes in handy. You should start with one body though, and definitely buy good lenses, if money does not allow more, then get one first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavel_toman Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 I own EOS 3 and aformentioned elan 7e. EOS 3 is a heavy profesional camera ELAN 7e is a beautiful piece of equipment for serious photographers ELAN 7e is easy to operate + has all kinds of lazy shoot features. EOS 3 - takes more time to learn how to operate...not for a bigginer. ELAN 7e - can auto focus with lenses f/4 and brighter...the brighter the better. EOS 3 - can auto focus even with some f/6.3, f/8 lenses. it has a very sensitive center focusing piont. Both camera have Eye control focusing. Since ELAN 7e has 7 and EOS 3 has 45 focusing points, the latter is more accurate, yet not perfect. EOS 3 - a noisy fella. You will let a lot of people know that there is somebody shooting in the neighborhood. ELAN 7e - So quiet, you will almost think that something's wrong with it. You can take several pictures of a bird from a pretty close distance without him even noticing. while with EOS 3, you will scare the heck out of him. ELAN 7e - 4 frames per second (fps) quite impressive EOS 3 - 4.3 fps.......with a power drive booster PB-E2..7 fps !!!!! YEAH....that's the power drive booster that no longer exists, acording to some members of photo.net. (You could get some interesting shots of that bird taking off - At 7fps. That may be the reason why canon engineers build it to be so noisy. kind of like an assistant waving a stick and yelling at the poor animal.) If you want to shoot slides EOS 3 - settings in 1/3 stop increments, which is more useful than ELAN 7e - 1/2 stop increments. ELAN 7e is fully compatible with 420 EX. this flasgun lacks very useful manual operating option. Can be used as a slave flash in wireless multi flash set up. Works nice in it's E-TTL. EOS 3 is fully compatible with 550 EX, which is a workhorse. It has the manual seting option and can be used as a master flash or slave in a wireles multi flash set up. Flash has it's own custom functions that are very helpful too. Flash head can be tilted down for close-ups. ELAN 7e - is not expensive and neither are accessories to get with it. EOS 3 - everything (camera including) is approximately 3x more expensive than with ELAN 7e. ELAN 7e - mine broke twice in two years. 1.on camera hot shoe - a contact broke off inside camera. 2.direct hit by a splash of a wave while shooting a model. (2. - not covered by waranty) EOS 3 - very reliable, solid body, Number 1. when it comes to serious work where nothing can fail. ELAN 7e - great for nature photography and in hands of a nonabuser. ELAN EII, is an older type replaced by ELAN 7e - I hope I'm not wrong. Nikon N80 - sure is a good camera.....no experience here. Pentax - I wouldn't go this way. 420 EX - you would be much better off spending extra bucks on 550 EX. Final point: Are you trying to make money with it or shoot for fun and love of photograpy? EOS 3 takes fun a lot more seriously. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_macman Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 Don't mislead people into thinking that while the EOS 3 autofocuses at f/6.3 and f/8, the Elan 7 doesn't. I focused countless time indoors with dim available light coming from outside, no other light, no flash for big DOF needs and long exposures. The Elan 7 does autofocus at f/11 and f/13. I suppose it's just less sensitive than the EOS 3 and that there are some dim light conditions where the EOS 3 will autofocus while the Elan 7 won't. Nonetheless, low light is relative. I'm just saying that the Elan 7 is capable of covering a whole bunch of low light conditions flawlessly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavel_toman Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 I must admit that I didn't put that focusing issue right. I will just give an example: When I mount my 180mm f/3.5 lens on EOS 3, I get pretty much the same results as with ELAN 7e. Now, IT changes when I mount a 2x teleconvertor in between. EOS 3 is still capable of focusing but not ELAN 7e. If you had a lens with f/6.3 being the widest aperture, you would get a bit better performance out of EOS 3 than 7e. I do not bash 7e here and I'm not saying that the difference is considerable. It unfortunately isn't. And another thing...of course those cameras can focus at f/11, f/13... they can focus just as well at f/32. The thing is that I was talking about lens construction - its widest open. That is the eye of the camera and no matter what f stop you preset, the camera focuses through the widest. Only when you pres the shutter button the lens closes down to the preset f/11, 16, 22. Just look through with dfp, that will give you an idea how much light is comming through and what the camera has to deal with. I'm sure you know very well how this works. I appologize for any misleading info. I just hope I put myself right this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_katz1 Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 "<i>Power drives are external motors you attach to 70's and early 80's manual cameras</i>"<p> And late '90's to current EOS 1n, EOS 3, and EOS 1v cameras... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusion s Posted January 12, 2004 Author Share Posted January 12, 2004 Thanks to all, for the information provided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavel_toman Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Just to supplement information given by Bob about power drives: Power (motor) drive is a device that you attach to a manual camera to achieve a motorized film advance and some other features depending on a camera type. Power drive BOOSTER or a battery pack supports existing camera's power drive to sqeeze a bit more performance out of it. Power drive booster or a battery pack offer more capacity compared to original camera's batteries, so , you extend the operating time cosiderably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakim_peled1 Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 <P> It's the same old question - "which camera body should I buy ?" - and the same old answer. It's not the specific body which counts or the specific features it contains, it's "Which system is better for YOU ?". Changing a system is a very costly move so I advise you to this check well. I believe that for most amateur photographers, every system will do. However, if you really want to make this a serious hobby than Canon and Nikon have the largest selection of lenses and accessories. If you are interested in a DSLR, it's again those two, each will let you choose from several models. Pentax just made it's first DSLR and it seems to be an entry level one. </P> <P>Now, Canon or Nikon ? </P> <P> In addition to what's written <a href="http://www.photofocus.com/zine7/backtocanon.html">here</a>, <a href="http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/general.html#which">here</a>, <a href="http://photonotes.org/articles/why-canon/">here</a>, <a href="http://www.photo.net/equipment/35mm/canon-v-nikon">here</a> and <a href="http://www.photozone.de/bindex2.html">here</a> (click on CANON vs. NIKON ? WHAT ABOUT MINOLTA ? AND PENTAX ?) I'd say that there is one major reason to prefer Canon over Nikon. When Nikon releases a new line of lenses, some of their features are not fully compatible with older bodies e.g. you have no light-meter readout or VR does not work. And "older" can be just 3-5 years old. See <a href="http://www.nikonlinks.com/unklbil/bodylens.htm">here</a> for details. Useful even though VR and DX lenses are not listed. This can be VERY annoying and completely not understandable to anybody living in EOS land. Here, things are much more simple. Any EOS camera is fully compatible with any EF lens*. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to say something silly like "Canon is better than Nikon". I only say that life can be much easier in EOS land. </P> <P> There are some minor reasons as well. For example, Canon's USM is much more abundant than Nikon's AF-S and generally cost less. Canon's IS is much more abundant than Nikon's VR. While optical quality is about the same, an advanced technology can be a very nice and handy thing. A note, to me they are the minor ones but for others consider them as major issues. It's what's right to YOU. </P> <P> And if you do not want to ever mount an MF lens on your AF body, Canon have a larger selection of AF lenses. For landscape and buildings (straight ones, that is) you can't beat the 24/3.5 TS-E L. Some Nikon users bought an EOS body just to be able to use this lens. Others did so in order to get IS on their longest primes (e.g. 300/2.8 and 600/4). </P> <P> MLU (Mirror lock up) is very handy feature for tripod shots. It is very rare in Nikon's AF bodies (I think that only the F5 has it) while is abounded in the EOS line. </P> <P> Another unique feature of the Canon system is DEP mode. DEP mode allows you to designate near-far points of focus and the camera sets depth of field between those two points. In DEP mode, you merely focus on the nearest point you want sharp, then you focus on the farthest point you want sharp, then you re-compose your picture and the camera sets aperture, shutter, and focus to achieve the depth of field you designated. </P> <P> Combine all the above with the fact that Canon's prices are the same as or less then Nikon's and you begin to understand the EOS dominance in recent years. </P> <P> Remember that after you buy the body you invest large sums of money in lenses, flash etc. Thus, swapping a system is a very costly move so I advise you to first look carefully into the pros and cons of each system and then - and only then - choose the system which best suites your needs. From now on, choosing the right body is much easier. </P> <P> Remember, though, that no system is perfect. Yes, although I am an EOS user and fan, I do not think it is perfect. I think it is the best one for me. Each system has its pros and cons and you have to decide which is more suitable to you. Here are a few examples. </P> <P> 1. Canon and Nikon have the largest selection of accessories. Does that mean that you will not be happy with Pentax or Minolta ? Of course not. They have enough to make almost any amateur happy. </P> <P> 2. Canon's AF is considered to be superior to any other brand. This means a lot to the professional photographer but what does it mean to the average amateur ? Just another thing to consider. </P> <P> 3. Nikon's flash metering is considered to be superior to Canon's. So what ? Take a look at any flash photo and try to guess which body did the photographer used. Any success ? No ? Why am I not surprised ? Because a good picture relates heavily on the photographer side. It's not what you have, it's how well you know its pros and cons. How and when to exploit the formers, how and when to override the latters and in what way. When to switch metering modes, when to bounce the flash, when to use a different focal length for a different perspective etc. I think you got the point. </P> <P> Whatever you choose, shoot a lot and be happy.</P> <P> Happy shooting , <br> Yakim.</P> <P> * The only exception is the EF-S 18-55 which can be used only with the 300D. </P> <P> BTW, any of the bodies you mentioned are very good. Choose the right system and any of them will give you many satisfactory moments and pictures. </P> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umd Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 <i>It's the same old question - "which camera body should I buy ?" - and the same old answer.</i><br><br> And the same old post. Do you copy-paste or have you memorised it? Go ahead bandwidth and diskspace are free anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakim_peled1 Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Yes. If it is the same question, I don't see why the answer should be any different. Anyway, I don't think it matters as the poster is always a different one. Happy shooting , Yakim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umd Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Yakim, consider what would happen if everybody had done the same. You can provide a link to what you had said before, it is waste of bandwidth and space at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakim_peled1 Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Sorry, I would if I could but I can't. Happy shooting , Yakim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now