EOS-3 metering

[jim_roetzel1]

Love the new camera body- fast, user friendly mechanics, nice

viewfinder- a little pricey but so are pick up trucks these day.

 

Question to the Canon nature shooters- if you own an EOS 3- is your

meter off by 2/3 of a stop too? I own 2 bodies both are off by 2/3

almost a full stop on one. If I shoot a medium toned subject its 2/3

to a full stop underexposed- every time and in every metering mode. I

know I can reset ISO or dial in compensation but- a camera with this

price tag and hype should have a more accurate meter.

 

I shoot nature and like most I shoot slide film exclusively - so I'd

like to hear from other nature/chrome shooters. I'm doing this to

give some feedback to Canon.

 

 

 

thanks

Jim

[ian_porteous1]

There has been much discussion of this problem on the EOS mailing list. It seems that some EOS-3s have this -2/3 problem some don't. Canon has either fixed the problem or given new replacements to members of the list who brought their cameras to service centers.

[bob_royse]

I have heard others have the same problem that you mentioned, but my EOS3 has the most accurate meter of any camera I've ever owned. I've had a numerous cameras from Nikon and Contax over the years and the meters of none of them was the same and different meter patterns in the same camera often varied. I'm happy to say that my EOS3 is what I consider to dead-on with all metering patterns accross the board. My 1N, however, underexposes by 2/3 stop with the spot meter. I assume that this kind of thing is easy to adjust.

[dick_ginkowski]

I got a chuckle out of this because I anxiously awaited the arrival of my EOS3 so that I could send my 1n back for recalibration!

 

My EOS3 metering seems so far to be the most accurate of any body I've ever owned.

[pete_parker]

I would go to the library or the bookstore and look at John Shaws book: The Nature Photographers Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques. I always calibrate my camera meters according to the techniqe illistrated in his book and have had perfect results ever since. What you are experiencing is inherent in all camera bodies with reflected meters. Some camera bodies will come from the manufacturer with their meters right on, other will come in a state similar to yours. I had one camera body that was one full stop off what the ISO was set for. It's up to the photographer to check his or her calibration as soon as possible and make the appropriate corrections in the ISO settings to ensure you're getting the proper exposure. This is extremely crucial if you are shooting transparencies. I guess the bottom line is that it doesn't matter how much you spend on a camera body, you still have to calibrate the meter.

[william_castleman]

I would second the comment about this problem being discussed on the EOS mailing list. As I recall, some of the early production EOS-3 cameras had slightly misaligned screens (off center) that were associated with metering problems. The good news on this was that the screens were easily re-centered. Mailing list archives are a good source of the complete information. Canon service centers should be aware of the problem and the simple adjustment. I would also agree with the comments of others on the high accuracy of EOS-3 meter. My EOS-3 has the most accurate evaluative (matrix), partial and spot meters of any of my cameras in tests with a Sekonic L-508 meter. The spot meter on my 1N is not nearly as reliable and my F4s consistently overexposes without compensation. Good luck in getting your EOS-3's adjusted.