Help! Used EOS3 or 1N

[james_naughton]

So the second shutter has now gone in my 7e (in 2 years!) and Canon

want $140 to replace it. With the price of 7's these days it dosen't

seem to be worth it ($140 every 12-18 months will get old really

quickly!).

With the price of used 3's and 1n's at the moment it looks like time

for an upgrade but which one?

Available light is about 95% of my photography and probably 65%/35%

BW/color with everything from stage to wildlife to F1 thrown into the mix.

Weight is not an issue (humping around logs and bags of fertilizer

tends to build muscle mass) but I can't figure out which is the best

buy for me, of course I really want a 1vhs etc but wife/bank

manager/everybody else might get a little testy.

So folks I await all your opinions with open wallet and freshly baited

breath as I place my 7e on the dead shelf along with the rebel 2000,

which, funnily enough also has a dead shutter!

Hmmmmm maybe Nikon.........

[tri_tran3]

So many nice EOS 3 going for under $400 these days, you might as well buy one. I saw a few under $300 in excellent conditions. If I have the dough right now I would buy one.

[oak_nj]

I think I would snag one or two Elan IIs and have a little fun with them, or find a used EOS 5, unless you can find an EOS 3 in great shape. Better chance of getting a used Elan II with "low mileage" instead of an EOS 3 which might have been used quite extensively by a pro.

[pok_hon_wally_yu]

Although 95% of your photography are available light, the 5% with flash will point you to EOS 3 because of the more advannced flash E-TTL system. If you have a EX series flash, EOS 3 will certainly make sense. In addition, I believe EOS3 has better weather seal, though it doesn't mean much unless you are using those weather sealed L lenses also. Many people say 1N has better built and 3 is plasticky, yet I find the 3 is made of very good and tough plastic.

 

If you use autofocus a lot, the 45-pt focusing system in EOS 3 makes focus tracking very fast and accurate when doing motion photography. Some do complain the reliability of eye-control focus of EOS3, it works for me when I wear contact lenses. Remember, you can always turn it off if you don't use it.

 

Some suggests EOS 5. However, the control-dial breakage issue has been discussed extensively here. In addition, if you can find and afford a used 1N, why consider a 5 at all?

 

BTW, how do you manage to break 2 shutters in 2 years?

[james_naughton]

I wish I knew! First one went after only 6 months so that was covered but last weekend same thing happened again. I think I just got a lemon but Canon are not helping much. I have not even been using it that much lately 'cos I bought a TLR.

Thanks for suggestions,

James.

[PuppyDigs]

"Many people say 1N has better built and 3 is plasticky, yet I find the 3 is made of very

good and tough plastic."

 

I used both side by side for a couple years. They felt the same (both are beefy plastic).

According to Canon they both have the same level of mositure and dust seals. I eventually

sold the 1N as the 3 was better in almost every way. EOS 3 AF and metering buries the 1N.

[robin_sibson1]

I cannot think of any reason to prefer the -1N over the -3, but with prices of s/h film cameras going the way they are, you might even consider treating yourself to a -1v, even if the hs version is not quite within reach.

[carlo_cayetano1]

A 1n may be heavily used by a pro, where a 3 may be in better condition. You could probably find a good 3 at keh.com with the attached power booster for around $500.

[steve_dunn2]

<p>There are a handful of areas where the 1N's specs are slightly better than the 3's specs, such as maximum X-sync speed. Off the top of my head, I don't recall what else there was, but back when the 1N was the top-of-the-line model and the 3 was supposedly below it, I recall a discussion of whether the 3 wasn't actually better than the 1N, and I think there were about 4-5 ways in which the 1N was better. But the 3 is superior to the 1N in many other ways, so all in all, it's the better body overall. If I were to buy one of these two, I'd go for the 3 unless I absolutely needed one of the few things that the 1N offers and the 3 doesn't.</p>

[PuppyDigs]

Besides 1/250 X-sync vs 1/200, the EOS 1N sports an eyepiece blind and built-in

diopter adjustment that the 3 lacks. Of course the EOS 3 has the 45 sensor AF

system, the ctr cross

sensor is fully activated wih F4 or faster glass (the 1N needs F2.8) and the 3 has

multi-spot averaging and 21-zone evaluative vs single spot and 16-zone eval of the

1N. However the biggest advantage of the EOS 3 for me is ECF. If you hate ECF you

can turn it off and the 3 behaves like a 1D or 1V AF system.

[davekcj]

EOS 3 has the newer technology, the same "guts" essentially as the film camera you want, ETTL & 45 focus points and all that. So when you ruin the shutter on the 3 and buy your 1v, you'll know how it works.

The way you go through shutters, maybe you should buy a pile of Rebels and use them as disposables...

 

I have a 1N and I think it would be nice to have wireless ETTL the newer Canon's have.