Recommended Must have for ELAN 7n

[thomasly]

Hi All, I'm a beginner & Newbie here on this EOS Forum.

I have a new Elan 7n on order at my local camera shop.

 

Q: What is a "MUST HAVE" that you might recommend, that I may need

right away for the ELAN 7n?

 

BTW - I already have a camera bag & an older tripod.

 

T.I.A.

 

T.P.Lyons

[ky2]

The EF 50/1.8 II.

[keith_van_hulle1]

Well, if you exclude lenses, then the battery grip would be top on my list.

[pok_hon_wally_yu]

If you shoot a lot with your tripod, an electronic cable release will be neccessary.

[nammyboy]

Accessories: BP-300 ($65) with Handstrap E2 ($20) and some rechargeable NiCD batteries ($20). It will give your camera a nice balance and will fit your hands better if you have big hands. You can keep recharging your AA batteries instead of buying expensive Lithium batteries (and you can always find a store carrying AA).

 

Lens: EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM ($250) lens (or if you're more of the telephoto type, the 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM ($380)). Throw in the 50mm f/1.8 II ($75) because it's cheap and good for low-light work. Try the classifieds for good deals on used lenses, bhphoto.com, keh.com.

 

Flash: Speedlite 430EX or the older 420EX.

 

Film: Fuji Reala, Fuji NPH, Fuji NPZ for print; and Velvia, Provia 400F for chromes. Check bhphoto.com for good prices on film, especially imported film.

 

Editing: 5000K Balanced lightbox, 4x Mamiya or Schneider loupe. Try to take chromes instead of negatives because you save money and get to see the results first-hand, looking through a loupe instead of some lab-tech's interpretations of your negatives that end up on 4x6 prints. Also, with digital scan labs, its getting easier and easier to get decent prints from slides.

 

Good luck, and take lots and lots of pictures! At least a couple rolls a week.

 

~Nam

[terry_smith2]

I've had my 7N for a couple of weeks now and I'm quite pleased with it. I'm sure that you will enjoy it, it has lots of advanced features and it's quite small, light and very quite. You did not mention what lens or lenses that you bought or already had. That might get you some better answers.

[PuppyDigs]

Buy and read:

 

Peter K. Burian & Robert Caputo. National Geographic Photography Field Guide. Washington DC: National Geographic Society, 2001. 352 pages. ISBN 0-7922-7498-9

 

Buy a few bricks of good film: Provia 100F, Velvia, NPH and Portra 160VC.

[panos_voudouris]

A lens and a flashgun! It is night and day compared to the built in one. If you don't want to

fork out for a 430EX, look for a used 540EZ or 430EZ.

[thomasly]

Thanks to all for the Great Info.... now I might have to

take out a loan to purchase these extra's...lol

[phule]

430EX and lots of film. :)

[randall_pukalo]

50mm f1.8 lens + Tamron or Sigma 28-300 lens. With these 2 lenses you are set. You will find the 28-300 very very useful and versatile. I have the sigma variant, plus lots of Canon primes, and guess what - I dont use the primes much at all, but get LOTS of use out of my 28-300.Wide angle/zoom/macro closeups, all in 1 lens . For FUN photography (not PRO, tripod + fixed prime lens+ etc.), you dont want to lug around a bag full of lenses all day.

For film, you must try slides, they are truely beautiful, and a great reason to still shoot film! try some Sensia 100 and Sensia 400 from BH Photo. Plus, a roll of the new Velvia 100.

Oh yes, get the hand stap. I love it on my Elan 7ne.

[nick_monyatovsky]

<UL>

<LI>28-135mm EF Lens

 

<blockquote>

The best portraits I've taken were on the 135mm setting.

The 28mm+ is great for working around and taking pictures

of places.

</blockquote>

 

<LI> ST-E2 remote flash controller ($140-$200).

 

<blockquote>

 

You will find that as soon as the light gets even somewhat dim, the camera will not be able to focus, and will simply

refuse to take a picture. No pressing on the button will work.

This has been most frustrating to me. <p>

 

This problem is solved very nicely by ST-E2. It provides an

infrared autofocus assist light, which is barely noticeable,

but it allows the camera to focus in as much as complete

darkness. This alone makes the little device worth its cost. <p>

 

 

It will also allow you to use the flash off camera, which adds a lot of character to the photographs. (This

works indoors only. Outside, I have to use the cord.)

<P>

</blockquote>

 

<LI> Small remote trigger, wireless -- $25

 

<blockquote>

 

Photographing night city views requires exposures of 1 - 20

minutes. This camera, if memory serves me right, has a limit

of 3 min. This problem is solved by using "bulb" as the

exposure value, and triggering the camera on and off by the

little remote. <p>

 

[ This can be done by hand, but who's going to stand

motionlessly with the finger on the shutter button for 20

minutes? ] <p>

 

</blockquote>

 

<LI> Circular Polarizer

 

<blockquote>

 

It makes the sky really dark and really blue. The photographs

taken against the sky (if the angles are right) look so

saturated, almost surreal. Very nice effect. (Hard to live

without).

 

</blockquote>

 

<LI> Sto-Fen OmniBounce for your flash ($10)

 

<blockquote>

Direct flash produces the typical flash pictures.

Bouncing from the ceiling has never worked for me -- it produces,

in my experience, terrible shadows under everybody's eyes and

chin; it looks even worse than the direct flash. <p>

 

OmniBounce is a tiny little gadget that produces the results

superior to the former two; especially when used on the off-camera flash.

 

I find myself using the golden kind more than the white. Indoors, in the evening, it preserves the golden glow of the incandescent lights and makes the photographs look very warm and natural. White makes it look like the flash was used. Faces look *much* better in the gold light.

 

</blockquote>