canon eos 5 - what do you think?

[summitar]

I am a fan of the Canon FD system, and I own a T90, F-1 (original),

two FTb's and an FT-QL, and about a dozen FD lenses. I visited my

favorite photo shop today, which takes in used equipment as trade-ins.

They had for sale a Canon EOS 5 with vertical grip, with an EF 28-105

mm lens for US $500. The cameera was fairly clean with no dents,

although the grips showed wear that indicated that it had plent of use

but no evidence of rough handling. I hail from a generation before

the EOS systems and I am quite clueless as to their attributes. I am

quite familiar with the FD systems and I regard them highly. Would

you consider this EOS 5 a good deal? I have placed a good deal of

trust in pnetter's opinions in the past and hope you will help me with

this.

[saotome_genma]

<br>The price is obscene.

[PuppyDigs]

A new EF 28-105 3.5-4.5 USM sells for about $225 at most big online dealers. The EOS 5

sold for nearly $500 when new in the late 90s. However, used prices vary from $75

(beater)-200 (mint) depending on condition. A new grip was and still is about $65.

Basically this combo should cost about $300 if the lens and grip are minty.

[gib]

FWIW

 

Aside from the price being high or low, be sure you are happy with the viewfinder.

 

I bought stupidly a Canon Elan 7E without handling one. I assumed the viewinder would be as good as a Nikon F801 from around 1990.It wasnt, so I eventually got rid of it. Ended up buying a used N8008s.

 

I did a side by comparison portrait shoot between an Canon EF 85 1.8 and the old AI 105mm f2.5 lens. I preferred the old Nikkor.

[jimstrutz]

The viewfinder of the EOS 5 is way better than the one in the Elan 7E. There are a lot of other things about the 5 that are nice as well. Replaceable viewscreen, 5 fps, spot meter, etc. Down side is the command dial is noted to fail. A fixed one is good though & it's not that difficult to do it yourself if you're handy with tools. The 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 USM is also good.

 

Still, the price is high. $400 tops.

[PuppyDigs]

The EOS 5 has one of the best viewfinders this side of an EOS 3 or 1V: bright, vivid and

big. The Elan 7 and Rebels pale before it. I wish my 10D viewfinder was as big 'n bright as

the EOS 5. My fav screen for the EOS 5 was the grid screen.

[fxdonny]

The lens is about $150 used, $175 top, and EOS 5 is around $100, $150 if mint top, Grip no more than $50, so total is $375 top may be max $400 if has shop warranty.

[h._p.]

As someone who uses an Eos 5 with a 28~105 lens, I'd say that the combination is extremely good but the price seems rather high. Here in the UK, I've seen '5' bodies going for around 125GBP or even less and the lens goes for around the same. Given that US prices seem to be even lower, this doesn't sound like a good deal.

[terry_smith2]

For that kind of moey you can get a used EOS 3...

[frank_dzambic]

The EOS 5 is a wonderful camera. I own and used both the A2e and the EOS 3, and I never even used the EOS 3 more than a handful of times. The only thing it offered that was better than the A2e was autofocus at f/8, which was useful when mounting a 600 f/4 with a 2X TC. I don't know how good or bad the $500 price is, but others have already answered that for you. Do a search on Ebay, and find out what the going rate is if you want a definite answer. But definitely buy the EOS 5 if you're after a film camera. Nothing else comes close when you factor in the size, weight, viewfinder brightness, ECF, reliability, features, quietness and general ease of use.

[mark_sala1]

There is a small photo lab near where I work which has a small selection of cameras for sale. In the window they have a brand new eos 5 for AU$1200 (talk about dreaming!). No doubt it has been sitting there for years. I've been tempted to walk in there and offer them AU$300 to relieve them of it. But now that I have a 20D (and an eos 50 for film) I have no reason to buy it. I wonder how long it will sit there...

[J.W. Wall]

or you could try keh.com, they often have good used equipment with a warranty

[summitar]

Thank you for all your input. I am a fan of the FD system, but I had no idea where in the hierarchy the EOS-5 stood. I am getting too old to launch another system line, so I will pass on this deal. The viewfinder was very bright as you have said, and it sure felt like a solid package, but after hearing from you all, it wasn't all that minty, and so was overpriced. Thanks for all the many replies. I may very well put all those bucks into a new Canon A620, with change left over.

[chrisjb]

Hi, IMHO that is not a good deal, I have 3 T`s90`s and a swag of FD lenses, also have EOS 5, great camera but the only advantage you`ll get is auto focus & ECF which I turned off, plus start buying all new lenses, I reckon the std FD lwnses walk all over the std EF ones. If you are needing AF as I`m needing more often (old eyes) then go ahead & move on to EOS but you can find better deals. Also the T`s use `AA` batteries where the EOS5 uses a `2CR5` expensive and doesn`t last long. Look a little further and deeper. BTW I hardly touch these film bodies now I`m using digital.

 

good luck

[chrisjb]

Ah, you beat me to it, Best wishes.

[gareth_harper]

I moved from a T90 to an EOS30 and I haven't looked back. Auto-focus is magic, though you do have to learn how to use it.

The EOS5 is getting on a bit now, they should also be cheap as chips though. The EOS30 and particulary the 30V has a much higher spec. If you want pro build quality and a pro sepc viewfinder go for the 3, I've seen some very reasonable prices on 3's recently. If I was buying now I go for the 3 myself, I ain't upgrading though as the 30 is an excellant camera and serves me well.