Canon EOS 3 - Attempting a through review

[lilserenity]

Hello,

 

I have been browsing photo.net for a good four years (and probably longer as I'm

sure a friend used to post links to here when I first got on the web in '97/8.)

The wealth of information on this website is just sheer magnificence and that's

not even mentioning the amount of pure creativity I am fortunate to be able to

look through!

 

I have started writing a comprehensive review here of my 'new' EOS 3 which I

purchased after my 5QD died over Christmas. It was a toss up between the 1n and

if I was feeling uber-rich the 1v, that said the EOS 3 is far in advance of my

needs so it became my choice having had experiences with the 1n and 1v before

(albeit briefly for the latter.)

 

It's here on my blog:

http://lilserenity.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/first-impressions-canon-eos-3/

 

I have written three parts and am working on the third but I haven't had a good

chance to shoot some slide film (Velvia no less) yet as the weather has been so

poor and I'm reserving judgements on the results until I have done that.

 

I'm not purely joining here to plug my review, I am hoping to take part on this

forum a great deal and also subscribe at the end of the month on pay day :) I

really enjoy this website and thought it was about time I tried to put something

back.

 

The review also touches on why I choose to stay with film in 2008 with such

fantastic Canon digital EOS cameras on the market like the 5D, 40D and 1D(s)

MkII/III. And it isn't all about cost (although I have no chance of purchasing a

1Ds MkIII even if I wanted to!)

 

Thanks and look forward to joining in with many forum topics and hopefully being

able to help even though my photography experience is short at four years.

 

Vicky

[hjoseph7]

Did you mention the super sensitive shutter ?

[lilserenity]

As you can see the review isn't a short one so I'm evaluating the camera on an extended period and I haven't come to a definite conclusion with the shutter release yet.

 

I know *exactly* what you mean though, as coming from an EOS 5 there was a definite resistance in the shutter release signifying half way, and it was fairly tricky to accidentally misfire the shutter. On the EOS 3 it was quite easy to as the shutter release has an incredibly different feel to the EOS cameras I have used before now (e.g. the EOS 300/Rebel 2000.) That said I have got a lot more used to it, and I find just using the tip of my finger on the shutter release helps a lot.

 

I'm not decided what I prefer yet but suffice to say this is one of the first things I noticed about the EOS 3 compared to the 5 and 300. (The 300 is my brother's.)

[charles_lipton]

I have had an EOS 3 for many years. I have another film camera, a Minolta XD-11; both of which I refuse to sell. I mainly use the 3 for black and white film and my 5D for everything else. They'll probably bury me with both SLR bodies! haha

[doug_harhai]

Amen Harry! It is one of the only flaws that I perceive in the camera. It can be remedied with single mode shooting, but what happens if you need a burst of continuous shooting? There is the problem. It is a good thing they don't make pistols with triggers that sensitive--at least I hope that they don't.

[PuppyDigs]

I recall the EOS 3 shutter button is much more sensitive than my Elan, Elan 7E and A2.

Took many extra frames at first. Once I got used to it I also found it much more

responsive and ultimately nailed more keepers and was able to hold the camera more

steady. Just takes a few days of practice to adapt. My old Elan (EOS 100) has such a deep

plunger shutter I often missed shots or shook the camera.

 

Incidentally, the EOS 3 sensitivity shutter button can be adjusted at a Canon Service

center.

 

I really love the ECF feature on my EOS 3 and Elan 7NE. I try not to use it so the lack of ECF

won't drive me nuts n my 40D and 5D. That joy stick thingie is really slow 'n awkward in

comparison to ECF.

 

My EOS 3 review:

http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/canon_eos3.htm

[JDMvW]

I've backed into getting some of the older, historically significant EOS cameras as I see them offered on line. I've wanted to get an EOS 3, but there's still a lot of demand for this camera, just like the older 1 series. Anyhow, the furthest I've got so far is a EOS 5 (=US A2e). I am amazed at how nice cameras the early EOS line are still today. It must have been kind of bittersweet at the time for the FD users, however. When that was happening in the Canon world, I was struggling with the Nikon AI and non-AI problem --as time went by, this became more and more significant, so I always laugh when somebody on the Nikon forum waxes eloquent about 100% compatibility. (Of course, _all_ the non-AI lenses I have work just fine on EOS cameras with an adapter).

 

Sorry, kinda wandered off topic there, but I'm old enough to be entitled ;)

[Andy Collins]

Hey Vicky, it's nice to see such attention being paid to such a great camera. I'm a (fanatical)1vHS shooter in addition to my 20D and PowerShots, and thoroughly enjoy using both film and digital. I see nothing wrong with you using the EOS 3 in 2008 as it's as great a camera now as when it was introduced 10 years ago or so. I hope you post some pictures from it.

 

 

JDM--I agree with your statement about how nice some of the early EOS camera were and still are. The A2 was my first EOS body, and still performs quite admirably today, except for the long mirror-blackout. It seems like it was a little ahead of its time with regard to the features it had and its performance. I can't seem to part with this camera.

[pbizarro]

It is my impression that shutters in pro-cameras (like the EOS 3 and 1 series) are more sensitive than in amateur cameras. Pros need the camera to fire "in that instant", and thus the responsive shutter button.

 

What I recall from the EOS 3 is the louder (compared to 1n or 1V), sort of "clunk" sound when you take a picture. The camera was a bit loud for my tastes. Other than that, on par with the 1n. The 1V is a class apart, with the important details added on: weather sealing gaskets, and other goodies.

[lilserenity]

<p>Wow a lot of replies here. I'll try to refer to every remark in this reply. (Sorry it's long!)</p>

 

<p>I have put a few examples from this camera in my gallery here on Photo.net and I also, can I mention this, have a Flickr page... :) (It's here <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilserenity/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilserenity/</a>)

There are a few bits there but I only recently acquired a 35mm scanner so I am a bit slow to get them on-line at times! Also some of them were taken with my EOS 5.</p>

 

<p>So in turn:</p>

 

<p>Charles -- I too use a heck of a lot of black and white film (usually Ilford Delta 100, 3200 or XP2) as it is a key passion of mine. Eventually I want to look into developing my own negatives but that's a matter of time and money. That said I do shoot in colour too, I'm just hanging on for the first day of spring where I can burst outside with some Velvia (50)!</p>

 

<p>Doug -- As noted the sensitive shutter I noted right away but I have kind of gotten used to it and I think I even prefer it. Certainly the whole feel of the EOS 3 to the 5 is much more comfortable for my hands and the shutter release is part of this for me.</p>

 

<p>Puppy Face -- I love the ECF as well but I haven't calibrated it nearly enough yet so it's still a bit hit and miss. That said I have for the time being reduced the AF points from 45 to 11 and this has sped up AF and ECF no end. Incidentally your review was incredibly important to me in choosing the EOS 3 over the 1n!</p>

 

<p>JDM -- More that welcome to lament lyrically about cameras I'm sure :) Passion is good! The EOS 5/A2E was a great camera and you can imagine I was gutted when it died. If it hadn't have done I'd still be using it now. I'm not sure what happened but it was pretty beat! The EOS 3 is a very nice camera and I bought mine from a local shop for a very reasonable ?150 (it is virtually mint/unused looking bar the usual hot shoe scuffs.)</p>

 

<p>Andy -- You'd be surprised how many people sit on two sides of the fence; some understand that using film is a choice and don't really see the 'problem' whereas some people are very critical of using film and because they shoot digital now they don't understand it. I probably don't in truth either but their is just something about film... If you look in my profile gallery there are a few snaps but I also have a Flickr page (see above.)</p>

 

<p>So far I have been very encouraged by the EOS 3's results so much so that I have lined up two projects to complement a book I am writing one which is taking unusual photos of where I live (Worthing on the South Coast of England) and the second a trip around London's North Circular trying to find out as much as possible about the people who live in its proximity -- but the latter is a massive project that I'll likely still be working on in five years!</p>

 

<p>Paulo -- Indeed compared to the EOS 5 the mirror/shutter mechanism is a lot louder, I noticed it right away. I'm glad I don't really do any wildlife photography! I have handled the 1v and it is a *beast* of a camera, very nice but my wrists would ache too quickly with its heft. Even the EOS 3 becomes a little wearisome after 4 hours walking around with my backpack and tripod :) I'm also inclined to say that I prefer the EOS 3's sensitive shutter but I am being quite slow and pragmatic in my final judgements. </p>

 

<p>Whew :)</p>

[robin_sibson1]

I had an EOS-3 for some years and then passed it on to my son. Its predecessor was an EOS-1 and its successor was a -1V, but I never had a -1N. All these cameras have a "hair-trigger" shutter release rather than the double-pressure "click" release of the lesser breeds. I very much liked that - I reckon that in critical situations the click release costs about one stop of "negative IS". However, despite having the releases adjusted by Canon, I could never get any of them to a state where they would not occasionally take double shots - I guess you just have to live with it.

 

I loved the EOS-1 in its day, and the -1V was simply superb, but I never got beyond reasonably liking the -3. In particular, I was one of those who found ECF completely useless, and the -3 was crudely noisy - much more so than the -1V. However, AF on the -3 was a huge step forward on anything that Canon had offered previously, and the same basic system served with what appear to have been only minor tweaks right through to the 1DIIN and 1DsII. Whether or not you regard the -3 as part of the "1-series" is a matter of semantics - functionally, it certainly was - but it has the distinction of being the only EOS camera apart from the 1V and the various 1D bodies that provided AF at f/8 and high-precision AF at f/4. There is a story that pre-production -3 bodies had the central-point AF set to cut off when the full aperture of the lens dropped to f/11, rather than when it dropped below f/8. As a result, the non-IS 500/4.5L would AF on the Extender 2x at an aperture of f/9, apparently quite satisfactorily. Those who had used that combination were said to have been less than pleased to find that the "bug" had been corrected on production bodies.

 

The bug that they did not correct in time for the initial production run was a rather complex metering problem that led to under-exposure by about 2/3 stop under some circumstances. Canon never admitted to it, but they did fix it through a combination of a firmware upgrade and careful adjustment of some internal parameters (done by a technician through a connection using the hotshoe!). It was the hot topic on forums at that time. They also provided an upgrade to implement CF-19 to support the full capabilities of the Big White IS Lenses.

[hjoseph7]

"I find just using the tip of my finger on the shutter release helps a lot"

 

Vicky I wish you would have told me this 2 years ago when I purchased the camera ! Actually, it was only 2 weeks ago that I realized that by using the tip of my finger I could control the shutter much better than by laying my entire finger on it.

 

I bought my camera as a refurbished unit, so I was allways wondering whether the shutter was malfunctioning or not. For this reason the camera sat on the shelf allot. I even tried changing the custom function(Cf4 ?) so that the AF is activated by one of the buttons in the back of the camera rather than the shutter button.

 

Another issue I have with this camera is the noise. Unfortunately this is not the camera to take to a funeral, the opera, or for taking wild-life shots. Other than that the camera has allot of great features not found on my more expensive DSLR like weather sealing. The exposure and focusing is also more accurate than my DSLR. Good thing because there no playback !

[thomas_hardy1]

I bought one last year. I noticed that the sound of the shutter seems much quieter than my

20D. Also wide angle lenses are wide again. That eye control thing is a little weird though.

[john clark]

Very interesting. I too have recently added an EOS 3 to my system - I had an EOS 5 until around 2002, when I sold it and went bodyless for a year until I got a 10D. My wife was keen to get back to shooting film and wanted a Nikon body but it made much more sense to get a Canon body and share the lenses with the 10D.

 

Having only put one roll of film through it since getting it two weeks back, I can confirm that (a) it's a well built, easy to use camera, (b) it focuses better than the 10D, © its shutter release is, as people say, very sensitive, (d) it is noisy, and (e) it is very 'fast' - i.e. responsive - particularly in the AF and transport.

 

My main film camera since 2001 has been a Contax G2 AF rangefinder, which is a 'love it or hate it' camera. Personally, I love it. The very best lenses I have ever used and a relatively compact, well constructed camera with next to nothing to criticise in my opinion. Compared to the G2, the EOS 3 has better AF, but is less reliable in terms of metering (the G2 almost NEVER lets you down, which is something that always suprises me). Also, the EOS 3, being an SLR, is much more difficult to hand-hold at slow shutter speeds - this being evident in the first role (shot at ISO 100 in winter) as compared to the last one out of the G2, also ISO 100 - even at 6x4" the G2 shots seem sharper. Could be the lenses though - I use the legendary 45/2 on the G2, which is I think a good bit sharper than the 50/1.4USM or 85/1.8USM I've used on the EOS 3 thus far.

 

Overall, for the money I paid (?130 for a near mint example including manual, strap but no box) I think the EOS 3 is tremendous value for money and to be recommended, but moving back to a film SLR after spending a few years with a digital SLR is going to take some adjustment.

 

Now all I need to do is sort out a dedicated flash - 430EX is what I'm thinking...

[lilserenity]

Delayed on the replies to this thread due to a couple of very hectic days at work!

 

Robin -- I am definitely enjoing the more sensitive shutter release on the EOS 3 personally. A couple of 'mimicking' the motions with my now dead EOS 5/A2(E) and its shutter release has made me realise how much I prefer the sensitivity of the EOS 3's shutter.

 

Certainly as you point out whether the EOS 3 is in fact an EOS 1 series or not is semantics. I'm not inclined to decide one way or another on this because I am finding what matters is this is an absolutely staggeringly enjoyable camera to work with. My work seems to flow a lot better with it than with the EOS 5, and that was also a pleasure to work with.

 

I have yet to test slide film in my example to test for exposure issues but I have yet to find any concerns with print film (not that I would expect this to yield a conclusion to a 2/3rd stop under-exposure if it was present on my EOS 3) but so far so good. The results I have gotten from it have been enjoyable to say the least. Especially when my lens range is limited (presently just a 50mm f/1.8 II and a 24mm f/2.8 -- but I work well with them, looking to get the 35mm f/2 or 85mm f/1.8 'soon') the EOS 3 has been a pleasure to work with.

 

I would like to get the PB-E2 for it, although I'm not sure my neck will be very happy to learn this!

 

Certainly my EOS 3 does not have CF-19 (which was Firmware v1.7 I think you mention?)

[lilserenity]

Thomas -- I have never played with an EOS 20D but I have some mild dabblings with an EOS 10D, and much more extensive time with an EOS 30D and a 5D. The 30D and 5D didn't seem to have as much of a mirror 'slap' as the 3 has either, in fact compared to my EOS 5 (35mm) the 3 is positively a shouty mirror slap in comparison.

 

That said this loud slap the 3 exudes does not affect my photography but I have been amused by Canon's work to make 'silent' lenses and then producing with the EOS 3 (and others) quite a noisy little thing!

[lilserenity]

Harry -- it does make a lot of difference. Sadly two years ago I was still with my EOS 5! Although there was little to be sad about with the 5!

 

I had a laugh a couple of weeks ago in Bristol (England) when I turned up at the Clifton Suspension Bridge to try out night bulb exposures on my way back home. It was about 9.30pm and it was dead quiet and the whole bridge was illuminated. It was raining in bursts and the wind was howling and it occurred to me, "Great, finally a waterproofed camera. However, I now realise this is to no avail as I'm still not waterproofed!"

 

It was good fun though!

[lilserenity]

John Clark -- very interesting indeed. I too was very fortunate to pick up a virtually mint (except for minor hot shoe 'scuffs') EOS 3 for ?150 from a local shop. There is not a mark on it (and that's after I started using it!) and I couldn't have been more pleased with it so far.

 

I haven't particularly found a bad example of the EOS 3's evaluative metering yet but I'm sure I'll get one or two frames with my current roll that I am disappointed with as I have pushed it quite hard this week with a diverse range of shots in varying levels of light, back lighting etc. That said I was unaware of the Contax G2 Rangefinder, looks a very nice camera to own!

[anthony_thornborough1]

I have found the EOS 3 occasionally fickle, but majestic in performance 9 out of 10 times in all sorts of lighting. It is quick and responsive, though the PBE2 I got is permanently off (I wish Canon had made a vertical grip w/o power booster, like the EOS 5's VG10 but, alas, no), due to weight - and I use an 85 f/1.2 LII regularly, which balances very well on just the body (not the proverbial snout wagging the body).

 

One day, somebody with a very long memory will misquote me, but I'll probably go to the grave with the EOS 3. The only 'wear' issue is the hotshoe, where the three sprung Speedlite contacts drive gentle grooves into a plastic lip. The rest is as-new, even after eight years of use!

[lilserenity]

Tony -- I have not got the PB-E2 but I have been in the same mind as after a few hours I definitely feel the EOS 3 around my neck but it's far from unbearable (that said I usually walk around with a 50mm f/1.8 II on it so that is super lightweight) but I think even though the PB-E2 would make vertical shooting easier, I think it might be a bit too much weight to carry for an extended period.

 

I've found the overall feel and fit of the EOS 3 is much better than the 5, I've not got particularly big hands but I can pretty much say it's very comfortable.

 

I was fortunate that the one I picked up had not a mark on it except for the usual hotshoe marks but apart from that, I can only assume it was bought as a backup body and never used much for that role.

 

Certainly the EOS 3 has continually impressed me. A few nights ago I was attempting to take some shots in low light with no flash with said 50mm lens and Ilford Delta 3200 (I like shooting black and white mostly) and it did hunt a fair bit but I think that's more to do with the poor AF system on the 50mm lens than the EOS 3's 'fault'. (I try not to use a flash if I can, not that I own one any more, my 430EZ was sold over a year ago and that would have only been A-TTL on the 3 anyway)