eos film body, small and light

[rjjackson]

hi all,

 

i want to throw an EOS film body in my bag. can you suggest a small, light, and

inexpensive body that works well with manual focusing? the choice it seems to

me is between the elan and rebel. apart from "clumsy" access manual focus and

exposure comp, why is the rebel a poorer choice than the elan for shooting an

occasional roll of 35mm?

 

(for reference, i have long used an ae-1, but now use digital EOS with 50/1.4,

17-40/4 for work, and numerous all manual medium and large format cameras for

pleasure).

 

thanks much,

 

rj

[rjjackson]

sorry, i meant "clumsy access to manual exposure", not "manual focus".

[HenryUK]

The best body for manual focusing that takes EF lenses is the EF-M. It is only manual focus. It has a split image viewfinder that really helps with MF. It's quite light, although not as small as a EOS 300X (Rebel T2). It can do auto or manual exposure. It can do exposure compensation as well. You can pick one up for GBP 10 or USD 20.

 

The 300X is a nice small, light body. The EOS 30 (Elan 7E) is slightly bigger and heavier but has the quick control dial as well on the back. These two also have the advantage of 20 years of development of EOS AE and AF technology. In my opinion they are both horrible for manual focus.

 

Henry

[dhauschild]

I keep an EOS A2 for a film camera to backup my EOS digital camera. It has many of the features you would find on a Canon Pro 35mm film camera including a PC port for studio lighting, but it is much cheaper. On that bay place you can find them for next to nothing. Manual exposure is accomplished the same as with any Canon EOS camera. If you depend on manual focus, then I would use lens with full time manual focus.

[colin carron]

I use the older 300V as a film backup. I like its simplicity and light weight. After using digital the clumsy exposure compensation of the film body seems fairly straightforward!

[PuppyDigs]

The EOS 600 series (620, 630 & 650) had a split image focusing screen available.

Might be hard to come by in the 21st century, albeit not as rare as EF-M! The EOS 1,

1N & 3 also have split image focusing screens are are easily had, but are on the beefy

side.

[rjjackson]

thanks for the replies so far.

 

puppy face: with the split screen added to a 600-series, will the auto focus still work well?

 

i think small and light is a higher priority than autofocus for what i have in mind, but i have found the auto focus, at least on my 50, to be a little frustrating, and was hoping to have a convenient manual focus option included for shooting wide open. the 600 is looking like a good solution if both auto and manual work with the split screen.

[aappelphotography]

I owned the Eos 7E aka Eos 30 for several years and would recommend it any time as a film body. It is robust but small enough. The 300series was too small for my hands, imho. And I have to say the autofocus with the 50 1.4 and the EOS 30 was always great ...

[HenryUK]

If light weight is a factor bear in mind that the EOS 600 will weigh 670 g. The EOS 300X only weighs 365 g. The EOS 30 weighs 575 g.

 

The EOS 600 will autofocus properly whatever focus screen is fitted. The focus screen has no effect on AF.

 

The EOS 600 is an old design, the AF is slow, and the user interface is positively primitive.

 

The EF-M is no more rare than split image screens for the EOS 600.

 

Henry

[HenryUK]

The EF-M weighs 390 g.

[Ian Taylor]

Just find a used EOS 5. Awesome backup camera. Going for $100 on E-buy.

[stoney1]

An Elan 7e in great condition can be had for about $100 from any reputable used

camera dealer. I use it as a backup to other film bodies. Manual focus works fine, but

the viewfinder is not as bright as older manual focus cameras or current pro bodies, but

it's easier on the eyes than the Rebel still. If you wear glasses the Rebel is even worse.

[markonestudios]

I have a Rebel G (EOS 500N) for a backup film body. It meets your criteria (small & light). it's also very reliable. I've shot with it in some pretty adverse conditions including rain, and it works really well...

[jay a. frew]

Hello Robert:

 

I have an Elan 7. With a fast lens (bright viewfinder) manual focus is OK (not great). I wouldn't consider it small nor light, but, that certainly varies from person to person. Manual control is very good on this camera.

 

I have no experience with one, but, maybe an APS C format film SLR (like the EOS IX 240) would suit your needs.

 

Have you looked in the Canon Camera Museum site? It contains descriptions/specifications/pictures of all Canon cameras.

 

Here is a link to the museum:

 

http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/index.html

 

Cheers! Jay

[robert lee]

"...why is the rebel a poorer choice than the elan for shooting an occasional roll of 35mm?"

 

It isn't. There's nothing smaller nor lighter in Canon's SLR line than a fairly contemporary Rebel.

[JDMvW]

The very early EOS cameras such as the 650 (the first), the 650 (the first 'professional'), the 700m and the EOS 5 (aka A2e) are all fine cameras that sell for almost nothing nowadays. They are light and will take all EF lenses, but not, of course, the EF-S lenses, They use 2CR5 batteries that are still widely available, and it is possible to get rechargeable equivalents.

 

I've bought all of these and all have worked fine.

[JDMvW]

Sorry-I mistyped -620-the first professional model

[ryepixels]

Like Ian, I too have EOS 5 as film body ... can manual focus on EOS lenses. Sensational IQ with my L series lenses.

Off forum, but also have the brilliant Olympus OM system - much smaller/lighter, but have to maintain separate lens line. EOS5 and OM1n/2SP are really cheap used.

[carnagex_carnagex]

I use a Canon EF-M, which is a manual only film body that uses EF lenses. (I also use

a Canon Elan II, both work fine for film, the only reason I use the Elan II over the EF-M

is for night shooting when a flash is necessary, since the Elan II supports E-TTL,

which is great for me since I have a 220EX, 430EX and 580EX. I have the dedicated

200M flash for the EF-M, but its hit or miss with that flash unit).<div></div>

[carnagex_carnagex]

(I forgot to add, the bonus on the EF-M is the split circle/split prism screen which

makes it super easy to manually focus. Also as far as the Elan II, I picked that over

the 7, for one main reason, that darn assit strobe on the Elan 7 is annoying as hell, its

like the ones used on the Digital Rebel series, not to mention the Elan 7's viewfinder is

darker).

[douglas_vitello]

The only EOS bodies that were 'really' designed for manual focus were the EOS 1 Series,600 Series (620,650,630,RT),and EF-M.The others have viewfinders that are small,lack contrast,and many are too light or dark.I don't work for KEH (yet think they are great guys), and right now they have in stock 2 EF -M's and manual focus screens for the 600 Series and EOS 1 Series.The EOS 630 with manual focus screen (split or microprism) would be the pick of the litter if cost is the main factor.They are not small but they are light and are built like the much more expensive EOS 1 's.

[rjjackson]

thanks everyone for the feedback. based on your suggestions, in the end the decision was between the ef-m and rebel X. i went with the X since, i reasoned, if i'm determined to use manual focus explicitly i'll dust off the ae-1. keh should be shipping it shortly.

 

best -- rj

[carnagex_carnagex]

check ebay for an ef-m. (there is a mint condition one with the 200M dedicated flash

included, youll probably be able to get it cheap. Usually the flash alone sells for the

same as the body, since it is even harder to find). You can read about the EF-M here: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/eos/eoscamera/EFM/index.

htm

[henry_ed_fly]

I have a EOS 5 QD body with the VG-10 grip that I would love to sell. Have the Canon manual and a Magic Lantern book. Never had any problems with the dial. Made in 1997. Would take $100.00.

 

Henry

[alan_myers]

Here's another vote for the Elan 7 (aka: EOS 30... also the 7E, EOS 33, or 33N, 7EN, although the "Eye Control" focus never worked well for me... some folks love it.)...

 

These are about the quietest film SLRs Canon ever made, if that's a consideration.

 

Elan 7/EOS 30 build quality is similar to the 10/20/30/40D series, a step up from the plastic entry level cameras, which *are* a little smaller and lighter.