rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>About eighteen months ago, in the EOS Bodies Forum, JDM von Weinberg posted a fine dissertation on the unusual Canon EOS 700. Since then, more by accident than design, a tidy example has slipped into my collection, and I thought I'd present it on this newer Modern Cameras forum. It's rather too curious a camera to dwell forever in the rarified realms of "EOS Bodies".</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>The camera would have very little claim to fame if it wasn't for the fact that, so far as I'm aware, this 1990 camera was the Canon SLR ever to have been offered with a Power Zoom kit lens, in this case the Canon 35-80mm f/4~5.6 in powered configuration. JDM gives a wealth of technical information regarding this polycarbonate assembly of canon components, (http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00Wn8K), so I'll touch only on the broader details. Just why Canon decided to produce such a clumsy little lens has never been revealed, but I can only imagine that it was under pressure from similar products appearing in the menus of their competitors. Very little information is available regarding the lens, Canon have only minimal reference in their history or records, and I can understand why; the lens was definitely not a commercial success and, along with the EOS 700, disappeared after a twelve-month production run. </p> <p>Optically, the lens is sharp enough, with the usual horrendous barrel distortion at the wide end of the zoom range, the auto-focus is adequate, though not strikingly better than earlier models, but the powered zoom is pretty pathetic. For a start, the operating buttons on the side of the lens barrel are hard to find and tricky to operate comfortably; for a right -hander it's almost easier to hold the camera in the left hand and reach over the lens with the right hand to locate the buttons. Nowhere near as convenient as the point-and shoot cameras with the zoom controls located on the camera body...The zoom mechanism is slow and noisy, far slower than any manual zoom I've encountered, and one is forced to ask, "Why on earth did they bother?" Canon must have ended up asking themselves the same question, as the experiment was never repeated. The lens is a standard EOS mount and will work on any canon SLR, but so far I haven't been tempted to try it in the digital format.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>The camera itself is large and curvy and rather oversize for the services it offers. It has a unique "flippable" command dial, one side of which is marked in various "modes", and the other in a P mode and shutter speeds. So, it's basically a shutter-priority AE, with all the so-called modes , other than Program, being based upon a variety of shutter speeds. The user unscrews the holding screw in the center of the dial, turns it over and screws it back on. State-of-the-art, indeed...</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>As the camera give no indication in the viewfinder of anything other than AE and AF confirmation, one has no idea of the aperture selected; I decided to run a film with the shutter speeds visible on the dial, assuming that higher shutter speeds would produce wider apertures and vice versa. The exposures were uniformly accurate for well-lit situations, but the lack of exposure compensation lets the camera down in unusual lighting situation. There is the usual focus lock by half-depressing the shutter release, and a pre- set focus device on the command dial which sets focus until it is released. The user-selectable built-in flash is programmed for flash-fill and works quite well within the limitations imposed by a meager power output.</p> <p>Overall, it's a very simple camera which doesn't really do more than a point and shoot of a third it's size, though it will obviously accept the full range of Canon lenses, and accessories. I shot off a roll of Fuji Superia 400, and the results were actually quite acceptable; the 700 certainly operated happily with very little input from the photographer. But then, there are very few options for communication available, anyway. Scans from an Epson V700.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>No.2</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>No.3</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>No. 4</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>No.5</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>No.6</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>No.7</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>No.8</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>No.9</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>No.10</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>Footnote: The first line in the second paragraph should read "The camera would have very little claim to fame if it wasn't for the fact that, so far as I'm aware, this 1990 camera was the <strong>only</strong> Canon SLR ever to have been offered with a Power Zoom kit lens...." One of these days I'll master the keyboard....</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Gammill Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Great job. The power zooms offered by Canon (also Maxxum & Pentax) weren't big sellers so they are often bargains. I think Canon may have offered something in the 70-210 (ish) range with power zoom. Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatulent1 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>I imagine its ungainly size was intended to help manhandle the 400mm f/2.8L that most users wanted to use on it. Until a year or so ago I had an EOS 850 around here somewhere... Very similar camera without the options on the modes dial; 'Program' and 'Depth of Field Mode' only!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>And plastic! This was <em>really</em> plastic.</p> <p>Lovely work with the dSLR 'point and shoot' :)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou_Meluso Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>Odd bird that lens. Seems to work well, though. The Post and Yarrow and Fish in the Morning shots came out quite well.</p> <p>As a staunch FD guy, I avoided the EOS system for years till the A2e was launched. I wasn't so much disgruntled about the change of lens mount as I was suspicious about auto focus in general. After owning the A2e, my position softened considerably. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigd Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 <p>Thanks for the write-up, Rick. I certainly don't want an EOS 700, or a power-zoom lens, but they are interesting curiosities. One can only wonder what Canon was thinking.</p> <p>As always, your product photography is excelent, and I quite like "Stairways to Heaven" and "The Fish in the Morning" as well.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverhaas Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 <p>I inadvertantly acquired one of the Maxum power zoom lenses back in my minolta days - thinking that it would work on my Maxum 7. No such luck - it would mount on the camera and AF worked, but there was no way to zoom it, since Minolta's system was controled from the camera body. It ended up back at Goodwill.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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