Eos 3- exposure problems

[dan pullen]

I have an eos 3- and have always had problems with exposure when

using my hand held meters.

 

When shooting in bright sunlight, on 100asa stock, using all my other

cameras- an exposure of 1/125 @ f.16 is going to be somewhere on the

money. With my Eos 3 it is a least 1 stop underexposed. Yet using the

meter and a grey card the exposure is roughly right- even though the

reading can be 1/125 @ f.8.5 Where is the light going? Has anyone

else found this to be a problem or know anything about it. Many

thanks for your time. Dan

[mike_kim]

If it is really an under-exposure problem it can be either 1) stop-down malfunction or 2) shutter speed problem. If your EOS 3 is under warranty, I would send it back to see if it is your camera problem.

 

However, I suggest to perform a simple scientific experiment before you conclude it is your camera. You can use the same role of slide film (use midrole rewind with film leader out custom function enabled) and same lens on your EOS 3 and EOS 5 to try them out in various apartures and shutter speeds under a controlled continuous light.

 

BTW, how does your built-in meter of EOS 3 compares with your hand held meter on gray card?

[brett_bainbridge]

The EOS 3 at one point supposedly had underexposure problems, per <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0011FQ">this thread</A> on Photo.net.<BR><BR>

I don't know how real that was or whether it's still an issue, but it may give you a place to start looking.<BR><BR>

Best of luck, you have a great camera there.

[walter_strong3]

I bought one of the early EOS 3 bodies and it never did expose accurately. I was too lazy to box it up and ship it back for calibration so I used a hand held meter. My style of shooting makes that very feasible so it was not a really big deal with me. This is the standard way that Canon does business. I think its called the "shoot-aim-shoot" method (as opposed to the "aim-shoot-aim" approach).

[PuppyDigs]

Sounds like your shutter needs repair.

 

When the EOS 3 was introduced in 1998, the first batch had an error in the metering algorithm that produced underexposure (1.5 stops) at EV6 or lower. In brighter light it was fine. Thus, camera journalists and early adapters cried foul and Canon immediately fixed the firmware on subsequent samples. Although the problem was immediately fixed, this urban myth never dies. However, this algorithm error has nothing to do with your problems with a hand held meter.

[brett_bainbridge]

"Although the problem was immediately fixed, this urban myth never dies."

 

Hardly an urban myth when it was true. At no point did anyone claim it was an ongoing problem with new EOS 3 bodies, and since we don't know the origin of Daniel's camera it's at least fair to cover off the possibility of him buying either a used one or one that's been in a box somewhere that hasn't had the benefit of the fix.

[PuppyDigs]

"Hardly an urban myth when it was true."

 

The myth is that all EOS 3 cameras suffer from underexposure. The truth is only a handful of early (1998) production cameras have meters that underexposure in dim light. There are 4 years of EOS 3 cameras with newer firmware that lack the algorithm error. Besides, this has nothing to do with the original poster as his hand held meter and camera meter agree. His problems lies with a likely defective shutter or lens...