salil_s

I am getting a great deal on a grey market Elan IIe. The dealer

insists that it is new and it looks new too (in the original

manufacturers box with the manual). But as I said its a GM product &

I dont get a warranty (yeah thats the way it is in India!), so I have

to be very careful. By the way everybody prefers to buy from the GM

in India as an official purchase with warranty almost doubles the

price. So the general reasoning is ---"I would rather buy 2 cameras

from a reputed GM dealer than buy one camera with the 1 year

warranty". The dealer did not hesitate to let let me play with the

camera but since this will be my first SLR I am not too sure how to

go about inspecting it.

 

Any pointers on what I should look for? I guess I will have to check

the metering, can I compare it with the metering of a lower end EOS

body like the Rebel 2000 or something? Any other tips or suggestions

that you can give are welcome, I dont want to end up with a lemon :-)

 

Thank you for your help!

I am getting a great deal on a grey market Elan IIe. The dealer

insists that it is new and it looks new too (in the original

manufacturers box with the manual). But as I said its a GM product &

I dont get a warranty (yeah thats the way it is in India!), so I have

to be very careful. The dealer did not hesitate to let let me play

with the camera but since this will be my first SLR I am not too sure

how to go about inspecting it.

 

Any pointers on what I should look for? I guess I will have to check

the metering, can I compare it with the metering of a lower end EOS

body like the Rebel 2000 or something? Any other tips or suggestions

that you can give are welcome, I dont want to end up with a lemon :-)

 

Thank you for your help!

Thang, you said you use a 50mm f/1.7 for low light photography. Do you use the Minolta system? Just asking coz as far as I know in the big 3(C/M/N) only Minolta makes the 50mm f/1.7...correct me if I'm wrong.

Daniel you are rather emphatic in saying "Forget the Minolta!" Can you give me some good reasons for saying that? I feel all three brands C/N/M have their own strengths & weaknesses, and no one brand can be called the best. Most of the people just praise the system they own, without looking at its limitations. I also believe that for a casual photographer who doesnt want the IS/VR features the Minolta Maxxum/Dynax 5 offers the best deal rather than going for a Canon EOS 300, Rebel Ti or the Nikon F65. The Dynax 5 beats all three hands down. So I would still suggest go for a used Elan II if you are considering Canon. But if you are looking at the entry level bodies from the point of view of a casual photographer the Dynax 5 doesnt have any competition. Dont take my word for it, there are glowing reviews all over the net. Ultimately it all boils down to personal preference and which system feels the best in "your" hands & best suits "your" needs, what works for others might not neccessarily work for you.

 

Daniel, unless you can justify your statement I would advise you not to just dismiss the Dynax 5 as if it is hopeless. It really misleads beginners.

Can the Minolta Maxxum lenses be used on any manual bodies from

Minolta? Also does keeping the shutter open for long exposures

require battery power in Minolta manual SLRs? Thanks in advance for

your help. Any feedback that you can give is greatly appreciated.

I would suggest that you skip the EOS 300 and instead go for a used EOS ELAN II. You can still find them new if you look around a bit. Its a big step up from the EOS 300 but it doesnt have the 7 focus points you are looking for (the 7 focus points are not very useful anywayz). You might also want to take a look at the updated EOS 300, called the Rebel Ti or EOS 300v(same thing). Its a big improvement over the EOS 300.

 

And rather than the 28-200, if you can afford it get the 28-135 IS USM (abt 380-400$) which has the Image Stabilisation technology for longer exposure handheld shots. Its like a mini tripod in your lens & very useful to eliminate blur caused by camera shake in handheld photography.

 

If you dont care for the image stabilisation feature, I would ask you to drop the EOS system altogether as you are a casual photographer. Go for the Minolta Maxxum/Dynax 5 instead. Same price but it will give you everything that the EOS 300 has and MUCH more. The Dynax 5 is closer to the Canon ELAN 7 than the EOS 300 (yes it also has the 7 focus points). This camera has won the TIPA award for best 35mm SLR camera for 2002-2003. Pair it with the 24-105 D lens from Minolta. Its optics are equal if not better than the 28-105mm USM lens from Canon.

 

If you covet the 28-200 lens & dont plan on enlarging photos, the best option is the Tamron 28-200 XR. Optically its as good (or bad :-) as the 28-200 from Canon. But its much lighter & compact & wont imbalance (too much) a small body like the EOS300/Maxxum 5.

 

Good luck shopping.

"Minolta versus the world" neatly outlines Minoltas standing. Kyle, you can visit this link to get a better idea of how Minolta stacks up against other brands.

 

http://www.photo.net/minolta/compare

Thanks for your advice Vivek. The closeout deal on the Elan IIe is still on at adorama. But you cant buy the body seperately and the kit comes with the 28-80 USM lens. Selling this lens afterwards is almost impossible as nobody wants it. Plus buying directly from adorama means import duty right (I live in India). Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks for all the feedback! Craig, according to you, "The Maxxum 5 uses a visible light preflash." As Chuck Fan has said--- "a subdued red pattern projector to aid in focusing". Its a steady red beam right, I mean no pulsating strobes? Thanks again...

Sorry for my previous post! I forgot Nikon. Apparently, the Canon

Rebel & Elan bodies have trouble focusing in low light situations &

use annoying built-in flash strobes to assist in focussing, instead

of using Infrared light. This seems like a fatal flaw. How does

Minolta (maxxum/dynax 4,5,7) & Nikons (N/F 65,80)auto focussing

compare to Canons in low light situations?

 

Thanks for listening!

Apparently, the Canon Rebel & Elan bodies have trouble focusing in

low light situations & use annoying built-in flash strobes to assist

in focussing, instead of using Infrared light. This seems like a

fatal flaw. How does Minoltas (maxxum/dynax 4,5,7,9) auto focussing

compare to Canons in low light situations?

 

Thanks for listening!

Hey one more thing. I heard that Canon Rebel & Elan bodies have trouble focusing in low light situations & use annoying built-in flash strobes to assist in focussing, instead of using Infrared light. This seems like a fatal flaw. How does Minoltas auto focussing compare to Canons in low light situations?

Thank you for your replies! I guess the best way would be to play around with both for a while before making my decision. Well the USM & IS lenses from Canon still sound tempting but I am leaning more towards the Minolta now. And as for the Rebels "yuppie meets silverfoil" styling? Shudder!

I'm a newcomer moving up from a point & shoot to my first SLR. Now

many people are advising me to go for expensive bodies like the Canon

Elan 7 & Nikon N80 but I dont want to spend too much on the body as

I'm not sure if I would be using all the functions on these expensive

bodies anytime soon. So I am considering either the Rebel Ti or the

Maxxum 5. And as my old point-and-shoot is dead & buried, I intend to

use the SLR both as a point-and-shoot & a manual camera. Which one of

these two is the better bet? Also, which one would be the best

for "learning" photography, I mean better for manual control? Coz I

have heard that the Rebels are irritating to use manually. The

Minolta seems to offer a lot, infact it seems closer to the Elan 7

rather than the rebel series. But then Canon has a great line-up of

lenses, with USM & IS too. I also plan on doing some night

photography, so the backlit LCD on the Rebel Ti sounds tempting.

 

Anywayz, I came across this at Adorama---

 

Remote Control for Rebel Ti: On QD Date version ONLY with optional

Wireless Remote control RC-1.

 

Remote Control for Rebel 2000: Remote switch RS-60E3, or Remote

control RC-1

 

What does this mean? Does the Non-Date Rebel Ti lack some remote

function thats offered on the Rebel 2000? Is this a major drawback?

 

All this is really confusing! I dont care much for brand names, just

want the best camera for my money.

 

PLZ HELP!