j._d._mcgee

Thanks, Todd, I have known friends that have used the Fujipress 800 so I'm sure this would do the trick. For a long time I have almost exclusively used Portra 160VC for anything I consider important and it has never yeilded bad results. Then agian this is different because the stadium poses new lighting that I am not used to shooting in on a regular basis. I have a local pro camera shop that sells single Fujipress 800 cassettes out of those big 20 roll boxes.

 

I am going to be shooting during late afternoon sun before the game too so I guess the Fuji wins here agian because it can handle both lighting conditions. I might shoot some stadium shots with my old Mamiya TLR on Portra 160VC or new 100UC, hope they turn out well. The Canon EOS 3 will be the camera of choice during the game of course.

 

BTW, Todd, how long did it take to get your 20 roll box from B&H? I use B&H for equipment all the time but have never ordered film from them, their film prices look great. Did you buy the imported, USAW, or USA variety? good results?

 

Regards, J.D.

I have done this before, with digital equipment, but I am going on a

trip to a MLB game this time and have decided to take all film since

my film equipment is better. Anyway, I noticed on many of the

digital shots the color was ok until after the sun went down then

just lit on stadium lighting the photos started to look a little

yellowish. I could fix it in PS but it takes some time.

 

I was wondering now that I am shooting with film I would like the

real processed prints to come out with the correct color. What

filters do I need to use with daylight film? Will tungsten balanced

film do the trick with no filters? I would prefer if I have to use a

filter that it has no exposure effect because I need all the speed I

can get out of my lenses. I would much prefer to use negative film.

If tungsten works how about the Portra T?

 

Thanks, J.D.

Great, BW, thanks, that was exactly what I was looking for. Looks like they rent other lenses too like a 14 f/2.8, might try one of those if I decide not to try the big zoom. I only have 4 different Canon lenses, though that is usually enough, except when I want to be extreme.

 

I see people in games all the time with SLRs but with fairly short consumer zooms on there, guess I may end up in that pack. I will give them a call and see what their policy is. One night I will definately take my wide angle lens (capture the whole atmosphere) and the next probably my 100-300.

 

BTW, anyone have reccomendations on stadium lighting as far as filters or film is concerned. I have used Kodak 800 in stadiums before and that works fine, some stadium lights seem more daylight balanced than others. In Memphis, for example, at a AAA baseball game most of the shots had a bit of a yellow cast on them once the sky was completely dark. However, some football game shots elsewhere have had little or no cast. Any help?

 

Regards, J.D.

Helen, for what I want to use it for I need the lens to be as wide as possible. 20mm instead of 24 seemed only reasonable to me as I have viewed both through my camera. I have heard some good things about the 20 which led me to choose it, besides I was comparing it to the Sigma 20 f/1.8 which I heard yeilded poor picture quality at f/2.8 compared to the Canon at the same aperture. Though I am sure the Canon 24mm is a nice lens I wanted one even wider than that even though I may sacrafice a little picture quality. I don't really care if the lens has USM or not, that was not a factor in my purchase.

 

Also, reading over my original text I realized I was talking about film speed (it was late, I dunno). I know film speed has nothing to do with how low a speed you can handhold a lens at but rather just how much available light you can do it in.

 

Regards, J.D.

I was in the EXACT same situation as you about a year and a half ago. I had a Rebel 2000 and Canon 50 f/1.8. I also had a 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 USM. I wanted to upgrade my camera. I decided to get the Elan 7 for a special holiday price, something like $300. I also thought about selling my Rebel and 50mm to help pay for the Elan, I am glad I didn't.

 

Instead I kept the 50mm and the Rebel 2k and use the Rebel as backup. Like if I have B&W in my Elan, I might have color in my Rebel, etc.

 

So what I am saying is, the 7n is inexpensive ($300 or less at places like B&H and Adorama online). If you were thinking about buying it at a local camera shop shame on you, don't pay their high prices. KEEP your Rebel and your lenses, come up with the money somehow (I did and I don't have a job) and but an Elan 7n. My Elan 7 is wonderful and I wouldn't give it up for anything, I still use it ALOT since it is my main and favorite camera. I got an EOS 3 and 20mm f/2.8 since but that is a different story.

 

Good luck, - J.D.

I have a Canon EOS 3 and Elan 7 and I am soon going to Dallas to see

a couple of MLB baseball games, A's at Rangers. I was wondering how

you go about renting big white lenses and monopods for Canon cameras

in such a place as Dallas. Also, would taking such a lens inside a

ballpark be acceptable if I am not press?

 

I was thinking a Canon 400mm f/4 and Kodak 800 film would be

sufficient. Any civilian ever rented lenses and brought them into a

sporting event in a stadium?

 

Thanks, J.D.

I plan to do a lot of low natural light photography with my most

recent purchase, the Canon 20 f/2.8. I was wondering what are the

slowest shutter speed I could hand hold my Elan 7 with the 20mm using

800 speed film and still get sharp pictures.

 

I have not used super wide angle lenses of the 20mm variety, my

widest lens before was a 24mm. I use Kodak 800 and Fujipress 800

(yes, film, remember that) every now and again for low light

situations. I can only assume the inverse "rule" of 1/20 sec. would

be as low as I could go but I was hoping to get 1/10 sec. Is this

out of the question?

 

Thanks, J.D.

Hi, not sure what forum to put this in but this seem to be the best

fit. Anyway, I have always kept my photos in the paper sleeves that

the prints come back from the lab in since about 1998. I was

wondering if all of these (thousands) photos I have are going to be

alright in those sleeves with their negatives or should I start

moving them to archival binders?

 

Is the paper used in lab sleeves archival and acid free? I certainly

would hope so considering they are designed to hold photos. Also,

some of the photos are in those small 5x7 mini photo album books, I

was wondering if they were purchased wihtin the last 4 years if those

too are usually acid free; since they often don't say on the stickers.

Hi all, I have many 58mm filters that I use with my film SLRs. I was

wondering if there is a contraption out there that would allow me to

fit my big filters to my small Minolta G600 digital P&S. If so what

is it called and where can I find it?

 

There is no filter threads of any type on the G600's lens or barrel.

So I would assume that something would have to hold the filter out in

front of the lens.

 

Anything would work as I would probably be taking the shots on a

tripod as I usually do, so portability is not an issue. I have tried

to make my own adapters but the results aren't perfect because I am

not a skilled craftsman. Plus these home made attempts have often

turned out inconvenient making it difficult for me to switch filters

with reasonalbe speed. Thanks for any help.

I have always owned Canon film SLRs but I second the recommendation of the Minolta G500, I own one and the image quality is superior to anything in the P&S size catagory. I just ordered the new G600 based on the good experience with my G500.

 

The 5MP shots of the G500 have barely any purple fringing at all as I have tested it myself in some purple fringe nightmare situations. This is very different from the Fuji and Olympus digicams I have owned in the past which both suffered from purple fringing. Also the color accuracy is near perfect and the tonal range is better than some models twice its price. Skin tones are even and accurate in most lighting situations. It is my companion on trips as I have yet to buy into digital SLRs, my primary cameras remain Canon films: EOS3, Elan 7, Rebel 2000.

 

I will definately be putting up some G500 pictures in my folder soon.

I always understood it as if you set CF4=1 then you can start AF with the * and it will find focus and stop if you are in one-shot AF mode, then AE will lock when you press the shutter button 1/2 way. In the manual it says AE lock is achieve by pressing the shutter button half way when CF4 is set to 1.

 

I believe that is how it works. No, I don't think it is like the EOS-5 where when CF4=1 you lock AE with AF when hitting the *. I think this is how it works, but personally I perfer CF4 at 0 just like Julian and Luis, I use CF4=0 almost exclusively.

This is an interesting problem indeed. There is a small diode that "projects" these points onto the image you see in the viewfinder. I can't imagine that this little projector would fritz out selectively on just three focusing points, since it seemes like a type of device that would either work or not work at all. But since you are having this problem, that throws my theory out the window.

 

When you say "hot" what do you mean? Heat can do weird things to just about anything.

I am two years older than you and I still can't afford a D30. I don't own any L glass except a 200 f/2.8L II which I aquired used. The L glass is nice but I also own a 100-300 f/4.5-5.6 USM, this is a *better* lens than the 75-300 (which I also own) and it only costs a little bit more.

 

The 100-300 is better optically and it has an internal focusing system that focuses much faster than the 75-300. The internal focusing also means that the end of the lens doesn't rotate during focusing so you can use polarizers without worrying about the polarizer turning on you and thus changing its effect, and for you I would think you might be using polarizers on that snow.

 

I would save your money get a D60 instead or maybe even a 10D and buy a 100-300 and a $70 50mm f/1.8 II, that way you get to good prosumer lenses that will do the hi-res cameras justice and you would be much better off than you would be with a 75-300. You might even be better off than you would be with a D30 and a 70-200 f4L. The L is nice but not essiential, for you the difference is not at all worth the price.

 

Buy accessories and bigger cards and even a newer body before buying L glass at our age that is the only reasonable approach. And for what you intend to do with it the 100-300 will do well. Also check out the 24-85 f/3.5-4.5 which has similar features as the 100-300 such as the USM motor and internal focusing and it has a nice wide® in for use with the digitals.

 

Enjoy shooting - J.D.

I will be going on a trip soon and these two big cities will be two

of my stops. Looking for a good choice of used equipment (Nikon or

Canon) like a nice manual body in good shape. I miss my old Canon A-

1 and F-1n and Nikon F2 would like to find something similar in good

shape used. Any suggestions on nice shops in these towns would be

nice. Thanks in advance - J.D.

Such as when people give feedback about 10D problems and complaints

I wonder if anyone in quality control or ergonomic engineering or

the like at Canon may look over sites like these to see what users

are saying. Or do they only concern themselves with the e-mails

they may recieve and calls, etc?

Hmm, just shot a roll of Kodachrome 64 yesterday, got it all developed today and I don't see any noise or anything, just a bunch of pretty, tack sharp chromes. I had to pay for my roll yes, but I didn't have to pay for it with anywhere near the amount of frustration you have had to pay to try to get similarly good photos. Guess that annoying noise might be what you get when you buy a digicam in these youthful days of the technology.

 

All digital fights aside you guys that are trying these cameras and giving feedback are helping the technology to progress. If it were not for your efforts (and all others who use digi-SLRs) to fix this noise problem then the image quality may never get better from the guys at Canon.

That should be "because you *CAN'T* just acidentally flip the metering" in the second paragraph. sorry.

Exactly, as Jeremy said, the 1v and EOS 3's buttons and dials are the way they are for a reason. The 1v and the 3 use a layout that contains no sliding switches (or two position "flip" style switches) which can be hard to seal against dust and moisture. The power switch on the 1v and 3 is where it is for a reason and is very tight agaisnt the body to prevent dust and moisture also and it slides in a rotating motion so it can be sealed with an o-ring around the center of this (technically the only sliding) switch.

 

The button combinations on the 1v and 3 (the 3 is essientally the same externally as the old 1n) are great for most pros because you can just acidentally flip the metering mode or film advance mode by knocking your finger on a switch or something. I like the combos because they can remain in the mode they are in until you go back and change them yourself, even once the camera is turned off. Ergomically my EOS 3 is much more comfortable than my Elan 7 but the Elan has its obvious advantages and tradeoffs.

 

When it comes down to it you will just have to handle both and see if you are really willing to pay the extra bucks for a 3 or even maybe a 1v. The 3 has other enormous advantages for me which is why I bought it. Advantages such as near zero battery drain in bulb exposures and admittedly better autofocus in low light situations, not to mention slightly better flash exposure system for use with the 550EX speedlight which I love. Flash exposure is almost always perfect with the EOS-3 and 550EX, more often correct than with the Elan 7 and the 420EX. Nevertheless, you should look at both the Elan and the 3 carefully and make a decision based on your budget and how the camera truely feels to you.

 

J.D.

With all this talk of EOS 3 and Rebel style digital SLRs to come out

some time in the near future it makes me wonder about the fate of

film. Personally I don't own any digital equipment other than an

old Olympus 2100 digital ZLR. I don't desire nor feel like it is

necessary for me to buy a 10D or anything of the like.

 

I perfer film and like how films have improved over the past decade,

it scares me to think that some day film may be all but a niche in

the market. I wonder if there will be a film replacement for the

Elan 7 and EOS 3 down the road or will they be replaced by some

digital counterpart?

 

Basically I am wondering if or how long will it be before film no

longer equally coexists with digital, or will their always be nice

film SLRs availible from the big manufacturers?

I have been using the Elan series for quite some time and absolutely love it. Do yourself a favor and go with the Elan 7! And DONT waste your money on the 7e, the "e" variant is the Eye Control Focus (ECF) version, and I feel like the ECF is a total waste on a the Elan which only has seven focusing points anyway.

 

The Elan 7 is a wonderful camera and it has stout construction for its modest price. It has a rocker switch at the rear plus a dial around the rocker, a great combination, much better than even the higher end EOS 3. The compensation buttons are easily accessible and the controls are like a dream to operate.

 

The only thing I dislike about the Elan and any lower end Canon is the command dial, it seems so arcane and you have to turn it so far to access Manual mode, which is what I mostly shoot in. I wish lower end Canons would be more like their higher-end brothers like the 3 and 1v which stay in M mode even when you turn them off. They do this by using their great combo-button magic.

 

Overall though for your price range you cannot go wrong with the Elan 7.

I agree with your statement Bill:

"Nothing wrong with the Elan II's, my households got a couple of IIe's since 1997 and they're still going fine. There is a known problem with the control dial of the EOS 5/A2"

 

Same goes for me John, I have had Elan II's and Elan 7's ever since each first came out and have never had a problem with the control dials, mechanisms, etc. Both of my II's, one of which I sold to get a 7, were used QUITE heavily and i wore them down but they still worked very strongly after a good six years of use.

I would like to carry one camera on a trip I am about to leave on,

and I want it to be my 3. Is it possible for me to rewind the roll

currently in my Elan 7 using the custom function to leave the leader

out, then take that roll and load it in the EOS 3 and take really

fast exposed blanks up until where I left off? Will the alignment

be right and will the results be alright? Any difference in the two

frame counters of each camera and has anyone else done this?

I really wish I could find a near mint black AE-1 P some day. I

really love this camera and I would absolutely like to have one in

all black. I know they exsist and I have seen pictures. But I have

never seen one in real life at a camera shop that sells used equip.

Why are they so rare, I mean what kind of production run were they

on and why were they produced for so short (presumibly) a run? Why

were they made at all for that matter, my reason for wanting one I

guess or was it some anniversary or something?

I sold my AE-1 P for parts about two years ago because of this reason. Once its starts squealing i believe you don't have very long until the whole mechanism breaks down, at least that was how it was for the two AE-1Ps I have owned. It can be fixed although I was uninterested in lubricating them since I didn't pay much for them in the first place. They will eventually get louder and at that point, when it is very very obvious it means it is about to either stick or not fly smoothly on all shutter speeds.

I have a chance to get a good price on the PB-E2 for my EOS-3. What

is the frames-per-second boost for the EOS-3 and what other benefits

would I get from it? I shoot a lot of flash photography with the

550EX (not necessarily why I want the PB-E2) and was wondering if

the battery life is better that just the camera alone. You can use

Nickel Hydrides can't you? That recharge ability may be worth it

all together. But mainly what is the performance increase of

combining the 3 with the PB-E2?