robert_davis7

Dost my eyes deceive me? It seems to me that the photos taken with

my EOS 1N and 540EZ look better than those taken with my EOS 3 and

420EX. They just look more natural, and the photos look better

exposed. The 420EX seemed kind of hot, but the 540EZ ... wow.

 

Anyone else out there notice differences? Does anyone else prefer A-

TTL (or straight TTL) over E-TTL?

Sorry, the scanner is the Nikon Coolscan LS-10. Apparently I can download some drivers from Nikon's Web site. I guess that covers the software question!

My newspaper cleaned out its closet with the intention of throwing

away a bunch of stuff. In the pile was an OLD Nikon Coolscan (looks

like it's a first generation). As far as our office manager knows,

it still works, so I got it for free (we use mostly D1Xs now and for

film we have a Nikon Coolscan 8000).

 

So here's my dilemna:

 

* CONNECTION. I'm running a PC with Windows XP. The scanner needs

a "scuzzy" connection, which I do not have. I have eight USB ports

and one parallel port. Is there an adapter I can use to plug a SCSI

connection into my parallel port or (in a perfect world) my USB port?

 

* SOFTWARE. I don't even know where to begin to look for original

Nikon Coolscan software or drivers. Will Win XP automatically

recognize the hardware and adapt it for use in Photoshop? I don't

really need the Nikon software if I can rig this thing to work in

Photoshop.

 

* WORTH IT? I'm having a hard time finding specs on this thing. Is

it even worth the effort of setting this device up ... or is there a

reason it was thrown in the trash pile?

 

Many thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[cross-posted in "Digital Darkroom" forum]

Indeed, the EOS 3 has the same number of weather sealings as the EOS 1n and EOS 1n RS. I have real-world experience: My EOS 3 with booster took a dip in a river -- with the power ON -- and lived to tell the tale. Sure, it might die sooner than others, but that window of time allowed me to buy another camera (ironically, a 1n) and continue shooting without missing a beat.

 

The EOS 3 is tough. Don't judge a camera based on the amount of visible plastic.

 

Yes, the EOS 1v is better-sealed and tougher than the EOS 3. But if you're planning to use this camera as a stepping stone into digital, why spend $600 more on an EOS 1v when you're just going to ditch it in a few months? Buy the 3 and put your money toward one of Canon's superlative lenses.

 

Good luck!

I used to own said lens years ago. I wasn't too pleased with it - Slow AF and not very sharp at f/4. I was much happier with the 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM, despite the fact the lens was slower in terms of max aperture. The AF ripped though - and I only paid $110 for it used!

It stands for "Diffractive Optics." It's one of Canon's optical techniques that, most notably, reduces the size and weight of a lens by about one-third. The lenses are VERY pricey, but from what I've heard, worth it!

 

Go here: http://www.usa.canon.com/eflenses/lineup/

 

and check out the 400mm f/4L lens.

Unbelievable. For those who may remember 2 weeks ago, I posted an

entry about how I my EOS 3 was damaged by falling into the Suwannee

River - with the power on - and it had ceased to function.

 

I sent it to Canon and they told me the camera was not "economically

recoverable." Bummer.

 

I picked up the "dead" camera yesterday from Fed-Ex and brought it

home. Just for grins, I popped in some new batteries and... uh...

the camera turned ON.

 

Weird. I put a lens on... and it autofocused! OK, but when I fired

the shutter, it didn't fire and the "bc" symbol blinked in the LCD

screen. Except for the fact the shutter wasn't working, everything -

EVERYTHING - else worked, from E-TTL flash to ECF. As far as I'm

concerned, the camera is non-functional.

 

So my girlfriend came over and I showed her the dead body. I

jokingly said, "You want it?" and i tossed it on my couch. It

bounced off and fell on my floor. I laughed and said, "Oh well; not

like anything's gonna get hurt."

 

I proceeded to show her how the camera would turn on and autofocus,

etc., and then I said, "Unfortunately, the shutter doesn't work; it

just goes like this..." and i hit the shutter button.

 

CLICK.

 

"WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!" I screamed. I tried it again and it worked. I

tried different speeds and just from listening to the camera, the

fast speeds sounded fast and the slow speeds sounded slow. Popped on

the PB-E2 and the shutter fired at 7 fps.

 

Apparently that fall to the floor did SOMETHING... maybe the shutter

blades were stuck, who knows. I won't know for sure if it's back to

life until I shoot some slides this weekend. But until then....

 

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS????? The camera took a bath - WITH THE POWER

ON, was declared dead (for all intensive purposes) by Canon... and

it's now showing life!

 

I'm a Canon customer for life. Now I have to figure out what to do

with this EOS 1n body I bought last week! :)

I just got a 540EZ (used) for my EOS 1n and I noticed the focus-

assist light doesn't seem to be working. With my EOS 3 and 420EX, it

would automatically come on if there wasn't enough light. Do I have

to do anything to the 540EZ? Is it possible this feature is no

longer functioning in my (repeat: used) flash?

I know this question has been discussed ad nauesum. Check the archives.

 

I owned the Sigma and, when used with my EOS 3, really loved it. It focuses fast, is built exceptionally well and produces lovely images.

 

The price is hard to beat and if you can live with the fact that it may not be compatible with a future EOS camera, I see no reason why you shouldn't strongly consider it.

My girlfriend just bought an old 80-200mm f/2.8 Macro ED. It's the

original AF design (not a D-type). It didn't come with a hood and

she wants one. Does the hood from the next generation 80-200mm

f/2.8D fit the original version? These things are hard to track down!

-TTL, that is. My EOS-3 was destroyed and I bought a 1N to replace

it. I just traded a 420EX for a 540EZ, so now I'm completely

prehistoric. Heh.

 

Anyway, I'm very used to using E-TTL and it's wonderful plethora of

features, such as FEL and FP flash. I'd like to get flash pictures

from the 1N and 540EZ that are equally as good as the 3 and 420EX.

So, do you have any tips to maximize my A-TTL photos? Such as,

should I use manual flash when dealing with off-center subjects?

Should I trust the 1N's fill-flash ability, or should I turn on CF14

and manually configure FEC?

 

Anything else that might be helpful? Thanks!!

 

-Robert

I was playing with my newspaper's D1X at the office today and I

noticed some of the rubber was peeling off on the grip. Is this

common or is our photographer abusing the poor camera??

Phew... I'm glad the dial works. I think it was silly of Canon to leave it off the original PB-E1. It just makes so much sense to have one there!

 

I used my newspaper's Nikon D1X and was amazed to find only one of two dials duplicated on the vertical grip. How annoying!

Well, the official word from Canon is in - my EOS 3 is

not "economically recoverable." Fortunately, the PB-E2 booster still

works.

 

I just received an EOS 1n today from KEH and I can tell I'll love

this camera just as much as the EOS 3. Quick question - do the

controls on the PB-E2 (AE lock, focusing point selector and main

dial) work on the EOS 1n? I know the PB-E1 only had an AE lock and

shutter button...

 

Thanks!

 

-Robert

I'm having a hard time researching this lens. Does anyone have

experience with it? It's old, the AF sucks, but it seems sharp. Can

it give me 1:1 macro shots, or do I need an accessory?

 

Any other thoughts are appreciated. THANKS!

I lost my EOS 3 and booster to the Suwannee River last weekend.

Well, it's not official yet - Canon has it now - but I'm preparing

for the worst.

 

I was thinking of buying another EOS 3 but I noticed KEH has some

1n's for sale at a pretty decent price. So I started thinking -

 

Did I really ever use ECF on the 3? No.

Did I ever actually use all 45 points? Hardly; I always found myself

gravitating to the central focusing point.

Did I ever use the multi-spot metering? Sadly, yes... not much,

though and I can count on my brain to fill in for the M-SM.

 

Did I ever use flash? ALL THE TIME. Wireless, FP, FEL - you name it.

 

So that's the only sticking point. So I guess I'm soliciting

opinions in regards to whether E-TTL (which is now "old" - ha!)

should be the determining factor in my future camera purchase?

 

(BTW - does anyone know if the 420EX supports A-TTL?)

I've been using the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 HSM and 2x converter for about a year. I can't say I'm disappointed, considering the facts. Yes, the quality goes down with the 2x converter, but this is a given. Does the degree of quality bother me? Not at all. At f/5.6 it's a little soft but it's better than no picture. At f/8 or higher, though, it's pretty good. The point is this - I've gotten shots I couldn't have gotten without it and I've been very pleased with the results.

 

The AF is still pretty decent, too. I'm using an EOS 3 and the central focusing point still locks on very well. I'm not sure what the speed is on any other Canon, but I'm sure if there's enough light, it will work well.

 

Yes, the minimum focusing distance remains the same, which is very cool! You essentially get a 400mm lens that has the ability to focus down to around 6 feet, so in a sense, it's a faux-macro lens. Use a tripod, though.

 

If you're considering the 2x, just buy it. The price is right and the quality is there. I've heard even better things about the 1.4x, BTW.

 

Best of luck!

No, no insurance. Funny - the only time I thought of it was when I was examining the damage in the car afterward. Because I built the system over the years and never made enough money with it to matter, I never *realized* just how much it's worth. Funny how you realize these things after the fact...

I went camping in the beautiful Stephen Foster memorial park with my

girlfriend this weekend. We took a canoe trip on the river today,

which was fabulous until we hit a submerged tree and the boat

capsized. Despite being scared of getting sucked away by the current

and the pain from being fileted by sharp underwater rocks, we were

OK except my girlfriend lost her Nikon body and a lens to the river

and my camera took a bath. So here's the damage report:

 

EOS 3 and booster - when i pulled it out of the water, the shutter

was firing nonstop. I removed the battery and stored it. Water had

invaded every part of the camera. The viewfinder is cloudy. Luckliy,

the gaskets seemed to hold up, as evidenced by the fact that when I

push the buttons, water seeps out. The shutter and film chamber are

soaked.

 

70-200mm f/2.8. The lens is full of water and although I got a lot

out by shaking it, there's still a lot inside. The zoom ring and

manual focus ring feel gritty when I turn them.

 

19-35mm (Tokina). Same thing - lots of water, lots of dirt or sand

in the focusing rings.

 

50mm f/1.4. Lost to the river. :(

 

So I'm going to take my camera and lenses to the local shop

tomorrow. My question is - has this ever happened to anyone here and

were they able to reclaim their gear? I know repair may be

expensive, but it's probably cheaper than buying new stuff. As a

lowly journalist (copy editor at a local business publication), my

salary doesn't allow me to just buy new stuff, and it's taken me

years to build up a system like this. I just hope I haven't given it

up to the river!

 

Wish me luck...

Even on an EOS 3 (I can't speak for a 1V or 1D) the autofocus is pretty weak at f/8. I usually get frustrated with it and go manual. So I guess the point of my anecdote is that you're not really missing much.

My newspaper is covering the PGA Tour's The PLAYERS Championship

next week and I've scored a photo pass to go back up our staff

photog. He's shooting the newspaper's D1X and I'm shooting my trusty

EOS 3. I have a 70-200 f/2.8 + 2x TC... but apparently that won't be

necessary. Our photog told me that Canon sends a Professional

Services rep to TPC with a cadre of lenses. According to him, if I

show up early enough I can check out anything from a 300mm f/2.8 to

a 600mm f/4 and use it for the day!

 

Before I start salivating, does anyone know if this is standard

Canon practice - or is my colleague dreaming out loud?

Apparently the kit lens is much better than we thought! Or the camera has 20x cropping factor and a function that simulates the bokeh of a 600mm f/4...

 

I mean, really - would advertisements lie to us?

I think the Sigma TC is correct and your Promaster is wrong! The Sigma and the lens are telling the camera that, with the TC attached, you no longer have an f/2.8 lens - you have an f/4! The promaster is not relaying this information so the camera still thinks the effective aperture is f/2.8. Now I'm not sure if this is harmful as far as ambient metering, but it might confuse your flash. Plus, if you're using a DSLR, the EXIF info won't be accurate.

I read that the new EOS 1D-II has ditched the DEP mode. "DEP mode...

DEP mode..." I thought, scratching my head. "Oh yes! It's the mode I

always skip while switching from M to Av on my EOS 3!"

 

Is anyone lamenting the DEP mode's death? I never use it; I always

use Av mode and the depth of field preview. I found DEP to be too

slow and somewhat complicated... but not as bad as A-DEP!

My girlfriend called me and told me she was shooting her Nikon EM

with a MD-14 motor drive attached and suddenly the camera went

beserk and started firing the shutter until it reached the end of

the roll and could fire no more. She says she didn't trip the

shutter; it happened as she was switching lenses.

 

Has this sort of thing ever happened to anyone here?