nilantha

You can order the part from Canon and do it yourself. Once I did replace 540EZ flash shoe and it is working fine. You will need good small screw driver. I did order shoe from www.uscamera.com

I do have both i.e. Sigma EF-500 Super DG and non DG. Both work pretty well with film body I have which is Elan II. However, non DG over exposes atleast by 1.5 stops on my 10D and DG exposure is on the spot. Hope this helps.

I got a used Tokina 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 (not the ATX version) for my Elan II. Now I am using it on 10D and results are very good. I would not consider it as a wide angle lens for 10D due to 1.6 crop factor. However, that is the normal walk around lens on my 10D. Got it from keh.com for less than $120 including hood and caps. I use Sigma 70-200 f2.8 HSM also and works quite well. The only prime I use is 50 mm f1.8. Above set up covers all my shooting habits.

Hi France,

 

The replacement part should be available from Canon. Once you have the part and good jewelers screw driver set (I got mine from Sears) it is not too hard to replace it. I did the same thing for 540EZ and also for Sigma EF 500. Label the screws and if you have to take several pictures. You will have to remove some small cables to gain access.

Emma,

 

One other thing you could try is to put an extension tube between 70-200 2.8f. You should first try with smallest ring. I am a canon EOS shooter and have used Kenko tubes without any problems. With this set up you will have good working distance and also allow you to use portrait lighting sets. I am sure that shallow DOF will not be a problem too.

I remember having similar problem with my 10D. When I looked at it more closely it turned out to be a focusing problem. Problem was solved by cleaning lens contacts and camera contacts with iso-propyl alcohol i.e. rubbing alcohol. If switch to AI FOCUS/AI SERVO mode you probably will not have a shutter lag and that was exactly what I noticed.

I had problems with RD604 unit (four channel) whan tried to use with 380EX and 540EZ.

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00JHRl&tag=

 

380EX fires irratically and 540EZ no triggering at all. I am faced with the same problem but not quite ready to go with optical slaves.

I wanted to share my experience with eBay remote trigger/receiver experience.

Model RD 604, 4 channel system which gave me lots of problems. I am in the

process of setting up a small studio set up and ordered those units. Tested

with 380EX with all possible channels and there were lot of miss firing and

works only about 80% of the time. Does not work with 540EZ and Sigma EF 500

super (manual or any other mode). I did test first with trigger and also with

10D and the results are similar. I also had PC cord connected which did not

change the behavior of the units at all. I used fresh alkaline AAA batteries

in the receivers. Your ideas and thoughts are appreciated. I wanted to set

up remote wireless system that works and do not hesitate to go for eBay

triggers if fellow member can recommend it.

Jack,

 

If you are looking at used camera gear I would strongly suggest you to look at www.keh.com and their bargain items are not certainly in that bad shape and this is based on first hand experience. You can get body and lens the way you like it (ether Nikon or Canon) and make sure to get a matching hood also. You may also go to a local store and look at the model you are planning to buy. I had a N60 for about two weeks (that was long time ago) and did not like the way controls of the camera body and ended up getting Canon Elan II. This is totally a personnel experience and you may find N80 just as good.

Tim,

 

I had the same problem few years ago, days before leaving for a trip abroad. I did not have any choice other than going to the local camera shop and getting it fixed ($60, I think). You can buy the part from www.uscamera.com and figure out how to fix it. They may even have repair manual on a CD. My EOS 50 is still going!

Brian,

 

If it only the broken shoe you can purchase it from www.uscamera.com for under $15 and replace it yourself. Few weeks ago I did the same thing for my 540EZ. It is not hard to do.

You may try this link:

http://www.uscamera.com/nkfs008.htm

Also appreciate if you could post/email after your project is complete.

You can buy the part from http://www.uscamera.com/fs017.htm

It is $10.30 plus shipping. I do not know how to intall it and I also need to replace shoe on my 540EZ. If you go this route keep me posted.

Alistair,

"As I pointed out above applying flash compensation operates by reducing the duration of the flash...,"

I am not quite sure that human eye can detect the changes in duration of flash. Think about the normal flash duration. Just a thought.

Canon EOS Elan series got very quiet system, Elan 7 would be great. If you really want to have no mirror slap you can go with EOS RT, or a EOS IN RS. Have a look at www.keh.com for used prices.

Ian,

 

I did consider EOS IX, the model you got when I was switching to EOS system quite some time ago. I did go with the Elan II mainly due to the film size. There was a dought about having slide film for APS and larger prints from negatives would not be as sharp as you like to be. OTOH, viewfinder was dim compared to Elan II and after holding two cameras side by side there was no question about Elan II. I do slides and exposure has always been not a problem. You can get a used one from www.keh.com for very good price. If you want to look at EOS system http://eosdoc.com/ would be good starting point. One more thing, Elan 7 would be another close candidate.

After trying out both Tokina (80-200 2.8 ATX) and Sigma (70-200 2.8 HSM) I decided to go with Sigma based mostly on focusing. I was using both in the store and trying to focus using available light and Tokina did hunt quite a bit. I am quite happy with it. If you really need the 2.8 this may be the way to go. Otherwise you can not go wrong with Canon.

Here is the URL for my picture:

http://www.photo.net/photo/3962293

I have done similar work with sigma 70-200 2.8f HSM, using kenco ex tubes. The best results I got so far is at 200 mm and 12mm tube. I will try to post some pics later. You will see the expected results, increased background blur. Kenco tubes are fully compatible with EF lenses, I use them very often.

Once my trusty Elan II had a broken film door latch just two days before traveling. This is a page I found after google search:

http://www.uscamera.com/elaniism.htm

I never contacted them and ended going to local repair store to get it fixed and it is fine now.

Tim,

 

I bought used wide angle (20-35 mm) from KEH and was bargain grade. Arrived within five days via FedEx ground shipping. I could not find and marks, dings and anything cosmetic yet. It came with the matching lenshood also. I will post later about the optical quality later, that study in not complete. They have 14 day return policy and I think one month mechanical (could be longer, do not recall exactly) warranty.

I went through same thinking recently before buying a camera backpack. I ended up buying naneu pro, Alpha Military backpack (www.naneupro.com). This one is a day pack, where you can have camera, several lenses and upper compartment you can carry a snack or other things. This backpack would not allow you to access camera very quickly though, as pointed in an earlier post. It has a cancelable tripod pouch on the side, adjustable sternum strap, front pockets and also an adjustable waist strap. After removing camera insert in the bottom compartment it can be used as a regular backpack.

Kevin,

I would highly recommend Elan II, just as the above posting suggested. You have the capability to do manual or fully automatic photography. You can get a good one from www.keh.com for a good price. You can get manual from them or read excellent one written by Jim Strutz (http://www.eosdoc.com/manuals/?q=ElanII), and also look at http://www.photo.net/canon/canon-elanII. I have been quite happy with mine.

I would strongly suggest you to use a roll slide film, preferably 100 ASA, and also with 50mm std lens as pointed out in earlier post. You may want to write down the exposure details. Most importantly get it processed from a decent lab. This way you can eliminate lot of other possibilities.

If you are on a tight budget you should consider Elan II as well and possibly from keh.com. Elan II focusing under low light is better than Elan 7. I do not think that you are going to loose too much as a body and will have more cash for glass. Keh.com rates are very good. From what I know BH Photo video prices for used items are high.