stephane camus

I agree 100% with the answers... Monterey-San Francisco stretch is a must. Early in the morning, with fog, without fog, Sunset on Pigeon Point, waves... You will be amazed how fast the weather changes on this road. Ten miles, and you get from bitter cold humid fog to beautiful sunshine. The coast is a real wonder that absolutely deserves your 6*45 camera.

So does San Francisco.

If ever you have the opportunity, the highway 1 north of San Francisco is great too, you can drive to Point Reyes or just take the ferry to Sausalito. Try to go to treasure island at night for a -classical but nonetheless rewarding- night shot of San Francisco civic center and Oakland Bay Bridge.

Happy shooting!

Steph-

Hello again.

Well, I had the opportunity to play with an EOS 3 mounted with a 70-200mm f2.8 today, at Yodobashi (this is my last days in Japan, so I go shopping!).

I can reproduce a similar problem than the one you describe.

Here is what I did.

I focused on a subject, 5 meters away.

I turned manually the focusing ring to 1.5m

I tried to refocus...

nothing happened.

So I started moving the focusing ring and it is only at almost 3m that i reacted again and refocused on the subject, 5 meters away.

Now, this is the irritating part -and I swear it is the last time I mention this ;) - it works fine if the focus switch is set on 1.5m to infinity. So in this case, the problem only occurs when this switch is on 3m to infinity, which is, in my opinion, a minor problem, if not logical.

So the thing I found does not seem as extrem as what you describe, but it looks a little bit like it.

This makes me wonder if your lens might have some sort of calibration problem.

The things I would try...

-Try on a different body to see what happens. Could be a problem coming from your eos3 body.

-Check the lens & camera contacts and clean them.

-Go and see a retailer for a side by side comparison with another 70-200mm f2.8

Good luck!

Steph-

Hi Sandy.

Wow, you have the dream gear!

I thought I was some kind of Canon Gear-Freak, but I found my master... :)

Your set of high quality zoom covers all the most common focal at f2.8 aperture nonetheless.

My recommendation would be, do not buy more lens or body for the next 12 month (ok, let's say 6 months...), unless you have the urge for Macro of fisheye!

I see you have pictures of concerts... it would make sens to have a 100mm (the macro is one-shot two birds). Oooops, did I just recommend not to buy bore gear? ;)

I think that buying primes would depend of the type of photography you like to do. Wait a little and the "need" will come naturally.

If you find yourself crasy for wildlife, then you will buy a 400mm, that will become a 540mm with the 10D!

I heard the 85mm f1.2 is a must for portrait... maybe for cars too?

One thing though, if ever you plan to go on a hike where weight matters and photography is not the goal, you would be happy to have a 50mm attached to one of your body... or a Leica in your pocket. :)

Happy shooting!

Steph-

I did not read all the answers, so maybe this has already been said, but...

your EOS 3 gives you the option to compensate exposure by 1/2 stop steps or 1/3. 1/3 gives you more precision and it totally makes sens with slides.

I shoot Provia 100F mainly and I think the EOS 3 with its metering precision is a great tool. One thing I use all the time is this:

I lock the exposure on something I assume represents a good spot for metering. Then I move the camera around and it shows me how the other zone of the images are over or under exposed -In the viewfinder, there is one square that represents the locked exposure and another one at the right, the under/Over exposition-. If you stay in a +1/-1 range, you should be fine.

Happy shooting,

Steph-

Hi... well, I am sure you have been looking at this, but did you check the focus limit switch?

Do you experience the same problem with the switch on the different position?

I tried to reproduce your problem with my EOS3 and 70-200mm f4 and it worked fine. The focus limitation switch has two position on this lens, 1,2m to Infinity and 3m to Infinity, maybe there are different settings on the 2.8 version.

Good Luck!

Steph-

I just want to confirm Melissa's statement.

I bought two slr bodies, a number of lenses (including the 70-200 f4) and many other camera gear over the pst three years at B&H without one problem whatsoever. They are simply the best and so are their prices.

I bought my 28-70mm used at B&H (condition 10, it was about 200 dollars cheaper than the new version) and it was a great bargain. Keep an eye for the used gear at B&H, they seem to have a fair return policy.

If the 70-200 f4 is discontinued, I hope they will replace it with an IS version! Now that would be a blast.

This lens is great, much lighter than the -wonderful- f2.8 and some argue that the image quality is even better (less flare and fluorite element that the 2.8 does not have) but I can only say that I am always pleased with the results, at all focal length and all aperture.

Go for it!

Steph-

Hi,

I am in a similar situation. I have an EOS 3 and I can hear the calls for a nice digital SLR body.

But, so far, I stick to my beloving EOS 3 body, here is why.

- Film camera gives you the option of... Film! I shoot Slides (Provia100F, Astia100F, Velvia, Provia 400F and also negative for BW and the wonderful NPH400 for superb color skin tone.) The EOS 3 gives you the option to leave the lead out of the cannister, so it is -somewhat- not too much of a pain to change film in the middle of a roll.

- 1.6 ratio. I do not shoot with telephoto, so I will buy a Digital when it has a full 35mm captor at a reasonable price! I like my 20mm and I would have to invest in a 14mm-non-fisheye, kind of pricey!

- I have an excellent film scanner... well, I invested roughly the price of a 10D in a nikon scanner (makes you wonder!) so I want to justify this investment!!! ;) By the way, I think that a great scann of a slide still gives you better result (let's say it gives you bigger files...) than a digital shoot. Probably not for long anymore, but it does today.

- I can wait to see my pictures. I am not a profesional journalist, it does not matter if I have to wait a week or two to get my film developped.

- The EOS 3 is a hell of a camera!!! Beside the noisy shutter and the battery check which, I think, is useless, this camera is a Canon dream! Very well balanced, with an electronic that is actually useful and helpful... I played with the 10D. A great camera, but not at the level of an EOS3, that is sure.

Well, I am sure there are as many reasons to turn to the 10D. I would say that in my case, it is a matter of not succombing to the last novelty and sticking with a solution that fits me very well and for which I have been investing a lot already! I think both 10D and EOS 3 gives you 'professional' quality. The joy of having the last novelty is great, but is it worth the money?

If I was about to buy a camera, that would be a completly different story. But as for upgrading, I stick with the EOS 3 for some years and I am sure there will be plenty of new digital SLR around when it is time to change.

Well, I hope my point of view helps... Good luck!

Steph-

Hello,

I just come to confirm Jim's statement... I have an EOS 5 that I love, but no FP whatsoever... You have to live with the 1/200th sync speed.

Steph-

Hi.

I have an EOS 3 and a Sigma EF-500 super EQ (the 550 EX competitor).

I tried to reproduce the problem you described and could not. Whatever metering mode I use, the EOS 3 keeps it when I turn on my flash (E-TTL). I tried in Tv and Av mode.

I do not have a canon 550 EX handy unfortunately to see if it would behave the same way, but this makes me suppose that the problem you describe might come from the 550 EX flash setting (or bug?) rather than from the EOS 3.

As far as I remember, I do not remeber of any custom funcion concerning the metering and flash system in the EOS 3 that does what you describe.

I hope this helps, let me know if you find where this is coming from, I am interested.

Thanks,

Steph-