rumors? or is this something worth waiting for?

-- howard shen (hshen@lsm.org), February 29, 2000

Answers

Rumors and speculation yes, but as Bob and others have said, the next camera introduced by Canon probably won't be until fall. They tend to release them at the two major photo shows each year, and the first one just passed with the introduction of the EOS 1v.

Is it worth waiting for. If you are in need of a camera now for whatever reason, no. If you are in my situation, and have a good modern camera, but feel the need for another, maybe. The Elan II is still a viable camera, but is missing a few features that I wish it had that the A2 has, such as a PC socket for the flash. The A2 is a good camera, and the only weaknesses seem to be the weak command dial, the lack of E-TTL flash metering and the features that come with it, and the lack of vertical eye control on the E model.

Will we see an EOS 30 replacement for the Elan II, or an EOS 5n? Will the 30 be a combination of the two, which makes sense in some ways, but not others? Find out in September. MAYBE.

-- Brad Hutcheson (bhutcheson@iname.com), February 29, 2000.

My guess is a new body this fall, priced around $800, with the 45 zone focusing, E-TTL etc. The EOS-3 is $1300, the EOS-1v is $1800 and the Elan II is around $350. There's a clear market niche between the EOS-3 and the Elan II that the A2 fills now. My guess is it's replacement will move up in price though. Worth waiting? Depends on how much you need a camera now and how long you're willing to wait. While this fall is probably a likely introduction data, it could be next year before anything comes out.

-- Bob Atkins (bobatkins@hotmail.com), March 01, 2000.