EOS body foibles - what gets you?

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There is no perfect EOS body for me (I'm fussy...;-)). I have a list of foibles about various EOS bodies, and would be interested to hear of any others that people have.

EOS 3: Program shift in 1 stop increments No vertical grip with controls other than PB-E2 (too big, heavy, expensive, no need for 7/8 fps) No intermediate drive mode (between single and 4.3fps) Mirror slap (Ok, I don't really mind this, but it upsets a lot of other people, so I included it). Palm door can open accidentally when moving hand on camera

EOS 5: Creaky body Vertical grip doesn't take AA batteries (lost opportunity) Slow ECF (250ms) Outdated (not surprising really...)

EOS 50e: All those dials... All that silver... (I actually like the 50e a lot as a camera, but the styling is unecessarily overdone).

EOS D30: Focus points don't illuminate when selected/focused. CF door under palm creaks (EOS 5 style)

What are other people's little problems with EOS stuff?

-- Isaac Sibson (isibson@hotmail.com), October 01, 2001

Answers

Doh....the formatting got lost...

-- Isaac Sibson (isibson@hotmail.com), October 01, 2001.

If these are the worst complaints you have about these great cameras, may I humbly suggest you get a life? Or get a Nikon, it that would please you.

-- Dave Jenkins (djphoto@vol.com), October 01, 2001.

Isaac, I have to agree with Dave J. on this one. Not one of the complaints you listed bother me enough to mention. On the other hand, I've never used a perfect camera.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), October 01, 2001.

Isaac, I have to agree with Dave J. on this one. Not one of the complaints you listed bother me enough to mention. On the other hand, I've never used a perfect camera. In fact, I can't remember ever using a perfect anything.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), October 01, 2001.

I see I don't have a perfect computer either.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), October 01, 2001.


Ok, the point is fair, although I'd take more kindly to it if you'd made it in a better way dave.

Look up the meaning of the word "Foible". It means something that is pretty insignificant. Perhaps it is testament to Canon that this is all I can find wrong with their cameras? I have been known to pull apart the Nikon F system at the seams, and am happy with Canon.

Of course they are not perfect...nothing is. If it is perfect in every other way, it's probably too expensive, making it imperfect.

My point is, I want to hear what other people's views on the imperfections are. They are easily solvable (Looking at my list for the EOS 3, they just need a BP-E1 with controls on for the vert grip, a change in firmware and a little magnet on the palm door (like the EOS 1V), and they're all gone, except for the noise (which I personally don't have a problem with)). Ok, sure, I'll find something else wrong with it (I'm an engineer...it's my job), but it will be even more insignificant. Or some of the other faults are already correctable (focus screen too bright for critical MF: use EC-CIII instead of EC-N).

-- Isaac Sibson (isibson@hotmail.com), October 01, 2001.


Guess this largely depends on what you consider to be a "foible."

For instance, the Elan 7/EOS 30 is a great camera for the most part. Yet it's crippled by poor AF sensitivity in low-light, compounded by a lack of a proper AF assist lamp. Is this a problem? Well, only if you find yourself doing a lot of low-light photography without an external flash.

The Elan and 10s both lack wired shutter releases and battery- containing grips. Are those drawbacks just minor irritants or deal-breakers? Depends on the kind of photography you do.

But stuff like creaky camera backs is pretty well irrelevant to me, since it doesn't affect the performance of the camera in any significant way. Creaky human backs, well, that's another story...

-- NK Guy (tela@tela.bc.ca), October 01, 2001.


I have had a IIe (50E) with a BP50 since '96. The only thing I am somewhat dissatisfied with is the partial metering. I would like to see it tighter. i.e. a spot meter. However, it works fine about 75% of the time. I'm dying to "upgrade" to the 7E but can't justify it based on just this alone. The battery lasts forever, the metering and focus are spot on, it is fast (I don't shoot sports too often) so it is perfect for me........I also have a 650 and that is built like a tank and just simply won't wear out (I only went with the IIE because I am nearly blind in my left eye).

-- Victor Kunkel (Catmanman@aol.com), October 02, 2001.

1.) Command dial failures on the EOS-5.

2.) All the finger contortions on the EOS 630, to change or set things. Most of this is forgiven due to the robust build quality of the 630 though. We're talking the weight of a brick here.

The size, in general, of modern SLR's (nothing against Canon, all of them are too big now). I'd like to see a fully functional AF camera with good build quality (metal or alloy chassis/bodies), the size of an old Pentax ME super, of course at the same price of current SLRs, not some $2k model.

-- S Ratzlaff (ratzlaff@ticnet.com), October 02, 2001.


Canon Elan 7E Foibles list / wish list in order of declining importance.

- pop up flash should be smart; support flash exposure balancing like an -EX mounted flash. The electronics to support this for mounted -EX flash are built into the camera, on-board flash should support it.

- the partial metering spotmeter should be smaller than 10%. 5% would be OK for midrange and allow for more precise metering.

- there should be an illumination button for the LCD display.

- wish list: it would be handy if the viewfinder display showed for a longer period of time. A CF to select for 3 (default), 6, or 12 sec would be very handy for exacting macro work, etc.

I would like to think these modest improvements would not introduce much cost and would be reasonable in a midrange SLR body.

- One more: AF points at the hot corners. (But maybe you're heading to EOS 3 price/performance if you add more AF points.)

These are foibles, but real concerns nonetheless!

-- Rod (rod.nygaard@boeing.com), October 02, 2001.



I thought it was funny that someone complained that modern SLRs are getting too big. I've looked at the newer Rebels, and the new Maxxum 5, and they are just too small for me. When I switched from the AE-1 to the Elan IIE I did it partly because of the grip ergonomics. I picked up the Elan 7 a while back and was very disappointed by the size reduction. Of course since I bought the EOS 3 even my Elan IIE seems a bit small. In case anyone was wondering, I have faily small hands, which is why I don't understand the desire for smaller cameras.

Other than that, my only complaints would be that all LCD screens should be lighted, and the EOS 3 should have a custom function to force X-sync in AV mode like the Elan II does. I've never had a problem with the palm door on my EOS 3, but I will agree that a battery pack that duplicates controls would be nice.

-- Brad Hutcheson (bhutcheson@iname.com), October 02, 2001.


Yup, forgot to mention the backlit LCD.

The EOS 630 has it, works great. EOS-5, EOS-3 should have it too.

-- S Ratzlaff (ratzlaff@ticnet.com), October 02, 2001.


The EOS 3 does have a backlit LCD. I just think all cameras should have them.

-- Brad Hutcheson (bhutcheson@iname.com), October 02, 2001.

Two major nits that I have with my EOS 3:

1. no eyepiece shutter. For $1000 you get a ten cent piece of plastic.

2. Low contrast LCD panel. MUCH HARDER to read compared to the one on my old T90.

I love the camera but as has been said, it ain't perfect.

Paul

-- Paul Ferrara (paul@columbusoft.com), October 03, 2001.


Ergonomics played a big role in my selection of the EOS 3. I have big hands and if I could just spend the bucks on the grip, the fit would be perfect. I can't stand to hold my wife's R2K (with grip attached) - it's just too small - so I don't. I ordered the Elan 7E as second body with the grip - should approximate the size (if not the shape) of the EOS 3 without grip - I'm optomistic. Ergonomicly, for me, bigger is better. I agree with most of the other foibles listed about the EOS 3, but I still love it. Additionally, I wish mirror lock up was easier to use - maybe I'll like the 7E better for that.

Oh, and about the 7E (although it's still in the mail), I don't like the preset modes such as landscape, portrait, sports, etc. I'll use Av, Tv, B, and M... and occasionally DEP, that's all. Yes the 7E has those, maybe it's just my ego taking a tiny hit every time I look at that dial with the stupid little pictures on it - I'll get over it. Wish I could afford the 1V.

-- Derrick Morin (dmorin@oasisol.com), October 04, 2001.



If you want big without the bucks, you need an EOS 5 with grip. The EOS 5 is bigger than the 3 anyway, and with its grip is pretty big really. Not as big as EOS 3 + PB-E2, but big nonetheless.

-- Isaac Sibson (Isibson@hotmail.com), October 04, 2001.

Yes... add the silly idiot modes to my list of Canon Elan 7/7E foibles also. The camera would be much better without them. (You need to keep the manual handy to know what monkey mode does what: I was doing some casual shooting at the fair and was surprised to blast through a couple frames at 4 fps with the setting on the little face for portraits.)

Canon could take the money saved dropping the monkey modes to remedy the other foibles on the list.

-- Rod (rod.nygaard@boeing.com), October 04, 2001.


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