Canon 1N vs. EOS 3

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I currently own a Canon EOS 7e but want to upgrade to a more professional camera. I can not make up my mind between the 1N or 3. One swaying factor is the diopter correction available on the 1N but not the 3....Anyone out there with opinions as to which is the better camera, the 1N or 3???

-- Charles Lipton (Chuxter31@adelphia.net), December 08, 2001

Answers

The EOS 3 is the better camera....by a very, very long shot. The AF and Metering systems are much more akin to the 1V (as the EOS 5 was akin to the 1N).

The advantages of the EOS 3: Faster AF, F8 AF, More accurate metering, Multi-spot metering, ECF (if you want it), faster drive speed, E-TTL flash metering, PB-E2 full compatibility (rather than the limited compatibility of the EOS 1N), plus I'm sure other people will be able to come up with more.

Advantages of the EOS 1N: Errrmmm.......maybe it's very very slightly better built, but anything that would break an EOS 3 is very likely to break a 1N too. 100% viewfinder, Dioptric Adjustment (although the EOS 3 can use "drop-in" dioptric adjustment eyepieces).

Not, of course, to say that the EOS 1N is a bad camera. It has just been quite comprehensively superceded by the EOS 3 and the EOS 1V.

-- Isaac Sibson (isibson@hotmail.com), December 08, 2001.


I'd vote for the EOS 3 as a better camera as well. I really don't think the 1N is built any better. They seem the same in toughness and dust/water seals.

However, I think they're not lightyears apart. In fact they're more similar than different. I could be happy with either one, but I sold my 1N and bought a EOS 3 1.5 years ago and became a little more happy.

I got consistent results with A-TTL flash so I can't really say E-TTL made my life better. However, I have been using the wireless features and it is a major upgrade in speed and convenience. Too bad I can't use my optical slaves anymore (the preflash sets them off early). Of course, if you mainly use studio flash E- TTL is a moot point.

I got excellent results with the exposure system of the EOS 1N. Again, the EOS 3 didn't improve or change my image quality. The multiple spot feature of the EOS 3 is cool, but I rarely use it.

I miss the diopter correction of the EOS 1N and had to buy a -3 diopter. I actually used the eyepiece blind on the 1N (tripod shots in bright light), but I use my hat to cover the eyepiece now.

The thing that bothered me the most about the EOS 1N was the center AF sensor. To be fully enabled--sensitive to both vertical & horizontal lines--you had to use a F2.8 or faster lens. Otherwise it defaulted to crappy horizontal sensitivity only. Slow zooms racked back and forth and were useless. My EF 300 4L USM was useless. However, with F2.8 or faster AF ripped. In fact, it seemed faster and more consistent in low light than the EOS 3.

However, there are 2 things that made me buy and keep the EOS 3: 1) ECF and 2) center AF cross fully enabled at F4 or faster. I use ECF about 25% of the time, but I like it with 11 sensors enabled instead of 45. I learned about a third one later.

The center AF sensor of the EOS 3 is a cross sensor with a F4 or faster lens. The middle cluster of six AF sensors are cross sensors with a F2.8 or faster lens. The remainder are vertical or horizontal only sensors that work with F5.6 or faster lenses. When a slow lens is mounted, , e.g., EF 28-135 3.5-5.6 IS USM, the AF cross sensors revert to old fashion vertical sensors. Vertical sensors are mainly sensitive to horizontal lines. Scenes containing vertical lines, e.g., distant skyscrapers or rows of books, will not autofocus (you could tilt the camera to snag focus). Thus, the EOS 3--like the EOS 1, 1N and 1V--need fast lenses to realize full AF potential. However, there's an advantage to these picky AF sensors: better low light performance and AF accuracy than the A2, Elans or Rebel. Without an AF assist light, this beast can snag focus in candlelight murkiness while other cameras rack back and forth.

The EOS 3 has a custom function to expand the AF area and vastly improve AF performance with slow lenses. This a major advantage over the EOS 1N. CF 17-2 expands the AF points by one sensor vertically and 2 sensors horizontally. If you use slow zooms, this setting makes a night and day difference in AF performance! In normal AF mode (CF 17-0), the EF 28-135 IS USM is unreliable. With CF 17-2 set, the lens locks on to almost anything. Too bad it took me a year to figure this out!

Of course, if you only use fast glass, the EOS 3's advantages are very slim over an EOS 1N.

-- Puppy Face (doggieface@aol.com), December 08, 2001.


I currently own a 1n and 1nhs however I have also used a 3 and have to say I have to agree that there really is very little difference between the two when using 2.8 lenses,the only reason I don't have the slightly faster AF of the 3 is that I would have to change a few bits I have for the 1n. Both are great cameras but if you don't have several expensive accesories to change into the bargin then I would go for the 3.

-- allan michaud (allanmichaud@hotmail.com), December 09, 2001.

It depends on what you want to shoot. Personally, after years of using the EOS-1N and 3 with the PB-E2 and a few heavy L lenses, I find myself wanting to sell off all this stuff and get back to basics with an old Elan-II and a lightweight prime like a 50/1.4 or 24/2.8. Unless you're shooting in terrible weather conditions (tropical rain forest, snow, etc) or shooting sports/action which needs a fast frame rate (7fps etc), I'd recommend you stick with the Elan-7.

-- Vincent (nospam@hotmail.com), December 09, 2001.

As Vincent said, there is nothing wrong with the Elan-7e/EOS-30. If you are not a professional I would stay with this camera and invest the money in some good quality lenses. Remember, a so called more professional body will not improve your pictures! If you still want to a new camera I would choose the EOS-3 in your case. It's the more modern camera with advanced technic comparede to the 1n. I own a 1n since '96 and had never a problem with this body. The main advantage of the 1n is the 100% view finder (EOS-3 "only" 97%) but this is only important if you use slide film as your favorit film and use wide angel lenses. The EOS-3 has E-TTL flash control like your current 7e/30, the better autofocus with slower lenses and more custom functions. The built of the cameras is nearly the same, they are both very, very havy especially with the Booster attached. (EOS-1n + E1 Booster + 2.8/300 = 4.5kg!!!) So, stay with your 7e and buy a good lens for the saved money.

-- Martin (uboot67@yahoo.com), December 10, 2001.


Thats correct, its the lenses not the body that Really count toward overall image appearance at the end.

-- Jake F. (JakeF@nowhere.net), December 10, 2001.

wow, that's one heavy body!

-- Jeff Nakayama (moonduck22@hotmail.com), December 12, 2001.

Quote: wow, that's one heavy body!

I once carried an EOS 3 w/PB-2 booster and a rented 400 f/2.8 IS on a monopod for about 7 hours at a zoo. Mind you, most of the time, the monopod was on the ground and I was shooting. I received a very large bruise on each of my shoulders where I carried the whole damn thing. Bad scans, Nice images, though...



-- Colin Miller (miller.photos@att.net), December 13, 2001.

The answer lies in the actual usefulness to YOU of all those extra, ' Features,' on the EOS 3.

E-TTL? Don't need that. More accurate metering? Please! That is a downright silly statement, camera meters have been very accurate for decades. Multi-spot metering? Haven't found a use for that yet. More AF points? Well, maybe, but most of the time there are too many of the damn things. I use the custom function to cut back to 11 focus points. Auto focus point selection? Well, that one works if you are shooting something like a vase with nothing in front of it. Eye control? Don't even get me started on that one. I guess it works for someone. They probably have better eyes than me. Focus prediction? That works maybe 20% of the time, if the subject is not moving too fast. If you have a power booster you can shoot six FPS so you will get 3FPS that are in sharp focus.

I would definitely agree that having the second command dial on PB-E2 is a big advantage when you are shooting a lot of verticals. A better solution might be a camera that doesn't need so many buttons and dials.

My answer really is that my two EOS-3's have a whole bunch of stuff that I don't see any use for. I am a dinosaur maybe. My favorte way to shoot is CW metering, manual focus prime, A-TTL and either manual or AV mode. I use spot metering to come up with manual settings when shooting high-contrast scenes on slide film.

I do find the auto focus is sometimes useful at long focal lengths, and it is the only way my wife will shoot.

-- J.Horton (jhorton@inceptiontech.com), January 11, 2002.


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