Well, I've received my EOS 3 and of course having read about the underexposure problem, I compared it with my old EOS 100. I found 2/3 underexposure... The problem is which one --if any-- is right. I 've used partial metering in both cameras and measured a wall so that both areas see the same thing.

Tha date code in the film chamber reads OC0319 but the C is most likely an O that didn't print right(?). That would be March 2000, right? That makes it 2 years old, which upsets me a little bit, but what can I do.

Any thoughts, comments? Thanks!

-- Bernardo Movsichoff (musi22@netscape.net), April 20, 2002

Answers

The internet myth of EOS 3 underexposure is largely due to paranoid people complaining on lists and boards. Most of them were afraid they had the underexposure problem--they hadn't actually confirmed it by shooting chromes of medium toned objects in low light! However, there is a thin thread of truth at the root. When the EOS 3 was introduced in 1998, the first batch had an error in the metering algorithm that produced underexposure (I think 1.5 stops) at EV6 or lower. In brighter light it was fine. Thus, camera journalists and early adapters cried foul and Canon immediately fixed the firmware on subsequent samples. Unfortunately, this myth seems to never die.

The 21-zone Evaluative metering system is amazingly good. I have shot untold rolls of chromes and got nothing but good exposures. I used multispot metering in tricky lighting for a while, but usually ended up with the same exposure as Evaluative metering. However, there is one aspect of metering I found different than other EOS cameras: the active focusing point strongly influences exposure. In other words, the object you focus on is given more weight in the camera's exposure calculation. My Elan 7E and A2 bias exposure slightly towards the AF point and tend to average the overall scene. The EOS 3 exposure bias is good most of the time just as long as you're aware of it. However, you must be careful not to focus on unusually light or dark areas and thereby throw metering off. If you like this type of control, you can go wholehog and link spot metering to 11 individual AF sensors (Custom Function 13-1). Then, use ECF to select individual AF points for focus and spot metering.

After using this camera for two years, I can say that it performs as advertised. I mainly use the EOS 3 to shoot on the beach and other wet environments. It took dust, rain and splashes without flinching and proved to be utterly relievable, cranking out well exposed and focused chrome after chrome.

Why don't you shoot a roll of chromes and find out?

-- Puppy Face (doggieface@aol.com), April 20, 2002.