Best canon film camera?

flatulent1 · Mar 7, 2011

The best EOS film cameras? Well, that depends on your application. Most of their models are excellent, and several have special features that make them, well, special.

1V - Latest top of the line pro model, most capable camera ever made. Weather sealed. More expensive than the others. Everybody wants one.
3 - Same feature set as the 1V, adds eye controlled focus. VERY noisy. Not sure about weather sealing.
1N - If you are willing to work with only five or seven focus points, this one is quite nice. Not weather sealed. Very underrated camera!
7N/7NE - Even with the vertical grip is very lightweight and exceptionally silent. Very full-featured. 7NE adds eye-controlled focus.
1N-RS - Pellicle mirror, extremely fast response. Large camera. ALT: EOS RT is much smaller and lighter than 1N-RS, has a rather odd interface, has the first generation AF system, and being so old it will require servicing before you can put it to use. But it's such an excellent camera that I've acquired three.

jmooney · Mar 7, 2011

Let me put this to the Canonistas here:

If you were going to take a body, mount a 50/1.4 on it and bang it around everyday in your bag, hardly ever or never use a flash, only use the center AF point, want reasonable focus in low light, (ballet and such) and not spend more than $200 on the body, which would you get out of the ones listed above?

Jim

vpwphoto · Mar 7, 2011

1957 Canon P with 50mm f1.4.

or the first Ae-1 you find and actually use.

2F/2F · Mar 7, 2011

jmooney said:
Let me put this to the Canonistas here:

If you were going to take a body, mount a 50/1.4 on it and bang it around everyday in your bag, hardly ever or never use a flash, only use the center AF point, want reasonable focus in low light, (ballet and such) and not spend more than $200 on the body, which would you get out of the ones listed above?

Jim

EOS 3, hands down. It's the best you can get with that budget. $200 for that camera is an incredible value.

Tony-S · Mar 7, 2011

Yeah, EOS 3.

jmooney · Mar 7, 2011

Thanks!

I was kinda stuck between the EOS3 and the 1N but I think I know where I'm going now.

Jim

flatulent1 · Mar 7, 2011

On the contrary, if you're shooting ballet, you'll want a quiet camera. 7N would be the one, available for around $100. Super quiet, and they're all reasonably new. The EOS 3 sounds like a car door slamming on a cat's tail. Don't get me wrong, I love mine, but definitely not the camera to shoot in a theater.

alanrockwood · Mar 7, 2011

I like my lowly Canon Rebel 2000, Ti, and T2 cameras. Obviously not in the same league as most of the cameras listed here, but they are very capable cameras, and you can often buy one for a song on the auction site.

Put a good lens on one and not often would you need a "better" Canon camera.

Of course, you might want a higher end model, and that's fine too.

Markster · Mar 8, 2011

I really enjoy the simple ergonomics of the AE-1P with an action grip screwed over the battery cover and a small-ish prime lense. I would suggest it, other than the fact the post was about EF cameras...

(see what I did there? Ain't I clever!)

ignatiu5 · Mar 8, 2011

jmooney said:
Thanks!

I was kinda stuck between the EOS3 and the 1N but I think I know where I'm going now.

Jim

I have to agree with flatulent1; the EOS3 is LOUD (nice description of the clunk-squeal, by the way). I love mine, but definitely not the right body for ballet. I think something from the Elan 7 series would be better (I have two of these as well), with the battery grip.

Роберт · Mar 8, 2011

Elan 7 series would be better (I have two of these as well), with the battery grip.

I can agree, Elan 7 or in Europe the EOS 30 eye focus. Great camera! I still have one EOS 30 and BP-300 battery pack around. The battery pack also takes all kind of different batteries. Very easy too. And indeed: A very silent SLR.

Tony-S · Mar 8, 2011

Yeah, for quiet my EOS A2E is much quieter than my EOS 3. In particular, the rewind on the A2E is almost silent. EOS 3, not so much...

jmooney · Mar 8, 2011

Thanks again! That's really good to know about the EOS 3's noise level. I'll look at the 7's. I've used ElanIIes in the past but them seem a bit loudish too.

How is the evaluative meter in the 7's? Better than the Elan II's or about the same?

Jim

segedi · Mar 8, 2011

Metering seems ok to me, not many focus points though. I sold a 7E a few years back and regretted it. Bought a 7NE recently. Really recommend the bp300 grip as it makes holding and verticals great.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Mar 8, 2011

In my opinion , sell your all lenses and buy a Leica R3 body for 100 dollars and a lens for 300. Your grandson would be happy to have a best working camera from that era. You will never want to buy a new camera. Toyota have many expensive or cheap models but if Mercedes offer itself to same price , dont miss the chance.

TimmyMac · Mar 9, 2011

Mustafa Umut Sarac said:
In my opinion , sell your all lenses and buy a Leica R3 body for 100 dollars and a lens for 300. Your grandson would be happy to have a best working camera from that era. You will never want to buy a new camera. Toyota have many expensive or cheap models but if Mercedes offer itself to same price , dont miss the chance.

Or just pick up a Minolta XE7 as it's the same body at half price or less...

jmooney · Mar 9, 2011

Mustafa Umut Sarac said:
In my opinion , sell your all lenses and buy a Leica R3 body for 100 dollars and a lens for 300. Your grandson would be happy to have a best working camera from that era. You will never want to buy a new camera. Toyota have many expensive or cheap models but if Mercedes offer itself to same price , dont miss the chance.

I'm a sucker for anything with the red dot on it but I need AF. Besides I'd want an R8 or R9.

Rol_Lei Nut · Mar 9, 2011

Mustafa Umut Sarac said:
In my opinion , sell your all lenses and buy a Leica R3 body for 100 dollars and a lens for 300. Your grandson would be happy to have a best working camera from that era. You will never want to buy a new camera. Toyota have many expensive or cheap models but if Mercedes offer itself to same price , dont miss the chance.

While I'm also often tempted to diss Canon in favour of something more "film-like", as well as being a convinced Leica user, I certainly wouldn't recommend an R3 (with just any lens at that)!
If someone is interested, I'd be more than happy to wax eloquent on the merits (or lack thereof) of the various Leica SLRs, but such a dogmatic statement is a wee bit embarassing for real Leica users.

jmooney · Mar 9, 2011

Rol_Lei Nut said:
While I'm also often tempted to diss Canon in favour of something more "film-like", as well as being a convinced Leica user, I certainly wouldn't recommend an R3 (with just any lens at that)!
If someone is interested, I'd be more than happy to wax eloquent on the merits (or lack thereof) of the various Leica SLRs, but such a dogmatic statement is a wee bit embarassing for real Leica users.

+1

I'll be leaving my IIIf to grandchildren though....it's lasted this long.

Lee L · Mar 9, 2011

TimmyMac said:
Or just pick up a Minolta XE7 as it's the same body at half price or less...

No, there are differences in internals, metering, mirror drive mechanism, etc. Both models reside in my house, and I've used an R3 for 32 years and compared the two cameras directly. The XE7 is about the same price as an R3 in the same condition where I live. The XE7 is a very nice camera, but they're not identical to the R3 despite what you may have read on the internet.

However, this thread is about Canon film bodies for EF lenses. I have my favorite older Canons, and I could nominate a number of models depending on needs, but I'm not familiar enough with the EF bodies to make a recommendation and leave that to those who are. The Leica R3 is a terrible mismatch for Canon EF lenses. They don't work well together, and there's a lot of light leakage when holding an EF lens in front of the R3 body. I would agree that the XE7 has nearly identical problems to the R3 when used with Canon EF lenses.

Lee

Best canon film camera?

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