Canon A series or Canon eos?

[flatulent1]

Peter, I think your cheapest route will be to get either an EOS 5 or 600 body to go with your current EOS lenses, or the ME Super to go with your Pentax lenses. Anything else (Minolta, Olympus, Canon FD, Nikon) and you'll have to buy more lenses. Given a few years, you'll probably do this anyway. We all do when we have GAS.

Just to make things difficult for you, I have a wide range of FD gear, a good selection of Minolta cameras and lenses, and a Nikon F4, in addition to my EOS. I love them all, and would be hard-pressed to choose one over the others. My favorites nevertheless are the T90 and F1N, EOS 630 and RT, XD11, and of course the F4. The only Canon A series body I actually use is the AT-1. My A1 just collects dust.

 

[Pumal]

If you prefer Shutter Priority get a Canon EF. They are solid and reliable.

 

[pcyco]

hallo

i dont compare the a series with the eos series, i think they are two worlds.
i have both a at-1 and a eos 1v, both are great cameras, both are relieable.
i love the at-1 i learned to make photos with this camera.
but my "workinghorse" is the eos1.
i like apples and banas, both taste well.

it also depends whic lenses jou have allready

 

[Andrew Horodysky]

Hello Peter,

The above responses are all very good; you're going to get as many suggestions as there are experiences and personal preferences.

I recently purchased a Canon F-1N with AE finder -- in beautiful condition; this is a tremendously satisfying piece of equipment: precise, extremely solid, and stable. I also have an AE-1 purchased in the late 1970's, and STILL going strong. My prime lenses are Canon FD 35 f/2, 50 1.2L, and 100mm f/2. For me, these cover every situation I could possibly come across (I mostly photograph environmental portraits), and are just a joy to use.

The AE-1 would be a good choice for a photo class. If you could find one, an EF would also be quite good (never used one, but from what I understand, they're closer to the F-1's in build). There's still alot out there to choose from, and all the above postings have great suggestions. Don't get too bogged down in technical details and specifications; keep it as simple as possible, and go for what feels comfortable.

Good luck.

Andrew

 

[Ektagraphic]

I would go with the FD system. I have had some problems with the EOS.

 

[Pumal]

Good Choice! I prefer Manual Focus too.

 

[tom_bw]

Be mindful of the A series shutter "wheezing" - apparantly it happens quite a bit, putting an effective end to the bodies life - the shutter eventually fails. For manual focus Canons, I understand this is only an issue with the A series, but not the more rugged F series. My preference is for a manual focus Nikon body / lenses.

 

[2F/2F]

For now, I suggest Canon FD instead of Canon EOS. The lenses are designed to be used 100% manually, and as such, manual focus is much easier with them than with an EF lens designed to be used with auto focus most of the time. Additionally, everything for the system is much cheaper, and they are much less distracting to use, and have very little that you have to monkey with.

 

[gordrob]

I have both the Canon FD and EOS systems and I must admit that after using the EOS 3 for the last year, while I like it, I still prefer the Canon New F1 with the motor drive and 100 frame back. I have passed my A1 down to my daughter because after using the New F1 it was hard going back to it.
I have added a 500mm f4.5L lens to the New F1 kit where there would be no way I could afford the similar lens in the EOS configuration.. The best part of the FD system is the low cost to put together a great macro kit with the bellows and assorted macro lens, which almost all can be used on the EOS system with the Canon Macro FD/EOS Converter.

Gord

 

[cmo]

Just to add more confusion to this, I recommend the EOS series, for some simple reasons:

- there are so many analog EOS bodies available that you get them at bargain prices, except some highly sought professional ones (the 1v is still very, very expensive). That means, if one body is defective you can simply exchange it.
- The EOS system has been so successful, that there are tremendous amounts of cameras and lenses in the market.
- EOS cameras are much younger than FD-mount cameras, and most lenses are more modern.
- If you like to work with telephoto lenses, IS a godsend.
- Film transport is very precise. Metering is sophisticated in the better bodies.
- You get everything from consumer-grade plastic toys to professional gear. This applies to cameras and lenses.
- You don't have to switch between different ways of using a camera. If you know how to use a modern EOS DSLR you learn how to use an EOS 1 within minutes.
- You can use lenses with many different mounts on EOS cameras with easily available adapters. The short flange helps:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_mount#List_of_lens_mounts

The drawbacks:
- Using an EOS is a little like using an iPod... buttons, menus etc. and lacks the feeling of fine mechanics, gear wheels etc.
- I really, really hate the way Canon has implemented mirror lockup.
- People using digital EOS cameras also look for used lenses, prices for good lenses are definitily higher. That also applies for good wide-angle lenses with adaptable mounts (Nikon, Leica R, Contax).
- Manual focusing is only fun when you exchange the focussing screen.
- All EOS cameras rely on batteries.
- Film transport is always motorized, so these cameras are often louder than mechanic SLRs without a motor.

 

[Peter de Groot]

I think it is time to tell you what I did buy. I have been away on and off for the last two weeks so I didn't spend much time on the internet. I bought a Pentax ME Super. Since I wanted to go manual and Already had a 50 mm F2,0 and a 135 mm F2,8 lens I decided to stick with Pentax. I bought one for 40 euro with two zoomlenzes. a 35-100 mm F3,5-F4,3 and a 70-210 mm F4-F5,6. Very happy with it. I like the small size of it. It also had a cokin filterset with two special effect filters with it.
Now I only want a 28 mm lens and a tele-extension of 2x.

Thanks for all your advise. I'm sure that when I have the money I will try out some more of the above mentioned camera's.

Regards,

Peter

 

[Peter de Groot]

Well last weekend I bought a 400 mm tokina telelens for 20 euro´s F5,6. Only thing missing now is a 28 mm wide angle but that will come.