Canon EOS advice

neilt3 said:

Minolta did the same .
The manual focus cameras were the "SR" mount , when they brought out the Minolta 7000AF in 1985 they came up with the "A" mount .
The only way of using the older SR mount lenses on an A mount body was with 2x teleconverter , either for the shorter lenses (the "S" for 135mm-300mm IIRC) or the longer version 2x ( "L" for 300mm plus) .
No A/F and no automatic aperture stopdown .

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Yeah, that is right.
I have no idea of the real numbers, but i am guessing the Canon Scenario effected A Lot more photographers.?
Perhaps my memory is jaded.....i had gotten out of photography at that point, i had owned Canon gear myself, and did not particularly know anybody that shot Minolta.

mjork said:

For me, the main benefit of the above-budget level EOS cameras is the thumb wheel on the back. That combined with the dial on top is simply the best film camera user interface ever made...
You would get that just by going to the Elan 7N. I think that's a better choice than a 1 because it's lighter and smaller.
Eye control on my 50E wasn't a good experience (probably because of my glasses).

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Also the cheaper bodies don't have the option for back button focus. That's a must for me.

film_man said:

sealing, 100% viewfinder and a faster motordrive.

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And no silly eye control gimmick

CMoore said:

Not sure what the lens sell for (compare to FD) ...they can screw onto a Digital SLR, can't they.?

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Yes EF is still the current canon lens mount for canon 35mm and APS digital SLRs. Canon also has APS only EF-S mount.

Being able to swap between digital and film bodies with one set of lenses is nice.

Cholentpot said:

Also the cheaper bodies don't have the option for back button focus. That's a must for me.

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Yep, along with different metering modes, rear dial, and servo autofocus.

The middle grade bodies don’t have 2% spot metering like the 1v, but they have 10% spot meter (partial metering), which I find a small enough spot meter in practice.

mjork said:

You would get that just by going to the Elan 7N. I think that's a better choice than a 1 because it's lighter and smaller.

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Yeah I had a 1v and 3 and downgraded to 30v for this reason.

OP, note that the later 30/Elan series are slightly better than the earlier ones. Eg a Better AF sensor. My 30v focuses better in the dark than my old 30.

Poisson Du Jour said:

An ordinary, unremarkable summary: buy whatever camera takes your fancy. But put your money and photographic skill into quality lenses.

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Here's the thing though. I have the original 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 USM with the metal mount, and I have zero issues with it stopped down to f8/f11/f16 where I do the majority of my photography. For the price I paid for it it's probably one of my favourite lenses. Likewise the 40mm f2.8 USM pancake which almost makes the 300x pocketable.
I will at some point buy the 50mm f1.8 STM for low light, and the original metal mount 20-35mm f3.5-4.5 USM as I mostly seem to be shooting at the wider end.

Thanks for all the replies folks, it's much appreciated and very interesting.

Ste_S said:

Here's the thing though. I have the original 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 USM with the metal mount, and I have zero issues with it stopped down to f8/f11/f16 where I do the majority of my photography.

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Surprise!
That lens you quoted, the 28-105mm, was supplied with my EOS1N free as a starter lens with the camera, as the price for the 1N at the time ($3,990 and $740 for the power drive booster E1) did not include a lens: she, the sales girl, took pity on me emptying the bank, and it was a very nice gesture. And I do know that lens was a very good performer in many situations because my first Ilfochrome Classic prints were made with it! I still have the exposure record somewhere of that particular photograph, and would have used f11 by default (and this Av remains today a default go-to for a lot of imaging). There is a simple, serpentine waterfall print on the wall here [photo below] that I see all the time, every day, and have so since 1995 when it was first made. With. that. lens.

The other EF lens I bought about a year after the 1N (duty free on a trip to the South Pacific) is the 20mm — I still have this, and it is still in mint condition and used as a standby for a faster wide angle than the L-series 17-40mm f4L. Toward the beginning of 1996 came the heavy investment in L-series lenses. I have not bought nor disposed of any because I consider them a good investment, to say nothing of being solid, reliable performers.

_______________________________________________________________________________
Image shot with EOS 1N+EF 28-105 (w/ CPOL), RVP50. April 1995, Ilfochrome Classic print.
(I had to shoot this framed print at a silly angle to avoid reflections from the glass/print! )

I don't know. I had this eye focused beast, can't remember 1V or EOS3 or something. Sold it after couple of months. Prior to this and for years I used EOS Rebel 2000/EOS300. I kept this one. Today I put Tamron 28-75 2.8 on it and it works.

Ko.Fe. said:

I had this eye focused beast, can't remember 1V or EOS3 or something

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The EOS 1V does not have eye-controlled focus. The 3 did, and had its work done for it in that area by an earlier model. ECF on the 3 was descended from the EOS 50E with updated pattern algorithms for the wider focusing/metering point matrice. A lot of people rued the fact that the EOS 5/A2/A2E was never improved in the ECF area. It didn't work in the vertical format, for instance, and often required repeated calibration.

Poisson Du Jour said:

The EOS 1V does not have eye-controlled focus. The 3 did, and had its work done for it in that area by an earlier model. ECF on the 3 was descended from the EOS 50E with updated pattern algorithms for the wider focusing/metering point matrice. A lot of people rued the fact that the EOS 5/A2/A2E was never improved in the ECF area. It didn't work in the vertical format, for instance, and often required repeated calibration.

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The thing I had has eye controlled focus. This was the only part I find neat.

tomfrh said:

And no silly eye control gimmick

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I had the EOS 5. Eye control works great and its fantastic. Just follow the instruction manual.

My Elan 7NE has eye-control focus. For me, it works in bright outdoor light with glasses, but in dimmer or indoor light, I have to remove my glasses.

The Elan 7, 7E, 7NE are great cameras. Automatic film wind is so silent, you think nothing is happening.

My favorite is the Rebel G (EOS 500N). Very inexpensive, but extremely light and a fully capable, fun camera.