Looking for a Canon eos body with a build in spotmeter

[RowanBloemhof]

Hi guys,

For a couple of weeks now i have been looking for a substitute to my Canon Eos 300 camera.

I have 2 basic reasons for an upgrade.
- First of all my current body seems to be scratching film now and then.
- Second i am looking for a body which supports spotmetering.

I find especially on the spotmeter part that knowledge about canon film camera's is limited on the internet(might be me looking for the wrong terms however). But so far i have concluded that both the eos 1 and eos 650 have a spotmeter. Both of which are one of the older types. My concern over these camera's is that they were basicly one of the first canon bodies in de eos line. And that due to this fact they were not camera's with the most stable software.

So preferably i would like a camera build after say 1995, a time when eos camera's were a bit more mature.

Its a shame im bound to canon for photography. I know for instance that most Nikon camera's do have a spotmeter. Problem is, 99% of the glass i own is EF mount.

 

[Hatchetman]

EOS 3 is one option

 

[RowanBloemhof]

Eos 3 indeed looks promising enough. 2.4% fov spotmeter seems good enough. Its certainly alot better then centerweigted etc. And its for sure one of the later generation. Il keep my eye out for one. Thanks!

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

An EOS Elan II or an A2 would also be good options. Or even an EOS 1N. If you get a 1N without the vertical grip, you can get one for cheap - under $200 USD. And you'll be getting a pro-spec body with spot, center weight, and evaluative metering, weather sealing, and rugged construction.

 

[Dr Croubie]

EOS 3 not only has the spotmeter, but AF-point linked spotmeter. IE, the position of the spotmeter changes position based on where it's focussed (you can of course turn this off to keep it in the centre anyway).
Very useful feature for something like portraits, focus and meter on the face, which is 2/3 up the vertical frame.

 

[jcc]

1v has spot metering, and multiples can be averaged too.

 

[Gimenosaiz]

EOS 3 !!

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

There are several EOS bodies with an on-board spot meter, but the methodology and application differs for each. On the EOS 1N, the single level spot meter is designed for assessment of parts of the scene to read off differences in the calculated exposure. It has no 'layering' or averaging function, which limits its application. This implication is that the 1N's spot meter requires a requisite understanding of tones and their importance, rather than trusting, arbitrary placement and reliance on the spot meter in the frame to provide a correct exposure, which because of its simple design, it not actually guaranteed unless you are aiming it at a part of the scene that approximates a light to moderate mid-tone. The EOS 1V however took spot metering to a multi-level averaged approach equal to using a hand-held spot meter. The capacity to shift the meter point around, and 'pancake' several readings, then average them, with one of highlight, midtone or shadow bias, was a big step over the 1N's rudimentary meter. The EOS 3 was a hybrid variation that came after the 1N. In summary, a single spot metering function is not as useful as a 8- or 9- level multispot/shifting spot metering facility but you must first clue up on what to meter, where and when. In skilled hands, multispot metering can far surpass the results provided by evaluative/multipattern/matrix metering systems.

 

[johnha]

I have an EOS 5 (A2/A2e), IIRC it has 'partial' metering (I think Canon's description for 'nearly spot-metering'). It was a very well specified camera (5fps without a booster battery). The downside is that the mode dial (to the left of the prism viewed from the rear) is quite fragile and breaks easily. Mine now spins very freely, the lock/ratchet mechanism has broken.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

I have an EOS 5 (A2/A2e), IIRC it has 'partial' metering (I think Canon's description for 'nearly spot-metering'). It was a very well specified camera (5fps without a booster battery). The downside is that the mode dial (to the left of the prism viewed from the rear) is quite fragile and breaks easily. Mine now spins very freely, the lock/ratchet mechanism has broken.

Partial metering is for strong backlit subjects. It does work very well for that purpose.

The mode dial is / has been a never-ending Achilles heel for the EOS 5/ A2 / A2E model. It is a seriously flawed and flimsy design. Mine broke twice before I got sick of it and then, without warning, the back cover locking latch also broke. That was the dummy spit: the camera was then tossed for scrap about 6 years ago.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Hey, I have EOS 300, it is part of the family. Lots of good pictures provided.
Last year I purchased EOS 3, tried it and sold. Keeping EOS 300.
All of these in camera metering differences aren't significant.
Use external light meter with incident metering mode if you want to have confidence with exposure metering.

 

[RowanBloemhof]

Ko.Fe,

It certainly is an idea to go for a external meter. And it should be rather easy to find an incident light meter for that matter. But since i want to start applying the zone system i hear very mixed stories about using incident or reflective meters. Since external spotmeters like the pentax one are rather expensive, i currently see no other option then getting a camera with one build in.

I must say by the way that the eos 300 is a pretty nice camera. Its not ridiciously complicated in use. And its very light. I'm quite fond on taking it out with say a 50mm 1.8. The combo makes it so light you barely notice the strap arround your neck. But when you use heavier lenses it easily gets unbalanced.

Anyways i think il keep my eyes open for any of the aforementioned models.

Thanks guys

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Understand that if you are using a camera body with a spot meter, the fine-ness or broad-ness of the metering sample is going to be dependent upon what lens you have. If you are looking to do the Zone System, then you are much better off getting a hand-held spot meter that will guarantee you are taking a 1 degree sample. Otherwise, you're waving your camera all over the place to take spot readings, and you'll lose track of what is and what is not in your composition because the camera's field of view will not be static.

 

[Jim Taylor]

Another +1 for the EOS 3 - I love mine

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I almost always use (single) spot metering with my 35mm SLRs, and I don't personally see multi-spot averaging as an attraction.

When shooting color slide film, for instance, I want to place the highlight a certain distance from middle grey (typically 1/2 to 1-1/3 stops), and the shadows will fall where they may, because they're not easily controllable. Taking an average reading could put the highlight in the wrong zone.

With negative film, I'd usually try to place the shadows, and if the whole roll is shot under similar lighting conditions, I may note where the highlight falls and adjust development accordingly. If the film has enough latitude (TMX would be one such film), it could work to take multiple spot readings and average them in any given scene, adjusting contrast and exposure when printing, but that's different from a Zone System approach.

 

[Joel_L]

Another EOS-3 vote. I have had one since shortly after they came out. Eye control worked well for me. Things I liked best were the spot mode, being able to look at a spot ( within the sensor field ) and take a sample. Another feature I like is the DOF mode, look at a near object of interest and sample, then look at a distant object of interest and sample, the camera tries to make sure the objects are within the DOF range. One thing to be aware of is some early cameras exposure meters were not calibrated properly. My slides would come out dark. B&W and color negative had the latitude to not care. A little over a year ago I finally sent it in to Canon for servicing. Now it works perfectly, I kick my self for not sending it in years ago when I knew it had a problem. Oh well.

Joel