Nikon F5 or Canon EOS Elan 7E?

Markok765 · Apr 12, 2008

Tom Duffy said:
If you need the faster fps rate, better build, and durability then get the F5. You'll pay a price in weight and size which you'll notice if you carry it around all day.

Take care,
Tom

Thanks Tom!

It is just a bit heavier than my current SLR. I don't need a faster FPS rate, but I do need a better build quality and durability.

fschifano · Apr 12, 2008

Markok765 said:
I am going to get the F5. What condition should I buy it in?

If the F5 is the Leica of SLRs, why is it only 1/3 the cost?

All things being equal, Nikon was able to sell the F5 for less simply because they sold so many of them. The startup costs of R&D and of setting up the production line are spread out over many more units.

film_guy · Apr 12, 2008

Buy the best camera you can afford, and if you can afford the F5, then go for it. I owned a Canon Elan 7Ne for almost a year before I bought an EOS 3, and I'm happy I made the move. Although the 7Ne does 90% of what the 3 can do to take a photo, it doesn't have weather-resistant seals like the 3 (when paired with a suitable lens), and it doesn't have a spot-meter which really helps when you really need to nail the shot in really bad lighting situations.

With the Elan 7Ne, I wouldn't trust it if I have to bring my camera to places with rain, lots of snow or dust and expect it to survive the trip. While with the EOS 3, I've used it in rain and heavy snow and it survived easily.

marsbars · Apr 13, 2008

Get what feels best in your hands. What one is more intuitive to use? That is one thing I ask myself when I look at anything that I can't make a decision about. I have no experience with Canon cameras, I am a Nikon guy. But I will have to agree that the lens is where it is at. I also don't do the auto focus thing, my eyes are still good But there is a lot of great glass out there on the cheap. Also you have to ask yourself how you are going to use it. Like others have said the F5 is a heavy monster. If you want tank quality then that is the one, or one of the other F cameras from Nikon. They are all solid as a rock, and as heavy
If AF is not the top priority then I would also look at the F3. It is weather sealed, solid as a rock and there is a ton of great glass for not much coin. But in the end the decision comes down to you, and your wallet. I would look at KEH like others have said. They have great stuff that is usually in better condition than their rating system would suggest.

airgunr · Apr 13, 2008

Another vote for the F5 here. Awsome camera and as others have said it it built like a tank.

That being said, you really are buying a system when you purchase a body. I've owned both Canon and Nikon and have settled on the Nikon mostly due to the fact that there is excellent backwards compatability with older lenses. This is not the case with Canon.

Both are great camera systems, buy what you are comfortable with.

Arvee · Apr 13, 2008

I have both a 7E and F4s. I prefer the Canon lenses and the lighter weight of the 7E. Depends on what kind of shooting you will be doing most of the time.

A day in the streets with the F4S will make your carrying arm about 2 inches longer than the other. The Canon is a pleasure to handle, especially with the BP-300 battery pack, which is pretty inexpensive. I vote for the 7E.

The 7E is much better balanced with the Canon lenses than the F4s/MB21 with any Nikon lens.

Fred

Chazzy · Apr 13, 2008

I've been very tempted by the EOS 3. The price on eBay has been very good, and there are all those fast Canon lenses to drool over. But a person can only do so much with miniature format, and I really prefer bigger negatives.

PhotoJim · Apr 13, 2008

We've chatted on the APUG chat about this, but I think that a slightly lower-end body would be a better choice for you. You're still a high school student with limited funds. Cameras are an important part of the photographic equation but nowhere nearly as important as lenses. I think it's important to have a camera you will be happy with, but there are far lesser cameras than the F5 that would keep me happy in your situation (and I think I understand it well, because I eventually got an F5 myself).

The F100 comes to mind. It's nearly as tough as the F5, it's a lot smaller (without the MB-15 grip at least - and if you add the grip you get the full convenience of the superior handling for vertical shots with the flexibility of removing the grip for greater portability). The motor drive is 4.5 fps (5.0 with MB-15) versus 7.3 on the F5 (8 with the NiMH battery pack - note that if you use NiMH AA cells you still only get 7.3 fps; only the proprietary pack gives you the speed boost). 7.3 is a lot faster than 4.5, but 4.5 is awfully fast. Bear in mind that the F4 capped out at 5.7 fps and the F3 at 5 (6 with mirror up), so this is still fully in the professional category.

The viewfinder of the F100 is nicer (red-highlighted focus sensors instead of the harder-to-view black-highlighted ones of the F5).

You can get a really nice F100 for about half the money of a nice F5. This leaves you a couple of hundred dollars to get a really nice piece of glass like a 50/1.4 or 85/1.8.

As for the Canon-Nikon debate, I've never owned Canon so I can't comment. I had the choice of systems in 1994 when I first went Nikon. I liked Nikon for a few reasons:
- superior usability with eyeglasses (higher-eyepoint viewfinders)
- more logical controls (to my way of thinking)
- the ability to get a fully-mechanical body (like the FM2n) - this is now a little trickier because some lenses (the G lenses) aren't backward compatible with the manual bodies, but these lenses are easily avoided to maintain the full advantage
- the ability to use manual-focus lenses with some reasonable restrictions - this opens up the door for some wonderful lenses like the 105/2.5 that don't have AF equivalents, or being able to buy manual-focus macro lenses to save several hundred dollars (I use macro so infrequently that using manual lenses suits my needs just fine)

keithwms · Apr 13, 2008

Yes, F100.

zenrhino · Apr 13, 2008

Im not sure why anyone would need super fast frame rate in 35mm. If you're shooting sports or weddings, you'd probably want to be shooting d1git@l in small format. But that wasn't the question, was it?

I have an F5 and while it is big, I like a big camera that I can wrap my big paws around. It's pretty well bulletproof and if you dont mind spending the extra buck or so a pack, using lithium batteries really lightens the camera significantly.

I also do a bit of manual focus stuff with my F5 and use the 105/2.5 as a portrait lens and am waiting for a 35/1.4 to come up at KEH. Im not sure about the Canon but the focus "rangefinder" in a Nikon lets me use the manual focus lenses the AF assurance of the AF body -- I just have to turn the lens to focus it.

But really, if you are indeed in HS, stop thinking about this body vs that and start thinking long term -- glass. Get a body that does what you need it to (and not much more) and pump every penny you can into the very best glass you can because just like ex-wives, good lenses end up hanging around a lot longer than you expect.

Chan Tran · Apr 14, 2008

At $500 I don't think you should have to think much. I bought my F5 for $2000 and not regret it.

BobbyR · Apr 14, 2008

zenrhino said:
Im not sure why anyone would need super fast frame rate in 35mm. If you're shooting sports or weddings, you'd probably want to be shooting d1git@l in small format. But that wasn't the question, was it?

I have an F5 and while it is big, I like a big camera that I can wrap my big paws around. It's pretty well bulletproof and if you dont mind spending the extra buck or so a pack, using lithium batteries really lightens the camera significantly.

I also do a bit of manual focus stuff with my F5 and use the 105/2.5 as a portrait lens and am waiting for a 35/1.4 to come up at KEH. Im not sure about the Canon but the focus "rangefinder" in a Nikon lets me use the manual focus lenses the AF assurance of the AF body -- I just have to turn the lens to focus it.

But really, if you are indeed in HS, stop thinking about this body vs that and start thinking long term -- glass. Get a body that does what you need it to (and not much more) and pump every penny you can into the very best glass you can because just like ex-wives, good lenses end up hanging around a lot longer than you expect.

The point about the glass is a good one, and Nikon has a larger choice of glass that is at worst no more expensive than Canon and from what I have seen recently a little less.
Top quality lenses OEM equivalent from Canon are fewer and NOT CHEAP, even top third party lenses for the auto focus Canons, are not even close to cheap.
I bought a Canon EOS 1N RS because I wanted a auto-focus film burner. I have yet to get a lens for it because prices for good lenses used to start around $250 (on ebay) and go up, it seems the price lull is over and prices are rising.
I am considering getting rid of it as I can put a Nikon 50-300 ED on my F5, I CANNOT put a 50-300L Canon lens on the EOS.

Just food for thought.
Bobby
PS--I also have an F4; I am not going to dig the article out, but Pop. Photo. did an article on the F4 and against Nikon recommendation put Lithiums in motor drive a got a definite increase in FPS.

Andrey · Apr 14, 2008

BobbyR said:
I am considering getting rid of it as I can put a Nikon 50-300 ED on my F5, I CANNOT put a 50-300L Canon lens on the EOS.

You can put your nikon 50-300 L on the canon body though.

And canon I think doesn't have a 50-300 L

BobbyR · Apr 14, 2008

Andrey said:
You can put your nikon 50-300 L on the canon body though.

And canon I think doesn't have a 50-300 L

Yes they did/do, and one Canon 50-300L sold for little over six fifty several weeks ago,
I regret on not bidding higher as a Nikon 50-300 ED just sold for $787.

ooze · Apr 15, 2008

My wife uses Canon EOS cameras. On a long trip around SE Asia, while changing film, suddenly the back of her Elan wouldn't close any more. We found that the pin on the back had broken. It was made of plastic. Fortunately she also had a 1n with her and could continue photographing.
OK, this may be an isolated case, but it still made me loose confidence in cameras where plastic is used at crucial places.

GeoffHill · Apr 15, 2008

If I were you, I would go for a cheaper body that either of those, An EOS300v or 300x, which could be picked up for about £40, and spend the extra cash on better glass. You can replace bodies as and when, but you will keep your nice glass for a long time

Uncle Bill · Apr 15, 2008

I would go with the F5 for durability and longevity, plus Nikkor glass is really nice.

Andrey · Apr 15, 2008

ooze said:
My wife uses Canon EOS cameras. On a long trip around SE Asia, while changing film, suddenly the back of her Elan wouldn't close any more. We found that the pin on the back had broken. It was made of plastic. Fortunately she also had a 1n with her and could continue photographing.
OK, this may be an isolated case, but it still made me loose confidence in cameras where plastic is used at crucial places.

I bumped my AE-1 slightly and the plastic cover got a nice dent and a crack in it.

I dropped an older elan II and a similar thing happened.

Now when I buy equipment I'm counting on dropping it from the waist level a couple of times during normal use. I don't want to drop it, but more often than not I will and I end up having to replace the camera.

So my next SLR will probably be a nikon F series of sorts. I don't know which one yet.

Tim Gray · Apr 20, 2008

Markok765 said:
Why, besides the 45 focus points, is the EOS 3 better than the F5? What about durability? How is that?

I'd say its better because its a) cheaper b) smaller and c) he already has a lens for it.

But I have a 1v, and can't imagine making it better, so I'm biased. Unless it developed my film for me...

PhotoJim · Apr 20, 2008

Tim, I feel the same way about my F5, and nearly the same way about my F100.

cotdt · Apr 20, 2008

I would go for F6

PhotoJim · Apr 20, 2008

cotdt said:
I would go for F6

He's a high school student. Are you splurging for him?

Markok765 · Apr 20, 2008

PhotoJim said:
He's a high school student. Are you splurging for him?

I would not want the F6, as I like the grip on the F5

maxim · Apr 23, 2008

have you check the prices of F90x Nikon as well?

from what I saw, its pretty good camera, better that EOS30
and price is not far off.

other than just the camera bodies, you may not want to spend too much
since you wouldnt know how much longer film will be still in production.

Kodak is really bad shape but Fuji isnt that great either

cotdt · Apr 23, 2008

maxim said:
other than just the camera bodies, you may not want to spend too much since you wouldnt know how much longer film will be still in production.

then you can produce your own film. Photo Engineer shows the way.

as for the F6, you can buy a separate grip for it. =)

Nikon F5 or Canon EOS Elan 7E?

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