Well, I picked up a new EOS 7e saturday at a photo store here in Japan.
My first impression was that is felt pretty good, not too heavy, not too
light, and not too small either for my large hands. However, the positioning
of switches, dials and buttons seemed to completely cover the body of the
camera :)
I noted also the camera's neighbour, an EOS 50e had mostly the same
assortment of dials and switches. It made me really appreciate the
simplicity of my EOS 10qd. I'm not sure if I want that many controls on my
camera body. Some of them however are certainly nice, like focus mode switch
and DOF.
However, I decided to try out the eye controlled focusing. I guess this
camera had never been calibrated, because although I did note the focus
shift a couple time from center, it sure wasn't focusing where my eyes
looked. Switching to servo mode (I liked that there's a separate switch for
that), I noted no difference, just seemed like random focus points, mostly
center.
I guess it being the first time having tried the eye control focus,
likely I didn't know what the heck I was doing, but I still don't think it's
something I'd even want to have. I'm going back and try it again when the
store is less busy, and calibrate it.
I also noted in the flash display case, no 420EX flash in the lineup yet
here. Then, looking at the used camera lineup, I noted an EOS 1 that was a
good price and felt good in my hands. Not nearly as heavy as I'd thought,
and not adorned with techno either. I might pick one up. There was a real
nice mint EF 28mm lens that I tried out, that thing is tiny!(and only 17,000
yen!) In the end though, I went back and bought a new EF 20-35 that I've
been lusting for, for months. I shot a couple films with it this weekend
too, and only once did I switch from 20mm, when I wanted flash coverage on a
group photo:) I'm really glad I've got the zoom now, and was amazed at the
autofocus with the USM and a wideangle. Very fast, very silent it is. And
this lens is much smaller than I'd imagined it to be. If I had to choose a
prime wide angle, I think I'd rather have at least a 20mm. 24mm just didn't
seem that much wider than 28 to me. I'll report on my results with my new
zoom later when I see them:)
Overall, I liked the look and feel of the EOS 7e, it just seemed
overloaded with switches, a real techno trick toy...
Jim Davis
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