Hi,
I've been following the discussion of the relative merits of the EOS 5
(A2) and EOS 30 (Elan 7) with great interest. I recently purchased an EOS
5 QD, having considered the Elan 7 and (briefly) the EOS 3 (very nice,
very very expensive, I'm a very poor photographer), so I thought I would
share my reasons for this decision. You should know that I'm very much a
beginner so there are probably some technical errors in my evaluations!!!
Also note that I bought the 5 having never handled it - perhaps that was
stupid. Instead I based my decision on many reviews, primarily Philip
Greenspun's recommendation on photo.net.
These comments are roughly in order of importance to me:
Metering: The 5 has a spot meter. The Elan 7 doesn't. I know that it
has a "partial metering mode" but in fact I might still invest in a 1%
handheld meter. This was pretty much the clincher for me. I have never
used the evaluative metering. Also the 5 has an extra 1EV of AF
sensitivity at the lower end over the Elan 7.
Vertical grip: I didn't get a chance to play with the Elan 7's grip, but
I think I would miss the command dial and the two buttons. I use CF4 to
move AF enable to the exposure lock, so without that button in vertical
orientation I would be stuck. Mind you, I wish the VG-10 could take
ordinary batteries!
Durability: I took one look at the ELan 7's battery door, did some mental
arithmetic to figure out how long it would take me to snap it off, and
didn't like the results. I read the horror stories about the EOS 5
command dial, but I also read stories of work arounds and fixes. If I
break the command dial I'll just have to get it replaced. I suppose I
could have done the same with an Elan 7 if the battery door came off.
AF Assist: Yes, I found the AF light annoying on the Elan 7. I don't
think that the 5's red (nothing like IR, at least on my model) is much
less annoying. The assist light on my Digital ELPH is a similar pain, but
at least on the Elan 7 it can be turned off. The big problem with the 5
is that it doesn't enable the AF assist on any Speedlite. Thankfully I
don't intend to shoot much in the dark, except perhaps landscapes with a
tripod.
Age: The EOS 5 is over a decade old. In fact I consider this something
of an advantage. Sure parts might be more difficult to get, but the 5
has been well debugged. There are a few known issues, but they have
known solutions. Besides, by the time I break it hopefully I'll be ready
for an EOS 1v. (or perhaps a 1z, going by my current slow progress) :)
Price: Not much difference here. The Elan is slightly cheaper. Who
cares - I always intended to spend more on lenses than the body. I
practically did with the one lens I got with the camera (50/1.4)!
DOF Preview: EOS 5 has DOF preview controlled by ECF. It doesn't work
in vertical orientation. I believe the Elan 7 has a button. I would
_really_ like to be able to set DOF to a button on my 5, but then again
the reason I got into photography was to learn. I should _know_ what the
DOF will be for a particular aperture and, if not, my Kodak Photoguide
will. If I'm stuck in vertical mode, I can just quickly switch back to
horizontal to stop down the aperture using ECF.
Weight: Although I was unable to try out the Elan 7 with the vertical
grip the camera itself definitely felt lighter to me than the EOS 5 sans
VG-10. That's a good thing for hiking or hillwalking but I find a greater
weight easier to hold steadily. I've taken fairly successful shots at
around 1/60 with ISO 400 film using the 5.
History: It's true that I've wanted an EOS 5 for about five years. Not
a great reason to buy, but a reason nonetheless.
With all this in mind, I ordered an EOS 5 (I didn't want the crummy A2
meter), VG-10 and EF 50/1.4 from Adorama. True, the EOS 5 is an
import. I'm from the UK and will be going back there next year, so _any_
camera I buy in the US could have warranty problems. Plus I've read in
several places that Canon isn't as fussy about warranty "jurisdiction" as,
for instance, Nikon.
So far I've put a few rolls (primarily Tri-X and T400CN) through the
camera and have been very happy. I calibrated the Eye-Controlled Focus
once and it has worked perfectly ever since. The secret is definitely to
keep your head in the same position, although I'm sure I'm not that
accurate. I have had one horror story - changing film for my second roll
(!) I "twanged" the shutter with my fingernail. I was sure I must have
damaged it, because there was a gap between the top leaf and the second
top one (they are layered together - instead of being flush there was a <
0.5mm gap). It seems that the shutter survived, though - the next roll
didn't show any evidence of malfunction.
Hopefully these comments will prove useful to someone. If not, they
might prompt more discussion, which will hopefully reassure me that I made
a good choice! :)
Euan Harris
A Scot all alone in California
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