Nick, I can offer answers to some of your questions, unfortunately I've no
experience with the 1n-RS. I did own a 1N, and found the build quality to be
the same between it and the 3 (which I presently own).
ECF is much as you say, loved or hated with little middle ground. It works
fine for me, and although I shoot sports, too, it's as a hobby; I have a
real job, too <g>. A friend shoots the Richardson schools sports, he uses a
1v and 3 and has never used ECF, so I think it's something you have to try.
AFAIK, glasses/contacts don't seem to be the deciding factor.
The 1n/1n-RS can use alkaline, nicad, lithium or NiMH batteries, the only
"packs" are nicad, for the rest you must individual batteries (there are
some limitations in early PB-E1's that do not affect the built-in drive on
the 1n-RS, just the 1n).
The boosters (E1/E2) are not used with the 1n-rs, it has a built-in
booster/motor. They are used with the 3, and either work, although the E1
booster does not have a command dial. There is also just a battery pack
(BP-E1), which is shaped very much like the boosters and allows switched use
of either AA or lithium batteries but does not increase the native frame
rate nor does it have a command dial in vertical mode. It is lighter,
however and a useful accessory when you don't need the speed of a motor.
AF lock is a concern, I find it absolutely necessary in baseball where I
often am shooting through the backstop. If you're using an "L" lens with a
focus range limiting switch, that will help with the nearby distractions,
but on-field staff present a problem when they walk between you and the
subject unless you lock the focus.
As you already know, you'll need at least an f/4 lens and large flash
(GN>150) for nightime football, as well as 800 speed film. In that respect,
the 3 offers high-speed sync (>1/200th) with a suitable E-TTL flash such as
the 550EX that is not available on the 1n-RS, which has a maximum sync speed
of 1/250th.
I'm surprised you haven't been able to find a rental in Dallas. I know
Ramsey at Competitive Camera always has used 3's and such from "rich doctors
who overbought" (his words, not mine), and I thought Dallas Camera had
rentals, although I've never used them. They're both down off Irving Blvd
near the Design District, perhaps a visit in person might help? I would
offer you my own 3 and 70-200 2.8L, but the concensus here on the list
awhile back was that equipment should never be loaned, so that's my excuse!
<g>
Good luck!
Tom P.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nicholas Wright" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2001 7:42 PM
Subject: EOS More questions...
> Hi all I have some more questions. :) I think that I'm going to purchase
an
> EOS body with an 80-200/2.8 to use side by side with my own equipment to
see
> which brand I like better (I'd rent but apparently no one in Dallas does
> this anymore :\ ). I am a sports photographer, so keep in mind that all
> these questions are coming from that frame of mind.
>
> So I think I've narrowed it down to either the EOS 3 or the 1N RS. The
build
> quality between the two is really not that big a deal to me, I've used a
> camera with similar build quality as the 3 very hard for almost 2 years
with
> no problems. Anyway, the main reason that I'd go with the EOS 3 is for the
> 45 point eye controlled focus. So the first obvious question is how good
is
> eye control anyway? I've heard so many conflicting reports about the
> accuracy of eye control, it's hard to tell who really knows what they're
> talking about and who simply just doesn't understand the technology. It
> seems that most ppl that have problems with it wear eye-glasses, and I
don't
> wear glasses so... *shrugs*. Then, if I turn off the eye control how easy
is
> it to manually select the focussing point? I know that you can limit the
> number of points to 11, but I have not found a diagram that shows which
> points are active when you do that; how are they placed?
>
> Then for the 1N RS... one good reason that I'd choose this model is for
it's
> pellicle mirror feature. I think it'd be awesome to be able to see through
> the viewfinder at the time of exposure (Not to mention it's 6 millisecond
> lag time). But I know that this feature takes away from the brightness of
> the vf and lens. So the biggest question that I can think of is how much
of
> a difference is there between the lag of the 1N RS and the 3? One of the
> other things that I'm wondering about is, is there a Ni-MH battery pack
> available for the 1N RS? I know there's one for the 3. Also the PB-E2 says
> that it has "limited compatibility" with the EOS 1 and 1N. Does this
include
> the 1N RS? If so, what is limited about it? Also concerning the vertical
> grip for the 1N RS, can you select AF point while holding the camera in
> vertical?
>
> Since the highest level of sports I shoot is high school I really don't
see
> the need for the ability to burn a roll of 36 exp film in 3.6 seconds, but
> one thing that I've noticed is that most camera manufacturers list the
> ~maximum~ fps but that it goes down considerably when you switch into
servo
> focus mode. What fps rates can I expect from the 3 and 1N RS in servo AF
> mode?
>
> Okay and then the biggest thing that I'm wondering about is AF lock on.
I've
> only shot one game with an AF lens (all others I've shot with manual focus
> lenses), it's not a giant problem if you're paying attention but it is
> annoying to have your focus jump back and forth when another player or ref
> walks in front of you. With the 3 it focuses on whatever is behind the AF
> point that I'm looking at, right? So, if something else briefly comes
> between me and my subject, will it try to focus on whatever it is that's
> come between me and the subject or will it stay locked on to the subject?
I
> also would like to know the answer to this question as it pertains to the
1N
> RS. Also, when I manually select the AF point (with either 3 or 1N RS)
will
> it follow the subject between AF points? or will only the point that I've
> selected remain active? Also, is it correct that Canon offers a couple of
> different selectable AF algorithms with these cameras (In other words,
I've
> read that they are programmed to lock onto whatever is closest (like most
> cameras), but are there other options)? If so, can someone describe the
> different options?
>
> I know this is alot of questions, but I want to make absolute sure that I
> know what I'm doing before I go out and totally switch systems. I
appreciate
> and want to thank you all in advance to any answers that are given.
>
> Nick
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