Thanks Chip, for putting in the time to write up such an extensive analysis. You have helped me greatly. And thanks to everyone that has provided some feedback on this issue. I will attempt to answer some of your question, hoping to prolong this discussion.
I have been shooting with my Elan IIe for the past two years. However, in my recent trip up north, it developed some glitches. Now it's on it's way to Canon Factory Service. Due to this turn of event, I've been thinking of getting a more rugid camera that can stand the abuse. Really, I shoot all sorts of situations. I shoot indoor and outdoor. Yesterday, I was crawling in a dirt field shooting sunflowers. Since I'm not a professional photographer, it gives me the freedom to shoot and experiment. To take normal photo opportunities and add twists. I have shot still life and portraits, which can be done with any camera, to fast action sport and car races. In fact, I have done all that in the past two weeks when I travelled to SF to attend my friends' wedding. And I ended up at the Willow Springs Raceway at the end of the trip to attend the high performance driving school. During the wedding, I have shot from still life to candid grabbing shots, which I consider fast action. The 1N RS sounds perfect in this situation, because the the short lag. I found that many times I know a perfect expression is coming, but by the time the Elan IIe snaps, the expression is gone. Of course, I won't know it until the pictures comes back, because the viewfinder has blacked out. I also wanted the 100% viewfinder to manipulate slides and crops, etc. I am also more geared toward this camera, because I was shooting my friends' basketball games on the trip. On the other hand, I have grown to love the eye control focus on my Elan IIe. The ability to pinpoint a focus point at the whim is unmatched by anything else. The ECF AF sounds astonishing, not to mention other technological advancements. Although I shoot a wide variety of situations, I mainly use available light, therefore, the 3's no light-loss to the film is quite tempting. I have wide array of professional and consumer lens, with aperture setting down to f/1.8, and as high as f/5.6. My only criteria for this camera is that it is the only one I will carry around. I would love to have both 1NRS and 3. But what's the point of having full-time viewfinder on one and ECF on the other? Truthfully, I can only use one camera at a time. So if you were to get one, which one would it be? 1N RS or 3? Chieh > Hey, > > It depends on what you shoot most often and how you like to shoot and what > existing lenses and flash you have. > > If you shoot lots of action, sports, kids playing ot flash photos the EOS 1N > RS may be a better pick if you have an EZ series flash unit and have some > faster "L" class glass. If you don't shoot lots of moving subjects, have > slower consumer lenses and possibly have a newer EX flash unit the EOS 3 > looks like a good fit. > > The shutter release or lag time of the EOS 3 is much longer (60% longer or > so), than the EOS 1N RS even while not in "RS" mode. In "RS" mode there is > nothing faster than an EOS 1N RS in terms of shutter release lag. If you > use an EOS 1N and then try to shoot with an EOS 3 you will notice this > immediately especially if you shoot action or sports. I shoot sports and > fast moving subjects and when I tried the EOS 3 for a week, could not get > past the shutter relase lag. It's slower than my EOS 5 bodies, never mind > the faster frame rate if you miss the shot. > > The EOS 1N RS also is much heavier and the power booster cannot be removed, > it's a permanent part of the RS body and lacks the main control wheel of the > EOS 3's E2 booster. I don't care what they say about the EOS 3 being as > well sealed as the EOS 1/1N/1N RS, the EOS 3 is NOT built as strongly nor is > it as tough as the EOS 1/1N/1N RS bodies. Sealing is what marketing sells > to divert you from the less solid construction of the EOS 3. > > Also the EOS 1N RS does give up some finder brightness and a 1/3 of a stop > in lens speed. This is why faster glass is better with this lens and low > light shooting is less of an option as AF and metering is also off by 1 EV > due to the mirror's light loss. > > > Hope this helps, > > Chip Louie -- Camera Hacker - http://www.CameraHacker.com/ * **** ******* *********************************************************** * For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see: * http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm ***********************************************************
