| For the record, I have been using this camera for over 2 years now and I shoot mainly nature and people. The Canon Elan 7E/EOS30 is a fantastic all around camera for beginners/intermediate photographers. At the time of buying this camera, there was a confusion whether to choose the rebel or the elan 7E. I would very strongly recommend anyone to consider buying the intermediate Elan 7 as compared to the basic rebel. The rebel has a very "plasticky" feel to it and if I remember correctly, there is a single knob to set both the aperture and the shutter speed. Once you move away from shooting it as point and shoot, you will realize that the single knob can get incredibely irritating. As for the "E" i.e. eye focus, I never really used it too much but am planning to shortly. So you can save some money by getting the Elan 7, if you so wish since the Eye feature is essentially just a gimmick. Now I also wish I had got the date feature, since down the road it might be an useful tool. (say, 40 yrs, from now, you want to know when the picture was taken ;) ) The most wonderful thing about the ELan 7E is that it allows you to grow with it...It offers a whole bunch of features, that I think will take you from a beginning stage (point and shoot) to a more advanced stage (total manual) phase. After shooting over 20 rolls of film and slide, I still find myself reading the manual and noting down some new feature to try out on my next roll. Small piece of advice for beginners.. I realize now that the money you spend on lenses might be worth almost more than the money you spend on the camera. Coz even the best camera cannot produce a decent picture with a bad lens. I would strongly recommend avoiding the standard lens(28-90mm, I think) that comes bundled with it (even if the total package is cheap). I bought the body separate and then a canon 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 lens and I have never regretted the decision. Its a relatively sharp lens at both ends and is always mounted on my camera for shooting almost anything. If you are on a tight budget get the Canon 50 mm 1.8 II which sells in most shops for under $100. I am now slowly saving up for a L series lens. Besides the usual preset options like portrait,landscape,closeup,sports,night mode,the Elan 7E offers a whole bunch of features that I found really useful. Here are some of them, 1) Depth of field preview button.
2) DEP (depth of field AE) - this really helps if your lens does not have a distance scale (like the 28-105mm). Say for e.g., you need to preset the depth of scale from 0 to infinity, this feature helps you to achieve that effect without the distance scale on your lens.
3) AE lock
4) Exposure compensation - you can set the exposure compensation upto + or - 2 stops in half stop increments and you can do it without taking your eyes of the viewfinder.
5) Auto exposure bracketting - for those really important pictures that you dont want to miss :)
6) bulb exposures - allows you to have as long a exposure as you want. I found this really useful. I hear that some cameras have limitations on how long they can be exposed. (RS - 60E3 shutter release cable is really useful for this)
7) multiple exposures
8) mirror lockup etc etc etc. The built in flash suffices for all my needs. Lots of people in this website recommend the battery pack, but I would suggest anyone buying this camera to first check it out themselves. I find the grip good enough for me. All in all, I just love this camera. I have been having great fun for past 2 yrs with it and am confident of having lots more fun for few more years at least and I dont think you will get a better performance for this price...If you have the money, just get it & start shooting !! Strengths:
1) Solid feel and good looks
2) Enough bells and whistles to keep you curious and interested for quite some time.
3) focussing point selection with seven focussing points (auto or manual)
4) whole bunch of lenses to choose from
5) built in flash
6) Rugged build - have used extensively in real hot weather(AZ) as well as sub zero temperatures (MI)
7)Relatively light and compact.
8)Best price/performance ratio Weaknesses:
1) I feel an LCD would have been invaluable tool to have during low-lit situations
2)Lack of spot metering - this is one feature I would have loved to use.
3)Auto focus fails to activate when you try to shoot closeups(macros), cloudy landscapes or under low light situations 4) Depth of field preview button is hidden...I have never been able to activate it without taking my eyes off the viewfinder ! |
