chesshire_cat's Full Review: Canon EOS Elan IIE Film Camera
I had planned my ELAN 2e as a replacement for an A-1, and F-1... both a bit long in the tooth, and showing their age (besides, the dreaded A-1 shutter squeak was about annoying) I like all the gadgets, and features of the A-1... the ELAN has them all, and a few more. The learning curve for menu access of these features was a bit long. best practiced without film loaded! At this point, with well over 500 rolls through the camera, it has yet to miss a beat... unless it was a result of a miss-manipulation of one of the controls.
It get's left "on" far too much, an auto shut-off may seem trivial, until you have replaced your bazillionth 9.99$ battery... battery life is horrid... but if I would remember to turn it off it would, no doubt, help.
Does Canon do a study to find out just exactly what the highest priced battery is before they make sure to use that particular one?
In "quiet" the noise is subdued enough to avoid disturbing wildlife, although the shutter, and mirror make their fair share of clatter, it is still within an acceptable limit.
The motor driven flash release seems to be a bit much... like I couldn't figure out how to lift the flash on my own? Really now...
No shutter for the viewfinder!!! (when using on a tripod, and without your face obscuring the light.) The ambient light IS enough to skew auto exposure enough to be a problem in bright, outdoor conditions. I have taken to using black tape over it. (sticky, and a mess, but effective)
Now, that IR film sensor HAS to go! I had failed to take it into account when shooting a few rolls of kodak's B&W IR film... needless to say, it fogged it badly.
Strong light sources against a high contrast scene (sunsets, as an example), can screw with the eye controled focus, not a problem but something to remember. when composing a photo, be careful of where you look, that last second... or be prepared for some weird focus.
The AI servo focus is cool, takes a bit of learning to master, but that seems to be a common theme with this camera.... ditto the depth of field focus preview/exp control.
I the contacts between lens, and body get even slightly contaminated, moist from condensation, it will cause a lock-up, easily restored by depressing the shutter button a second time. To date, this hasn't caused any exposure problems with photos.
The body isn't as "cheesy" feeling as most of the other camera's in this catagory.
All, in all I do like the camera, it's a perfect replacement for both the A-1 and F-1. The "basics" are easy, but using any of the advanced features takes a bit of study. (If your VCR is still flashing 12:00, and you have no idea how to get it to quit, don't even think of this camera... you'll hate it!)
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