OT: What's a good EOS body?

[cp_ste.croix]

Without attempting to contribute too much to your GAS, I will say that my 1vHS is the best and most indestructable camera I have ever owned. I can take it in the rain, snow, dust, etc without worry and find that it is well balanced, if a little big, with the booster on it.

Lens wise, I've heard great things about the 50 1.4 and the 135 f2L is an all around amazing piece of (expensive) glass. THe 200 2.8II is good as well.

I feel much the same as Seveneer, in that if I know I will buy a camera/lens eventually, I prefer to wait and make do with what I have until that oh so exquisite moment comes when I have saved enough to purchase the thing of my current dreams.

That said, my rebel did alright backpacking through Africa, Central America, and Japan...and no one eveer looked at me sideways when I had it...I had to clean it once, and the crappy flash actually came in handy in some caves in central america (i hate flash and never carry one). If I hadn't given it to my sister already, I'd send it to you...

 

[Byuphoto]

Get a T90 and FD lenses and just focus it yourself ;-) Seems odd that a good T90 goes for more than a used Elan doesn't it

 

[wlewisiii]

While I appreciate the 1V &, in someways even more the T90, I don't think either of them are in my immediate future.

After a bunch of reading based on all of the suggestions I've gotten, I'm thinking it's between either a A2E or an Elan IIE with a used 50/1.4 EF lens. Anyone got any experiance that might tip the balance one way or the other? (BTW, I made the mistake of playing with a Elan 7NE while at my FLCS today. Sweet. _WAY_ outside of my budget for the forseeable future, but very nice indeed.)

William

 

[Jason_K]

The 50/1.4 is a good choice so is the A2.

I was never a fan of the E models, I thought they were gimmicky, but some people like them quite a bit.

 

[Bobbo]

The 1n, 1v or (the best compromise between the two) the 3 are the best ones. Good viewfinders, lots of options, but they also weigh quite a bit. Also look at used 5's (a european A2e with a match-diode scale metering that tells you how far offf you are...something about a patent infringment) and my personal favorite between small size and speed (also the quietest AF SLR ever made) the Elan 7/7e/7n/7ne. Definitly look for used though.

Bob's Picks: EOS 3, Elan 7

Goodnight,
Bob Clark

 

[smudwhisk]

I purchased two EOS 5's (A2) from ebay earlier this year (well a few months apart) and was careful on the descriptions because I knew of the command dial problem. The first is a little stiff but works fine and I make sure I push the dial down before turning - a known cause of problems if you don't. The second had had the command dial replaced recently so is absolutely fine. I also purchased a EOS 30 (ELAN 7e) but found the viewfinder rather dark at times so have recently sold it. I would definately recommend the 5 (A2) if youd can get one with a good command dial. I've also heard rumours that some have had problems with the onboard flash but not had a problem with mine.

:

 

[danielnorton]

I'd recommend A2 (or A2E)

I'd recommend A2 (or A2E)

I've been shooting EOS for about 12 years and own both an A2E and The Elan 2E, I've had the Elan fixed twice because of a broken dial on the top of the camera (they tried to be retro, but plastic knobs don't hold up well when bouncing around in a camera bag) I'm actually pretty gentle with my cameras so I was surprised when this happend, the A2E had served me well and is the first EOS I ever bought as well as my primary 35mm camera, I would recommend it hightly, can't say the same for the Elan. I owned the 50 1.8 for a while, not too bad of a lens for the $$, but mine died from a 2 foot drop (@$%^& photo assistants 🙄 ) used it mostly with my 10D I also own an RT (like the 630 but with a pellicle mirror - kinda cool and very quiet) and a 650, both of which are good cameras, but if I had to have just 1, it would the the A2E.

all the best..