1. Built tough
2. Meter on this camera is good.
3. variety of accesorries
4. Easy to use
6. Lightweight
7. variety of features.
8. custom functions.
9. fits good to hold. easy way to change shutter/aperture, focus points, etc.

1. flash sync too slow.
2. built in flash is really bad to use and i dont really like it on the camera.
3. FPS/built in motor drive really slow.
4. no PC socket

It is a pretty good camera overall. It is pretty tough and not too lite because i dont like that. If you buy this camera buy it with the bp-50 battery pack because it feels too small and uncomfortable without it. seems more like a good body for the amateur and good backup for the pro. It would be good if it had a pc socket. i use a sunpak 544 with this camera and i have to use my radio slave sender to use it on the hot shoe. i just dont like that the FPS isnt that fast but it gives excellent images and 3 focusing points is good enough. it is also a great body(in my opinion) with the L series lens. if you think about buying it, its worth it.

Customer Service

havent used it yet

Similar Products Used:

canon a2

It's the A2!

none so far - looking forward to the dial falling off though.

It's all been said here before - this camera rocks. More function than I'll probably ever need. Canon quality - matched with the right lenses, this camera should suffice all of my needs for years to come. Buy one before they're discontinued!

Customer Service

Haven't used it

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N90

Very strong
Nice set-up
Easy to use

the top dial is so weak

the flash is useless

The best Camera for the price you can buy...bottom line

Customer Service

never needed it....but that is why I got the Canon Vs. the Nikon....

Similar Products Used:

EOS1
N90

Tough.
Pro features for 10 dollars more than Rebel 2000.
Lenses are better than NIKON!

So many buttons and knobs and dials, oooh!
Flash is weak.

An excellent camera. It did take me awhile to figure out how it works, since I am used
to older cameras (Canon FTb, etc.).

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Canon FTb
Yashica FX-7
Canon G-III

Kinda fast motor
good focus aid light
mirror lock up
built in flash
spot meter

Cheap plastic command dial! Unjustifiably high cost ($120) for that repair!

Good camera, mismatched command dial for this level of SLR. Of course, my dial broke. When I sent it back to Canon, they wanted to charge me $120 (that's right, $120!) to fix that chinsey little piece of plastic. That was completely unjustified for such a minor repair. I understand that after time some things will wear out, but my camera isn't very old. It upsets me greatly because that command dial is obviously a design flaw. It seems to break on everyone that owns an A2. I would love to hear from other A2 owners whose command dials have broke. Maybe if there was enough of us we could force Canon into a recall in which they retrofit the dial with a stronger one or just give us the updated version whenever it is made. I'm mad. Charging us a ridiculous amount of money to repair a defective part is abuse. Canon must see alot of A2s returned to them for this repair, and they know that the dial is junk. Lets give them hell. Please e-mail me if you agree (beneng_jr@yahoo.com). I would rate this camera a five if it wasn't for the dial and what Canon charges to fix it. If you buy this camera it will break, and warranty's don't last forever. Save your pennies and go for a more rugged EOS-3 if you need the motor speed and spot metering capabilities, if not get an Elan 7.

Customer Service

Fast, but expensive!

Similar Products Used:

Canon A-1

- Very versatile/options
- Logical layout
- Comfortable in hand
- Reliable in bad weather
- Autofocus relatively fast
- Sturdy for an amature camera
- DOF Lock and AE/AF Lock work together with Shutter Release
- An OK built-in Flash
- Five Point Autofocus easily manually selectible even while follow-focusing
- Focus Aid Light
- Exposure metering very accurate

- Command Dial is stiff (but hasn't broken yet in 8 years of constant use).
- Built-in Flash does not use E-TTL or fill flash technology and works best at 6 feet (no more, nor less); need to over-expose flash for greater distances, or underexpose flash for shorter ones when in sunlight.
- No lighted LCD Panel on outside of body.
- No Over-Under Exposure data when manual metering.
- Spot-metering influenced too much by peripheral EV.
- Drive and Exposure Metering selection buttons need to be easier to access while shooting sequences than two button affair relegated to the back of the camera.
- No true fill flash or E-TTL technology available on this camera for any flash accessory.
- Predictive focus does not work properly when panning at right angles; it still thinks object is coming toward you (or away from you) as it passes by you and can give unsharp images.

Good camera for 8 years. Great pictures most of the time. Looking forward to an upgrade (not EOS 3 or EOS 7) with more precise predictive autofocus, built-in E-TTL/Fill Flash technology, lighted outside LCD panel, manual exposure match-metering scale, 5 FPS follow/continuous autofocus, 9-point cross-type autofocus in rectangular shape to match central third area of frame (for follow-focusing on corners for rule-of-thirds composition), and E-TTL/fill-flash upgraded built-in flash. Must keep the infrared focus aid light missing from the EOS 3.

Customer Service

Canon was good and fast in replacing the top piece which was scratched up (but not really dented) after it smashed against some boulders in a fall on a mountain trail. Camera still worked all the rest of the day (lens was bashed also but worked). Of course, I had State Farm personal article camera insurance.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N90S
Minolta X700, 9000, 7000i, 8000i, 7xi, 9xi

Relatively fast AF
Spot metering
5 focus points
Shutterspeeds up to 8000 (very useful with fast film)

No dedicated DoF button
No dedicated exposure compensation button and only 0.5 EV steps
No indication in viewfinder about how much under/overexposure in manual mode

Overall, I believe this is just the best price/value proposition in the market today. The A2 offers virually all features you could possibly want (probably more than that). I wish though that you could set exposure compensation in 1/3EV steps and with a dedicted dial. However, I'll live with it. No problem so far with the dreaded control dial.

Customer Service

Not needed yet

Similar Products Used:

Canon A-1

very accurate and sensitive metering
fast and accurate AF
spot metering
PC terminal
solid, yet lightweight construction
fast film advance
very quiet operation
5 focus points
less obtrusive AF assist light than Elan 7
intuitive controls
ergonomic design

no light on LCD panel
can't use IR film
potential for Command dial failure

I chose the EOS A2 over the Elan 7 a few months ago and have had no regrets. The A2 is a joy to use and IMO probably the best SLR value for the money (as long as they are still available). The Command dial on my body, which was probably manufactured in late 1999-early 2000, seems fine and very similar to my EOS 10s. Nonetheless, I purchased an extended warranty just to be safe.

A truly outstanding prosumer SLR.

Customer Service

not needed,...yet

Similar Products Used:

EOS 10s
EOS Elan IIe

Excellent. Once you get dialed into the camera, you can get it to do almost everything.

Pop up light stoped poping up after shooting the Pikes Peak Hill Climb '94,one year, "lots of dust" Everything else came out ok, and has been working great since. In shooting in winter cold the cr5 battery wears down fastt. I need to get the BP_5 battery booster

I would buy another one. It is super quite, people I take picture of don't even hear the camera go off. This is great for Wild Life photograpy silent shutter,drive and rewind help out alot. The only thig that I would want is frame count in the display which the A-3 has.

Customer Service

Have not had to use it

Similar Products Used:

just point and shoots

Good, accurate camera for the price

The main dial button on top broke off. I found out through the canon rep it is a design flaw and very common problem.

Great camera, fast lens, best auto-focus I've ever used. But I need a EOS-3. I travel alot a need a tough camera. A2 is the best-bang-for-the-buck out there.

Customer Service

Excellent. I explained to the rep I need the camera in less than two weeks (I was moving to another state) I got the camera back in 4 days, free of charge in perfect condition. Unbelievable and unmatched service.

Similar Products Used:

AE-1, X-700, 7000i, Canon 630, N90, DCS 420