Fantastic Eye Controlled Focus, great 4 fps, Fast auto focus, the list goes on and on

a little small for my hands (that will be remedied as soon as I receive my BP-300 vertical grip)

If you're looking for the perfect balance of features, functionality and price this is the THE camera!

Customer Service

haven't had the need yet.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS Rebel G, and S

Fast and very quiet! Auto focus is very quick and accurate. Very solid feel.

Grip is a little small, I'm 190cm and find my pinkie finger slips off, easily corrected with the bp-300

A very solid feel and a very good user interface. ECF works very well, this was a HUGE upgrade for me from my AE-1. I could suggest that the best System on the market, with a 28-135IS lens. Very,Very good.

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

AE-1 Program

Quiet, fast autofocus, built-in flash, eye control focus, auto-bracketing, lightweight, 2nd curtain sync with internal or external Speedlite flash, Flash sync at any speed with Add-on Speedlight, diopter adjustment for us not 20-20 eyesight people, multiple exposure capability, mid-roll rewind leaving the leader out.

A tad small for large hands, but very comfortable so it's not a real big deal.
The focus assist strobe with the built in flash will scare the he** out of your subjects, but it can be disabled at least.

I love this camera. It's my first autofocus, and I'm amazed at the speed and accuracy of the system. With a 28-105 USM lense, it's so quiet and fast you hardly know its working, as whatever you point it at is in focus instantly. The film rewind is so quiet, you have to look at the LCD display to see if you've hit the end of the roll.
Coupled with the 550EX speedlite, and the camera set to full auto, you can point the camera anywhere in total darkness and just press the shutter and get a well exposed, perfectly focused picture. (not that you'd need this often, but it's impressive nonetheless.)
the 5 rolls I've put thru it so far have all come out great, and I'm still experimenting with all the possibilities. Got a long way to go. I expect this will be the camera I'll have for the next 20 years.

Customer Service

Never needed, except for a couple calls to tech support that were answered by very friendly and helpful people.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkormat EL that I used for the last 20 years.

Metal outer shell, mirror lock, 4f stops, low noise, functional battery pack.

Low light focusing strobe, to bright.

Very happy with the camera so far I have only had it for two weeks, only disslike, the low light focusing strobe emitted by the flash. In it's class it has the most features, it is faster than any camera under $500.00, plus the near silent operation helps me when I'm photographing wildlife and people. I highly recommend this camera for someone looking for the best performance for the money.

Customer Service

So far I have never needed.

Similar Products Used:

ELANIIE, NIKON N80

Built quality, 4f stops, near silent operation, mirror lock, 7 focusing points, shutter release button on battery pack, very user friendly, ergonomics.

For the price none.

Best features and quality in it's class. Better performance and built quality than Nikon N80, it is faster, quieter and better built. Only camera that beats it is the Minolta Dynax7, but it is really not in the same class and costs twice as much. You can't go wrong, for the money the Elan7e is best in it's class!

Customer Service

very good. Always been prompt.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N80, Minolta Dynax7.

Eye control is accurate after calibration, though tricks r needed;
Autofocus is fast, though sometimes get fooled;
Film winding speed is fast, U can hardly notice the sound, even would doubt whether U had the film correctly inserted.
Smart Camera.

AF assist from built-in flash is stupid.
Body is a little bit small though i'm only 175 m and my hands r not large, try the BP-300. anyway, it's much larger than cheaper machines (say EOS 300, 1000)
no spot meter; sometimes might be a trouble;
film winding track is plastic, but these days plastic r oftern stronger than metal.
well, plastic feelings r still there.

it's a good camera, with Eye-control as a bonous.
heavier than F80, cheaper than F80 (in New Zealand), wider focus point selection than F80, stronger body than F80 (maybe), better handling and shutter release feeling than F80.
i would choose F80, if i didn't find the ONLY new EOS 30 body here in New Zeland.
go for a BP-300, and a tripod, and good lenses, U'll become bankrupt, but U'll sleep well and sound.

Customer Service

i hope i won't need it.

Similar Products Used:

Ricoh XR-7

How much more can be said about Eye Control Focus? and now with the 7 target spots (4 more than the Elan IIe), Canon IS lenses, 35 zone metering, bulb-1/4000 range of shutter speeds, can be set to automatically detect subject movement and keep sharp focus on subject, Canon USM focusing motors - quiet and quick,

why did Canon decide to get rid of the infared auto-focus assist ???? In my opinion, the rapid-fire of the flash is annoying, and quite rude. There is a "custom function" setting that will turn these idiotic bursts off, but only in the "Creative" settings.

As another review says right below mine, I have used the Canon AE-1 manual focus for 15 years. This is my first auto-focus camera, and WOW ! I am very pleased with it.
My wife and I just the first 2 rolls back and WOW !! We were impressed on the fact that when we were taking pictures of a Christmas light parade, since everything is so dark except the little lights on the vehicles, the ECF was still able to follow our eye movement and focus on our subjects!!!
My AE-1 and the35-200mm lens that I have, the closest focusing distance is somewhere around 5 feet, but with the 28-135mm IS USM lens that I have on this 7e its at 19 inches!!! I took a few shots of flowers and I am going to get enlargements made of them!!
The DEP program works good and will come in handy when I have 2 subjects at different distances from me when I take my scenery/outdoor shots.
I plan to get the 420 Speedlight flash, or maybe the 550 Speedlight for when I want to get creative. I want to use the infrared auto-focus assist on theSpeedlights instead of the rapid fire flash on the 7e for my indoor shots, or especially for the wedding that my wife has volunteered me to do that is scheduled for outside at night.
The winding speed and sound (or lack there of) is pleasant. The first few rolls that I have taken, I had to look at the LCD to varify that I was at the end of the rolls and that the film was being rewound. It is extremely quiet and smooth. You have a choice of two speeds, 1. fast and quiet, and 2, super fast!!

A most excellent product, sans no infrared auto-focus assist, and also no spot metering, although it will use a 10% reading around the selected focus target. This is why I have given the 4 star rating instead of 5 in the "overall" catagory.

Customer Service

not yet needed

Similar Products Used:

Canon AE-1 my first camera of which I used for 15 years, then I used a Canon T-70 for the past 2 years.

35-zone metering, 7-point eye control, mirror lockup, modeling flash with DOF preview button and 550EX.

None that I'm qualified to notice.

I wanted something to take with me during my travels, to take pictures of all those great Rhine and Mosel castles and other sights. I'll also do a lot of macro shooting of my tabletop wargames, and general photography of friends and family. With the 28-135mm IS lens with hood, a 550EX flash, a 25mm extension tube for the macro, tripod, and other stuff, I'm sure the Elan 7E will do the trick. I chose Canon as my first AF after a lot of research; I love E-TTL flash control, I only wish the built-in flash took advantage of it. Mirror lockup is great on a just-above-entry-level 35mm, as is modeling flash. ECF is surprisingly easy and effective. Unless you're a working pro, this should be all the camera you'll ever need, and then some.

Customer Service

I hope I never have to find out.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax K-1000, various point-and-shoots

Great build quality for the price

focus is fast and accurate with a USM lens

tons of features, all except the most advanced photographers will be satisfied with the feature list

paired with the BP-300 the handling is great, even without the batter pack handling is acceptable as the camera body is rather large

control layout is easy to learn and intuitive, I really like the combination of controls when the camera is in manual mode

eye control works very well even when I wear my thick glasses, definitely not just a gimmick for sports photography

4fps is great for nature shots of fast moving animals

film advance is very quiet although mirror slap isnt all that quiet

eye relief is OK but could be better

viewfinder catches a lot of reflected light, the deeper eye cup is recommended

although is doesnt affect the performance, I find the plastic film door to be a little flimsy

no light for the LCD display in dark conditions

AF does hunt if all seven focus points are selected in low light conditions, but I find that if the center point is soley used it will always focus

focus assist light is scary! I would have liked the infrared system of the Elan II more

not really a weakness for me, but it may be heavy for the more casual photographer who doesnt realize that this is a serious camera not meant for vacation shooting

The best bang for your buck! The EOS system is great! I would recommend this camera to all except the most demanding professionals who are going to really abuse their equipment.

I think the only advantage that the N80 has is the lighted LCD display. The feature set of the Elan 7E is amazing for the price. The mirror lock up feature is great to see in a $500 body and really does make a difference in your photography.

I have used an EOS 3 many time and I think that the only advantage it has is durability. Save the $400 dollars and but some glass.

Great buy!

Customer Service

Not Needed

Similar Products Used:

N80

4f stops, mirror lock, depth of field preview, low noise, horizontal & vertical eye controll focusing.

10% spot meter.

Feature packed mid level camera, best value in it's class. It is light but solid, eye controll works very well, slide film is exposed properly. Waited for the Elan7 before purchasing N80, I'm glad I did.

Customer Service

very good.

Similar Products Used:

Canon & Nikon models.