Built quality, speed, noise level, fast flash sync (upto 1/4000), ECF, mirror lockup, great battery pack BP-300

No spot meter (but not that useful, see below), no LCD illumination

I used to worry a lot about the lack of spot meter on the Elan 7E compared to N80. Not any more!! On the other hand, N80 doesn't have a 10% partial meter either!! Which one is better? Well, for me, when I use spot meter, I end up pointing the meter at AND around the area I want the correct exposure and average it. No way to can get the correct exposure from the meter reading on just one point!! It means 10% partial meter on this camera will take care of the averaging for me. Imagine if you're in hurry and not careful with the 1% spot meter point on N80, you will easily end up with as much as -2 to +2 incorrect exposure!! ECF (Eye control focus) on this camera works really well & fast!!! The BP-300 really adds a much better feel to this camera. The last thing I like about this camera is the faster flash sync upto 1/4000 sec (N80 doesn't have this feature!). It is extremely useful feature for flash work with telephoto lens or shallow DOF with large aperture.

Customer Service

No need yet

Similar Products Used:

Rebel 2000, Nikon N80

solid feel and light, 4f stops, mirror lock, quiet operation, eye controll, focusing speed.

Strobe light emitted when shooting in very low light.

Looked at the N80 when I decided to upgrade my camera, but waited once I heard that Canon was coming out with the new Elan7e, I would have purchased the N80 but the Elan7e has a couple of features that the N80 doesn't have like; mirror lock, 4f stops, eye controll focusing, mid roll rewind function and a more practical battery pack. Both cameras are very good, if you already own many lenses from Nikon I would recommend you go with the N80, if not give the Elan7e a serious look, you will be pleased with all the options you get for the price.

Customer Service

never needed.

Similar Products Used:

Rebell G, ElanIIe, N80, Elan7e.

Eye controll focus, mirror lock, 4f stops, ergonomics, silent operation, depth of field preview button, battery pack.

low light focusing strobe light, to bright.

Started my photography with Canon equipment, thought about switching to Nikon for a mid class camera. Looked at the N80 but waited for the Elan7e to come out , I'm glad I did! The Elan7e gives me more camera for the money. Many features that the Elan7e has can only be found in more expensive cameras: such as 4f stops, mirror lock, depth of field preview, slave flash option. This camera delivers the best performance in the mid class range.

Customer Service

excellent.

Similar Products Used:

Rebel 2000, ElanIIe, N80, Elan7e.

Beautiful ergonomics, extremely accurate metering, wireless flash control, sturdily built, fast film transport.

I wish that optional vertical grip had complete controls. No spotmeter

Elan II was great, but Elan 7 shadows it completely. Elan 7 handles and works like a charm, and wireless flash control makes it serious camera for studio shooting. Beautiful camera, highly recommended.

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

Most of Canon products, some Nikons (starting from N90).

Aperture stop down, fast sync, big AF coverage area.

inside build is poor, flash is too low, inconvenient controls, eye-point isn't good enough for my glasses. ECF is iffy.

Not the wonder camera devoted Canon fanatics on the net thinks it is. Has more features than competitor, but the extra features are mostly of the seldom used and not very important type. Things like control placement and handling are more important. Wish it had aperture and shutter imprinting.

Customer Service

None needed so far

Similar Products Used:

EOS-50, EOS-100, F-401

Eye control focus- its quick and very accurate BUT only if you calibrate it correctly, 4 fps , well built, choice of focus and metering modes,very quiet camera, good price

Autofocus assist

Eye control works like a charm after calibrated correctly, 4 fps is quick for a camera of this price, very quiet, great set of features (mirror lock, DOF preview, midroll rewind). Great price considering all the features

Customer Service

very polite Canon representative at camera store when bought, very knowledgeable

Similar Products Used:

All Rebel models, Canon AE-1, Nikon 6006s

Price, Quality, Ease of Use, Speed of focusing, Eye Control

ONE:- The central bottom focus point rarely functions when solely covers the closet object e.g. an object 3m from you is contrasty and covers the bottom middle focus point, yet the camera will ignore it and focus on a more distant object such as 10m away. Point the centre focus square at the near object or use eye control and it will focus on the close object. This is with an easy to focus object.
TWO:- the two widest focus points (Left and Right) are of a much lower standard compared to the other 5, often failing to find focus on a subject which the others have no trouble with, even when using eye control.
I tried another eos30e camera in the supplying shop and it had the same faults. I question if a fault which Canon has on all 30's or just on a small batch.
THREE:- i bought a 70-200f4 and 28-105 to go with it, when i put a lens on for the second time it jammed, taking a minute or two to gently coax off. This did not reoccur, but didn't give me much confidence in the camera.

I took it back and will probably get an EOS3, purely because it only had 4 good focus points out of the 7. I may have been an isolated case for the focus problem, and the lens jam is just bad luck. It will be interesting to see if others have these issues. I would give a 5 if it weren't for the focus trouble.

Customer Service

Poor, they wouldn't discuss the focus problem as to whether its normal or not. Instead they said I could send it off for 3 weeks to be checked or I should ask the shop for a refund.

Similar Products Used:

EOS3, EOS300, EOS5

light, compact, and when combined w/ a 28mm lens and the vert grip, it can take some of hte clearest most awe inspiring photos i have ever seen. really! the body construction can fool alot of people. it really isn't as bad as everybody fears. it is definately durable enough. mirror lock up, and the whisper drive is nice. spot meter is not necessary w/ this model....i swear it isn't

metal top cover can, like i said, can fool people. i only put this as a weekness because of some others have complained about it, and i can see where they are coming from

Overall i find that the 7e provides all the features that i need for a solid back up body. the 7 point AF is adequate, and is relatively dead on in low light situations. This model is marketed as an intermediate body, but i disagree. It is so feature rich, and the technology is top of the line. Only the price makes it fall into the intermediate catagory. I know a handful of professional photographers that have chosen to use the 7e as their back up body. After using nikon for so many years, i have to say..canon has won me over w/ this one. im not giving up my f5 as my work camera body, but i think i'll have the 7e for a long time. As back up, and as my travel camera.

Customer Service

N/A ...haven't needed it yet.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F5, F100 : Canon A2e(which isn't as dependable as the 7e)..

Extremely easy to use Ergonomics
Very quiet
4 frames per second
mirror lock
depth of field preview
35 zone metering
420 flash
battery pack

low light auto assist light.

Love this camera, it outperforms my old ElaIIe in many ways such as; 4 frames per second, better mirror lock, 35 zone metering, quieter operation, faster auto focusing speed. I have no regrets about the Elan7e, it's a camera that I can grow with for many years to come. This camera coupled whith the 28-135mm IS and the 420 flash is a great photographic system.

Customer Service

very good, so far very quick and responsive.

Similar Products Used:

Rebel 2000, ElanIIe

Price.
Features.
Lens availability.
User interface.

Low-light AF flash-assist.
A bit small for my hands ... and I'm not a big guy.
Would be nice to have an illuminated LCD like the Maxxum 7 or N80.
No spot meter, but I've heard many arguments for the simplicity of Canon's light metering modes.
Red eye reduction is a joke.

I was looking for an entry-level camera so that I could learn photography (Nikon N65 and Rebel2000). After much research, I decided to purchase a mid-level camera that I could "grow into" feature-wise.

I had my mind set on the Nikon N80 ... but then I heard about the Elan 7E and decided to wait for it to hit the stores. I'm glad I waited. Now, I don't want to start a holy war here, but I must say that the 7E is a better camera all-around than the N80! The user interface is simple and easy to navigate. I like having 4fps (versus 2.5fps in the N80) to play with. Mirror lock-up is a huge plus as well. The eye control feature is a nice feature - it helps you maintain your concentration instead of fiddling with a cursor to select a focus point - but not necessary. Also, Canon has many more lenses to choose from when compared to Nikon.

I spent the extra money and purchased the 28-135 USM IS lens from B&H ($480 including shipping). I'm glad I did. This is a small body and it's hard to get a good grip and hold it steady with a large lens. I'm convinced that the IS saved my butt today when I took candid shots at a wedding. It's amazing - you flip the IS switch, hold the shutter button down halfway, and the image FREEZES in your viewfinder! The optional battery pack should help leverage-wise to hold the body steady with large lenses as well. A 50mm 1.4 is on its way as I write this.

One major complaint is that I cannot manually set the film speed when using the built-in "modes." If you want to set film speeds, you have to go into the custom/program modes. If I'm mistaken here, please e-mail me.

I also had bad luck with the red eye reduction. I took several shots (with flash) with the red eye reduction enabled and I still got MAJOR red eye on all of my blue-eyed subjects. Not cool. I'm still trying to figure out what happened.

Overall, I recommend this camera. The 7E with the 28-135 USM IS lens is a killer system. If you have the money, get a 420EX speedlight and the optional battery pack.

Chris Gröos

Customer Service

None so far.

Similar Products Used:

Canon Rebel 2000
Nikon N80
Nikon N65