feature rich, fast focusing, metal top and front shell, 4f stops, mirror lock, improved flash capabilities.

Low light auto focus assist strobe light.

Very pleased with all the features available withy the ELAN7E. The speed of the auto focus and the frames per second are improved over both the ELAIIE and the N80. Metering is dead on and the near silent operation is a plus when shooting both people and wildlife. The ELAN7E can be as automatic as a point and shoot, or as complicated as you want it to be when using all the custom functions available. The 420EX flash is great, it is much improved over the old 380EX, it is smaller and more powerfull plus it has the option of using it as a slave unit. Overall the flexibility of the EOS system and all the options available with it make this camera very hard to beat.

Customer Service

N.A.

Similar Products Used:

N70, N80, ELANIIE.

4 FPS
eye controll
very silent
user friendly
ergonomics
mirror lock
metering
price
size and weight
battery pack

Low light auto assist strobe.

If you don't have $1,200 to throw at a camera go for the Elan7e, it has many great features and the performance is up to par with cameras costing much more.
In some ways it out performs many pro cameras, such as in focusing speed, mirror softness, quiet operation, plus has some features missing in pro models such as: mirror lock and mid roll rewind.
I would definitely recommend it to a friend.

Customer Service

very good.

Similar Products Used:

N80, ElanII.

Eye Control Focus, E-TTL Flash, Control Layout, DOF button, Very accurate metering,Fast autofocus even faster with L or similar lens', Silent Silent Silent except for mirror slap.

Most people put down "no spot meter" but I find if you set custom function 8-1 and meter in partial using exposure lock then re-focus works great( may sound like a lot but becomes as easy as recomposing after focusing) no backlit display, no comand dial on BP-300. Bad placing of control dial for left eyed persons. That crazy AF assist but CF can fix that.

I really wish it had Metal film rails but I like the cameras layout and the ECF. Way faster than the Elan II in ECF, AF and winding. E-TTL is so easy and works great wireless. Lots you can do with this and not spend 1200$ on a body Eos-3. Get this camera if your moving up from a rebel or first-gen EOS'.

Customer Service

Good but short answers on-line.

Similar Products Used:

EOS 650, Elan IIe, Nikon N65

In no particular order:
[1] Metering: has been accurate, if not perfect with all 8 rolls (Extachrome 100S) shot so far in dawn to dusk conditions. BTW, all shots were bracketed - but that proved to be somewhat of an unnecessary waste of film – the first frame of the bracket was spot on each time. Nonetheless IMHO: auto bracketing = *confident* shooting = better shots.
[2] Fast access to common functions. Although, I got to thinking, if I ever lost my left hand in sawmill accident (or stole anything in Afghanistan for that matter), I could never operate this camera ! ;)
[3] DOF preview
[4] Mirror Lock Up: have not used it yet, but its very nice to know its there
[5] AF accuracy is second to none, AF speed good to very good (depends on glass)
[6] Last but not least: this *is* an EOS and you get to use EF#USM glass - and you can’t buy better (for the price).

[1] Viewfinder: not full coverage – you don’t fully appreciate ultra wide lenses ... also, it will be annoying when trying to compose panoramas that will be ‘stitched’ later.
[2] No Spot Meter – Yeesh ! They can include DOF and Mirror Lock but no Spot. I think even my K1000 had a spot meter. To whom it may concern at Canon marketing WRT this feature: get you head out of your &#$&$.
[3] Eye control – no big deal, maybe one day I will need it and learn to trust it, until then, it is probably good for resale value.

After a decade of yeoman (yeoperson) service from a 630 I am pleasantly surprised (so far) with this camera. CMOS or CCDs or whatever will make 35mm film completely obsolete before I outgrow this camera. Sure it is no EOS1 or F100, but I fully expect this will be the last film camera I ever need to buy.

Maybe this camera doesn’t know what it wants to be, but I do: something economical, reliable and competent behind my Canon glass. After all, if you a remotely serious about results, most of your money will go in front of the EF mount, not behind.

4.5 stars (sorry, 1/2 deducted for no spot, and a couple of other minor gripes)

ps. If you buy this camera, you must-must-must buy the BP-300 + Hand Strap

Customer Service

I once had a Canon typewriter that had a jammed carriage, and they fixed it without charge. Does that count?
Now, if only Nikon made typewriters, then we could really see who was "king of the world" ... ;) (apologies to James Cameron)

Similar Products Used:

EOS630 @ Home / F100, EOS1N, & EOSD30 @ Work / various other SLR and Point&Shoot crud that is not worth mentioning here.

Many features for the money, fast and quiet, very flexible system.

Low light auto assist strobe light.

Very good performance overall, focusing performance is fast and accurate. 4 frames per second is unheard of in it's class, so many custom functions that you can customize the Elan7e to fit your preferences. Battery pack and 420ex flash add to the already competent body which feels sturdy and well built. I tested the rest of the cameras offered by other manufacturers and found that the Elan7e not only offered the best performance but the EOS system leads the pack in the SLR market in new technology breakthroughs. Canon gives the beginner more availability to use the latest innovations such as Eye controll focusing, USM and IS. After weighing all the options available I chose the Elan7e and I highly recommend it to someone who want's the most performance, options and flexibility for the money.

Customer Service

Very good.

Similar Products Used:

N80, Elan IIe, N70

FPS, IS and L spec Lense's.

Marketing, Marketing, Marketing

I feel like a traitor on here but I was about to buy and F80 months ago and waited for the EOS 30 but after a 3 day trial with the EOS(thank you to my local camera shop for trusting me with it) I have just purchased a F80. Eye focus, yes jaw dropping technology but is it really that useful, I find it a pain sometimes because there are times when you want to look a subject that is not the main focal point and oops off it goes at a slight press of the shutter button. F80s "lock on" really negates the need for eye focusing anyway and the polymer LCD screen in the F80 is just as impressive. Build quality is not great, yes in the brochure it talks about metal top plates etc, but what about the film guide err I don't think so. Viewfinder display - truly crap, where the hell is the frame counter, autofocus mode or metering mode display. PIC modes - please - if your gonna spend £500 on a camera your really should know how to use it properly. Cheap USM lense's really are no quicker or quieter that Nikon, Minolta, Pentax etc and have little relation to the motors used in the L spec or Nikon Silent wave lense's - good marketing though calling them the same name. Still it is a really good camera though its just well it seems Canon really wanted it to look good in a brochure and cut corners elsewhere, where the F80 just seems to be designed for taking great photos. Sorry but I bought the F80

Customer Service

Not use

Similar Products Used:

EOS300, Dynax 7, EOS 3, F100, F80

Dioptric adjustment. Motordrive. Custom functions.

That strobe in low light!

What a dream camera! It feels solid enough and the controls have a very solid feel to them. Because I own an Elan (EOS 100), this camera was very simple to use and the layout is very intuative. The downside is the weaker built-in flash. The Elan had a poweful zoom flash and I miss that. The low-light AF assist has also been changed to the flash emmiting a disturbing stobe light which, I sorry to say, will scare the living daylights out of any subject standing in the dark ! Overall it is an improvent on the Elan and it is VERY quiet. A definte plus if you do wedding photography. Well done Canon.

Similar Products Used:

EOS Elan

ECF focusing
Mirror lock
4F stops
Metering
Silent operation
Soft mirror
Battery pack
Price

None

Great camera with many options to choose from. It is a great back up to my 1V. despite the lack of a spot meter The metering is dead on even in tricky situations.
Built quality is very good and it is very user friendly. I highly recommend this "beaut" of a camera for someone that want's to get serious about photography.

Similar Products Used:

None

*Speed
*Price for features ratio
*Metering
*Very Quiet
*MLU
*ETTL Flash
*Eye Focus!
*4 FPS
*Does not add an excessive amount of weight to the camera bag
*Fully compatible with the 550EX Flash.

*No True Spot Meter
*Lack of viewfinder information.
*Somewhat small. This is easily remedied with a BP300 Vertical Grip.

I am very pleased with this camera. After having read so many mixed reviews on the ECF feature, I was uncertain about buying an Elan 7E. Now I am very happy that I did. Yes, ECF can be a distraction at times. The important thing is to know when and when not to use it. If you are manually focusing, say for macro or long telephoto work, turn it off and manually select your focusing point. Off center focusing is virtually instantaneous with this camera. BTW, I wear eyeglasses and they have not slowed down or inhibited ECF whatsoever. Another thing about ECF I learned is to calibrate it for all of your lenses at various focal points under various lighting conditions. I use four lenses. Without sufficient calibration, the ECF will not work properly. Your pupil is going to react differently to the brightness of your viewfinder. ECF needs the necessary information to track these changes. Yes, despite all of the advances in 35mm SLR cameras, a photographer still needs to think every now and again. This camera is also very, very quiet. Turn off the beep if you don't like it and simply rely on the in-focus indicator in the viewfinder. This camera has metered excellently under a variety of lighting conditions. It may lack a true spot meter, but, so far, I have not needed one. 10% spot metering has worked fine for me. If you need a spot meter for your style of photography, do not buy this camera. I find having the MLU to be very important. I take alot of long exposures. For Macro work and night time landscape work MLU is a must. Unless you want to spend more on an EOS 3, consider this camera as an excellent way to grow into the world of 35mm SLR's. But don't buy this camera if you expect the world for under a $1000. For the money, this camera gives you almost everything you need. Can any Camera give you everything for $600? Let me know if you find one.

Customer Service

*I have had very good experiences with Canon service in the past. This camera needs no immediate service.

Similar Products Used:

*Canon EOS Elan II
*Pentax Spotmatic F
*Canon T50

Fast AF,

No true Spot Meter -1*. Metal cover ends at the hand grip, the bottom and the back -1*. Have to be in front of the camera to use the wireless remote controll -1*.

The AF is great but Eye Controll? (truely a gimmick) and USM is so quiet that you end up trading a little noise from the lens for an annoying beep to confirm focus. I know it's cancelable but what a great trap to get you to pay for a feature that doesn't need to be included. Besides, you can't get any quieter than manual focus. USM also jacks up the price of lenses. The metal body is what drew me in but I soon realized that it's not an essential part of durability anymore. I also needed a real Spot Meter more than a metal body so I returned it and went with another camera. Sorry but Canon might as well have just kept making the Elan II or traded the metal body for a true Spot Meter.

Customer Service

Canon's Cool

Similar Products Used:

Canon Elan II, Pentax ZX-7, Nikon N80, Minolta Maxxum 7.