Vastly improved (over Elan IIe and EOS A2e) eye-controlled focus. Extremely Quiet. Improved metering does better in backlit situations than the Elan IIe. Feels very comfortable in the hand (Actually feels more similar to the A2e and older Elan cameras than to the IIe.) Manual depth-of field button. Built-in eyepiece diopter. Faster (4 fps) motor drive.

Lacks the infra-red focus assist of the Elan IIe. The focus assist on the flash works but is annoying and inconvenient.

I think this will quickly become the camera I reach for most often. I used the eye-controlled focus on the Elan IIe often, but it was quite "picky" about the orientation of the camera to my eye. If I picked it up quickly and my eye was not exactly centered in the eyepiece, I had to adjust the camera position for the eye-controlled focus to work properly. The Elan 7e is much more forgiving in this respect- even with the additional 4 focus points. The eye-controlled focus is very quick and accurate - even for me and I have an absolutely awful eyeglass perscription. Calibration of the eye-controlled focus was very quick and easy. This camera is a definite winner - fast, quiet, and competent.

Customer Service

I've never had much of a problem with Canon products or service.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS Elan, Elan IIe, A2e, Nikon N6006, N8008, several other older Canons and Nikons

light, QUIET, easy to understand controls, Fast, Custom Functions
USM Lenses

no spot meter!
GOOFY AF assist rapid flash - very hard on subject's eyes - furtunately you can turn it off with a Custom Function

GREAT Camera! But, DO NOT get the CHEAPO 28-90 zoom, go for the 50 mm lens - you will get MUCH better photos! Then give yourself a treat and get a USM Lens like the 28-105 (WOW!!)

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F70 - I sold my Nikon stuff - got tired of the slow, noisy Autofocus - the CANON USM is WAY better!

Ergonomics- everything is where I want it to be. Comfortable weight. ECF. manual focus selector buttons. DOF preview button. Easy to manipulate.

No spot meter. Otherwise a great camera.

Great camera for a beginner to pro. Only lacks spot metering; this is easy enough to over come by metering closer to an object. Loaded with features. This camera allows me to work quickly in setting up and getting the image I want.

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

Many manual minolta's (101, x-9 and others)
Canon Elan 2e
Others as well but not for any extended periods

Light and sturdy construction, logical and functional control lay-out, wonderful lens options.

No disappoinments yet.

From a fully automatic point and shoot mode to a completely manual mode, all the in-between exposure and focus options make this is a very versatile mid-range 35mm SLR. The Nikon N80 seems seems functionally nearly identical, but I wanted the Canon 28-135 image-stabilized lens, and that actually made my selection. Choosing over the Elan IIE and A2E was easy once I learned those were being discontinued, and the Elan 7E is roughly half the price of the EOS 3 with all the functionality I could want.

Customer Service

No experience.

Similar Products Used:

Olympus IS-3 (dated) and Nikon N80.

Build quality, list of features, metal body, ergonomics

no spotmeter

To me, hands down best camera under $700.00. Long list of features, i.e. DOF, MLU, 4fps, well built. The ECF works great for me & very fast.
Very happy with this purchase.

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

Most EOS models, numerous Nikons & Leicas, Contax RX

Eye focus much improved. FPS for those who need it. Nice size. Joypad (similar to F80) works well for those who do not like ECF.

Lack of info in LCD and Viewfinder. Plastic feel. No spotmeter still!!.

A absolute great camera packed with every feature that is hampered by the perception of low quality, though it has performed flawlessly for me. The plastic is low rent (though it has metal top and bottom) and giving it the viewfinder display from the EOS300 is a serious misjudgement. It is if Canon almost wanted to lower the tone so it didn't take sales from the EOS 3. As a friend of mine says "Its good, but it should have been better"

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

EOS 300, EOS 50E, F80, Minolta 505si

Wonderful increase in quality and performance, better looking than old, more user friendly, stronger body construction, quieter, far better than even the old A2E

body is a little too small to get a good grip on without addon battery pack, black paint on metal case parts may scratch too easily, no spot meter (but no big deal, partial is enough), could have a better top display

Weaknesses I noted are nitpicky, nothing is perfect (except perhaps the new Contax N, but then Contax does not have that great image stabilization technology I need!), This is a great camera!

Customer Service

not needed yet

Similar Products Used:

EOS 1n, Contax G system, Minolta X-700

User friendly also feature rich. Fast and quiet

No spot meter

If you want a camera system that will give you excellent pictures combine this body, a Canon 28-135 IS zoom lens, and a Canon 550 EX flash and you can't go wrong. I just did exactly that and am I ever pleased with the results. Clear, sharp pictures. Inside and out. Day or night. What else could you ask for in a camera? My only complaint is in regard to the information about the macro function of the lens. I would like to know how to use that.

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon,Canon

ergonomics,eye controll
focus,4f stops,size,built quality,improved metering,low noise.

low light focusing,no spot meter.

This little camera packs a punch!
For what you pay,you just can't beat it.I own the
old Elan2e and this new Elan7e has many new inprovements such as;4f stops instead of 2.5,improved metering;35 zone instead 6 zone,faster mirror speed,quieter mirror,quiter film transport,built in dioptric knob,clearer viewfinder,7 focusing points instead of 3,faster focusing,true mirror lock, improved flash system,starting to get the picture?Only minus of the elan7e compared to the old;low light auto focusing,I don't like the new system,I prefer the old infrared system it is much more discreet than the way to bright strobe light that is emitted,in the new Elan7, but that is not such a big deal for me because in low light I use an external flash,that way I'm able to use the 420's infrared
auto focus assist system.
If you are looking to upgrade from a point and shoot camera or you already own an entry level slr but feel like you have outgrown your old system and are looking for top of the line performance at an affordable price then I would highly recommend the new Elan7e.
As for those who have waited for this camera before deciding between the N80 and the Elan7,I would recommend you check both cameras out before spending your hard earned money.In my opinion both the Elan7 or the 7e offer more features for your dollar.If you can't live without a spot meter then go with the N80,that is the only feature that the N80 has that is missing in the Elan7e.In my opinion the elan is a quieter faster and better built camera with more features that will help you capture that special moment.

Customer Service

Excellent.I once e-mailed them a question about IS function,They responded the same day.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N80,Canon Elan 2e,Canon EOS3.

Quiet camera operation for an SLR with hardly any noise of film advance. Good rgonomics. DOF preview button. 7 point ECF. Nice all-black look! Compact size for semi-pro camera. Fast to focus and Auto-focuses better in low light (without AF-assist) than older models. Lighter and smaller to carry around the neck than a comparable priced EOS 5. Plus 4 FPS and a +/-2 stop inbuilt flash exposure control. The camera feels solid, regardless of some plastic switches/dials.

Being critical, here goes...
- The grip could be slightly larger like the EOS 100.
- Low Light AF assist by the flash is ridiculous.
- why not stick with the infra-red system. You can disable it in the Custom Functions, but it is a hassle to quickly enable it again if you need a quick shot.
- No spot meter!!
- No quick AE lock in Manual Mode which is in the other modes. Some may think this not necessary, but it is helpful in certain conditions.
- Evaluative Metering mode exposes for what focus point is in focus, which is great, but a CF option for disabling this feature would be handy. Putting your lens in manual focus cancels this however.
- Why there is no "mirror up, 2 second timer" option in the CF settings like the previous model beats me. This was handy for tripod shots with no remote.
- Very quiet camera.. so why a noisy pop-up flash activation. (though you can manually lift up the flash quietly by hand)
- Auto-bracketing is held in memory, even if changing modes or turning off the camera. If you lift up the flash though, say for AF-assist, it cancels your settings even when you put the flash back down.
- It would have been nice to also see in the viewfinder display what metering mode the camera is in, though it does show it on the LCD panel.

When reviewing cameras I tend to be critical with seems to reflect all the negatives about a camera, as Canon could have done better fixing some of those weaknesses mentioned above. So don't get the wrong impression - this is a great camera, full of many useful features. It's a QUIET camera, bar the noise of the auto pop-up flash activation. Living without the spot meter is ok, but no excuse for the others topics mentioned. If you took the best from the 50e and 30, and put them into one camera like I was expecting to happen, it would have been a dynamite camera. The main improvements from the 50e to the 30 are 7 focus points vs 3, the 4 fps vs 2.5 fps, much quieter and 35 cell metering system, plus the easily accessible DOF preview button.

It's also lighter, a tad smaller and looks great in all black with alloy body. One great CF feature is you can make the dial-wheel arrow buttons used directly to control which focus point, but unfortunately in this mode you can not toggle back to "all focus points" like you can in other combinational modes. The 7 point ECF works very well and has 5 user settings. The use of dials for quick user changes, instead of button pushing enables you to quickly change settings and 'see' what the camera is on.

Overall, this is an great camera for the semi-pro and even the beginner in photography, as you can gradually learn from the basic features until you can exploit and master the advanced features. Because of Canon's omittance of some tiny features, I give it a 4 out of 5 for value, but an overall 5 rating!

Customer Service

N/A yet

Similar Products Used:

- EOS 500n
- EOS 50e
- EOS 100