I bought a 1N with power (or motor?) drive for $375 and it makes my 20D feel like a toy!!!! And if I ever get my lazy butt up to gear I can shoot IR film in it, but I have to learn how to develop film and buy the chemicals and tanks. No eye control though. My 20D focuses better in low light as far as I can tell though.
I should hope the 20D focuses better than a eos 1 or 1n, they're what, 20 years old now? I still use them on occasion when my elan 2e was acting up or I wanted something faster or 1/3 stops. Now that I have a 1VHS on the way, theres a great reason to go shoot some film
The Elan 7N/Ne kicks the Drebel's butt in terms of feel and usage. It's one of the cameras in my bag which I don't think I'll be getting rid of for a long, long time.
One point that may affect your decision: the film transport on the elan 7n uses a very precise system so that you can switch rolls midway through and get back to exactly the same frame. I do this very regularly (once every 8 rolls or so) and just trust the camera (fire off X shots with lenscap on at f/22 and 1/4000th) and the negatives are perfectly aligned, you can never tell where the film was swapped out and put back in. It doesn't matter how you far out you pull the leader when you load the film.
This is because it has an IR diode and sensor to detect markings on the edge of the film (I don't think it's sprocket holes, I think it's the little barcode-looking marks that film has to mark frames). Unfortunately this also means that you can't easily use infrared film on this body. It has no effect on other films (nobody would buy this camera if this diode actually fogged their velvia or ilford B&W!), and I have even heard of people using IR film in it (sometimes cropping fogging from the edge of the frame). Just keep it in mind if you care about IR photography. I thought about it a bit but in practice the ability to accurate switch rolls without having to waste an extra frame is more useful for me. If I shoot half a roll of ISO 800 at a party and then go outside in the blinding snow and sunshine, it's a nice feature to have
I would imagine that when shooting B&W, that you will take a careful and thoughtful approach instead of "machine gunning" you subject. If you do approach your shooting methodically, a basic Canon film camera that takes EF lenses is likely all you need, unless there are particular highe-end features your desire. Some of the older EOS bodies from the 90's or current Rebel models will likely meet your basic needs. I have a Canon Elan 7 that I purchased before I ever had a digital camera and shot maybe 3 rolls before retiring it. I tried to sell it on Ebay but couldn't get my price so decided to keep it. I'm glad I did, as I have a friend who likes film and accompanies me on my shoots. She has access to all my lenses, which is nice for her. If ever I need to shoot film, I will have a suitable film body.
Elan 7n (or in my case EOS 33V) is a great camera in most respects. It's especially good for landscapes with the 17-40L. Some things I miss:
- EOS 3's weather sealing
- 20D's arrangement of focus points
I find that to be useful I need the BP-300 with NiMH batteries inside, to get enough weight even for the 17-40L. I usually carry it around nowadays with the Kirk L-bracket attached, but it makes it a bit too heavy.
Also, the shutter of my camera appears to be failing, see an earlier post of mine.
ps. Yes, EOS 3 would be the perfect choice if I didn't also need a DSLR..
As previously pointed out, the Elan 7N/7NE can only bracket in 1/2 stop increments. If you're shooting slides you need to be able to bracket in 1/3 increments. I tried an Elan 7NE once and while I thought the eye control focus was fun (it is very important to calibrate it to YOUR eye in the SAME conditions you plan on shooting with it for optimal results) the 35 zone evaluative metering was just way off too much of the time compared to the 21 zone metering on my 1v. The EOS 3 actually came before the 1v and was the first to feature "advanced" features at the time like the 45 zone AF system, 21 zone evaluative metering, true spotmetering (another big advantage for composed shots like landscapes) and purportedly the same weather sealing as the older EOS 1N. It also came with eye control focus, which was later dropped on the 1v which came out afterwards because the latter has a different prism to give the nearly 100% viewfinder. However the price one pays for ECF on the EOS 3 is no diopter adjustment. So if all you plan on doing is shoot print film an Elan 7N/7NE would probably be fine because of its greater exposure latitude, but if you're a serious slide shooter the EOS 3 should get the nod. (BTW I went with the 1v because it has arguably the best weather seailing of any pro 35mm body ever, significantly better than the EOS-3). Because I use mine in a business, I bought it new to get the 3 year Canon factory warranty, and will go digital when the 3 years are up and I can get a full frame sensor at a more reasonable price ($8k for a 1Ds Mk II is wayyyyyyyy out of my league, but I'm a bit leery about buying used electronics like a 1Ds without a generous extended warranty since I take very good care of my cameras & cars).
I have been using the Elan 7's for about 2 years now... I have absolutely no complaints! They're a great camera. If you have big hands get the grip... I can't imagine shooting without it.
As far as the IR film transport goes.... It does fog the film, but only around the sprocket holes! Try it, you can shoot IR film with this body without any problems! I think Canon is just trying to cover there butts by saying it will fog the film! The EOS 1V fogs more of the film than what the Elan 7 does, but again only around the sprocket holes... at least from the samples that I've seen!
Brett, can you show me some samples of the IR film you shot? I've been messing around with T-max 3200 and also 400CN, but have yet to try out IR film yet. Might want to try it out for weddings.
Unfortunately I don't have any samples as yet that I can post... I was only made aware of the fogging around the sprocket holes a couple of weeks ago myself... I saw samples of IR film shot with the Elan 7 and the 1V.... Until then I had never bothered trying it because of what I read in the owner's manual about it fogging the film.
It's on my list of things to experiment with... But right now I'm working on my scanning and Photoshop skills
