JohnJ
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sirimiri wrote:
Meh, I don't agree there.
It's quite portly, and doesn't do anything that my Nikon FM2n does at a fraction of the cost, weight and size. When it comes to using batteries, the EOS-1N/V has a built-in motordrive and 100% VF coverage, plus autofocus. So you have this odd beast which is partially electronic, but not really "modern" per se, nor was it truly "retro" or old-school enough to be compelling as a nearly-all manual body (batteries!).
Basically, a lot of the reasons the R-line went away, it was not equipped to be a modern SLR, nor dSLR, when compared to it's market peers. Having a high-quality body, smooth action, nice touches like dampened DOF preview release, etc. at the price the R8/9 was, isn't going to be viable in the long run.
Not that SLRs aren't light-tight boxes with feature sets built into them, not that spectacular or equally craptacular images can't/couldn't/aren't made with R8/9 cameras, but frankly it stuck in an odd market position.
But, oh, those few R-lenses I've used!
Summicron 50 ROM, Canon 5Dii (hope I didn't post this earlier in the thread)
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/1074/peekaboog.jpg...Show more →
People will always disagree about this kind of thing. It's like argueing about your favourite colour.
The R8/9 has a very smooth yet accurate/sensitive shutter release and an extremely well damped body that always allowed me about a stop lower hand holding ability over other slr's I've used. The precision of the shutter release, great viewfinder (very accurate and easy to focus, but not 100% coverage), excellent ergonomics (never any need to take your eye off the viewfinder) are the main things that set it apart. For example, you can switch metering pattern (ie spot metering, mulit area or centre weighted average) without moving your eye from the viewfinder, which you can't do with a 1V or cameras where a sequence of buttons must be used. Minor quirks like this make the R8/9 easier and faster to use in many applications. Yes, a camera is a camera is a camera and some times we assign different values to features based on the particular way we like to work, I don't care for AF for example but to others this is a black and white comparison where any camera with AF is better than any camera without.
I had a FM2n (it's just a camera, nothing special at all, I didn't keep it for too long) and I still have (actually a couple) of Canon 1V's. The 1V is the best film camera ever made IMHO but the main thing it has over the R8/9, ignoring AF, is a finer and there fore more accurate spot meter which made exposing E6 film a bit more reliable in very tricky conditions. I don't usually use AF so clearly that's a non issue for me, I just don't care that it's there and I never shoot at 10fps, even though I have a 1VHS too. If you are just interested in 'features' then there are many many cameras that are cram packed with them but that doesn't make them a great camera. Useability and the results are what matter to me. The R8/9 is a great camera to use, despite it's odd looks.
I used the R8/9 professionally (full time) for about 3-4 years and then went to using Canon 1v's. The R8/9 is a beautiful camera depending on how you work and the subjects you shoot, but it's clearly not a PJ or sport camera.
JJ
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