BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: 35mm Cameras

Which canon, Elan 7 or 7E

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July 13, 2002

I have not used an auto-focus camera much; only the other half's P&S a very few times to shoot a frame or two with it at her request. In using my SLR's and RF's I scan the entire viewfinder image looking at details everywhere; especially where frame edges are, what's just inside/outside them and how the frame is aligned with them. This is in addition to the attention the subject material receives. I am a stickler for total image composition and work at truly "seeing" a photograph. Not certain where an eye controlled AF system would take me or how much it would demand changes in how I use a viewfinder.

Examine how *you* are currently using a viewfinder, what you're looking at in it, where you are looking related to shutter release, and how cumbersome you've found it in the past to control where the AF system locks. It would require me to change how I use a viewfinder. I would want to play with both models for a short time to see how natural using the 7e "eye control" feels versus the focus lock method in the 7. If you find the eye control easier, the other question is how often you're shooting subject material that would make it easier when using the 7e to lock focus.

-- John

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July 14, 2002

Thanks for the reply. Sorry it took me so long to reply, I have been out on a little vacation. I shoot a lot of landscape so my subjects are not going to run away from me or anything like that so I dont think eye control is what I need. Thanks for all of your help.

-Darrin

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July 22, 2002