I own a Minolta X 700 (great Camera, but no AF) with some Minolta primes and I am now thinking of buying a new camera. I am an ambitionist amateur and I canīt decide between EOS 300 (Rebel 2000) and EOS 30 (Elan 7). The eye-controlled-focus of EOS 30 (Elan 7) is quite nice. Another thing is the shutter speed: EOS 300 1/2000 compared to 1/4000 (EOS 30). But is that worth about 300 $ (EOS 300 costs 300$; EOS 30 costs 600$)? Are there any other important (!) differences between these bodies? What do you think about it? (sorry for my probably bad english). Martin

-- Martin Funke (funke@fundus.ws), August 20, 2001

Answers

The Rebel family is aimed at those who want a small, light, auto-everything SLR, with the possibility of having some manual control if you decide you want to. There are some limits on how much control you can have; for example, in fully manual mode, you only have one dial with which to control both shutter speed and aperture (you can change both, but have to set a control to tell it which one you want to change now).

The Elan is aimed higher - partly at those who liked their first taste of an SLR with a Rebel but want to move up, and partly at those who are coming from older MF cameras that gave them full control. It can do everything just as automatically as the Rebel can, but it also gives you much more scope for taking control. For the above example, the Elan has two dials, so you can set shutter speed and aperture without having to press any buttons to tell it what you want to do now.

There are plenty of differences besides what you've mentioned. For example, the Elan's motor drive will do 4 frames per second, or 3.5 fps with continuous autofocus; the Rebel can't go above 1.5 fps. You should be able to find lists of features for these two cameras on a variety of Web sites, including Canon's sites in various countries and in the feature comparison table at http://www.photozone.de/

I bought an Elan II (EOS 50) as a replacement for an older fully-manual SLR. I was happy with it, and I have since upgraded to an Elan 7e (in large part to get eye-controlled focusing and the extra focus points - the Elan II only has 3 points). I'm sure I would have found a Rebel to be a bit confining.

I don't know a lot about the X700, but I suspect you would also find the Rebel a step backwards in terms of control (though certainly it's a big step up in a lot of features).

-- Steve Dunn (steved@ussinc.com), August 20, 2001.

My advice would be that since you are familiar with photography (and exposure, with the camera you have), the EOS 30/33 would be the best choice. I had a rebel IIs, and found that to limit me as I got more serious. I think you're already to the point where you never need venture below "L" on the command dial (full auto idiot modes live below L, real modes live above L). This is where you'll really appreciate what the 30 has to offer over the 300.

Other important differences? The 30 is better built, and will feel better to use, especially with larger lenses. It is a more capable camera overall.

-- Isaac Sibson (isibson@hotmail.com), August 21, 2001.

I'd definitely go with the Elan7(E). I've used an EOS 1000FN for about 8 years, and a Rebel 2000 briefly. I'm now using an Elan 7E and the difference is amazing. Shutter response is great, the camera feels solid, eye control focus is useful, the custom functions give you some useful options. It does a lot of things that the Rebel 2000 doesn't, and things that both cameras do (autofocus response, light sensitivity, etc) it does better.

For me, and any keen photographer, the extra cash is very well spent.

-- Marcus (citizensmith@lanset.com), August 22, 2001.

Thank you very much for your help. I have read a lot of articels about EOS 30 and 300 in the meantime. It seems as if most people strongly recommend on buying the EOS 30 instead of 300. The most important difference between these two models seems to be the more solid construction of the 30 / Elan 7. Now I am thinking about a different approach. For the price of an EOS 30 it is possible to buy a used EOS 5. I canīt imagine that I will ever need the more advanced flash-system of EOS 30, so this might be a good alternative. Any comments? Martin

-- Martin Funke (funke@fundus.ws), August 23, 2001.