Elan 7 vs. Elan 7E

[thomascanty]

All the forums I can find seem to be about digital photography only, and this looks like the best place for my question. I'm considering picking up a new film body as a backup, and am currently looking at the Elan 7. How useful is the Eye Control feature? Is it really worth the extra $70 or so to go with the 7E?

[PacAce]

I have the Elan IIe which is the model previous to the Elan 7e and I used the eye control all the time. The thing that I liked about it is that I could change my focusing point almost instantaneously just by moving my eyes to a new af point. A lot of people have complained that they didn't like the fact that the af point kept changing whenever they scanned the viewfinder to check the composition but that was never a problem for me. And it's not really as bad as some make it to be. First of all, the af point changes only when you look at a particular af box on the viewfinder and hold for a split second.

However, having said that, I should point out that the eye control is NOT for everyone. People who wear eye glasses won't really benefit from it. And if you're a sunglass wearer, you have to always remember to take your shades off before putting the camera to your eye. And, most importantly, the camera has to be "trained" for your eyes before you can use the eye control. If you don't, it's not goig to work very well for you.

Is it worth the extra money? You have to decide that. When I bought my camera, they gave me the QD (quartz date) model for the same price as the non QD model so the deal worked out very well for me.

BTW, you do know that the 7e has been replaced by the 7ne, right? Although I'm not sure if they're shipping yet. Nor do I know what the differences are between the new and the old models.

[thomascanty]

Thanks for the reply. That helps a lot! I do wear glasses, so I guess eye control may be a waste of money for me. I might be better off spending that extra $70 on the battery pack instead. If the calibration process isn't too involved, maybe I'll check with my local shop and see if they'll let me test one out just to be sure.

And, no, I didn't know it had been replaced. This is the first time I've heard of the 7n. I didn't see it mentioned on any of the sites I've looked at over the past couple days. I just took a quick look around again and the only site I see it on is Canon's own. I don't even see anyone taking preorders for it. I'll have to look into this one a little further before I decide.

Thanks again!

[PacAce]

Thanks for the reply. That helps a lot! I do wear glasses, so I guess eye control may be a waste of money for me. I might be better off spending that extra $70 on the battery pack instead. If the calibration process isn't too involved, maybe I'll check with my local shop and see if they'll let me test one out just to be sure.

And, no, I didn't know it had been replaced. This is the first time I've heard of the 7n. I didn't see it mentioned on any of the sites I've looked at over the past couple days. I just took a quick look around again and the only site I see it on is Canon's own. I don't even see anyone taking preorders for it. I'll have to look into this one a little further before I decide.

Thanks again!

I just took a look at my Elan IIe manual and it does not say that you can not use eye glasses. As a matter of fact, they go out of their way to say that if you do wear eye glasses, you have to make sure that it is positioned normally on your nose when calibrating the camera and when using the eye control after the calibration.

I've heard people who wear eye glasses complain that it didn't work for them so I just assumed that it didn't work with eye glasses. But then again, I've also heard that it doesn't work for people who wear contacts either but I wear contacts and it works just fine for me. So your idea of going to to a photo store and trying it out may not be such a bad idea after all.

[mson]

I have the Elan 7E and I LOVE the eye control. It is one of the features I miss most on the Digital Rebel. At first I was not sure how much I would like it, but it is nice to just glance at a point and have it focus rather than reframing the shot. I use it with and without my glasses. It works well with glasses, but I do notice that if my glasses slide down it can affect the accuracy.

The calibration is easy, so you should be able to check it out at a local shop.

[thomascanty]

I just took a look at my Elan IIe manual and it does not say that you can not use eye glasses. As a matter of fact, they go out of their way to say that if you do wear eye glasses, you have to make sure that it is positioned normally on your nose when calibrating the camera and when using the eye control after the calibration.

That sounds promising. I'll be going to my local shop tomorrow, so I'll give it a try. I've been looking through the brochure and manual for the 7NE from Canon's web site, and it doesn't look like they've actually changed all that much. I think I'll probably go with the older 7E since it's available now and will probably be cheaper. Thanks for the help!

[thomascanty]

I have the Elan 7E and I LOVE the eye control.

I'm sold. I'll definitely get the "E" version. Thanks!