Newsgroups: rec.photo
From: acs@csri.toronto.edu (Alvin Chia-Hua Shih)
Subject: Re: Elan "better" than 10s?
Date: 3 Jan 93 10:26:53 GMT

In <C09HMu.JJJ.2@cs.cmu.edu> rane+@CS.CMU.EDU (Aaron Hughes) writes:

>You may remember me - I asked about the 8008s vs the 10s a while
>ago - well, I've ruled out the 8008s as being too expensive
>at the moment and narrowed it to the Elan or the 10s. From what I
>understand, here are the differences between the 10s and Elan:

Ah.  Sending we poor Canon EOS people into battle with the Nikon
camp, and now trying to create unrest among ourselves!!! :-)

>Elan                      10s
>----                      ---
                 [...]
>                          sturdier construction
                            ^--arguable

 quiet film drive
                           3-segment OTF metering
 6-zone evaluative meter   8-zone evaluative meter
 6.5% partial metering     8.5% partial metering
 Exposure comp. scale 
    in viewfinder

>Has anyone out there already made this choice? What made you 
>go one way or the other?  [...]

Well, I haven't made this choice, but then again, anyone who
only has *one* of the two can't really give objective advice
on both anyway.

I think it comes down to this:

The 10s has some extra custom functions, some of which are handy:
autofocus start (i.e. AF lock), film leader out.  The big deal is
the 3-segment TTL flash which may be useful in tricky situations.
Some like the intervalometer.

The Elan is a quieter, friendlier camera which should be fine for
general shooting.  The quietness may allow you to go into weddings
and whatnot and not be objectionably loud.  (A big advantage in my
mind.)   Also the QCD combined with the exposure compensation scale
combined with centre-weighted metering should make the Elan a much
better "hands-on" camera.

Film leader out would be nice, but there are film-leader retrieval
tools, and you run the risk of botching a bunch of shots winding
the film back on, or scratching the film.  So, I wouldn't use it
that much anyway.  AF lock is useful every so often.

The 10s has been around long enough that you can actually find
these used.  As much as $100 less than a new Elan (if you look
*real* hard).

>                   [...]  From what I understand, the 430 ez
>has the same functions as the Elans builtin flash, with more
>power behind it (and the abilty to bounce/swivel). Is there 
>anything I'm missing? Thanks.
>                            
The 430EZ has the "A-TTL" program which allows the flash to
tell the camera that it can stop down for more DOF.  (How this
works is described in the EOS FAQ and the "Speedlite Reference
Guide".)

It also has:
 - manual power settings down to 1/32
 - stroboscopic flash
 - ability to be driven from a high-voltage pack
     A big plus, since it's hard to get 4 nicads to last a
     roll of 36.  Also allows recycling the flash in 1 or 2
     seconds!  Some places rent these things out, so you don't
     have to run out and buy one.
 - exposure compensation

Can any Elan owner tell me if the flash exposure compensation on the
body affects the flash?  From the looks of things, the A2 has this
feature, which means you can use something like a 3rd-party flash or a
Speedlite 200E and still change the fill ratios.  Though the 200E isn't
a big deal, it would be nice to be able to change the fill ratio with
some 3rd party hammerhead units.

The summary: the Elan is a nicer "hands-on" camera, the 10s a nicer
"hands-off" camera.  One winds more quietly.  One winds faster.
I don't think you'll be disappointed either way.

ACS

-- 
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|   |   | __|"The Nikon lens owners are more gratingly smug, while the     |
| - | --|__ | Canon lens owners are more verbally abusive." - Tony Arnerich|
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Newsgroups: rec.photo