Summary: I just love my Elan 7!

Comment: After living with a manual focus camera for 20 years, I'd splurged and bought myself the Canon Rebel and a couple lenses. I was happy with it, but it lacked some features I was seeking. Enter the Elan 7. Oh my! Once I learned how to use the multiple frame feature, there was no stopping me! I stopped getting so-so shots of my sons in their soccer games, and was getting at least one spot on perfect out of the two or three. This alone makes the camera worth its price for me, but there are other aspects I like as well.

The camera just feels solid to me. My Rebel was lightweight, but I always worried that came with a price. I use my camera often in an active way, hiking in our bluffs, riding my bike through the wetlands and cross country skiing in the rare years we get enough decent snow cover. The camera can handle these kinds of conditions, and I've always had nice photos come back to me. I also appreciate the very high shutter speeds it affords me. I've nearly stopped the action of hovering hummingbirds with this camera, it's that fast. It's also fairly quiet as SLRs go, another plus for those who need that feature. The rewind is almost silent, which helps when I am stalking birds and my film runs out, as it invariably does.

There were a few little glitches in going from the Rebel to the Elan for me. Although they are both EOS cameras, one can't assume that the Elan is just a more expensive Rebel and will operate as such. For one thing, the film counter system is completely reversed. The Rebel counts down, the Elan counts up.
The benefit to this is that I always get 25 exposures with my Elan, whereas 24 was the max with the Rebel. Yes, film is cheap, but it does add up!

Also, the creative controls work differently. I'd become very used to setting the Rebel to under or over expose, and needed to relearn the way to set that with the Elan. On the plus side, with the Elan, there is a setting that will allow for autobracketing, so that you can achieve the same thing with less thought, once you know that setting.

The kit lens was a nice plus as well. My Rebel had 35mm as its widest angle, and the 28mm allows a little more range for me. I've had my Elan now for three years, and I am still learning to take full advantage of all it has to offer. From a camera junkie, that is high praise indeed.

Summary: My main camera

Comment: I bought this as my first (and as of now, only) auto-focus SLR. I'm generally pleased with the camera: the metering is fine and it's fairly problem free.

I do have one gripe: low-light focusing. Unless you have an attached flash (I use a 550 Speedlite), low-light focusing is a pain. It doesn't come with a built-in infra-red light for such situations and instead, fires the flash like a strobe. Not exactly inconspicuous.

Other than that, a good camera for more experience amatures like myself.

Summary: Excellent camera!

Comment: I purchased the Elan 7 about two months ago as a refurbished unit. Unfortunately, the camera had a defective feature button. But the problem was quickly resolved by sending the camera back for a replacement.

Since then, I have shot quite a few rolls of film. I have been impressed with each roll (except the ones I screwed up by not being careful). The metering is fairly accurate- I feel I can trust what it tells me. While in manual focus, however, it only meters the center focusing point, which can be a pain at times. But, the metering is displayed in both the viewfinder and the LCD display, which is quite handy.

The camera is loaded with features- more than I really need. If you need help taking pictures, this camera is for you. It has a setting for almost every circumstance of shooting. I prefer the manual mode, which gives the user complete control.

The included lens is nice. Certainly not the best lens out there, but for starters it works great. The auto-focusing happens instantly, but beware it has a hard time in low light. One bonus is it goes down to 28mm, nice and wide. And you can zoom to 100mm within about a foot of a subject, bringing things really to life on prints. The drawback is it only stops down to f/4.5 at 28mm, f/5.6 at 100mm. It would be nice if it would open up a bit more.

Also, it has an electronic shutter. So, if you're planning on doing astrophotography or very long exposures, plan on bringing extra batteries or shop for a different camera.

So far, I have no standing complaints about this camera. It's built well, is rather light and feels good in my hands. It's quiet, fast, and leaves little to be desired in features. I recommend this camera for anyone who is beyond 'point & shoot' and is looking to take their photography to the next level.

Summary: Excellent versitile SLR for amateurs

Comment: The Elan 7 is an excellent, high quality SLR camera for amateurs, particularly those who are learning more advanced SLR techniques. One of the things I appreciate the most about the Elan 7 is that it switches easily between manual and automatic modes for those times when the amateur needs to have the reliability of an automatic mode. Also, there is a broad range of Canon lenses available for this body which also switch easily from manual to automatic for such occasions. I've found that I've been able to hand my Elan 7 off to others (who can sometimes barely use an automatic 35mm camera) while traveling and still get excellent photographs. On the other hand, the control offered by this camera in manual mode is unparalleled by other consumer SLR cameras such as the EOS.

The Elan 7 is the best SLR I've owned. While I've not owned an EOS, I have used an EOS. I highly recommend spending the extra money for the Elan 7 for those amateurs who strive to test their abilities with the more advanced manual modes. The EOS, however, may make a better "first" SLR camera for those who are trying SLR photography for the first time.

Summary: Great EOS camera

Comment: I've been "into" photography for a very long time. I started out with a Mamiya-Sekor 35 mm SLR. That camera was built like a tank and could take a lot of abuse. Its best feature, however, was that it was an all-manual camera and so I had to learn about exposure from the ground up. I did not trust auto-exposure cameras but eventually I broke down and bought a Minolta XE-7. That camera shared its body, and many other features, with the Leica R3. Again, like the Mamiya, the XE-7 was a solidly built and rugged camera but its aperture-priority mode had its limitations. Then the Minolta X700 came along and it featured dual-mode exposure automation. The Minoltas were both great cameras, but I wanted a little bit more.

When AF hit the market I switched over to a Canon EOS 10s because I liked it better than anything else that Minolta had to offer 10 years ago. I am glad that I did.

That was my entry into the EOS world. I recently bought my son a Rebel GII and the same week I bought the EOS Elan 7. I love the camera.

The EOS Elan 7 is a smooth, quiet and easy to use camera. It takes great pictures, under almost all conditions. It has features to satisfy the "pro wanna-be" in me (I can run the camera in full manual mode and the camera is still very fast and responsive). Or, if I am feeling particularly lazy, I can let the camera's brain do all the thinking for me and I still get great pictures over 99% of the time. The controls are easy to use and the functions are all very intuitive, so that I don't have to carry the manual with me at all times. In fact, after having used the EOS 10s for so long, the Elan 7 feels right at home in my hands. The Elan 7 has definitely cured me of my "Nikon-envy."

I followed the salesperson recommendation and bought the standard 7 model, w/o the eye focusing feuture. I am glad that I did because I can now use the extra money to buy accessories such as the battery grip.