So a quick question about cameras...

[solarbird]

I took my film camera to Japan. I've never really enjoyed using it, though it's a very good camera. (Canon EOS Elan, bought right about a year before digital started to get serious. My timing, not so good.) I also took Paul's old 4MP digital that I use all the time.

I ended up with 2700 exposures on the digital and zero (0) on film. I never even took the film camera out of the case. Clearly, nice lens set or not, it's time for it to Go. And if I'm going to purely digital I may as well do it right and hit the eject button for real and start fresh. But I'd rather get more money for it - and particularly its nice set of lenses - than less! So I thought I'd ask you lot.

[Poll #1055086]

ETA: lisa_marli had a very reasonable suggestion about selling just the body and buying a new digital body instead. I discuss that below, in the comments. That was in fact my plan at one point, but I've really figured out that that's not the direction I want to go anymore. At least, not for a while. And even if I did, I couldn't afford it; I'd be better off holding onto the Elan film body and shooting Fuji 400 instead. ^_^ So it's simpler cameras for me now.

Comments

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

Buy a Digital Camera Body that takes the same Lenses as the EOS Elan (they probably exist) and sell the body.
That way you can keep the lenses you like.
A lot of the pros are doing that and the digital bodies are getting affordable.
But since a lot pros still like film (ask didjiman), I would suggest eBay to sell the body.

[solarbird]

They do, and the cheapest is the Digital Rebel, at $700. However, it's a small-sensor back and would be annoying and weird with the lenses. Also, I don't have $700 right now - we're still paying off my medical bills from when I was hit by a car last year, and will still be doing so for another several months - and wouldn't come close to having $700 from the sale of my old film Elan body.

The cheapest of the full-size sensor cameras - the kind that work best with my lens set - is the Canon EOS 5D at $2700. Photo.net calls it "the best camera for most advanced amateurs and professionals." This is kind of the digital equivalent of my old Elan, in terms of market positioning, but is significantly more expensive than the Elan was, still. So that's not happening either.

But most importantly, probably, is that I really seem to be really out of that phase of photography. At least for a while. I want something kind of like what I have now, only better. Small, reasonable picture quality (assuming you think my photos are of reasonable quality), with manual modes (I do use them on this camera - manual focus, manual ASA, manual shutter and aperture settings) and higher than the 4mp resolution I have now. Improved red handling would be a big bonus too. That's this camera's weakest element.

I've kind of discovered I really like photography a lot better with a simpler camera; I enjoyed film more in the late 90s with my full-manual metal-body SLR than I ever did with dealing with the complexities of the Elan, better lenses and automatic modes or no. So that's more of where I'm headed, I think.

[alinsa.livejournal.com]

FWIW, if you have lenses for the standard EF-mount Canons (which does include the Elan line), they work *just great* with the digitals. The difference -- the only difference -- is that whatever focal length is written on the lens, you multiply it by 1.6. Beyond that, they work *exactly* the same. So don't think your lenses are holding you back, unless your main interests lie in the *really* wide-angle stuff.

(Matter of fact, out of the various cameras and lenses we own down here, we own exactly zero digital-specific Canon lenses)

You could get a used digital body for not too bad... I wouldn't think something like the old Canon D30 would cost more than, oh, $350 used (I haven't looked recently), and though it's only 4Mp, it's a *good* 4Mp. Down here we still use that as one of our primary shooting bodies, and have nothing but praise for it.

Of course, that doesn't address your other issues, but...

*snuggles*

[chirik.livejournal.com]

Not an answer to your question, but depending on the lenses you have for it, I might be interested in part or all of the setup, since I use Canon.

[solarbird]

Okay. Talk to me on the MUSH?

[stickmaker.livejournal.com]

The EOS Elan is a very good camera from what I've read. Don't have any personal experience with them, since my equipment is Minolta.

I haven't shot much film this year, taking almost all my photos with the Sony Alpha I bought after last Christmas. I like that camera so much I'm hoping to buy one of the new 12.2MP prosumer-level Alphas at this year's after-holidays sale.

However, I'm keeping my 35mm cameras, all three bodies and their lenses and flashes. It's not like they'll go bad in storage, and film can still do some stuff digital can't (though that margin gets smaller every year). Also, unless a film camera body is some rare collectible it won't bring much.

So unless you have a serious motivation to get rid of it, remove the batteries, pack it securely and put it in storage. Odds are, you'll find yourself wanting to get it out for something within a couple of years. :-)

[stickmaker.livejournal.com]

Though if someone will give you a good trade-in on the EOS Elan in exchange for a digital, go for it!

[solarbird]

The EOS Elan is a very good camera from what I've read.
It is! It's a fine film camera. Much better than, say, the Rebel film camera series, or, of course, anything below the SLR level. That isn't at all the question. But I'm not using it. I haven't used it in years. I never enjoyed using it, for some reason, even when I did shoot with it. (E.g., the Baltimore worldcon and DC trip.) I did like shooting with the full-manual metal-body SLR; moving up to something with more complexity was probably a mistake, in that respect.

(btw, I did try other makes extensively; I didn't really like any of the interfaces, but I really quite disliked the Minolta and Nikon interfaces more.)

But as for saving it for later - if I didn't use it on this trip, when I was shooting like a crazy person, when would I? Seriously, when would I ever?

[grian-ruadh.livejournal.com]

I'd say sell the camera body and keep the lenses. Put the money from the sale toward a digital camera that better serves your needs in the simplicity area. Those lenses will come in handy if, at some point in the future, you decide you really want the optical power on a higher end digital camera and have more cash in your pocket. Likewise, if you decide at some point in the future that you really aren't ever going to use those lenses, they will sell just as well then as now, and you haven't deprived yourself of any options. :)

[banner.livejournal.com]

Do not buy a body only! That entire market is a rip off and a scam, you will pay more for it, than if you bought the entire kit from Amazon! (I know, I researched it heavily last year before buying my Cannon Rebel)

BTW, Amazon.com is the -best- place to buy a Canon EOS. Their prices are really the best. I would recommend with the rebel XT (which is incredibly cheap now, and works exactly like a film camera - I love mine) or the XTi. The XTi has about 3 more mega pixels if that matters to you. But I got the XT for under 600 and then for less than a hundred I bought the opteka battery holder which lets you but more batteries in it, and makes the camera fit you hand better.

One of the things I like about my Xt (with a 2 gig card in it) is that I can take about 27 pictures in a row, as fast as a 35mm with a drive, before it has to slow down to start loading out to the card (and that's at the highest resolution the camera supports, if I went smaller, it would do more). It also uses regular Cannon lenses, which is also a -major plus- so if you have any cannon lenses currently, you can reuse them!

Serious, no one makes better electronic cameras than Cannon, they own that market.

[banner.livejournal.com]

Sorry for all the typo's, I'm in reno on someone else's laptop and I'm not at all use to the keyboard.

[banner.livejournal.com]

If you're going to sell cannon lenses btw, please send me the price list. I may buy one or two from you. I need a larger wide angle and a longer zoom.

[solarbird]

Hmmm. I'm pretty sure I don't have any lenses you want. I never went in for the really long zooms (300mm always made me go "yeah right" and that's not even long by modern standards.) But here are the lenses I have: 85mm, f1.8. 50mm f1.8. 70-210mm zoom, f3.5-4.5. 28-80mm, f3.5-5.6.

[banner.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd only use a 300 with either a monopod, or one of those image stabilizing models. However the 70-210 I am interested in (My biggest currently is a 105mm). It has auto focus right? How much do you want for it?

[solarbird]

Yeah, it's autofocus. It's an EF, ultrasonic focusing. Apparently, like the 85mm, very quiet by af standards, too. I seem to have had a habit of buying quiet lenses.

I've got a bit of a discussion going in my latest big post. Mmmmm, pointless angst about selling lenses.