What a Bargain! (Canon EOS 5)

Member Name: richkw

Product:	Canon EOS 5
Date:	06/07/05 (4867 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pro-quality film camera. Rugged. A bargain secondhand.

Disadvantages: A bit heavy.

OK, so the Canon EOS 5 is an obsolete camera, but…………what a fantastic secondhand bargain. Canon produced the EOS 5 for upwards of 9 years, by which time, although it was still selling well, it was starting to look a little dated.

I've been a keen amateur and semi-pro photographer for around 20 years. Although I've used many cameras over the years, I've always used the Canon EOS range as my main outfit.

In 2001, my trusty, 11 year old EOS 600 started playing up. Considering it had had a pretty hard life and in excess of 500 rolls of film through it, I couldn't really complain. I needed to replace it fairly quickly so, on impulse, I bought a ex-demo Canon EOS 5 rather than a new model. I have to admit to being nervous about buying secondhand, but it seemed such good value I just couldn't resist it.. I paid £245 for the body only from the London Camera Exchange shop in Bath, which, in 2001, was a very good price for an example in mint condition.

I have used and abused this camera for 4 years now. It's never missed a beat in any respect. For me, the most important attributes a camera must have is ruggedness, its speed of operation and its metering accuracy. The EOS 5 excels in all respects. As far as being rugged is concerned, the camera has suffered extremes of temperature from well below freezing (it slowed up just a bit) to temperatures in the high 40's. It's been out in the rain, fallen off the roof of my car and suffered a sandstorm, all without suffering anything other than the odd scratch and dent . I cannot fault the metering accuracy - it's spot on every time, and rarely fooled by odd quirks of light. I can meter, focus and fire the shutter extremely quickly, aided further by the (up to) 5 frames per second motor wind.

The built in flash is useful for fill-in and, again, extremely accurate with respect to its meter controlled power output.

The camera has the usual myriad of exposure modes associated with any electronic camera. (see specifications below). Personally, I use Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes virtually all the time and have little experience of the various Program modes that are available.

Last year I needed to replace another old camera body. There wasn't any doubt that another EOS 5 was needed. A quick scout around determined that the current going rate for a decent body from a dealer was a little under £200, which seemed pretty reasonable considering the camera was over £400 when new. However, with the advent of digital photography and the world and his wife trying to get rid of there film bodies, Ebay was awash with bargains. I picked a mint, hardly used example for £130 including a 28-70mm lens. I immediately put the lens only back on Ebay and got £25 for it. So, for £105 I got my second EOS 5. If I compare the results from one body to the other, I can't detect any difference whatsoever.

So there we are. If you are still into film as I am, get a Canon EOS 5. I feel sure you won't be disappointed.

Features

High Speed wide zone, 5 point autofocus
Eye controlled focus
Improved motor drive incorporating Canon's "Whisper Drive" film transport
Silent or high speed rewind
Pop up TTL auto zoom flash with redeye reduction
Quick Control Dial
8 AE modes plus manual
High speed 1/8000 shutter with 1/200 flash sync
16 zone evaluative metering, Spot or Center weighted average
Sixteen custom function including mirror lock and depth of field preview
Built in auto exposure bracketing, PC terminal for external flash
Remote control capable

Specifications

35 mm focal plane shutter SLR with autofocus, auto exposure, built in flash and motor drive
Compatible with any Canon EF lens
92% vertical, 94% horizontal viewfinder coverage
Built in variable diopter -2.75 to + 0.75
Six interchangeable focus screens available as accessories
Quick return mirror
Electronic focal plane shutter
1/8000 - 30 sec and bulb shutter speeds
Maximum X Sync for flash of 1/200 second
TTL-SIR phase detection type AF
One shot AF, AI Servo AF, AI Focus and manual focusing modes
Automatic DX encoding from ISO 25-5000 with manual override capability
Auto film loading advances to first from upon back cover closing
Single, continuous and high speed continuous motor drive settings
Automatic film rewind at end of roll, with mid roll rewinding possible
Retractable type TTL automatic zoom flash
Flash covers 28 to 80 focal lengths
Approximate recycle time for flash is 2 seconds
Uses One 6 volt lithium (2CR5) battery
Size: 6 1/16 (W) x 4 3/4 (H) x 2 15/16 (D) inches
Weight: 23.6 oz without battery

Summary: Rugged, professional quality film camera.

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