lightweight, compact, has enough features for advanced amateurs. very good metering, expecially matrix. Good value for all the features it provides. Excellent EF lenses, quiet motors.

no real spot metering
suspect ergonomics with all confusing electronic controls. Looks plasticky like all Canons even though main body shell is metal.

A well built camera, small, light. Unless you had previously owned Canon, I found the controls to be less than intuitive than say, Contax cameras. The flash is only good for fill in, not built for large group photography. Silent motor and quiet camera in general. No real weakness but nothing exciting either. It's like Toyota Camry, good value, well built, but no BMW :)

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Nikon f100, N90s, Contax N1, Contax RX

-solid construction
-easy handling
-True MLU - in comparison with mirror prefire of EOS50
-Fast AF

-not so easy selection of metering mode - you have to pras button, then dial and then start meter - EOS50 is much better
-"left eye" photographers could have problem with manual focusing point selection - conflict with nose
-incompatibility with Sigma lens - can be fixed by Sigma
-metering doesn't work well with manual lens (using M42 adapter). It looks like
camera use exposure compensation around -3.5EV
Why ???, because all other model does meter well.
-if you press any button, although camera is OFF, some of the focusing points blinks.
I dont now if it is OK or not, but I am sure it drains battery.

Good AF camera but if you want to use olso old manual focus lens like me
you will have problem. If I knew obout this problem I am sure I would not
buy this one. I would go for Pentax MZ5N, or may be used EOS50.

Customer Service

I have asked customer support service about manual lens problem
but without answer.

Similar Products Used:

EOS50, EOS300

GREAT BEGINNERS CAMERA, easy to use, light weight, features for price, speed

none yet

If looking at buying a new camera, buy this over the Rebel 2000. Easier to use and more room to grow. Didn't try the 7E, but can't imagine how it could be easier than this plain ol' 7! Like everybody else, HIGHLY recommend BP-300, just feels better, plain and simple. If get into bigger/better body, should be a great 2nd. More Canon lenses to choose from than other OEM camera co.'s. Again, if just starting or considering upgrading, buy this body and keep some money back for lenses.

Customer Service

none yet

Similar Products Used:

looked at N80...

7 point focusing
mirror lock up
fast auto-focus
Great focusing auto-focus system when used with ultra-sonic lens
Durable camera

None that I know of

This is a great all-round camera for beginners and professionals alike. I would recommend this camera to anyone who wants to get serious about photography. This camera has no flaws.

Similar Products Used:

Canon Rebel G
Pentax ZX-M
Nikon N80

I have tried a number of autofocus camera's and found that bang-for-the-buck the EOS33 stands out. The 4fps is what I was looking for and it fitted in my budget for another SLR. The control layout and array is great.

Speed lites are so d*** expensive in South Africa!
Built in flash is not really good for what I shoot.
Can get a tad "sticky" in the autofocus when I am following a subject.

For the price this camera is tip top. The functions and 4fps are brilliant and cannot be bettered by similarly priced competition. I would however recommend the BP-300 battery pack - the camera feels more balanced and looks the dogs bollocks. Go Canon.

Customer Service

The shop I purchased the camera at was brilliant (thanks David).
Hopefully I wont need the helpline - although I do feel the lens "stick" when I zoom out as though something has jammed internally.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS 50E
Pentax MZ-7 and MZ-50
Nikon F100

Really quiet Mirror Slap and Rewind compared to my old Elan IIE
Has separate DOF preview button

Has trouble focusing on textureless objects in low light, compared to Elan II (without AF assist light)
Really annoying flashing AF assist
Viewfinder has more glare compared to Elan II when you have a bright light source in the back

A beauty. With the vertical grip/battery pack (BP-300), handling is exceptionally good. Black color and quiet operation makes it a non-intrusive camera.

Similar Products Used:

Rebel 2000
Elan IIE

THE CAMERA IS PERFECT FOR SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY, THE 7 POINT EYE CONTROLLED FOCUS IS DEFINETLY A PLUS IN HIGH SPEED SHOOTING SITUATIONS.

NONE

THE CAMERA IS AN EXCELLENT AMATUER CAMERA.

Customer Service

THE SALES STAFF AT CAMERA DEN WAS THE MOST HELPFUL I HAVE EVER EXPERIANCED.

Similar Products Used:

NIKON N80 (7E BLEW IT OUT OF THE WATER)

This camera is THE best value out there today. It is a huge step up from the Elan II and beats everything Nikon has with the exception of the big boys (N90s, F100, F5). This camera is exceptionally engineered. Upgrading from an AE-1P I was nervous about the automation and using the LCD screen, however in less than a day I have mastered this easy to use but extremely powerful camera. The creative modes allow me to do whatever I want with no fuss, but it is easy enough that my disposable camera using wife can pick it up and take great photos in the full-auto mode!

No exposure bracketing with flash (not that I would need it that often anyway). Autofocus struggles a little in extremely low light (full manual override so this isn't a problem). No PC Terminal (but those are old fashion anyway).

An incredibly awesome camera

Customer Service

AAAAA

Similar Products Used:

Canon AE-1/AE-1 Program
Canon Rebel G
Canon Rebel 2000
Nikon 6006
Nikon N60
Nikon N65
Nikon N80

.Great value for the price
.Fast AF
.Good user interface
.Mid-roll rewind with the ability to leave the film leader out (it's really useful when you want to shoot differnt types of film, e.g., Color & BW, or different speeds)
.Multiple Exposure
.Built-In Flash (Although you shouldn't expect much from a built-in flash)
.Mirror Lockup
.BP-300 battery pack

No serious weakness, but I liked it better if it had spot metering and the ability to work with IR films (not that I would use these features that much, but i could experiment with them).

Also, I think $70 price for BP-300 is a rip-off.

I think this camera is the best in its price-range. There's no other comparable Canon or Nikon body currently on the market.

Beware not to buy the zoom-lens that usually comes with the body. Instead, buy 50/1.8, or 28-105/3.5-4.5 if you want a zoom lens (I have the latter, and I'm quite pleased with its performance).

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

this is my first AF SLR, but I did a lot of research before I bought it.

Light but feels solid
Very quiet operation
All the features I need
Very intuitive user interface (to me, at least)

Built-in flash used for low-light autofocus aid (distracting/annoying -- solution is, use external flash w/IR lamp)

I am very happy with this camera. I've owned a Nikon N2020 for about 10 years, and decided to upgrade. Considered the Nikon N80 and the Elan 7. I went with the Elan 7 because I liked the way the controls work a little better, and with some metal parts it felt a little more solid. Also because of Canon autofocus reputation.

I find that the camera has many features, many of which are even useful -- but the main thing is, I find it very obvious how to control all of the features. After only using this camera for a few weeks, I feel totally comfortable with it and can adjust the settings fairly quickly and naturally. To me, it's just very well designed. One thing I like a lot is the exposure meter shown at the bottom of the viewfinder -- when setting the camera manually, the meter shows how far off from the camera's meter reading the current settings are. I don't believe the N80 has this (though I could be wrong).

My results so far have been good. Autofocus, especially with the 28-105 USM lens, is fast and accurate. Exposure control in program mode is good. I've only taken a couple of pictures with the built-in flash, which came out OK. However, pictures with the 420EX external flash have been excellent.

I was a little concerned about the fact that there are no focusing aids (e.g. microprism or split-screen), and that the focusing screen is not interchangable. The autofocus on my old Nikon never worked well, so I expected to have to focus manually and was afraid of having to eyeball it. Well, for one, the autofocus works very well on this camera. And besides that, when I have chosen to focus manually, I've found the screen bright and clear enough that it's no problem.

I did a fair amount of research, and the main differences between the Elan 7 and the N80 are:
N80 has built-in IR (or near-IR) autofocus-assist lamp, Elan 7 uses built-in flash
Elan 7 has option to leave leader out on rewind
Elan 7 is quieter, has faster mutiple-exposure autowinder
N80 has spot meter mode, Elan 7 doesn't
Elan 7 body has some metal pieces, N80 is all plastic
(Actually I think there is more similarity than difference between these 2 cameras.)

Overall, I highly recommend this camera to anyone. I didn't really look at the lower or higher price range bodies, but to me this camera has almost every feature I would want, and not a lot of extra features that I don't need.

Customer Service

None needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N2020
Nikon N80 (tried out a friend's)