- Mirror Pre-fire
- DOF preview (yes, its useful)
- Big dial on back allows quick operation
- Full time manual focusing with USM lenses (useful with big glass)
- Light and durable

- At the price this body sells, none
- If you shoot sports photos 90 % of the time, you will possibly find the 2.5 fps rate inadquate

This is my first SLR, and when it came down to it, the only two choices for my medium budget were the Elan II and the Pentax ZX5N. While the Pentax did look like a good buy, Canon has a better offering of good and cheaper lenses in the US. The Elan is a terrific value at 350 bucks.

People should seriously stop complaining about the plasticky looks - unless you put your camera through hell everyday, you don't have anything to worry about. As for the spot meter, if you want to "FEEL LIKE A PRO", you should just bite the bullet and shell out for an A2 or EOS 3 etc. And if you really are a pro, you probably have a handheld meter anyways, so where is the problem ? For a casual photographer's use, the partial meter will be more than adequate. I have shot sunset scenes on slide film using the partial meter, and it suffices for situations like these (casual photography). Like I mentioned before, if your work is critical and really requires a spot meter, you'd probably be wise to invest in a handheld incident meter. Overall, the best deal on the market. Go for the Elan II E if you feel eye controlled focusing is important. I'm happy with this body and investing in better glass...

Customer Service

Have not had to use

Similar Products Used:

None

Weight
Availability of Canon and 3rd party lenses and accessories

Bulky, but not solid
Complicated
Eye Control AF unreliable
Depth of Field preview hard to use
Noisy
No spot meter
AF never seems to lock on the correct subject

What a terrible mistake, how I long for my old Olympus OM, I wouldn't have replaced it if it hadn't broken. I don't know what made me think the Elan IIE (EOS 50E over here) was right for me, but I'm now thinking about trading it for a manual Nikon or maybe and OM4Ti if I can afford it.

Customer Service

Good but slow (2 weeks to repair)

Similar Products Used:

None (Only ever used manual cameras before)

excellent "feature to cost ratio"

Flash sync permanently set to Slow Sync. Therefore indoors you are unable to use the Aperture Priority mode without a tri pod.

I believe this Camera is all any photographer needs. By purchasing this camera you are left w/ extra cash for Lenses (it's the GLASS that really counts). If only Canon had implememnted a Custom function which enables the user to choose between normal flash sync and slow flash sync. This is definately still the best Camera body out there in this price range. All other manufacturers are playing catch up to the Elan IIe. Just look at the new Nikon N80. Notice any similarities?? hehe

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F70
Nikon F90
Canon Rebel 2000

Eye focus feature is cool....works well in daylight shoots.

Overall heft and ergonomics...not easily used from a tactile point of view...need to look at the settings.

For the last year, I've been on a quest to upgrade/replace my old Nikon EM and move into the AF world. The Elan IIeQD is feature rich; I chose it to make use of the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. However, It ends up being too bulky for my needs. The XTSi is a great camera for the $$$, very feature-rich, and comes in an extremely compact package for what you get. The F100 was awesome, but also turned out to be more camera than I need. At this point I will end up with an N80 or a smaller-bodied Canon to continue use of the IS 28-135mm zoom.

Customer Service

None needed.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta XTSi QD, Nikon F100

Fairly portable. Smaller that the A2 and is a good, fairly inexpensive base for quality lenses.

No real spot metering though it is usually fairly easy to do without. I wish it had a dedicated depth of field preview button.

If you are short of money for a new setup (or just don't need a super tough body and 5+ fps), this might be a good choice for your camera. It will do almost everything you will need in day to day use and then some. You can then spend extra money on better lenses. I wish it had a more complex metering system but this one seems quite good. While I have fairly large hands, it fits pretty well and is comfortable to use. This camera offers a lot for it's price. Ultimatly, I chose this camera because I liked Canon's lens system and it was a good compromise between price and features.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Older Canon FD manual focus cameras

Fast, accurate with USM lenses. This camera fits like a glove in my hand, all the controls are placed well. The knobs and dials which replace work better than the push buttons on other SLRs. E-TTL flash works very well with 380 EX.

Metering could be more advanced, 6 segment metering is outdone even by the lower end Rebel models. Partial metering is adequate for my uses, but spot metering would be more convenient. Eye controlled focus is not fast enough for sports photography. It is hard to focus manually.

In my opinion, has the best feature to price ratio of any EOS camera. Spot metering and better evaluative metering would have been the iciing on the cake. No other camera in its price range can match it in terms of ease of use and features.

Customer Service

None needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N70

Simple, straight-forward controls.

Eye-control focus is great. I woulnd't want an autofocus camera without it now.

The Elan IIe has a host of features and custom functions normally found on much more expensive professional cameras.

Sturdy construction. Stainless steel lens mount and aluminum clad top and front, not just silver paint on plastic.

9.5% partial metering instead of true 2.5% spot metering.

I have never been disappointed with the results of the 6-segment matrix meter, but 5 years after its introduction it is now the least sophisticated in the Canon line.

I wish the top LCD panel had a backlight.

I love my Elan IIe and would recommend it to anyone from novice to near-pro. I've owned mine since December 1995, and if it were stolen today I would choose it again over an N80 or Maxxum.

I'll repeat what others have said about the EF 28-80 f/3.5-5.6 V "USM" ==> don't get it. It really doesn't do this camera justice. I don't think it is even fit for the Rebel 2000. Stick with the true ring USM lenses like the EF 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 USM, EF 24-85 f/3.5-4.5 USM, or EF 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM.

Customer Service

I've never had reason to contact them.

Similar Products Used:

Various point & shoots, Rollie 35, Canon AE-1 Program, EOS Rebel, and EOS Elan IIe.

The Elan II has an excellent control layout that allows functions to be changed and exposures set with relative ease.
Program modes for beginners.(if you learned on a pre-AF manual like me these are useless)

At times I have longed for a true spot meter but usually the 9.5% is good enough. The silver finish, I know its only cosmetic but there is just something about an all black body. You can get the 50 in all black(it looks awesome)

This body suits my current situation very well. I have a pretty well developed level of knowledge and take mostly family and travel photos. After having kids I began developing portrait skills and shooting lots of film of our two sons. You quickly become known as the serious photog when you show up at bday parties with the Elan II and the bp50 grip. I highly reccomend the BP50 if you have large hands, much more bulk plus I use the vertical shutter alot when shooting portraits. The specs of the camera are great for the advanced amature but being a family camera it is also great that you can set the camera on full auto and anyone can take a great picture. The green box was a big selling point for my wife. At the time she had no photography skills and the full auto was the way to go. The elanII has allowed her to develop her skills without being intimidating. Excited about the potential of a new body in sept, I know it's the indian not the arrow but I'm a gadget nut.

Customer Service

In 3 years never had the slightest problem.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N-70
Canon Elan

A quality product and a good value.
Reliable but not heavy.
Ability to perform on full program mode for the inexperienced photographer but has many advanced features for the use of intermediate and advanced photographers.
Eye-controlled autofocus.
Built-in flash a convenience for when you don't have an accessory flash available.
Several features for the intermediate and advanced photographer such as auto-exposure bracketing.
Accurate metering, including TTL flash metering.

Lack of a true spot-meter.
Lack of backward compatibility with Canon FD lenses.
Manual could be more complete.

An excellent camera for the intermediate and advanced photographer. The eye-controlled autofocus is a real convenience, and is helpful for candid and sports photography. There are many features available to use, but one must carefully read the manual and practice with the camera to become experienced with using them. This camera has been dependable for me in over three years of use, and I would not hesitate to take it with me on a trip. Unless your needs are for a professional camera, with heavy-duty (and heavier) construction, 1/8000 sec. or faster shutter speed, and a fast motor drive, I would highly recommend this camera.

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N70
Nikon 6006

I began my photgraphy addiction on this camera. I has been able to grow with my skills. Nice weight, not to heavy or to light. Well designed LCD, intuitive even if you don't read the manual. Good body design - the controls are placed in such a way that they can be easily manipulated with one hand.

Occassionally the metering is a bit off, but on the whole it hasn't been a problem.

A GREAT camera for a beginner/casual photographer. Plus you really can't beat the price.

Similar Products Used:

None