02 February-EOS 3
The EOS 3 was one of the last film cameras released by Canon. Although it was released in 1998 it has a lot of technology that still holds up very well today; an auto-focus system, automated film winder, 7fps shooting, and most importantly for me, compatibility with modern EF lenses! The camera also had a novel technology called Eye Control AF but that is a feature I still haven’t gotten to try out.
I picked up this camera for two reasons: the first to see how well modern lenses held up on film and second a reason to hold onto all my EF lenses that I’ve collected over the years. I’ve been a Canon shooter for a very long time and still really do love their cameras so I figured picking up the EOS 3 would be a new fun way to use the lenses. So with that all in mind I called on my good buddy Zack and we went for a photo walk. He’s been learning the ropes on how to shoot on a film camera himself so figured this would be a good opportunity for us to learn together
Our first location took us along the river bank. With a plenty of dead trees on the ground we decided to take a few shots using the natural framing they provided. The ergonomics of the EOS3 are great. If you’ve shot on DSLRs before you’ll feel right at home with the main difference being the body of the EOS3 is longer. One great thing about it though is that the camera is definitely lighter than is modern counterparts.
Maumee River
EOS 3 - EF 50 (1.2) - Portra 400
River Pathway
EOS 3 - EF 50 (1.2) - Portra 400
At the end of the pathway we stumbled upon a junkyard of sorts. There was so much personality to this place and I really had to space out my shots to make sure I didn’t waste the entire roll too quickly.The auto focus worked fairly reliably but I definitely had a few images where it missed focus. This may have been due to the 50mm being soft at f1.2 but I’ll have to shoot more to be sure.
I love the images that I got. The combination off Portra 400 and the Canon EF glass led to some great images and is a combination I’d recommend for anyone with a large stock of EF glass.
