diverds 0 #1 April 3, 2003 Looking at buying a still camera. What are everyones thoughts on the Rebel series vs. the Elan series? I see the Elan 7 can take 4 frames per second and the fastest of the Rebel series is the Rebel TI at only 2.5 frames per second. Thought this might be important for exit and opening shots. Thoughts? Skydive Radio Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JayhawkJumper 0 #2 April 4, 2003 As a sports and action photographer, I can tell you a little bit about this issue. I don't shoot freefall stills yet, my stroboframe isn't in yet, but anyway... Yes the Elan will go faster... is that an advantage? maybe. Yes the camera will shoot at a higher fps, but this can also lead to the thinking that "if I just hold down the button, I'll get the perfect shot" this is not always the case. I usually shoot basketball and football with cameras that crank at 8-10 fps. I liked this at first b/c you could basically make a little video of what you were shooting and pick the frames you liked. The bad thing about this is that you don't really learn about the decisive moment. This means waiting for the exact, perfect moment, and being able to capture it. This takes a lot of practice and experience, but the end product will be better. The rebel is also a little smaller if that matters to you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diverds 0 #3 April 4, 2003 Are there other differences between the Rebel and Elan other than size and fps? Skydive Radio Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JayhawkJumper 0 #4 April 4, 2003 nothing that would be beneficial for skydiving. The Elan IIe has an eye tracking focus system and maybe a couple other bells and whistles that probably won't be worth the extra $$$$. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diverds 0 #5 April 4, 2003 After doing some research I think I will probably go with the Rebel TI. It seems that the Elan 7 is a better camera in that it is built a bit more rugged and it can take 4 FPS as opposed to the Rebel TI's 2.5 FPS. But the Elan 7 weighs in at 20.5 oz and the Rebel TI is only 12.9 oz and is also a bit smaller than the Elan 7. Does it seem like a good trade off to give up 1.5 FPS for a camera that is a bit smaller and weighs 7.6 oz less? Skydive Radio Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmcd308 0 #6 April 4, 2003 >>Does it seem like a good trade off to give up 1.5 FPS for a camera that is a bit smaller and weighs 7.6 oz less? << And costs a ton less. Once you are officially "into" photography, you will find that your camera bodies are a very small portion of your overall investment. Remember that all the body really does is keep the film in the dark until you tell it to let in the light, and then it lets in the amount you say. Your lens does everything else. A thousand dollar lens on a hundred dollar body will give much better pictures than a hundred dollar lens on a thousand dollar body (but at just under $100, the 50mm f/1.8 II is my favorite lens). In short, buy the cheaper body now, and spend the money you saved on getting a nicer lens. Don't buy the throwaway kit zoom; actually get a decent lens. If you look at the price of the body and the kit zoom separately, you'll see that the whole kit is only about $10 cheaper, so you're only saving $10 to get a lens that you will not want after you get your first roll developed. The Ti is smaller and lighter than the Elan, so it will be a much more agreeable item to strap to your head. When you are taking non-freefall pictures, though, you will find that its ergonomics are pretty crappy. You have to hold down shift buttons and stuff to change the settings, and I have not had very good luck getting that done efficiently under pressure. The Elan series has two control wheels, so you can program one for the aperture and one for the shutter, or one to control exposure compensation. If you are thinking to yourself, "I want to take this picture at f/8 1.5 stops overexposed and focus only on the top focus point," with a Ti, chances are you'll miss the shot fumbling with the controls. So the Elan is well worth the extra $ taking landing photos, wedding photos, photos of your kids, and all kinds of good stuff. However, you won't be using those ergonomic controls in freefall, so the $ would be wasted for that purpose. I say go with the Ti, and if you decide that you are going to get into other types of photography, keep using it until its ergonomics become a problem for you. By that time, the Elan body will look cheap compared to all the other sh!t you've bought. Plus, with a Rebel, you're still buying into the (IMO) great Canon EOS lens system (Nikonites flame away). So all the accessories you buy for your Rebel will work with an upgraded EOS body later if you decide to do that. Brent ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diverds 0 #7 April 4, 2003 That all makes good sense. Thanks Brent. Skydive Radio Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jose 0 #8 April 8, 2003 I have the elan 7. The reason I picked it over the Rebel was production quality. Elan: stronger alloy case alloy gears focus motors in lens (faster) more features faster shutter speeds top of the line for amature photgraphers Basically much tougher than the Rebel Rebel: Poly case Plastic gears Shutter speeds not as fast. Not as durable as Elan. Hope this helps. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmcd308 0 #9 April 8, 2003 I'll agree with Jose almost completely. The AF performance (for EOS cameras) is primarily determined by the lens, not the camera. You can put a fast-focusing USM lens on a Rebel, and it will focus almost as fast as it would on an Elan. I don't say "just as fast" because I don't really know if an Elan is faster. It is possible that the Elan is faster, because the camera does have a sensor that tells the lens that it is in focus. But most of the time is spent by the lens motor moving the lens, and in the EOS system, the motor is part of the lens, not part of the camera. In low light, the older Elans (Elan II) will blow away the performance of either any Rebel or an Elan 7. This is because they projected an IR grid onto the subject and used that to focus. This was a more expensive focusing aid than using a few flashes from the built-in flash to illuminate the subject, but it worked TONS better. This feature is reserved for the high-end bodies now. I think that low-light AF on most Canons (unless you buy a Speedlight) sucks. The Nikon and Minolta folks here will probably chime in and agree. With regard to your other points, the Elan is defintely both cooler and tougher than the Rebel. In freefall, you can't really use the cool part, though, and the tough part means more weight. I think that Jose and I agree that the Elan is the better camera body. I think we also agree that it is worth the extra money if you are buying it as your primary camera and you will use it on the ground, too. I don't think it is worth the extra $ as an exclusively freefall camera, though. Jose might. BMcD... ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diverds 0 #10 April 8, 2003 QuoteI think that Jose and I agree that the Elan is the better camera body. I think we also agree that it is worth the extra money if you are buying it as your primary camera and you will use it on the ground, too. I don't think it is worth the extra $ as an exclusively freefall camera, though. I have come to the same conclusion. The Elan 7e has several cool little extras and is more durable, however, the only thing it has over the Rebel TI in freefall is slightly faster film advance(4 fps to the Rebel TI's 2.5 fps). To me it was not worth the extra size and weight(the Elan 7e body is almost 60% heavier than the Rebel TI). The Elan also costs about $150 more. I just picked up a brand new Rebel TI with a Canon 28mm to 90mm lense for $299.00. Add another $175 for a 28mm 2.8 fixed and I'm jumping brand new, lightweight equipment for under $500.00. I figure if I really get into a lot of ground photography I can always buy an Elan body down the road. Someone said the Elan has higher shutter speeds? The Rebel TI goes up to 1/2000th of a second. How fast does the Elan go? Skydive Radio Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmcd308 0 #11 April 8, 2003 >>Someone said the Elan has higher shutter speeds? The Rebel TI goes up to 1/2000th of a second. How fast does the Elan go? << 1/4000 (one additional stop). Also has faster x-sync speed, but I don't know how fast exactly. Rebel is only 1/90 or maybe even 1/60 (I don't remember, but it is slow). This means that even with a powerful flash, you can't use faster shutter speeds, because you'll only expose part of the film during the flash burst. BMcD... ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pablito 0 #12 December 11, 2003 Get a 24mm lense, you will find yourself closer, in now time and then you will have to buy an extra lense, I started shooting with a 24mm and now i'm upgrading to a 20mm. Something else. a tougher camera could be good when you have a non desirable landing, and you fall down, a Rebel will break no problem, the elan will hold better. Not saying is indestructable. but also, you can get hit on the sky to. Just my 2 cents. CIelos Azules Pablito "If you don't overcome your fears they will overcome you first" Shady Monkey/6Segundos Rodriguez/AKA Pablito Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
