This page is filled with information on photography equipment I use or have used and my opinions and observations of it.

BODIES:

Bitche, France in the early morning

Canon EOS Elan II (50) [BOUGHT NEW | SOLD]: This was my second SLR camera body after the Rebel G. I bought the Elan II as an upgrade from the Rebel G because it offered Mirror Lock-Up (MLU) (actually pseudo MLU since it is tied in to the self timer via Custom Function 5) and a Depth-Of-Field (DOF) preview, both of which are missing from the Rebel G. Unfortunately the Elan II uses the same button for DOF preview and AE Lock and only one can be used at once. I was not willing to change the Custom Function (CF) for the few times I wanted to use AE lock so I just left the Elan II set up with DOF preview enabled (which I use constantly) and lost AE Lock and thumb AF functionality (read more about Canon Depth-Of-Field design). As is true of other Canon bodies, if I really need to lock my exposure I can just go into M mode and set the exact aperture and shutter speed I want without worrying about the values changing. In addition to the MLU and DOF preview, the Elan II has adjustable metering modes and autofocus modes. It offers evaluative, partial (9.5% viewable area), and center weighted metering but I have never felt a need for center weighted metering so I never used it. Three autofocus modes are available. Most of the time I left the camera in One Shot mode but, when photographing a moving subject, I moved it into AI Servo so the autofocus would continually track the subject. With nearly all stationary subjects I actually use AF only to gain focus as a starting point anyway then manually fine tune my focus to the point I want. The camera also features a hybrid AI Focus mode that is the same as One Shot but automatically changes into AI Servo mode if it detects subject movement. I never used this mode because I think it just causes extra lag time to obtain focus while the camera decides which mode to use.

Once, while I was photographing during a snowfall, the camera suddenly freaked out and the electronics went dead. I thought it had been damaged by melted snow that had somehow entered the case. Instead, I found the problem to be that the battery compartment door doesn't put enough pressure on the 2CR5 battery to push the contacts firmly together with those inside the camera. To fix this I tore a small corner off of a film box and put it in the battery compartment between the door and the battery. After doing that I used the camera quite a bit and never experienced the problem again.

What's my major complaint about the Elan II body? I always used the MLU with self timer unless I was shooting action. Many times I turned the camera on, enabled the MLU/timer, pressed the shutter button, and the shutter immediately fired! According to the manual in this situation the camera is supposed to flip the mirror up, wait two seconds, then trip the shutter! On average I wasted one or two shots on every roll of film put through the camera because of this flaw. The Elan II was replaced in the Canon lineup by the Elan 7 in 2000.

Canon EOS Rebel 2000 (300) [BOUGHT NEW | SOLD]: This is the third SLR body I purchased. I bought the Rebel 2000 to use as a backup to the Elan II and, later, the Elan 7. Additionally, I bought it for those rare occasions when my wife wanted to take pictures. This camera is a definite improvement over its predecessor, the Rebel G. It features a built in DOF preview button (which the Rebel G lacks) and multiple metering modes. In M you have center weighted metering and with AE lock you get partial/spot metering. Otherwise the camera is always in evaluative metering mode. Canon sped up the number of Frames Per Second from 1 to 1.5 too. The Rebel 2000 is a light, easily packed, full featured body. If I could improve it all I would do is add an MLU and allow the user to disable the flashing self-timer light. The Rebel 2000 uses two 1CR2 batteries for power. My wife really never used this camera and, once I bought the EOS 3, the Elan 7 became my backup/macro body and this thing ended up in the closet. It sat there for a good three years before my wife finally game me permission to sell it. The Rebel 2000 was replaced in the Canon lineup by the Rebel Ti in 2002.

Canon EOS 3 [BOUGHT USED | PRIMARY FILM BODY]: This is the fifth SLR body I purchased. I bought this body because of its robust build, weather sealing, exacting 1/3 stop exposure control, and lack of flash. I wanted a body without a flash so I could photograph in areas that prohibit flash photography. How can I break the rules if my camera doesn't even have a flash? Other than these features I like the fact that this camera has both a 2 and a 10 second self timer. I also think the simple locking button on the film door to prevent accidental opening and exposure of film (same as on 1N and 1V) is a nice feature, even though I've never had this door open accidentally with any camera body. Another concern of mine related to this is that someday I might accidentally hit the mid-roll rewind button. Thus, a lock for it would be nice as well. I find the light for the top LCD is a nice help for low light photography. The dual meters for the ambient and flash exposure levels in the viewfinder are also extremely useful when using flash. With them I can adjust each independently and get immediate comparative feedback of where the flash and ambient exposures will fall in relation to each other. Additionally the EOS 3 has MLU which is essential for sharp results with some of the shutter speeds I use. The EOS 3 uses one 2CR5 battery for power but can also be used with an external battery pack.

One other fantastic feature is the ability to tie the spot meter into the selected focus point via CF13 setting 1. With this enabled, only 11 of the 45 focus points are selectable but, whichever one is selected is also where the spot meter reading is taken. Thus, I can select a focus point on the subject where I feel focus and exposure are most important, enable the spot meter, and then quickly re-meter off the subject without having to recompose or refocus if the light changes (I set my cameras up to start AF with my thumb and to re-meter the light with a half-press of the shutter button). Without this feature I'd be constantly adjusting my composition in changing light to get an accurate exposure reading from the center spot meter then setting my composition back to what I had before and refocusing. I rarely find the area I want focus and metering to be determined from to be the exact center of my composition so this capability is extremely valuable to me. As I just mentioned, I also set CF4 to 1 so that my thumb activates AF. This way, once I get the focus I want I am able to re-meter my subject by pressing the shutter halfway without having to worry about the AF kicking in. I usually rely on the AF as a starting focus point only then fine-tune focus to my tastes. I don't want to have to fumble for the AF/MF switch on the lenses either and this makes it easy for me to use the AF only when I desire without losing any other functionality of the camera except perhaps AE lock, something I never use.

What don't I like about the EOS 3? The goofy side door that has buttons for setting CFs, checking the battery level, using multiple exposures, and clearing settings. The hinged door constantly closes on my fingers and gets in my way. Since the camera cannot be set up for MLU to be always on when using the self timer (like on the A2 and Elan II) I am repeatedly forced to open the door, change CF12 to engage MLU, take my landscape or macro picture that required MLU, get in the door again, and change CF12 to disengage MLU. A better design would have featured the CF select, battery level check, and multiple exposure controls on a dial, lever, or buttons on the exterior of the camera body where they would be much easier to access and operate. At least the little-used multiple exposure control has been swapped in here and the frequently-used film advance control has been moved out to the top of the camera in a commendable improvement over the 1N. Another thing I don't like is that the film loading is backwards from other EOS cameras I've used. Instead of latching the film canister on the bottom and then just swinging it into the film compartment you have to latch it on the top and swing the bottom in. I find this more difficult especially since I work from above my camera body most of the time. Because of this unique latch I sometimes have to hold the camera and look up into it in an attempt to match the film canister up with the cylinder on which it mounts. What's worse is that the curled edge of my film hits the fragile shutter curtains when I am doing this. I'm afraid that one of these days I'll damage them during what should be a simple process of loading film.

Another thing I don't like is that the EOS 3, like all EOS cameras, is missing an option to turn off the self-timer lamp during timer countdown. I'd like this just because I can imagine the flashing near infrared light bothering a macro subject with the 10 or 2 second timed MLU in use. Regardless, that flashing light definitely draws attention to me which is something I like to avoid when photographing. A simple solution is to cover the light with a piece of tape but I'd prefer a CF setting that turned the flashing light off. The camera incorporates a true MLU but this MLU system has plenty of room for improvement (read more on this). I'd be extremely happy if MLU was always enabled when the 2 second timer was used but this is not the case and cannot be configured. Strangely, this camera is the only one in the EOS line that has the DOF preview button on the right side of the lens mount (looking from the back). At first this slowed me down by forcing me to have to think about where to go to activate the feature (read more on this) but now I just remember that the EOS 3 is weird and has the button on the right. My last concern with the EOS 3 is that it uses the expensive RS-80N3 ($50) or TC-80N3 ($130) and not the RS-60E3 ($25) as a cable release. Sure, the TC-80N3 offers more features which probably require the different connector but I wish I could use just one remote cable, the RS-60E3, for all my EOS cameras. The camera also doesn't work with the RC-1 ($25) remote controller and instead requires the ridiculously expensive LC-4 ($380) for remote operation.

Me in the interior of Terceira Island, Azores

Canon EOS Elan 7 (33) [BOUGHT USED | SOLD]: This is the fourth SLR body I purchased. I bought the Elan 7 as a replacement for my well-used Elan II. At first I hated the Elan 7 and preferred the Elan II but I grew to appreciate it. What did I like about the Elan 7? For starters the film advance mode selection. Instead of a lever to choose between single and continuous advance along with a separate button for self-timer/remote mode as on the Elan II, the Elan 7 has one lever for choosing among all three different modes. The Elan 7 can additionally shoot a maximum 4 frames per second versus 2.5 on the Elan II. I was also pleased that the Elan 7 uses the same RC-1 remote and RS-60E3 cable release as the Elan II since I already owned them and thus didn't have to buy and carry around additional equipment. The function selector was changed from the Elan II so that all options (ISO, red eye reduction, beep, multi-exposure, flash exposure compensation, and AEB) are permanently printed on the top of the camera instead of showing up in the LCD one by one as you scroll through them. I find this layout to be easier to use and it probably saves am almost negligible amount of battery power. The camera has 7 instead of 3 focus points like the Elan II which is great because it expands the area of the viewfinder on which autofocus can be used. It also has true MLU instead of the 2 second timed pseudo MLU of the Elan II which is probably the best improvement. It allowed me to compose and focus a macro shot, engage MLU with the remote release cable, then WAIT until the breeze stopped blowing before pushing the button on the remote cable again and releasing the shutter. In other words, I was no longer at the mercy of the wind wasting shot after shot until I got one in which I lucked out and had the shutter open during a brief lull! Once I bought the EOS 3 to use as a primary body I kept the Elan 7 as my backup and macro body for this very reason. On top of that great addition, the Elan 7 is also very quiet in operation which is a benefit when photographing sensitive subjects. My second favorite improvement on the Elan 7 is the addition of a dedicated DOF preview button that doesn't take away any other camera features in a compromise like with the Elan II. The viewfinder has the same coverage as the Elan II (90% by 92%) and a built-in dioptric adjustment which I don't use but I'm sure will be appreciated by some people with vision problems.

What made me unhappy with the Elan 7? The built-in flash has a small tab on each side so you can just pull it up when needed instead of having to push a separate flash button like on the Elan II. That's handy but I believe the flash button is a better design simply because the tabs could snag on something, engage the flash when not wanted, or potentially cause it damage. All my lenses are so big that I have no use for built-in flash anyway because, if I used it, I'd end up with a big shadow from the lens' barrel. The Elan 7's AF is less sensitive than that present in the Elan II so it may not be able to achieve focus in conditions that the Elan II can, although I never noticed a difference. The Elan 7 has no near infrared focusing aid pattern and instead relies on quick bursts from either the built-in or an external flash. Fortunately, with CF7, you can disable this potentially annoying behavior. The Elan 7 uses two CR123A batteries, like the Rebel G, but unlike its predecessor the Elan II. I prefer 2CR5 batteries because they are less expensive. They are also easier to handle because you only need one and 2CR5s are almost impossible to insert incorrectly. Another feature of the Elan 7 that I didn't like is that Canon made the focus point selection method unnecessarily complicated. They added four "focusing point selection keys" to the Quick Control Dial (QCD) on the back that serve no purpose other than to let you choose which focus point to use. This can just as easily be accomplished with the QCD and Main Dial (CF11 even allows you to set the camera up so that only the QCD and main dial adjust focus points) with one controlling vertical and the other controlling horizontal selection like on the EOS 3 (which has 45 focus points). In practice I think these new keys serve no purpose other than to provide one more place for water and dirt to enter and damage the camera (in this case the QCD).

Like all other EOS cameras, this one is missing an option to turn off the self-timer lamp during timer countdown. The bright white flashing light could easily scare or annoy a subject. At least the Elan II used its near infrared light which isn't nearly as annoying or noticeable! Granted, the Rebel series also has this annoying white light which flashes during self-timer countdown but they are the cheapest EOS bodies and have no CFs to allow customization at all. I expected more from the Elan 7. A simple solution to this problem is to cover the light with a piece of tape but I'd prefer a CF setting that turned the flashing light off.

My biggest complaint with the Elan 7 was that the option to choose between a 10 second timer or 2 second timer with MLU was removed. Now to have useful MLU you must use the RS-60E3 cable release, the RC-1 Remote Commander in 2 second mode (and have the infrared sensor on the handle visible), or the 10 second timer (but no photographer or subject should be forced to wait 10 seconds every time for the shutter to release). Regardless of which method chosen you must change CF5 to 1 to engage MLU, take your picture(s), then change it back to 0 when done (read more about my Canon EOS MLU woes). Although viable options, I don't want to be forced to carry around the extra weight of the cable release or remote commander. The camera should have a 2 second timer with MLU option enabled via CF5 option 2. Unfortunately, there is no CF5 option 2! What is amazing to me is that the only way to access the camera's 2 second timer is to use the RC-1 in 2 second mode. Otherwise, you are always forced to wait 10 seconds. Once I bought the EOS 3 and the Elan 7 became my backup/macro body, I just left the camera with the MLU enabled and always used the RS-60E3 remote shutter release. As I explained above, this allowed me to time my exposures exactly if the light was changing or the wind was blowing. The Elan 7 was replaced in the Canon lineup by the Elan 7N in 2004.

Canon EOS D60 [BOUGHT USED | SOLD]: I purchased this camera as a serious digital body and loved the instant feedback provided (common to all digital cameras). I also felt it was solidly built and had no problem with the placement and functionality of all controls except for two (keep reading). My favorite feature was that the SET button could be configured to quickly allow an operator to change the ISO speed, parameters, or image quality. After a few months I found it most useful to leave it set to control ISO speed. When I didn't have a tripod or was photographing in low light even with a tripod quickly upping the ISO to 200, 400, or even 800 ensured I got an acceptably sharp shot. Of course, the tradeoff was increased noise so I only did this when my shutter speeds got too slow for sharpness in any given situation. Still, I would have liked the SET button even more if it allowed me to quickly toggle MLU on and off. If this were possible it is how I would have configured the camera and would then have changed the ISO through the menu system. The D60 is powered by a rechargeable BP-511 or BP-511A battery. (Wouldn't it be great if the film cameras also used rechargeables?)

What didn't I like about the D60? First, it only has three AF points. I much prefer the large selection the EOS 3 offers. Also, like all other EOS cameras, when the self-timer is enabled the self-timer lamp flashes during countdown and this cannot be disabled. I both like and dislike the 1.6x magnification/crop present. When I'm using my telephoto lenses I love it! But when using my wide angles I hate it. Overall I think of it as neither an advantage nor a disadvantage. If I shot mostly wide angle, however, I'd opt for one of the full frame sensor cameras instead. One large complaint I have about the D60 is that the DOF preview button is recessed into the camera body and thus very difficult to engage. When using this camera I spent a lot of time fumbling around trying to find the button and then fumbling further trying to engage it with my fingernail. Even worse is that there seems to be a delay if you haven't used the DOF preview in a while. The first time I engaged it (after fumbling to find and push the recessed button) it took about a second to activate which made me think I wasn't pushing the button hard or far enough.

I also didn't like the D60's flash system. Amazingly, the D60, which cost over $2000 USD when released, doesn't include support for A-TTL or TTL flash yet Canon has no problem including this support in a $200 film camera. If you own anything other than an EX-series flash (which means any EZ, EG, E, ML, or TL-series flashes) then the only flash mode you can use is manual. In other words, this expensive camera body requires the use of the same archaic manual flash computation that has been around since the invention of photography. Ridiculous! Since the cheap Canon film bodies do support these modes I can only assume Canon is attempting to force users to purchase their latest EX-series flashes with this blatant omission.

Yet another thing that caused me grief was the two second startup. Whenever I was out shooting birds I'd initially miss a lot of shots because the camera would go into sleep mode and would take two seconds to come back out. A lot can happen in two seconds! I missed a lot of fleeting moment shots because of that warmup time and it got me into the habit of occasionally pushing a button just to keep the camera awake and ready. This also caused the camera to eat batteries a lot faster. You could argue that I should have simply disabled the timed sleep mode but I like to use it in case I forget to turn the camera off when traveling. I did change it to five minutes, however. One other problem that caused me to miss action shots was the slow write speed to the compact flash card. When I'd have a lens on some action I'd fire away like crazy hoping to capture a great fleeting moment. Quite a few times I actually filled up the nine shot buffer, however, and then would have to wait for it to slowly write to the card before I could take another shot. The action would still be going on, but I wasn't able to capture any of it! This camera also has noticeable noize at ISO 200 but, for its time, I don't think it was bad. The newer bodies can shoot fine up to ISO 320 in my opinion. One last thing I didn't like about the D60 was the AF system. It was slow and really couldn't cope with flying birds. Since the EOS 3 film body came out four years before the D60 and has a fantastic AF system, all I can think is that Canon put this slower AF system in the D60 to cut both production and final consumer costs. The D60 was replaced in the Canon lineup by the 10D in 2003.

Canon EOS 30D [BOUGHT NEW | DIGITAL BODY]: After using the D60 through the release of the 10D and 20D I finally decided to upgrade once the 30D came out. I had many reasons for doing so. First, the 30D has a spot meter. I always like to have a spot meter so I can point the camera at any subject, get a middle-gray exposure reading from it, trust that the reading came from the subject and not just the general area of the subject (as with a partial meter), then adjust my exposure to where I want it. My favorite metering system of all the cameras I've used is that of the EOS 3 and, although not there, the 30D is quite a bit closer. (As a side note, how can it be that a camera using technology from 1998, the EOS 3, is more advanced than a new camera, the 30D?) Second, the 30D has more white balance options. Mostly I like the shadow setting (a little warmer than the cloudy setting present in both the 30D and D60) and the custom color temperature setting. Why Canon didn't let the user manually set the color temperature in their first digital cameras is beyond me. At least you can do so now. Third, the 30D writes to the compact flash media about three times as fast as the D60. Many times, while shooting action with the D60, I'd fill up the buffer and then have to painfully watch as the counter of available shots slowly counted back up. I'd be pressing the shutter button trying to take more pictures in the middle of some action but the buffer was full and nothing was happening! I've been using the 30D for a few months now and, with its faster write speed, have never had this happen. Fourth, the 30D has a few more pixels of data than the D60. The D60 had 6.3 megapixels and the 30D has eight. Fifth, the 30D has faster AF and more focus points. Now I am actually able to get a few sharp flight photographs of birds. With the D60 most of my attempts would come out blurry as the AF system either couldn't keep up or went crazy searching all over the place. Sixth, the 30D is ready to shoot the moment you turn it on or the moment you push a button to bring it out of power save mode. The D60 took two seconds to do so and I'd miss a lot of sudden action shots with it while waiting for the camera to warm up and be ready to function. That's no longer necessary with the 30D. The final reason I chose to upgrade is that the 30D has less noise. I wasn't comfortable with the D60 even at ISO 200 because it would produce noise that was visible to me. But with the 30D I have no problem shooting at ISO 320 and usually leave the camera set there when out photographing wildlife.

30D Focus Points & Rule of Thirds

My favorite auto-focus system of the cameras I've used is also in the EOS 3 film body. The 30D gets closer to matching the EOS 3 but I don't like the diamond layout of the focus points and wish they had instead gone with a rectangle or, better yet, had moved the four diagonal points out a bit towards the corners. Look at the picture accompanying this paragraph and you'll see the 30D focus points superimposed over the Rule of Thirds. Notice how no focus point covers the intersections of the rule of thirds and thus, you have no focus point on those important areas when using the 30D? Well, if they had only shifted the focus points of the diamond out a bit to cover those areas then I'd like the AF system of the 30D a lot more. I'd also like it if it were a full rectangle more than how it is now simply because I tend to put objects in the corners of my compositions and don't have an AF point there to ensure I get exacting focus. To make up for it, I use the central focus point and re-compose. With moving subjects it really gets old having to constantly move the center point over the subject's eye and then re-compose back to having the subject in a corner every time the subject moves its head a bit. Having a focus point in that corner would save me from having to do this and also help me to get fleeting action shots and not miss them due to having focus on something other than the subject. Of course, you could argue that the 30D's four diagonal focus points are pretty close to the intersections for the Rule of Thirds but, from my experience with the camera, that little distance makes a big difference. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have the nine points and it is a much better system than the three points that were in the D60. It also seems to acquire focus better than the D60; especially with flying birds. However, the AF layout in the 30D still has room for improvement by the simple movement of the diagonal focus points out towards the corners. I hope that will happen in a future Canon digital camera model.

What else can I say about the 30D? Well, I like how it has a dedicated external button just to setting the ISO. I try to keep my ISO as low as possible and with the 30D adjusting it is a quick and easy process. Of course I also like the larger and bright LCD screen. At first I was constantly amazed at how large the images seemed but now I'm used to it. If I saw the D60's screen now, however, I'm sure it would seem excessively small to me. I still wish I could program the SET button to toggle MLU on and off but, of course, this feature is not available. I also think digital bodies should now come with a few additional shutter and aperture priority modes that not only adjust the shutter speed or aperture based upon aperture or shutter speed settings but also adjust the ISO to ensure the user-selected shutter speed/aperture is maintained. Perhaps the modes would be TvI (fixed shutter speed with aperture adjusted first followed by ISO), TvA (fixed shutter speed with ISO adjusted first followed by aperture), AvI (fixed aperture with shutter speed adjusted first followed by ISO), and AvT (fixed aperture with ISO adjusted first followed by shutter speed). Yet another option would be a TAv mode that set both a fixed aperture and a fixed shutter speed and only adjusted the ISO to ensure a correct exposure. A menu item could be used to set the maximum ISO desired when one of these modes was enabled to ensure it didn't go higher than the operator desired and thus introduce excessive noise.

There's one stupid operator mistake I've made with the 30D a few times which is worth mentioning. When you play back your images and zoom in, if you scroll to the next or previous image the zoom setting is maintained. I've gone in to review my pictures, zoomed in to check sharpness, then moved on to another picture, mistakenly thought it was crap, and deleted it in-camera. Why? Because, what I saw was a picture with portions of the subject outside the frame! Of course, the pictures were fine with the composition correct but, stupid me, I fogot I was zoomed in and quickly deleted the image. DON'T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE! Who knows what sort of pictures I've lost from this error on my part. I really wish the zoom setting was reset back to 100% when moving to another picture because that would prevent me from doing this.

FURTHER BODY INFORMATION:

Admiring the size of the Altschloßfelsen

Canon EOS Custom Functions: To keep track of the CFs as well as to have a handy reference to ISO speeds, shutter speeds, and apertures available on the Elan II (50), EOS 3, and Elan 7 (33) I built an Excel 2000 spreadsheet. The spreadsheet has all this information in a little table that I printed out, laminated, and now carry with me whenever I have the cameras. Click on the camera name above to see what it looks like for that particular camera. If you are interested and would like to use it download it (22K) for free. It is one file with a separate worksheet for the Elan II (50), EOS 3, and Elan 7 (33) each ready to be printed and laminated. Note that I don't build such spreadsheets for digital cameras simply because their custom functions are already fully described on the LCD screen when you go in to view or change them. It would have been nice if Canon had followed Minolta's lead and also included this feature on their film cameras.

Safety Shift: For a long time, I shot action in Av mode wide open to ensure I got the fastest shutter speed possible. Now, however, I always shoot action in Tv mode. The trick is that I enable Safety Shift within the camera's custom functions. I'll set the shutter speed to something that will ensure I can stop action. This gives me the benefit of a smaller aperture and increased depth-of-field when there's sufficient light. But if there's not enough light to get a proper exposure at my selected shutter speed, instead of underexposing the subject, the camera will essentially switch to Av mode with the largest aperture available and drop below my selected shutter speed until a correct exposure is obtained.

Canon EOS Mirror Lock-Up: Mirror Lock-Up is essential to sharp non-action SLR photography and is a feature that all except the most basic SLR cameras should have. It allows the mirror to be locked in the up position thus reducing or eliminating the vibrations caused by mirror movement and producing sharper pictures. The A2 (5) and Elan II (50) bodies both feature MLU as an option only when in self timer mode (their mirrors lock up two seconds before the shutter is opened). Newer bodies like the 1N, 3, Elan 7 (33), and 1V drop this feature and instead add true MLU. This lets you lock the mirror up for up to 30 seconds before releasing the shutter. I actually prefer this but the system is far from perfect. Why? Because, with the new bodies, you must turn the CF for MLU on, take your picture(s) using MLU, then go back into the CFs to turn MLU back off. MLU is either always on or always off and can only be changed by accessing the Custom Functions. This is unnecessarily complicated and only serves to slow the user down.

I can only imagine two benefits as the reason for Canon not always having MLU on during a self timer exposure. Some battery power is probably saved by not having the mirror locked up for a few seconds. But I would gladly give up some of my battery power to have sharper pictures! Additionaly, the viewfinder isn't blacked out until the actual exposure. But I compose my shots carefully and, once I trip the shutter, don't see any advantage to my being able to see the subject for a few extra seconds. If the subject moves that frame of film will still be wasted and I'll still see the movement because I watch the subject while the self timer is counting down! Therefore, a better design would have MLU always enabled when the self timer is in use and enabled in other film advance modes only when set via CF. Alternately, a separate button could be included on the body to more easily toggle MLU on and off whenever desired. This would have the bonus side effect of freeing up a CF for some other use (like the ability to disable the self timer lamp). I believe such a dedicated MLU button to be the best design possible and hope that a Canon designer or engineer visits my web site one of these days, reads this, and is enlightened. (While you're at it Mr. Designer/Engineer please make the SET button on digital bodies configurable to also quickly enable/disable MLU. Thanks in advance!)

These MLU annoyances drove me to look into having Canon USA modify my cameras' programming to constantly have MLU enabled with the self timers selected regardless of the setting of the MLU CF. However, a man named Richard told me this was not possible.

Canon EOS Depth-Of-Field Preview: All but the most basic of cameras should have this feature. It lets you stop the lens down to see exactly what DOF information will be recorded. However, Canon designers don't seem to be sure where to put the button that activates this feature. On older cameras this feature took the place of the AE Lock via CF and used the button on the top right of the back of the body. On all their newer consumer-level cameras this button is on the front left side of the lens mount (looking from behind the camera). However, on the EOS 3 and I believe on all 1-series professional cameras, it is on the right side. I really wish Canon would standardize this and makes all future models, regardless of targeted market segment, with the button on the left side.