{"id":2386,"date":"2024-01-21T22:16:00+00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-21T22:16:00+00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iso3200.org\/blog\/?p=2386"},"modified":"2025-09-28T12:02:52+00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T12:02:52+00:00","slug":"broadside-cannons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iso3200.org\/blog\/2024\/01\/broadside-cannons\/","title":{"rendered":"Broadside Can(n)ons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Three Canon EF-mount cameras spanning thirteen years in one place, with photos. And my opinions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Throughout my photographic history, I’ve never been a Canon camera user willingly. I’ve had a Canon film compact, a Prima Super 115\/Sure Shot Z115\/Autoboy S (Super)<\/a> during the late 1990s when it was used as a family camera. I’ve used a few Canon DSLRs; my brother had the original Canon EOS 5D full-frame DSLR, and I’ve even had a Canon EOS 1000FN, a film camera I disliked and gave away quickly. Somehow, Canon magic never rubbed off on me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, a few years ago, I stumbled upon a big black blob of a well-used Canon EOS 5D Mark II for a reasonable price. It even had a 50mm F1.4 lens on it, and I just had to get it – to see what’s all the fuss about!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And naturally, that led to getting a Canon film camera, too! I got a cheap and well-used Canon EOS 500N, a lightweight camera with (almost) everything I needed – an EF lens mount, mostly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here’s a short overview of all the EF-mount cameras I have had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Canon EOS 500N<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

EOS 500N<\/a>, known as New EOS Kiss or EOS Rebel G, depending on the market, is a no-frills film camera from 1996. It is a lightweight camera, with a fully plastic build, down to a plastic lens mount. Its shutter stops at 1\/2000, it’ll keep on shooting at a very pedestrian 1 fps, it has three focus autofocus points, and it weighs 400 g. It’ll need two CR123A batteries, as well, and once loaded with a film, it will pull the film completely out of the canister and return it to the canister with each exposure – that way, already exposed photos are safely stored inside the canister, in the event of the film back opening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Canon EOS 500N<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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AgfaPhoto Vista+ 400<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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AgfaPhoto APX400, Xtol 1+1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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KosmoFoto Mono, Adox FX-39 II 1+9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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KosmoFoto Mono, Adox FX-39 II 1+9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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AgfaPhoto APX400, Rodinal 1+50<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

I’ve shot a few rolls of film with that camera, but it simply felt uninspiring. There’s nothing wrong with the camera, it works just like it should, but the combination of a lightweight, plastic build, somewhat sticky surface of the grip and just a bit too small size led me to never really want to use the camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I wanted something more substantial, a bit bigger camera with maybe more features. I wanted to avoid the first generation of the EOS series – the EOS 620\/630\/650 cameras. Also, I wasn’t ready to invest serious money into the system – EOS 3 and 1 were out of the question. After some googling and checking what’s available on eBay in the EU region, I’ve bid on an EOS 50E. My budget was meagre and my hopes weren’t high, but in the end, I was the highest bidder, and I’ve become the owner of three (3) Canon EOS cameras with the EF mount, while having two (2) lenses for the EF mount. Slightly<\/em> less than ideal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Canon EOS 50E<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

EOS 50E<\/a>, known as EOS 55 or EOS Elan IIE, is an advanced amateur film camera from 1995, with an eye-controlled autofocus selection mechanism. It’s still relatively light, but the build quality is significantly higher – the top deck is aluminium, and the mount is metal. Here, the shutter goes up to 1\/4000, it’ll reach 2.5 fps, it has a top-deck LCD screen with more info, it has a big dial on the back, and the film transport mechanism is standard, but it can leave the film leader out. Three autofocus points can be controlled by looking in the direction of the point, but the system needs to be calibrated, making it a hassle to use if you’re not the only one using the camera. This camera works on one 2CR5 battery and weighs almost 600 g – almost 50% more than the EOS 500N.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Canon EOS 50E<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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AgfaPhoto APX400, Rodinal 1+50<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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AgfaPhoto APX400, Rodinal 1+50<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Cinestill 50D<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Cinestill 50D<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Cinestill 50D<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

I’ve also shot a few rolls of film with this camera, and the feeling is significantly better – although much heavier, it’s a bigger camera and feels more substantial. There’s no sticky surface on the grip, here, as well. Although I would love to own an EOS 3 to fit my late-1990s\/early 2000s film camera collection, alongside my Nikon F100, Pentax MZ-S and Minolta Dynax 5, I’m perfectly happy with this camera and have no plans for the upgrade – I still have only two EF-mount lenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let’s not forget this one, the one that started it all. EOS 5D Mark II<\/a> is a groundbreaking digital camera – the first DSLR camera with a full-frame sensor and 1080p video recording capability. It was introduced in 2008, and although old, its photo and video capabilities are still competent. Here, the build quality is excellent, its shutter goes to 1\/8000, and it’ll keep shooting at almost<\/em> 4 fps, but its nine AF points are telltale of its age. Also, it’s quite a big and heavy camera – at 810 g, it is more than double the weight of the EOS 500N.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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October 2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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April 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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October 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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November 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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January 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Although heavy, the EOS 5D Mark II feels good, and most of the controls are in logical locations, and easy to use without looking. There are some quirks, like that three-stage on\/off switch, but that’s the feature of all Canon EOS DSLRs – you need to learn how to use it, and just live with it. 21 megapixels are enough, not far from the now-standard 24 megapixels, and the image quality is perfectly acceptable – dynamic range spans less than newer microFourThirds sensors, but it’s perfectly adequate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Canon EOS 1000FN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

EOS 1000FN<\/a>, known as EOS Rebel S II and EOS 1000S – this was the original entry to the Canon EF mount system, the camera that left me uninterested, the camera I disliked enough to give it away after shooting a single roll of film. It is an early-1990s lower-end model with a silent film advance and rewind motor lauded as the main difference from the predecessor. It’s a well-built camera, but it looks blocky and bulky. Its internals were reused in the later EOS 500N model almost completely, down to reverse-moving film transport. The major difference is that this model has a less advanced, one-point AF system, but has a wider film speed range and a bit better viewfinder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DM Paradies 200<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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DM Paradies 200<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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DM Paradies 200<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The camera left me unimpressed after shooting a single roll, not only because of the uninspiring entry-level zoom lens I had. After sitting unused for a few months, the camera ended up being given away. Almost a full decade later, I was given another, well-worn specimen that worked perfectly fine until I tried to load a film, when its film transport mechanism failed and bricked the camera completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Comparison<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These four cameras span 16 years and differ greatly on the technical side, but in the heart of all four cameras is the same core – Canon EF mount and the same imaging medium size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/th>Canon EOS 1000FN<\/th>Canon EOS 500N<\/th>Canon EOS 50E<\/th>Canon EOS 5D Mark II<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Introduction<\/td>1992<\/td>1996<\/td>1995<\/td>2008<\/td><\/tr>
Medium type<\/td>24\u00d736mm film<\/td>24\u00d736mm film<\/td>24\u00d736mm film<\/td>24\u00d736mm digital sensor<\/td><\/tr>
Lens mount<\/td>EF<\/td>EF<\/td>EF<\/td>EF<\/td><\/tr>
Shutter range<\/td>30″ \u2013\u200d 1\/2000<\/td>30″ \u2013\u200d 1\/2000<\/td>30″ \u2013\u200d 1\/4000<\/td>30″ \u2013\u200d 1\/8000<\/td><\/tr>
ISO range<\/td>6 \u2013\u200d 6400<\/td>25 \u2013\u200d 5000<\/td>6 \u2013\u200d 6400<\/td>50 \u2013\u200d 25600<\/td><\/tr>
X-sync<\/td>1\/90<\/td>1\/90<\/td>1\/125<\/td>1\/200<\/td><\/tr>
Shooting speed<\/td>1 fps<\/td>1 fps<\/td>2.5 fps<\/td>3.9 fps<\/td><\/tr>
AF points<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>3<\/td>9<\/td><\/tr>
Metering range<\/td>EV 2 \u2013\u200d 20<\/td>EV 2 \u2013\u200d 20<\/td>EV 1 \u2013\u200d 20<\/td>EV 1 \u2013\u200d 20<\/td><\/tr>
Viewfinder type<\/td>Pentaprism<\/td>Pentamirror<\/td>Pentaprism<\/td>Pentaprism<\/td><\/tr>
Viewfinder coverage<\/td>90%, 0.75\u00d7<\/td>90%, 0.7\u00d7<\/td>90%, 0.71\u00d7<\/td>98%, 0.71\u00d7<\/td><\/tr>
Battery<\/td>1\u00d7 2CR5<\/td>2\u00d7 CR123A<\/td>1\u00d7 2CR5<\/td>1\u00d7 LP-E6<\/td><\/tr>
Dimensions (W\u00d7H\u00d7D)<\/td>148 \u00d7 100 \u00d7 69 mm<\/td>146 \u00d7 92 \u00d7 62 mm<\/td>153 \u00d7 105 \u00d7 71 mm<\/td>152 \u00d7 113.5 \u00d7 75 mm<\/td><\/tr>
Weight<\/td>470 g<\/td>400 g<\/td>595 g<\/td>810 g<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Canon EOS 500N<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Canon EOS 50E<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Canon EOS 5D Mark II<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Links<\/h5>\n\n\n\n