Film

[J T]

We took the Eos 400D to a wedding and it reveals the true beauty of digital - we took loads and loads of shots, and many were utter shit*. It would have been annoying to have paid for those to be developed, but it didn't matter as the card can hold around 300-400 pictures so it is perfectley feasible to just point and shoot like crazy and sort the wheat from the chaff back at home. And I just burnt off a DVD and gave it to the happy couple, so they can use some of the nice ones should they wish.

*Due to slight intoxication, mixed with high spirits, a somewhat lack of talent/knowledge and a rather complicated camera that we haven't yet worked out how to use to to it's full capability. Mostly the booze though.

[Harrison]

I did have a problem with the camera though. For some reason it will not take a photograph if I zoom the lens to more than 50mm. The LCD just flashes with 'LP'. Not sure why this is. It worked fine two years ago and hadn't been used since. I have a feeling that it is trying to take a photo but can't, because sometimes it made a noise, but didn't actually open the shutter or wind the film on.

Do you always use it with auto focus on? If so it won't let you take a shot if the current settings are out of the automatic focus range. Try switching to manual focus and see if that works.

I don't think I will be using the digital camera much because it doesn't seem to be measuring the batteries properly. Sometimes it thinks that my almost new batteries are dead.

Are you using normal batteries or rechargeable? You cannot using normal alkaline batteries in digital cameras because they are not compatible. You must use rechargeables.

[Stephen Coates]

Alkaline batteries work better in my digital camera than rechargables do!

It uses standard AA batteries. The manual even says that alkaline ones can be used, which is good, since all my rechargable battereis have completely died.

I don't think the film camera problem was due to auto focus. I was only trying to take a normal photograph. It wasn't close up or anything. It just says LP all the time when I use zoom. It doesn't have a manual mode as far as I'm aware.

[Stephen Coates]

My new SLR arrived today

I bought a Canon EOS 3000v. I was quite surprised when I first saw the box as it is smaller than the box my digital camera came in. It comes with the standard 28mm-90mm lens which should be fine for now. I just need to wait for the films which I ordered to arrive.

Looksing throught the view finder is a bit tricky. Everything in it is too blurred if I don't have my glasses on but it is hard to use it with my glasses on.

At least I have a fully working camera now.

[Harrison]

Sounds good. Canon is one of the best makes of SLR so you made a good choice. I didn't know that model, but just looked it up on the Canon site and it looks good.

An SLR is so much nicer to use than a compact camera. It isn't until you actually start using one that you realise how much nicer it is being about to compose shots looking through the actual lens. Some people argue that normal digital cameras now offer this, but personally I don't think it is anywhere near the same. Zooming and focusing looking through that actual lens of an SLR is completely different and much nicer.

And I know what you mean about looking though the viewfinder. I also need to wear my glassed when manually focusing with an SLR, but most good SLRs can auto focus quite well for more situations, and your new camera has a 7 point auto focus so should be really good at auto focusing on most subjects. Just depress the shutter release half way to focus on what you want and hold it there, compose the shot, then press the release fully to take the image. It is a method you will get very used to.

[Stephen Coates]

I've been playing with the autofocus and setting it to use the different points and it is really good.

It's manual modes are simialr to that on my digital compact, so I will just have to get used to using the menu system on it, although it seems easy enough.

It is certainly good to be able to see whether the image is focussed or not. I find the LCDs on digital cameras OK to see whether it is focuseed or not. I don't know if I will find the viewfinder any better, but as long as I can see if it is focussed, that is fine.

I am going to have to get used to the flash popping up. I knew it would pop up in order to work, but it scared me the first time it did.

I managed to get it at a good price as well. They tend to cost around £100 so I was going to wait till next year but a shop called Clearance Bargains on ebay has been listing them along with tons of other stuff really cheap, so I got it for £59.99 + P&P.

[Harrison]

That sounds like a bargain, although now digital SLRs are getting cheaper the older film SLRs have dropped right down in price. I've got an old Minolta SLR I used to use a lot that was expensive when new many years ago, but when I looked on ebay those are selling for £20!!! Mad, but that is progress. As new technology is developed the older is left behind and not worth much. Look at the Amiga. A500 for £2-10 these days. Great for enthusiasts but sad to think out beloved Amiga's are not worth much any more.

[Stephen Coates]

Money isn't always everything though. Just because an Amiga 500 might only be worth £10 doesn't mean it isn't any good. It's stil the same nice A500 which can be used to play games and be expanded with HDs and stuff.

I suppose the low price just becomes a problem if you wanted to sell it and make some money from it.

Back to the subject of cameras, do you know why it pulls all the film out of the container and then winds it back in after each photo? I would guess it is so it can work out how many photos you can take on it, but it still seems a bit odd.

[Harrison]

That seems a bit odd. My film SLR only winds out enough film ready for the first shot when you insert a new film, and only winds the whole thing back into the canister once it reaches the end. And that has been the same with all cameras I've used. I would have thought unwinding the whole film after each shot would really slow the camera don between shots.

Unless it is having trouble reading the digital ID on the film canister to set the correct ISO speed. Make sure the little metal contacts on the film and the camera are meeting up properly and that the camera is setting the correct ISO rating when a new film is inserted.

[Stephen Coates]

I havn't actually used it properly yet (I've just been using it with no film). Here's what the manual says:

'Loading Film
After you load the film, the camera first winds the entire roll onto the camera's take-up spool. With DX-Coded film, the camera automatically sets the film's ISO speed. Then each time a picture is taken, one frame of film is rewound back into the film cartridge. The frame counter shows always number of shots remaining.'

The only thing I can think of is that the camera will be able to count the amount of frames on the film and tell you how many are left.

I think Canon could do with checking the manual before they print it. "The frame counter shows always number of shots remaining." ought to read "The frame counter always shows the number of shots remaining."