Canon eos 50e

[nickdemarco]

Recently bought this camera in a second hand shop in Paris. I am reasonably happy with it. Wanted a Canon to use with my existing lenses, but didn't want to spend too much given I only use 25mm now and then.

Here is a gallery of pics taken with it:

http://www.pbase.com/nickdemarco/canon_eos_50e

I just wondered if anyone recommened that I ought to buy a slightly better 35mm camera, and if so which one and why.

Thanks

Nick

[fabiot]

Hello There!

Great shots.... I like them, although I am not a real fan of Ilford HP5... But that is just a personal thought.

The 50E is a very good camera. If you want to invest on a "slightly better" body, the EOS 5 (or A2E) (of which I am madly in love with) would feel like a general "step forward". If you use the 50E, the 5 (A2E) will come natural to you.

You can find some very good used EOS 5s out there because many photographers sold them to move (finance!!) to new digital canon SLRs.... (Just make sure the command dial of the EOS 5 has been modified, or it will break on you almost immediately because of a design flaw).

Personally however, I would not spend the money.... Invest in new lenses!

Keep shooting!

FabioT

[nickdemarco]

Thanks for your comments and I enjoyed your gallery, Fabio. So which B&W film do you use/like and why?

[fabiot]

Thanks for your comments....

My B/W film of choice.... I almost exclusively use KODAK Tri-X 400. I suppose I use this because I love the grain of it. It is definitely a classic, reporter-style contrasty film.

For me, B/W photography is not always about sharpness of fineness of image… Sure, sometimes I use Ilford Pan F (Quite hard to find now) for extremely fine grained images, but I normally love to see the grain.

That is why I find so many digital B/W photos somewhat sterile because they lack the grain. Sure you can add it digitally…. But is that photography?

Keep up the great work with your 50e…..

[nickdemarco]

Thanks Fabio

Is that the film which is a colour film that can be developed as black and white or something? I heard about some kodak film that does that and wanted to try it as it will be easier to find people to process, but I don't know if it is any good.

[fabiot]

Actually,

Tri-X is a real B/W film and needs classic B/W chemistry for processing. The film you are commenting on is KODAK CN400 (Ilford also has one called XP2)... this is a chromogenic film that develops in standard C41 colour chemistry.

Personally, These chromogenic films are damn ugly..... I hate these chromogenic films but the upside to them is that they can be developed in the "quick-photo" shops.

Tri-X is very very easy to use and loves being "abused". You can push-pull process (that is 400 iso can be shot at 800 or 200 iso) quite well and is quite forgiving.

The film is quite contrasty, but it is grainy. It is not OVERLY grainy, but has a beautifully recognized grain structure which is very appealing and has become a "classic look" in B/W photography for the best part of 30 years. A photo taken with Tri-X instantly has and "era" attached to it!

But this a personal thought!

Fabio.

[nickdemarco]

Thanks. I shall try it.