The photo above, the subject of which is my Mamiya C33, was shot with the Canon EOS Rebel 2000, which I have hardly used until now. I decided to tear myself away from the AE-1, which I really love, long enough to shoot a roll with the EOS. I was pleasantly surprised.
The film version of the EOS, introduced in 1999, is auto-exposure (aperture priority, shutter priority, of program) and autofocus. The auto-exposure is great, and I got beautiful, consistent negatives.
I'm afraid that I can't be as sanguine about the autofocus, at least for my purposes. It is easily fooled into focusing on something other than the main subject. This is why the manufacturer made it possible to override the auto focus and just focus manually. I prefer to set the auto-exposure to either Av (aperture priority) or Tv (shutter priority), as the case warrants, and do the focusing myself.
The pleasant surprise of which I spoke was the quality of the lens that came with the camera: the Canon Zoom Lens EF 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6 II. I normally don't expect as much from a zoom lens as I do from a prime lens, but the sharpness and contrast of this lens were both excellent.
Here are a few sample shots:
All of these images were shot on Ilford HP5+, rated at ISO 400 and developed normally in D-76 (stk). I used Kodak Photo-Flo 200 at the end of the washing process.
In the next instalment of this series, I hope to say something about some of the films I'm using. In the meantime, shoot film, if you can!
(to be continued)
Text and images Copyright © 2022 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
