Figure 1: Top View

2.3 Command Dial
On the top left of the camera you will nd the Command Dial. It selects the cameras exposure modes and other functions. The red L position is Lock, or the camera off position. To turn the dial from the L position, press in the metal tab on the front of the dial. The green square is full auto mode. The four small symbols to the right are the PIC (Programmed Image Control) modes; portrait, landscape, macro, and action. Basically they bias the shutter/ aperture combinations to favor longer exposures and smaller apertures for landscape and macro modes and the other way around for portrait and action modes. Portrait & macro modes as well as full auto mode will also raise the ash when the camera thinks its appropriate. The major restriction with full auto and PIC modes is that you cannot shift the relative values of the shutter and aperture like you can in P mode. Nor can you bias the exposure up or down like you can in P mode. The camera picks what it thinks is appropriate without allowing any further advice from you. Now that you know what they are, ignore them. Using them will just retard your education of photography as well as learning about the camera. The other positions of the Command Dial are generally more useful. P is for Program mode. It sets both the shutter speed and the aperture. Its not much different than full auto but one thing it wont do is it wont raise the ash for you. This can be a useful mode when you need to grab the camera and shoot without much think-
Figure 2: Command Dial ing. The primary advantage of P mode over full auto mode is that in P mode you can use the Main Dial to shift the relative values of the shutter and aperture selection. This is called Program Shift and it provides a way for you to bias the exposure towards faster shutter speeds or smaller apertures while the camera insures accurate exposures. You can also use the Quick Control Dial (QCD) on the camera back, to bias the exposure up (lighter images) or down (darker images) depending on the effect that you want. This is called Auto Exposure Compensation (AEC), and is only the ambient exposure bias. It does not effect ash exposure. Tv is for time value mode, also called "shutter priority." You set the shutter speed with the Main Dial, based on the need to freeze action or portray subject movement or simply for hand hold ability. The camera then selects an appropriate aperture for correct exposure. While in Tv mode you can also use the QCD to change the exposure up or down (AEC). This is only ambient exposure bias and it does not effect the ash exposure. Any shutter speed can be set between 1/4000 second to 30 seconds. Below 30 seconds the shutter goes into Bulb mode where it will stay open as long as you hold the shutter button down or until the battery goes at. The remote controller, RC-1 and the remote switch, RS-60E3 both have methods to manually hold the shutter open as long as you like. Av is for aperture value mode, also called "aperture priority." You select the aperture with the Main Dial, based on the need to limit or expand depth of eld/focus, and the camera selects a shutter speed to provide the proper exposure. Av mode can also be used when you want to select the fastest shutter speed possible and still maintain proper exposure in changing light. To do that you just set the aperture to the largest setting 6

(smallest number) and the camera will automatically select the fastest shutter speed setting that will still provide the correct exposure. While in Av mode, you can also use the QCD to change/bias the exposure up or down (AEC). This is only the ambient exposure bias and it does not effect the ash exposure. In P, Av or Tv modes, a blinking aperture or shutter indicator may mean that it is out of its available range. So if your aperture is blinking f/5.6 and that is the lenss largest aperture, you will have to select a slower shutter speed to bring the required aperture in line with your lenss available aperture. Also if 4000 is blinking, then use a smaller aperture to bring the required shutter speed down to what the camera is capable of doing. The shutter speed also blinks as a shake warning if the shutter speed falls more than 1/2 stop below the reciprocal of the lens length. M is for manual exposure mode. You select the aperture with the Main Dial and shutter speed with the QCD. The cameras built-in light meter will still function in manual mode and you can follow its lead or ignore it completely. The meters display can be seen both in the viewnder as well as on the top mounted Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) on the top right side of the camera. A proper exposure, according to the cameras meter, is when the meter indicator is centered on the scale. The meter scale covers a four stop range. Each hash mark represents 1/2 stop of exposure deviation. A negative indication shows with underexposure and a positive indication shows with overexposure. DEP is for depth of eld auto exposure mode. It allows the camera to decide the appropriate aperture and focus position to provide enough depth of eld to keep two selected distances sharply in focus. The easiest way to use it is to turn the Command Dial to DEP, and use the center auto focus sensor, point the camera at the rst subject and press the shutter button half way to autofocus. Let the button up and then point the same AF sensor on the top of the second subject and press the shutter half way again to allow the lens to autofocus on the second subject. Then reframe your camera and take the picture. The camera will select a focus distance between the subject distances, then select an aperture small enough to keep both subjects in focus and then select a shutter speed that will provide proper exposure. If you select the same subject distance twice, the camera will select the widest aperture available to keep depth of eld very shallow. The lens must be set to AF for DEP mode to work and if you are using a zoom lens, you must not change its zoom setting during the entire procedure. You can also manually or eye control select the side AF sensors, but I think it just adds confusion. A blinking aperture indicated that sufcient depth of eld (DOF) can not be achieved. You must focus on subjects that are closer to the same distance apart or use a wider angle lens. Flash can not be used with DEP mode CF (Custom Function) is discussed below CAL (Elan IIe only) is used for calibrating the Eye Control Focus (ECF) of the Elan IIe to the shape and size of your eye. Turn the Command Dial to CAL, look directly at the blinking AF point, press and hold the shutter button until the camera beeps. Then look directly at the next blinking AF point and hold the shutter button until the camera beeps. Turn the camera to the vertical position and press and release the shutter briey. Then look directly at the blinking AF point, press and hold the shutter button until the camera beeps. Then look directly at the next blinking AF point 7

2.5 Self Timer / Remote Control
Just to the front and left of the Command Dial is the Self Timer button that also activates the IR remote switch. Press this button and the Self Timer indicator appears in the LCD. If you press the shutter, you will have 10 seconds before the shutter res. This should give you time to get into the picture yourself. The red light on the front of the camera will blink every second and speed up for the last two seconds before it res. The beeper will also sound during this time if you dont have the beeper turned off. With custom function #5 set to "1", the self timer is reduced to a 2 second delay with the mirror raising as soon as you press the shutter. This is used primarily to reduce camera vibrations caused by the mirror movement. Its main purpose is in extreme 8
macro and telephoto use. You can cancel the Self Timer during this 2 or 10 second wait, before the shutter res by pressing the Self Timer button again. The RC-1 IR remote control is relatively inexpensive and works very well for numerous situations. You can use it instead of the Self Timer when you want to be in the picture, or when you want to trip the shutter without touching the camera that would cause vibration. It also has a three position switch, off, on and 2 second delay. The 2 second delay position is for when you are in the picture and want to hide the remote before the exposure.

2.6 Focus Mode Switch

On the other side of the prism/ash hump youll nd the Focus mode switch and the Film Advance switch. The Focus mode switch is on top and has three positions and of course, only works when the lens is set to AF mode itself. In One Shot mode, as soon as you press the shutter button half way down, the camera will autofocus and lock onto on a subject and it stays locked at this distance as long as you continue hold the shutter button half way down. In this mode the focus has to lock onto some distance before the shutter will re. This can prevent out of focus pictures as long as the subject doesnt move towards or away from the camera.
Figure 3: Focus Mode Switch In AI Servo mode the camera will focus on the subject but will not lock anything. 9
If the subject moves the focus follows. Sometimes you want to focus on a particular distance and then recompose with your subject off center. You can do this by selecting a side AF point, or by autofocusing in One Shot mode and holding the shutter button half way down to keep that focus distance selected. You cant do this in AI Servo mode, but then you cant track a moving object in One Shot mode. They both have their advantages. Most people prefer to keep the camera in One Shot mode and changing it when they need to. There is a middle position, the AI Focus mode that is the same as One Shot mode until the camera detects that the subject has moved closer or farther away. Then it automatically shifts into AI Servo mode. This is a good compromise, but there are times when it will shift into AI Servo mode when you dont want it to and then there are other times when you want it to but it doesnt react fast enough.

2.7 Film Advance Switch

The Film Advance switch is right under the Focus mode switch. It has two positions. Single Shot mode is the usual position and it will take one picture at a time. You have to raise your nger off the shutter button completely and then press it again to take another picture. In Continuous Advance mode the camera will continue to take pictures at 2.5 frames per second as long as you keep your nger pressed down and there is still lm to burn. In Continuous Advance mode, and if you are also in AI Servo focus mode, there will be a slight delay between frames as the camera looks to see if it is still in focus and then readjusts as necessary. However if you were in Continuous Advance mode and One Shot focus mode the camera would lock onto a distance and keep it there throughout its continuous shooting spree.

2.8 Built In Flash

Just in front of the Focus Mode switch there is a button that when pressed will raise the built-in ash. To get the ash to go back down you just push it down. The builtin ash is fairly weak and its also close enough to the lens to cause red eye in many situations. Its primary benet is when you have to have ash and didnt bring along a real one with you, and also when you need ll ash outdoors. As long as your distance isnt too great and your aperture isnt too small, it will work.

2.9 Custom Functions

CF mode is used to set the eleven available Custom Functions. These are used to customize the camera to your particular shooting style and to change the way the camera works for a particular situation. To use them, turn the Command Dial to the CF position, turn the Main Dial to select the custom function you want and then press the "*-cf" button to change its value. Custom Functions only work in the non-PIC modes. The custom functions are: 1) Rewind Speed 0 = quiet, 1 = fast 2) Film leader 0 = rewind it in, 1 = leave it out 10
3) Auto DX lm speed setting 0 = on, 1 = off 4) Use of * button 0 = AF start with shutter button, exposure lock with "*" button 1 = AF start with "*" button, exposure lock with shutter button 2 = same as 0, plus DOF check with "*" button 5) Mirror lock with self timer 0 = normal ten second self timer, 1 = mirror locks up and the self timer becomes two seconds 6) Second curtain ash sync 0 = off, 1) = on 7) AF assist beam 0 = off, 1) = on 8) Spot & FEL to focus point 0 = Partial meter & Flash Exposure Lock at center point only 1 = Partial meter and FEL follow the active AF sensor 9) Force 1/125 sync in AV mode 0 = In Av mode with ash provides full ambient exposure 1 = In Av mode the shutter is locked at 1/125 second 10) AF indicator lights 0 = off, 1) = on 11) Eye control DOF preview 0 = off, 1) = on (Elan IIe only)

3 Other Camera Controls & Features
3.1 Auto Exposure Lock Button
Just behind the top mounted LCD are two thumb buttons. The one on the left is the AE Lock button. Its marked with a "*-cf" symbol. The "cf" part of the symbol is to denote that it is used to set the values of the custom functions, explained above. When the camera is not set to the CF mode on the Command Dial, the AE Lock button can do several things. Its primary purpose is to set the exposure for one scene and then recompose the picture. This works particularly well with partial metering where you want to meter a subject but compose the scene with the subject off center. Normally pressing the shutter button half way activates autofocus, and pressing the AE Lock button locks the exposure value that is determined by the cameras metering system. This is called Auto Exposure Lock (AEL). However, if custom function #4 is set to "1" the functions are reversed. The primary reason you might want this is to move your auto focus away from the shutter button. That way you would only reactivate AF when you wanted to, not every time you press the shutter. If you couple this with Canons USM lenses that allow Full Time Manual focusing (FTM), you can autofocus by the push of the "*" button, and manually focus by turning the focus ring on the lens, all without switching the AF/MF switch on the lens. This may not sound like a big deal, but for many photographers this is the primary reason to buy Canon equipment. The low end line of Canon lenses use a micro motor USM that does not allow FTM, so pay attention to what youre putting your money down for. USM stands for UltraSonic Motor. They are nearly silent and the mid and upscale ones are fast! Nikon has recently started selling a few Silent Wave lenses that are essentially the same thing as USM. Only some of the high-end lenses have this "S" designation and
Figure 4: Back View they only work with the latest Nikon Camera bodies, but the competition on this front is heating up. Also Sigma has some similar HSM lenses that are made in both Canon and Nikon mounts.
3.2 Auto Focus Point Selection Button
The other thumb button back here is the AF Point Selection button. You press it and then use the Main Dial to select the particular AF point you want, or to select eye control AF. Or you can select all the AF points, which will then allow the camera to automatically select the AF point it thinks you probably want for the scene, usually the closest subject with sufcient contrast. When you have selected what you want, either press the AF Point Selection button again or press the shutter button half way down to conrm your selection.

3.3 Quick Control Dial

The large dial on the camera back is the Quick Control Dial (QCD). Most previous EOS cameras did not have a QCD. That forced the Main Dial to do too many functions depending on what button you had pushed. The QCD allows you to bias the exposure while in P, Av or Tv modes and in Manual mode it sets the aperture while the shutter is controlled by the Main Dial. There is also an on/off switch, above and to the left of 12
the QCD. This simply activates the QCD when in the "1" position. I usually leave it on. Others complain that the dial gets moved accidentally, so they keep it turned off.

3.4 Function Button

On the camera back near the left side is the Function button. Repeated presses of the button cycle you through several different options. There is no xed starting point in this cycle so the rst press may be anywhere in the cycle of options. Ill start with the ISO selector. Press the Function button repeatedly until you get there, and then turn the Main Dial until you get the lm speed you want. Press the shutter button half way to conrm your selection. Unless you have custom function #3 set to "1", this EI (Exposure Index) or "rated" ISO will only apply to the roll of lm you have in the camera. As soon as you put another lm canister into the camera it will select the lm speed that is imbedded into the DX coding. Obviously custom function #3 is for when you want to "rate" a lm and have several rolls of it you want to burn right away. Wedding photographers frequently do this with some professional lms. Another press of the Function button will get you to Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB). By turning the Main Dial you will see the single exposure point, on the exposure scale, in the LCD, turn into three points. As you turn the dial further the exposure points will separate more. Each click of the dial separates the exposure points an additional 1/2 exposure stop away from each other. If you want AEB to be three separate exposures, 1 stop apart, set the scale so the outside points are at -1 and +1 with the center point in the center of the exposure graph. Press the shutter half way to conrm your selection. The next three shots will be; 1) at the selected exposure, 2) one stop under exposed, and then 3) one stop over exposed. You can do this same thing without AEB by using Auto Exposure Compensation for each exposure, but AEB provides an easy way to do this for several different shots in a row. Maybe even the whole roll. If you want more or less than a 3 shot AEB, you would have to do it with AEC or just use Manual mode. The next press of the Function button brings the camera to Red Eye Reduction mode. Use the Main Dial to select "0" for off, or "1" for on. Press the shutter button half way down to conrm your selection. This only works with the built-in ash in the up position. You probably wont need it with an external ash as it sits farther away from the lens axis. This mode provides you with several seconds of a bright white light to help reduce the iris of the subjects eyes. Just press the shutter button half way down for three seconds and then take the picture. This will annoy your subjects to no end, and in my opinion this is a nearly worthless feature, but other cameras have them, so Canon had to do it too. The next press of the Function button brings the camera to the beep control feature. Use the Main Dial to select "0" for off, or "1" for on. Press the shutter button half way down to conrm your selection. I dont normally like cameras beeping at me, but I leave this one on because it conrms when the focus has locked on, and its quiet enough not to be a real bother. The next press of the Function button brings the camera to the Multi-Exposure mode. Use the Main Dial to select the number of exposures you will want on this frame of lm. Nine is the maximum. Press the shutter button half way down to conrm your 13

3.6 Film Window

The dark little Film Window on the left side of the camera back allows you to see what type and speed of lm you have loaded.

3.7 Camera Back Release

On the left side is the Camera Back Release. Canon made two backs for the camera, one with a date feature and one without, but they are not interchangeable. With the back open you can see where the lm is to be loaded. Put the lm canister into the 14
space on the left side and pull the lm leader out until it lines up with the orange mark on the right side of the open camera, and close the back. If the camera is not already on, turn it on now, and the lm will wind to the rst frame. Cant get much easier with 35mm lm.
Figure 5: Inside View You can see the IR frame counter near the top of the lm rail on the right side. This might fog some infrared type lms, but most IR lm users report that it is actually not a problem in spite of Canons cautions against using IR lms with the Elan II/IIe.

3.8 Lens Release Button

To the left of the lens mount is the Lens Release button. Push it in and turn the lens counter clockwise to remove it.
3.9 Auto Focus Assist Light
Also on the front of the camera is the red Autofocus Assist Light. It emits a patterned near infrared light that will allow the camera to autofocus in otherwise complete darkness. This light comes on automatically and very briey when the camera is autofocusing in low light situations. Its range is up to 21 feet for center AF point and 13 feet for side AF points. This will depend on the lens being used. If you have an external Speedlite ash unit attached the camera will usually use the AF assist light in the external ash instead of the one built into the camera body. This will save the camera battery power and the external lights are usually more powerful. Some external ash
Figure 6: Front View units do not cover the side AF points however, so with those ashes, the camera will use its own AF assist light when a side AF point is selected. When using some large diameter lenses the left side AF assist light may be blocked by the lens barrel. The dark red circle that houses the AF assist light, close to the shutter button, also houses the receiver for the optional IR remote control, RC-1.

3.10 Remote Release Port

On the left side of the camera is a small hole that is actually the plug in port for the RS-60E3 Cord Remote. Just plug it in and you can trip your shutter without touching your camera. This makes for much steadier shots when using a tripod.

3.11 Battery Compartment

The Battery Compartment is on the bottom, on the right side. It uses a 2CR-5 lithium 6 Volt battery. Canon claims that you can expect up to 90 rolls of 24 exposure lm with one battery. Cold weather and use of the internal ash will reduce that considerably. Below zero (F) temps and using ash on all exposures will reduce this to as little as 6 rolls of lm.
4 LCD and Viewnder Information
4.1 Liquid Crystal Display
The liquid crystal display (LCD) on the top right side of the camera, shows quite a bit of information about what is going on with the camera. At the top left is a numeric display that shows the shutter speed when metering, but is also used to show the lm speed, custom function number and eye calibration number. At the top right is the aperture display that is also used to show AEB amount, and custom function option, red eye, and beeper setting numbers. The next row down has the ECF on indicator, ISO, AEB and red eye reduction on symbols.
Figure 7: LCD Panel The third row down has the battery indicator that shows how much battery power is left. It usually shows full until shortly before the battery starts to die. A ashing battery indicator, or no battery indicator at all, usually means the battery is dead. A ashing battery indicator can also mean that the camera has locked up for some reason. The usual solutions are; take the battery out, try a new battery, clean the battery contacts, clean the lens and lens mount contacts, remove the lens, remove the external ash unit. If it still blinks, youve got a problem. To the right of the battery indicator is the multiple exposure indicator. When this is lit you should also see the frame counter portion of the LCD showing how many multiple exposures are left before the camera advances the lm. Moving further to the right is the beeper on indicator and then a CF indicating that a custom function has been turned on. The fourth row has the Flash Exposure Compensation indicator that shows whenever the FEC is something other than 0. To the right is the self timer / remote activation indicator. Just below it is the MF (Manual Focus) indicator that shows up when ever you turn the autofocus switch on your lens to MF. To the far right is the lm frame counter, that is also used to display the number of multiple exposures left to be taken before the lm advances and it also counts down the self-timer. The bottom of the LCD shows a lm canister if lm is loaded and blinks if it is rewound.

To the right is the exposure graph. Most of the time the indicator is under the 0 mark, but if you have set Auto Exposure Compensation (AEC) the indicator will move to the - or the + side to show how much compensation you are using. It has a +/- 2 stop range. This graph is also used to show Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB). As you set AEB you will see the single indicator become three indicators showing how much AEB you have selected. You will also see a numeric indication of the AEB amount in the upper right hand of the display. You can combine AEB with AEC, but you are still limited to the 2 stop maximum range. The graph also is used as a short count down indicator for the red eye reduction lamp. The exposure graph is also used when metering in manual mode. Setting the indicator to 0 is what the cameras meter recommends. Of course one of the prime reasons for using manual mode is disregard what the meter says, but it still gives you an indication of how far you are from the recommended exposure.

4.2 Viewnder Display

The viewnder also shows much of the same information as the LCD so that you can see necessary data without removing your eye from the viewnder. The screen is called a New Laser Matte screen and it is fairly bright, but it is accused of sacricing contrast for brightness. This would be bad, if true, in a manual focus camera but isnt much to complain about with autofocus. You can see three autofocus squares that light up as they come into focus, indicating which AF point is active. The actual AF area is slightly larger than the small squares show but accurately indicate the spot. There is also an AF indicator dot in the line of lights below the screen. These AF squares will also light up when you manually focus your EF (EOS) mount lens. But if you are using a manual focus lens with a lens adapter they will not work. The central AF point is a cross type sensor and is sensitive to contrasting lines in any direction. The outer AF points are linear and are sensitive to horizontal contrasting lines. They wont work if the only lines are completely vertical. In practice this isnt much of a issue and you can always tip the camera a bit for vertical lined subjects. Also on the screen is a small square in the upper left. This is what you look at to activate the DOF preview when using eye control on the Elan IIe. To use it you have to have the camera in One Shot focus mode, lock the focus on something using eye control to select the AF point, then look at the little square. The lens will then stop down to the taking aperture and you will see the screen get darker and the depth of eld get deeper. Of course you have to have selected an aperture smaller than the lenses maximum for this to do anything. When you press the shutter button half way down the meter is activated and the viewnder data display is lit up. At the bottom of the view screen, starting on the left, there is an eye control indicator. Next to it is the * of the Auto Exposure Lock (AEL) indicator, followed by a ash ready indicator that is also used to indicate invalid Flash Exposure Lock (FEL) warning. The numeric display is for the shutter speed, eye control calibration, and FEL lock indication. The next numeric display is for the aperture value. Followed by the Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) indicator. Then there is the exposure graph like the one on the LCD and is used for the same purposes. The 18

farthest right, bottom indicator is a dot to show that the camera has found something to focus on.

5 Flash

5.1 Built In Flash
The Elan II/IIes Built In Flash is TTL only. Like all such built in ash units, it is limited by its low power. It is also very close to the lens axis, and this frequently causes the dreaded red eye effect in your pictures, which is really just the ash lighting up the back side of the subjects eyeball. Moving the ash farther above your lens is the best solution. This will also cause any shadows on the wall behind your subject to fall below the image of your subject where it will either not be seen or not be as objectionable. The built in ash unit also houses a bright white light that acts as a red eye reduction lamp. With the ash up and red eye enabled, press and hold the shutter button until the graph indicator at the bottom of the viewnder (as well as the one in the LCD) centers itself. Then take the picture. What happens is the bright light shines in the eyes of the subject and causes the iris of the eye to contract, reducing the red reection from the back of the eye. Most people nd this totally annoying, so now that you know how to do it, turn the thing off! There are better ways of dealing with red eye. Including red eye removal pens for your prints. When using some larger lenses the built in ash may be partially blocked by the lens barrel. This will cause a rounded shadow at the bottom of the picture. This is most pronounced at wide zoom settings and close distances. The cure is to use an external ash since it is mounted higher above the lens.

5.2 Flash Metering

The Elan II/IIe is capable of Through The Lens (TTL) and Advanced TTL (A-TTL) ash metering with external Canon E and EZ series Speedlites. It is also capable of Evaluative TTL (E-TTL) ash metering with external Canon EX series Speedlites. For several reasons, E-TTL is generally the preferred metering method. With TTL and A-TTL, the cameras built-in ash meter senses the light Through The Lens (TTL) and reected Off The Film (OTF). When enough light has reached the lm the camera signals the ash to stop its ash pulse. This all takes place in less than 1/1000 second. On the Elan II/IIe this exposure is metered by a four area, three zone ash meter and metering is biased toward the general area of whatever autofocus point is active at the time. With E-TTL mode, the ash exposure control is determined before the shutter opens by means of a pre-ash that is metered by the same meter as the cameras regular, ambient light, evaluative meter. This pre-ash occurs about 1/20 second before the main ash and you can usually see it in the viewnder just before it blacks out for the exposure. This system compares the ambient light reading with the ash reading and adjusts both the ambient exposure and ash exposure to, hopefully, provide the optimal

5.4 Flash Exposure Modes

In low light with the camera in P, Full Auto, and PIC modes the camera will usually select a wide aperture. Also the shutter speed will be held to no slower than 1/60 second, but as light levels increase the shutter speed will rise to be equal to the cameras 20
highest sync speed (1/125 sec.). Also as light levels increase, to the point of over exposure by the brighter ambient light, the lens aperture will get increasingly smaller. With the camera in Av, Tv and M modes, the camera meter will insist on a full and proper ambient light exposure in addition to your ash exposure. Its the same thing as night ash mode in some other cameras. The background will be properly exposed by the ambient light exposure and the ash will insure that the subject in the foreground is properly exposed by the ash. However, if the light is dim, the shutter speed will get very slow, often too slow to hand hold the camera. If that happens you can simply turn the camera back to P mode which will raise the shutter to 1/60 second, but this will usually create dark, underexposed backgrounds. A slow shutter speed with the camera mounted on a tripod is often the best solution. Also, the Elan II/IIe has custom function # 9 to keep the shutter speed at 1/125 sec. in Av mode if you want that. I nd that when using ash, setting the camera to manual mode is usually easier to keep everything in control. Since the ash exposure is being determined automatically anyway, having the camera on manual really doesnt slow much of anything down. Also, remember, that with ash the aperture effects both ambient lighting and ash lighting, but the shutter speed only effects ambient lighting. This is because the ash pulse is much faster than the shutter.
5.5 Auto Fill Flash Reduction
The Elan II/IIe automatically provides negative Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) when shooting in bright light. If using ash with light levels above 10EV (equal to f/5.6 @ 1/30 seconds) the camera assumes you want a normal ambient light exposure with ll ash to brighten the nearby subject, so it reduces the normal ash output. This effect fades in as the brightness of the ambient lighting increases above EV10. The maximum of -1.5 stops of FEC is applied with TTL/A-TTL metering and up to 2 stops with E-TTL. This auto FEC happens in all camera modes and is designed to make your ll ash pictures more natural looking. Most people like the effect but many photographers want even more reduction for their ll ash pictures. This can be easily done with the Elan II/IIE by means of the FEC control on the camera body. This FEC will be in addition to any auto FEC the camera decides on. Some EOS cameras have a custom function to eliminate this Auto Fill Flash Reduction, but the Elan II/IIe does not.

6.2 Other Lenses

In addition you can use any T mount lens with a T mount adapter ring. T mounts are frequently used for cheap mirror lenses that have nearly worthless image quality. But the T-Mount is also used for macro bellows, attaching the camera to a microscope or telescope as well as some worthwhile older lenses. You can also use any M42 screw mount lens with a M42 to Screw mount adapter. Very decent, low cost sheye lenses are often found in M42 mount. These lenses were
designed for cameras like the early Pentax Spotmatics. Some of the lenses were very good and can be found cheap. There are also adapters made to t older Canon manual focus lenses, but these will either not allow innity focus or will increase the focal length of your lens with a small teleconverter built in. They are not really worth the price or limitations unless you have a very special old Canon lens to use with your EOS camera. There are also adapters made to t the EF mount camera to Nikon, Tamron Adaptall and other lenses. The downsides to using any of these adapted lenses is that they can be manual focused only and they will have to be metered in the stop down mode. That is, they will not have an auto aperture, so metering will be done in M, Av or P mode, with a slightly darkened viewnder. So focus rst. The LCD and viewnder display will show the aperture as "00" but you set the aperture on the lens barrel with these anyway.

7 Optional Equipment

7.1 Battery Packs / Grips
The BP-50 Vertical Grip is available for the Elan II/IIe. It is also a battery pack as it takes either four AA batteries or the 2CR-5 that the camera normally uses. It also has an additional shutter button to use in the vertical position and a switch to disable it. Its quite handy and I usually leave mine on unless Im trying to reduce the size of my photo equipment. One problem with the vertical grip is that it displaces the tripod mount from directly under the lens axis to a position just over an inch to the right side. It also would be more useful to add a Main Dial, AE Lock button and AF point selector button. But at least this leaves an upgrade path for future cameras. The BP-5B is an external battery pack that is used with the vertical grip. It has a dummy 2CR-5 battery attached to a coiled wire, and at the other end is a battery pack for 4 D cells. You can keep the batteries warm in your coat & still take pictures in sub zero temperatures. The BP-5B is the same as a BP- 5 (for the EOS 5/A2/A2e) but adds a top plate for the BP-50 that has a hole for the power cord to go through. You can use the slightly cheaper BP-5 and modify the top plate yourself if you want.

the repair process was a bit tricky. Fortunately this hasnt proven to be as frequent a problem as many people expected that it would be.

8.2 Lens Incompatability

Other than problems with the battery compartment, the most frequently reported trouble seems to be an incompatibility with some third party lenses. They sometimes cause the camera to lock up with the battery indicator ashing in the LCD. Some lenses will simply not work at all with the Elan II/IIe and others will lock up only if you use it with the motor drive set on continuous. Some third party lenses will not cause this symptom but the aperture will not work or it will display some other malady.

9 Specications

The EOS Elan II/IIe is a great camera with plenty of features for the enthusiast. It has proven to be reliable and easy to use. It has been upgraded to the EOS 30/Elan 7/7e which has a few more AF point, a bit faster operation and a few other improvements, but the Elan II/IIe isnt far behind. Viewnder coverage: 90% vertical and 92% horizontal with 19.5mm of eye relief Metering system: 6 zone evaluative, 9.5% partial and center weighted Metering range: EV1 to EV 20 with 50mm f/1.4 lens and 100ISO lm Film Speed range: ISO 6 to ISO 6400, or ISO 25 to ISO 5000 with DX coding AF working range: EV 0 to EV18 with ISO 100 lm AF assist beam: Near infrared, up to 21 feet for center AF point and 13 feet for side AF points Shutter: Electronically timed, 30 seconds to 1/4000 second, top ash sync at 1/125 sec. Film advance: 2.5 frames per second max. Built in ash: GN of 42 feet with ISO 100 lm, coverage for 28m lens Dimensions & weight: 152.5mm (W) x 104.4mm (H) x 71mm (D), 590 grams