Canon- Why no eye control?

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ssray

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Ray
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My last 35mm film camera was an eos3 with 45 point autofocus and eye control, why cant I have the same on a digi canon?
Cheers
Ray
 
Ray

45 point, you can certainly have but the ECF was discontinued due to fear of litigation if the user suffered eyestrain and ultimately ended up with permanent eyesight degradation (appears to be undocumented but credible)

Bob
 
Merci Bob, shame cameras arn`t like motorbikes, I`d take a eos 3 engine and glue it to a digi body.
Cheers
Ray
 
ssray said:
Merci Bob, shame cameras aren't like motorbikes,
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If it's just the sound that you want then I've heard a few Sigma focus motors that might excite you.

Bob
 
I also understand there were technical reasons, namely not enough space in the pentaprism etc.
Matt
 
That does sound really handy. Fiddling with focus points can be a pain.
 
Not really an issue on a Canon 1D series or newer higher end Nikon (D300/D700/D3) - the focus point control is easy to find whilst the camera is up at your eye.

Something "automatic" is not what I'd want at all!
 
It's not about whether the focus control is easier to find. I'd like the option if it were reliable. I suspect with the higher numbers of autofocus sensors, it may be difficult to distinguish which you are looking at.
 
arad85 said:
I suspect with the higher numbers of autofocus sensors, it may be difficult to distinguish which you are looking at.
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This was a system implemented on a 45-point AF system, so even the systems now are comparable - and we have an additional ~20 years of autofocus development since then.
 
freecom2 said:
This was a system implemented on a 45-point AF system, so even the systems now are comparable - and we have an additional ~20 years of autofocus development since then.
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It's the development of eye tracking that is needed. Perhaps why it was dropped was a cost vs reliability issue...
 
A lot of people didn't get on with EFC while others thinks it's the best thing since the wheel. It works really well for me on my EOS3 - the secret seems to be that the more often you run the calibration procedure, the more accurate it gets.

The EOS3 has few faults but if it lacks anything it's dioptre correction in the viewfinder and an eyepiece blind, although the latter is less of an issue. Perhaps as someone said above, the problem was lack of room in the prism to house all these features?
 
CT said:
The EOS3 has few faults but if it lacks anything it's dioptre correction in the viewfinder
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That's the problem I have and why the '3' is shelfbound.....I'm now in the "twilight zone" where I can manage without specs but, in reality, should have them. The LCDVF loupe gave me the same dilema and it was only the Zacuto's dioptre adjustment that saved the day.

Bob
 
My experience with it on the EOS 3 is that it's great when it works, but it's not quite good enough to rely upon every time.

Being a spectacles wearer may not help in this respect though.
 
Canon Bob said:
That's the problem I have and why the '3' is shelfbound.....I'm now in the "twilight zone" where I can manage without specs but, in reality, should have them. The LCDVF loupe gave me the same dilema and it was only the Zacuto's dioptre adjustment that saved the day.
m
Bob
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I have a pair of old specs purely for reading and close distance and they're ideal using the EOS3. Tripping over everything as I walk round is a bit of an issue though! :D
 
Musicman said:
My experience with it on the EOS 3 is that it's great when it works, but it's not quite good enough to rely upon every time.

Being a spectacles wearer may not help in this respect though.
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It works well for me and I need specs to go to the toilet these days. :'(
 
What would be ace is a hybrid viewfinder that detects exactly where you look and brings up a little targeting reticule that follows your eye and can lock on whatever you focus on with your eye with no need for focus points.

But perhaps I've watched top gun too many times......
 
amtaylor said:
What would be ace is a hybrid viewfinder that detects exactly where you look and brings up a little targeting reticule that follows your eye and can lock on whatever you focus on with your eye with no need for focus points.

But perhaps I've watched top gun too many times......
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I dunno - I want one anyway! :cool:
 
Not so good though if you scan round the viewfinder to make sure you dont have any un-wanted background stuff, like trees "growing" out of heads, mind you it would be nicely in focus! I'm guess 45 Af points and a 1.6 crop viewfinder might make things technically challenging and do we really need it?
Nice to have possibly (I Loved mine on the EOS 50 - not the digital 50D) but these days less than a neccesity.

Matt
 
Musicman said:
My experience with it on the EOS 3 is that it's great when it works, but it's not quite good enough to rely upon every time.

Being a spectacles wearer may not help in this respect though.
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I think that was most people's experience - it just didn't work very well.

But perhaps more significantly, when Canon dropped it nobody seemed too bothered and it just fell off the bottom of the development priority list.
 
MatBin said:
Not so good though if you scan round the viewfinder to make sure you dont have any un-wanted background stuff, like trees "growing" out of heads, mind you it would be nicely in focus! I'm guess 45 Af points and a 1.6 crop viewfinder might make things technically challenging and do we really need it?
Nice to have possibly (I Loved mine on the EOS 50 - not the digital 50D) but these days less than a neccesity.

Matt
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With a back button activating focus it would work as when you want to look round you would just release it. Just think how awesome tracking focus could be.
 
CT said:
It works well for me and I need specs to go to the toilet these days. :'(
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Chin up Cedric, it's just a temporary phase and you'll soon be going to the toilet without even knowing it ;)

Bob
 
Canon Bob said:
Chin up Cedric, it's just a temporary phase and you'll soon be going to the toilet without even knowing it ;)

Bob
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Coffee/keyboard alert! :D :eek: :lol:
 
The idea was you calibrated the viewfinder to your eye, by looking at the red focus points and pressed the shutter button half way, then when you used it you did the same-looked through the point you wanted to use and pressed the shutter half way.
well i still want it back as for the noise no thanks bob.
Cheers
Ray
 
MatBin said:
Not so good though if you scan round the viewfinder to make sure you dont have any un-wanted background stuff, like trees "growing" out of heads, mind you it would be nicely in focus! I'm guess 45 Af points and a 1.6 crop viewfinder might make things technically challenging and do we really need it?
Nice to have possibly (I Loved mine on the EOS 50 - not the digital 50D) but these days less than a neccesity.

Matt
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Heh funny - I never use it on my 50E, it just doesn't seem to work for me at all, to the point where I can't even begin training it! Maybe it doesn't like my glasses... :thinking:
 
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