The following comparison of the Canon 630, 10s and Elan is
organized by feature (in no particular order), showing which
cameras have it, followed by my opinion of how important I
consider it to be. I am mostly into nature/outdoor photography,
and this may be reflected in my comments of each feature (for
example, someone interested in studio photography may priorize
the features differently). While I own a 630 and an Elan, I do
not have direct experience with the 10s, and my comments about it
are based on the little brochure that Canon had for this camera.
[editor's note: I have a 10s and have added a few comments to
Panos' text - RMA]
1) Autofocus
1.1) Autofocus capability
- 630: 1 sensor (requires that subject has vertical lines)
- 10s: 3 sensors (side sensors require that subject has horizontal
lines, middle sensor has no such limitation) + focus assist light
- Elan: 1 sensor (no limitations) + focus assist light
In my experience, the 630 "hunts" for focus a lot more than the
Elan (which very rarely has a hard time focusing). I don't have
any experience with the 3 sensors of the 10s, but I don't think
that the ability to focus on any of the sensors is very important
(one can always focus and then reframe). However, I do consider
important that the 10s evaluates flash exposure according to the
sensor used for focusing.
[For what it's worth I've had no problems with AF on the 630.
Maybe it's not quite as good as the 10s or Elan, but it's good
enough most of the time - RMA]
1.2) Autofocus speed
I am of the opinion that it is the lens that makes the difference
in autofocus speed and not the camera. The camera makes a
difference in autofocus accuracy (i.e. no "hunting"). The focus
speed of the lens depends on its design and the mass that has to
be moved for focusing. In general, USM lenses tend to be faster
than non-USM lenses of similar design (i.e. both internal focus,
or both with rotating front groups).
[The camera does have an effect on AF speed, but probably not
as much of an effect as lens type. I've used all three cameras
and with a good USM lens, all focus very fast]
1.3) Autofocus-assist light
This feature is available only on the 10s and Elan (the range is
1-7m). It helps focusing in low-light conditions, although it can
also be used when trying to focus on a featureless surface.
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2) Built-in flash
- 630: not available
- 10s: available, covers up to 35mm lenses
- Elan: available, zoom ability (28-80), red-eye reduction, flash exposure compensation, second curtain sync
Initially, I was of the opinion that a builtin flash is worse
than useless, since it has a very limited range and is powered by
the costly lithium battery of the camera. Since I have bought the
Elan, my opinion has shifted somewhat. There are situations when
having the builtin flash is a real bonus. It typically happens
when I go out with friends and just carry along the Elan +
EF28-70, in case I want to take some pictures to remember the
occasion. In such situations the builtin flash can serve either
for fill-in during daytime or as standard flash for low-light
shots. For the latter type, there are 3 features of the Elan that
are missing from the 10s, and which I think are very useful:
a) red-eye reduction; given how close the flash is to the lens,
this is a necessity.
b) flash exposure compensation; my experience is that Canon's
algorithm tends to overxpose the subject.
c) zoom flash; this allows longer flash distances, and it does
makea difference since the builtin flash is weak .
So, the bottom line is that the flash is nice to have, and when
used conservatively it does not have an appreciable impact on the
Elan's battery life (check the section on battery consumption for
more comments).
[Note that the 10s can use its TTL flash on off center subjects
if they fall on one or other of the outer focus zones. TTL flash
exposure on the Elan meters off whatever is in the center of the
frame. RMA]
----------------------------------------
3) Bar code programs
- 630: not available
- 10s: 1 custom program at a time
- Elan: 5 custom programs at a time
My opinion of this feature is that it is completely useless. I
would never spend the money to get the bar code reader plus the
"booklets" with the bar codes. For that money, a better
investment would be a book on how to determine proper exposure.
However, as a small caveat I would like to add that one may be
able to put the bar code reader to good use, if one can design
one's own bar codes. [This is possible - see FAQ - RMA].
----------------------------------------
4) Motor drive
- 630: 5 fps (2.5 fps with predictive autofocus)
- 10s: 5 fps (3.3 fps with predictive autofocus)
- Elan: 3 fps (2.5 fps with predictive autofocus)
[Note these are the Canon specs. I've seen reports which suggest
that the Elan might run slower than the spec'd speed with film in
the camera. If the speed is critical to you then check it for
yourself to be sure the camera you chose meets spec.]
Note that the difference in speed drops when the cameras have to
autofocus continuously. In particular, the difference between the
630 and the 10s can be probably attributed to the faster
electronics in the latter. In all the time I have had the 630, I
have used it to take pictures in quick succession (aka,
continuous mode) only twice. None of them worked very well. It is
far better to learn to anticipate the moment when to press the
shutter button.
[Anticipation is not always possible and difficult to judge
because of the typical shutter lag on most cameras (RT excepted)
which may run from 100ms to 250ms. Continuous mode may be of more
use to action photographers than others - RMA].
The only real advantage of the faster drive is when doing
autobracketing on a subject that is prone to move (like a bird).
On the other hand, one may want to have a slower drive in
extreme-cold environments, when the film becomes brittle and the
stronger motor may rip it apart.
Finally, the Elan has a more quiet drive. I have not found this
important so far.
----------------------------------------
5) Custom functions
The 10s has the more custom functions of the 3. However, in my
opinion there are only two custom functions that need to be
seriously considered:
a) leaving the film leader out on rewind The 630 and 10s have
this feature but the Elan doesn't. This is useful for changing
film at midroll and then using the rest of the original film some
other time. I have mixed feelings about this custom function,
since there are cheap tools to extract the film leader from the
canister. Having the custom function is of course more
convenient. However, I would not consider this capability a
deciding factor in making a choice among these cameras.
b) mirror lockup [actually 2 second mirror pre-fire, not true MLU
- RMA] The 10s and Elan can do it; the 630 can't. This feature is
very useful when using long telephoto lenses at slow speeds
(1/4-1/30), when mirror vibration is likely to affect picture
quality. Unfortunately, one has to buy the remote controller RC-1
to take advantage of mirror lockup.
[The RC-1 is so useful as to be an essential accessory for the
Elan and 10s in my opinion - RMA]
[I would also add custom function 4, transfer of AF from the
shutter release a back button on the camera to the list of very
desirable functions - see section 16.7]
----------------------------------------
6) Remote release
The 10s and Elan require the remote controller RC-1, while for
the 630 one has to buy the GR-20 grip and the 60T3 remote switch.
I find that I would like to have both systems. The advantage of
the remote controller is that it is more convenient to carry
around, as it can be permanently attached to the camera strap.
Its disadvantage is that the camera will shut off reception
automatically after 4 minutes of inactivity to preserve the
battery. Obviously, the 60T3 remote switch does not have this
limitation, but it has 2 user-interface disadvantages:
a) it is difficult to hold the camera normally if the switch is
attached to it.
b) the GR-20 is not a very comfortable grip so I have bought the
GR-10 grip (which has a much better feel), and have it on the
camera most of the time. So, it is very inconvenient to have to
change grips if I want to use the remote switch. Unless I need
to use "bulb", I typically elect to use the timer instead of
switching grips.
[I have no problems with the GR-20 grip - RMA]
----------------------------------------
7) Construction
The 630 definitely feels more sturdy than the Elan. Whether that
actually translates to more resistance to harsh handling, I don't
know. I don't usually abuse my cameras. My only data point is
that I have had the 630 for about 4 years without any problems. I
don't have any experience with the 10s.
[The 630 has a metal mirror box, with metal lens mount and film
rails. Both the 10s and Elan are entirely plastic except for the
metal lens mount and tripod bushing. One would think that a
metal mirror box is desirable for stability and accuracy, but so
far the plastic of the 10s and Elan seem to be just fine - RMA].
[I would say the 10s feels slightly sturdier than the Elan, but
there is not much to chose between them. The 630 is definitely
sturdier than either]
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8) Ease of use
I rate this as very important since it can make the difference
between getting the shot or not. Unfortunately, it is also very
difficult to quantify.
Here the Elan wins hands down over the 630. The 10s should be
somewhere in between. The most annoying feature of the 630 is the
little back door which hides buttons that control functions that
I do need to change often. On the Elan, everything is
immediately accessible. I have had no trouble operating it while
wearing ski gloves. The quick-control dial in particular is very
handy, particularly in the manual metering mode. Using the manual
metering mode on the 630 is a job for an octopus (especially if
you also want to use the depth-of-field preview button).
[Agreed. The Elan is an improvement over the 10s, but both are a
big improvement over the 630]
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9) Max Shutter speed
- 630: 1/2000
- 10s: 1/4000
- Elan: 1/4000
Since I typically opt for slower film if the conditions allow it,
I very rarely take pictures even with 1/1000. So, the faster
shutter is not important to me.
----------------------------------------
10) Metering
10.1) Center-weighted metering
- 630: not available
- 10s: not available
- Elan: always available
I don't consider center-weighted metering very important because
so far I haven't felt limited using evaluative+partial which are
the only ones available on the 630.
10.2) Partial metering (as % of frame area)
- 630: 6.5%
- 10s: 8.5%
- Elan: 6.5%
Partial metering allows for measuring exposure only from a small
part of the picture, which is useful when you want accurate
exposures of a specific subject, or when there is a big
difference in brightness in the picture which may cause an
incorrect evaluative-metering exposure. Since one wants to take
readings from small areas, the smaller this number is, the
better. However, the difference between the above numbers is
meaningless if one mostly uses print film, because the exposure
latitude of that type of film can compensate for small errors in
exposure.
----------------------------------------
11) Automatic exposure bracketing
- 630: +/-5 stops
- 10s: +/-5 stops
- Elan: +/-2 stops
I have never used more than 2 on the 630 (which goes up to +/-5)
so the I don't consider the Elan's AEB range a limitation.
----------------------------------------
12) Exposure compensation:
- 630: +/-5 stops
- 10s: +/-5 stops
- Elan: +/-2 stops
The same comments as for AEB apply here. Also, one can always
change the ISO of the film for 1/3-stop exposure compensation,
and this is very easy to do on the Elan (as opposed to the 630
where the little back door is involved again).
----------------------------------------
13) Price
- 630: $260
- Elan: $370
- 10s: $340
The above prices are from the ad of B&H in Pop. Photo (10/93). I
have included these prices only as order-of-magnitude indications
of the the actual camera prices. Don't forget to add the cost of
the RC-1 to the Elan and 10s, and the cost of the GR-20 and 60T3
to the 630.
[Note that new 630s (especially USA warrany versions) are now
quite hard to find. They have been out of production and
discontinued items for several years. They mat be in the ads, but
they are not in many stores!]
----------------------------------------
14) Viewfinder
14.1) Viewfinder coverage
- 630: 94% (88.36%)
- 10s: 92% (84.64%)
- Elan: 90% (81%)
The first number is the percentage of the vertical and horizontal
viewfinder coverage (the numbers for vertical and horizontal
happen to be equal). The numbers in parentheses are the
percentages of the frame area visible in the viewfinder.
14.2) Dotted exposure scale
This is useful for keeping track of the exposure compensation. It
is available on the Elan but not on the 630 or the 10s.
Unfortunately, this feature is not available in manual mode,
being replaced by the '+','-' to indicate how to adjust exposure
(when both '+' and '-' light up you have reached the correct
exposure). This would be very useful on the Elan where the Quick
Control Dial on the back adjusts the aperture while the main dial
adjusts shutter speed (this analog scale in manual mode may be
available on the EOS-100, Elan's name outside the US. [It is also
available on the Rebel [not the Rebel II] and the EOS-1 - RMA])).
----------------------------------------
15) Battery consumption
The following table shows how many 24-exposure rolls can be shot
with each camera as reported by Canon. The first number is the
number of rolls at a temperature of 68F/20C, and the second
number is the number of rolls at a temperature of -4F/-20C.
without flash | 50% flash | 100% flash | Lens used
---------------------------|--------------|--------------|-----------------
10s | 60/15 | 25/8 | 13/4 | ???
---------|-----------------|-----------------------------|-----------------
Elan | 100/28 | 30/13 | 15/7 | 28-80 USM
---------|-----------------|--------------|--------------|-----------------
630 (I) | 75/8 | | | 50 f/1.8
---------|-----------------|--------------|--------------|-----------------
630 (II) | 150/15 | | | 50 f/1.8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few notes about the above numbers:
a) The Elan numbers were obtained without any film in the camera
(i.e. no film rewind was necessary). The 630 numbers do include
rewind. I don't know about the 10s numbers.
b) There are 2 sets of numbers reported for the 630. They
correspond to the 2 Canon Standard Test Methods. For method I,
the shutter is released after AF is completed and just before the
6-second metering stops. For method II, the shutter is released
just after AF is completed. Film rewind is included for both
methods.
c) It is not clear what is the test method for the 10s/Elan
numbers
d) Different lenses should yield different results
e) Canon reports the number of 24-exposure rolls. It is likely
that they always stop after the 24th exposure. Since one can get
25 exposures out of most 24-exposure rolls, Canon's numbers may
be more optimistic by x/25 rolls (where x is the number of
24-exposure rolls). For the above numbers, x can range from 0 to
6.
My actual experience with the 630 and the Elan using the lenses
EF100-300L, EF28-70, and Sigma 21-35 is between 30 and 40 24-exp.
rolls for the 630, and between 20 and 30 rolls for the Elan. On
the Elan, the builtin flash was used for approx. 1% of the
exposures.
----------------------------------------
16) Special features
16.1) Infra-red film
Infra-red film cannot be used on the Elan. I don't care much
about this since I haven't used any infra-red film so far anyway.
16.2) Intervalometer
Only the 10s has this. I don't know how useful it is.
[Very useful if you ever need it. I've never needed it though! -
RMA]
16.3) LCD illumination
This feature is really useful for night shooting and only the 630
has it. At least the Elan has the exposure scale on the
viewfinder so exposure compensation is still possible in very low
light situations.
16.4) Flash exposure warning
Only the 630 will give a warning if the flash exposure will be
incorrect (most likely because the subject is too far).
16.5) Interchangeable screens
Only the 630 has interchangeable focusing screens.
Why this is important to me:
a) I want to be able to focus manually and the standard screen is
not very good for this
b) When using very wide angle lenses, the area covered by the
sensor is likely to be featureless, thus making autofocus
difficult. I have this problem with the 630 + Sigma 21-35, when
used at anything wider than 28.
========================================
[I have added the following additional points - RMA]
16.6) Databacks
Only the 630 can take a databack. There is a simple
time/date/frame counter back (ca. $60) and a very powerful, do
everything Technical Back E (ca. $500) which gives a lot of power
to a 630. It includes intervalometer functions, long time
exposures, records shooting data (speed, aperture, metering mode,
lens type, focal length, exposure compensation, bracketing, flash
mode, frame number, exposure mode etc.). It can also download
data to a PC and record notes which can be imprinted on the film.
You can also design your own programs for "program" exposure
modes.
The 10s and Elan are available with databacks in Japan and
Europe. Sometimes these models show up here in the USA as "grey
market" items.
16.7) Focus Lock
Custom function 4 on the 10s and 630 transfers AF start to a
button on the back of the camera. This gives focus lock
capability. You hit the back button to focus and the regular
shutter release to get exposure and release the shutter. Very
useful for off center subjects - you don't need to keep the
shutter release 1/2 pressed (and draw 100mA+ all the time you
keep it held down!). I would rate this as one of the most serious
omissions on the Elan, but some people would never miss it.
16.8) Tripod socket
Now we are really getting down to minute differences...The tripod
sockets on the 630 and 10s are in line with the axis of the lens,
but on the Elan the tripod socket is offset (presumably so as not
to interfere with some internal part). Not likely to make a big
difference to most people, but it could be a problem in some
specialised applications I guess (custom brackets and that type
of thing).
16.9) Beep
There is no AF confirmation beep in the Elan. This may or may not
be a good thing, depending on the user. The 10s and 630 have a
selectable AF beep. The EOS 100 (non US version of the Elan) does
have the beep available.
16.10) Shutter/Focus Priority
There are some esoteric differences between the 10s/Elan and 630
when it comes to continuous shooting. The 10s/Elan always have
focus priority, i.e they won't take a picture if the AF has not
gotten good focus. This applies to all modes of operation. To get
shutter priority you have to use manual focus. On a 630 in
continuous winding mode, the first shot of a sequence is shutter
priority, i.e.the shutter fire when you tell it to, focus or not.
This can actually be useful in some situations. If you hold down
the shutter release, all subsequent shots are focus priority,
just like the 10s and Elan.
16.11) Extension Tubes
Both the 10s and Elan have built in exposure compensation to
adjust exposure when the EF25 extension tube is used. The EF25
was brought out after the 630, so the 630 lacks this automatic
compensation. For more on this (and why you need exposure
compensation despite TTL metering, see the FAQ section 9.14).
RMA
From Chuck Westfall:
First and foremost, neither the EOS-1 nor the EOS A2/A2E has any
problem producing tack-sharp images without mirror lock, even at
shutter speeds of 1/15, 1/8 or 1/4 second when used with lenses
shorter than 300mm. This should apply to the vast majority of
conventional work. However, the EOS A2/A2E has less
mirror-induced vibration than the EOS-1.
>>...why doesn't the EOS-1 doesn't have any sort of mirror
lock-up?
It gets back to the combination of high-speed predictive AF and
1/250 X-sync. One requirement for fast flash sync (in addition to
a high-torque shutter cocking mechanism) is a multi-bladed
shutter. Unfortunately, multi-blade focal plane shutters are
relatively inefficient at blocking light for long periods of
time. (If it's strong enough, stray light can make its way around
the edge of the individual blades.) One way of getting around
this is to leave both shutter curtains down while the shutter is
at rest (ala EOS RT and EOS A2/A2E). With this design, the second
set of blades can be slightly offset relative to the first, thus
blocking light effectively. However, for the EOS-1, Canon elected
to use a more conventional shutter mechanism, in which the second
set of shutter blades remains retracted, in a standby position,
until the exposure begins.
Why did we do this? Mainly in order to achieve the fastest
possible predictive AF shooting rate. The mirror drive mechanism
of the EOS-1 has to operate more quickly than that of other EOS
models including the EOS A2/A2E *under every condition* including
single frame shooting in order to achieve its top framing rate
for predictive AF. This results in a higher degree of
mirror-induced vibration for the EOS-1. Try to imagine how fast
the mirror, shutter and diaphragm mechanisms must operate in
order to provide the AF system with enough mirror-down,
full-aperture viewing time between frames to see the subject,
calculate and adjust the focus and still achieve 4.5 fps.
Since one of the most important design priorities for the EOS-1
is the fastest possible predictive AF system, there has to be a
trade-off somewhere. It's another one of those "you can't have
your cake and eat it too" scenarios. I have no qualms in
suggesting the use an EOS A2, A2E, 10s or Elan instead of an
EOS-1 for slow shutter speed work with long telephoto lenses.
It's a little bit like the situation of owning 2 different lenses
with overlapping specifications, say for example an 80-200/2.8L
and an 85/1.2L USM or 85/1.8 USM. They each have their strong
points. Why should it be any different for camera bodies?
RMA
