Canon Eye Control Focus SLRs

[JamesD]

I'm planning to upgrade my camera body, and I'm curious about whether anyone has used the Eye Control system cameras from Canon--where you look at an autofocus point to select it as the active AF point. Is it worth the extra money? Is it reliable? Is it easy to use? I've heard some mention of "training" it; is this true that you have to train the camera to recognize where you're looking?

Current body is a Canon Rebel GII, which I picked up at Wal Mart because I a) didn't know better; b) wanted to get started without spending too much; and c) it was the only one available locally. It's served well, but after researching and taking a few thousand photos, I've realized that more features would be gooder--and some are indispensible, now that I've used cameras with features the Rebel doesn't have.

Not that any of that particularly matters; I'm just interested in whether the Eye Control is worth the extra outgo.

Thanks!

 

[darin3200]

I researched it and not a lot of people liked it. Most of what I read was that it wasn't very accurate or comfortable to use.

I would also think it would be a problem if you like to evalute the entire frame before you shoot, it might confuse the sensors.

 

[summers_enemy]

I work with a guy that has one of these, apparently once you get used to it there's no going back.

 

[Big Mike]

I've heard the same....about half the people don't like it and the other half just love it.

 

[usayit]

Works great on my Elan IIe even if it only has 3 focus points. Don't forget the camera has to be configured for your eyes in order to work properly.

 

[Bob_McBob]

The general consensus among users who actually take the time to set it up properly is that it works very well; it is sorely missed on Canon's DSLR line-up. Most people who don't like ECF have only tried it on an uncalibrated display camera, where there is almost no hope of it working correctly.