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EOS 50/50e Elan II/IIe Operator’s Manual
prepared by Jim Strutz, updated by Niloy J. Mitra
9th August 2002
http://eosdoc.com/manuals.asp?q=ElanII
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Contents 1 Introduction 4 2 Camera Top Controls 4 2.1 Shutter Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.2 Main Dial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.3 Command Dial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2.4 Metering Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.5 Self Timer / Remote Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.6 Focus Mode Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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7 Optional Equipment 23 7.1 Battery Packs / Grips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 7.2 Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 7.3 Viewfinder Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 7.4 Off Camera Shoe Cord 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 8 Known Problems 24 8.1 Battery Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 8.2 Lens Incompatability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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1 Introduction Elan II/IIe (North American designation) is the same camera as the EOS 50/50e (in- ternational designation). The "e" in the name refers to the "eye control" option that is used to quickly select autofocus points as well as depth of field (DOF) preview. EOS, by the way, stands for Electro Optical System. In writing this instruction manual for the Canon EOS 50/50e and Elan II/IIe, I have assumed that the user has a basic understanding of lens focal length, lens apertures, focusing, s
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Figure 1: Top View 2.3 Command Dial On the top left of the camera you will find the Command Dial. It selects the camera’s 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
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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) d
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(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 flash 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 lens’s largest aperture, y
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and hold the shutter button until the camera beeps. You’re all done, but you should do this repeatedly in different kinds of lighting. The more you recalibrate, the more accurate ECF will become. There are three different calibration settings that can be used for different people or for when you wear glasses, contacts, etc. You can change the calibration setting by turning the Command Dial to CAL and then turning the Main Dial. You can see the selection (1, 2 or 3) in both the viewfinder and the
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macro and telephoto use. You can cancel the Self Timer during this 2 or 10 second wait, before the shutter fires 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 d
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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 can’t do this in AI Servo mode, but then you can’t 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 changi
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3) Auto DX film 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 flash sync 0 = off, 1) = on 7) AF assist beam 0 = off, 1) = on 8) Spot & FEL to focus point 0 = Partial meter & Flash Exp
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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 aut
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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 fixed starting point in this cycle so the first press may be anywhere in the cycle of options. I’ll start with the ISO selector. Press the Function button repeat
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selection. The exposure counter in the LCD will now display the remaining exposures to be taken on this frame instead of the usual frame number. If you decide you don’t want to use all the Multiple Exposures you selected, simply press the MF button again and then turn the Main Dial until the numbers remaining disappear. Press the shutter button half way to confirm this selection. Getting more than 9 exposures on a single frame is also possible; before you get to the last exposure for this frame,
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space on the left side and pull the film 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 film will wind to the first frame. Can’t get much easier with 35mm film. Figure 5: Inside View You can see the IR frame counter near the top of the film rail on the right side. This might fog some infrared type films, but most IR film users report that it is actually not a problem in spite of Canon’s
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Figure 6: Front View units do not cover the side AF points however, so with those flashes, the camera will use it’s 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
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4 LCD and Viewfinder 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 film 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
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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
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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/IIe’s Built In Flash is TTL only. Like all such built in flash 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 flash lighting up the back side of the subject’s eyeball. Moving the flash farther above your lens is the best solution. This
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exposure. E-TTL also biases the flash exposure towards the area surrounding the active AF point. E-TTL usually works better than TTL and A-TTL when the lighting is difficult such as a backlit or small nearby subject with a distant background, or an off-center subject. E-TTL is also an improvement with daylight fill flash, providing a more natural look. 5.3 E-TTL Features Canon’s E-TTL system allows the pre-flash to be fired up to 16 seconds before the main flash, so you can have Flash Exposure Lock (FE
