Product ReviewsCanon EOS-3 35mm SLR Film Camera Body Only

Canon EOS-3: Best Film camera ever made by Canon. Best film camera if you have Canon DSLR lenses

Canon EOS-3 is one of the best if not THE BEST film camera ever made by Canon

If you already have Canon EOS Digital this should be a first choice if you want film

- Works directly with Canon DSLR EOS lenses including Autofocus, Auto Aperture, Image Stabilization
- User interface is similar to Canon DSLR
- EOS-3 is special. It has Eye-Control Focus Point Selection over the 45 focus points.

After calibrating the camera to your eye, you can select which focus point or light metering point to use just by looking at the point through the viewfinder. It works very well for me. but I hear that it does not work as well when wearing glasses or contact lens. It's great if you are not a fan of this. you can use the typical Canon EOS controls for this

Otherwise, it Is the same as the more expensive EOS-1v except for the EOS-1v having a faster burst
shooting rate of 10 photos/second Vs 5 photos for EOS-3 and better weather sealing. But you're not
going want to do 10 photos/sec burst Vs 5 with a 36 exposure roll of film

The sample Photos below were taken using Kodak Portra 400 and scanned on Plustek 81 00i Ai usrng.
Silverfast 9 Ai. Read full review...

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Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: tericheson

Good for digital shooters and for people who just want their 35mm camera to work... every time

I started out shooting film long long ago. So with my nostalgia, it's not surprising that I've come back to it after all these years. I've had waay too much G.A.S. and have bought and used dozens of film cameras, both 35mm and 120mm. I've decided to sell all of my 35mm bodies except this one. I got tired of the purely mechanical cameras and battery powered cameras having something wrong with them and being disappointed when I developed the film. It's too expensive to have that happen! So, when doing my research I found that this camera is just what I was looking for. It's the last 35mm body Canon produced before they went digital. It will feel the most familiar to you if you also shoot Canon digital. It's an auto focus camera that uses the EF lenses I already own. You can program it to be fully automatic or use it like the SLR's of a much earlier time. The light meter is spot on, and since it's one of the most recent film cameras, it just works. For the price, you can't do any better in a 35mm camera body.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: daisuke_kitagawa

Excellent film camera!

I am very pleased with this camera! It takes great images, I love the eye focus feature it has, and I especially love the fact that it is compatible with all of my new Canon lenses. It is in great condition and everything works. The only feature I don’t like is the little button on the back that you can push to rewind the film when the roll is half used. It can accidentally get pushed and waste film.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: kingtakion

A Hidden Gem

I have been into film photography for a couple of years now and have bought quite a few vintage cameras, always looking for the right one. I wanted a point and shoot but was put off by the insanely high prices. The EOS 3 was one of the last film cameras Canon made, and so the technology in it is about as high as a film camera can get. But for some reason the bodies are not as expensive as much older, much less reliable vintage cameras. After I developed a couple rolls I was convinced this was the film camera for me and sold my K1000s, which were fun but could never really produce the results I was after. The EOS 3 paired with my Pentax 67 are a match made in heaven. FFL--Film For Life!Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: gaupsta

One of the best 35mm film cameras ever made

I got a steal on this camera on eBay and I have to say that the build quality is better than any of my digital cameras. I purchased it simply because I have a large investment in Canon lenses and I thought it might be interesting to go back to film, since my last 35mm film SLR was a 1973 Nikon F. Wow, film cameras have come a long way since then!

I am not going to use this review to go over all the features of the camera since others have done that but when you hold this camera in your hands and take some shots you get an amazing feel (and sound) of a professional quality work of engineering. The camera is rock-solid.

The best thing I like about it is a feature that has not made it onto ANY of the Canon digital cameras and that is the Eye Controlled Focus. You can set the camera to focus on what your eye looks at in the viewfinder!! It's not perfect but it works.

The only drawback is that as far as resolution and sharpness goes. digital has definitely surpassed film. I took some identical photos using the same lenses on my Rebel T2i and this camera, then did some high-resolution scans of the negatives, and the clarity of the digital images is significantly better. And of course there is the cost and hassle of developing film. Unfortunately I don't expect to use the EOS-3 as much as I would like due to being spoiled by digital SLRs, but boy this is one fine piece of craftsmanship.Read full review...

Canon EOS-3 35mm Film Camera

This is a great camera if you are still enjoying film. Film is not dead and it seams that if you want an affordable full frame camera that this is the way to go. Film still has characteristics that digital can't toouch. Granted that digital has affects that film can't touch too, but if you like B&W pictures, printers don't compare to real silver gelatin. If you want, you can spen $35k on a digital printer that prints on silver gelatin paper, but you might as well use film.
Back to this camera. It has the Canon 45 area focus that is impeccable and you can use your Canon EF lenses that you use today. These lenses are great. For me I use Canon digital for color and the EOS 3 for my B&W. Also I sometimes put in the Pro films like Kodak 160VC. Beautiful colors.
Also, this camera has a wonderful sound of the shutter. Solid camera. Easy to use.
I don't suggest the Power booster PB E1. It only adds bulk. If you need the extra, get the PB E2, it adds the meter lock button that is essential.Read full review...

EOS system Film camera selection

I needed a professional film camera to complement my digital Canon. So it had to be an EOS camera. The two obvious choices are EOS 1V and EOS 3. They are very similar. In fact, the one significant difference is that EOS 3 has smaller viewfinder area, and 1V is more robust.

Finally I bought an old cheap (1998) EOS 3. One has to note that the build quality of this camera is very very high: it works like new even after 10 years! It is needless to say that it is a PERFECT camera with 45 autofocus zones and eye control. It has only few weak points:
* noisy shutter
* eye control did not work (unable to calibrate) with my prescription glasses (Ok with bare eye)
* No dedicated AF point selection joystick
Its strong points are:
* Lots of AF zones, easy to focus
* Very robust construction
* Very similar to EOS 1V, hard to tell the difference

I also got the PB-E2 battery pack and the Sigma 70-210 f/3.5-5.6 lens. The battery pack is quite useless: it is heavy and does not have any shutter button so it cannot be used as a hand grip. Better do NOT buy this one. There are much better choices like BP-E2 battery grip which has the button. The lens is also far from being perfect but it is cheap and very lightweight. I'll suggest this lens for use with cheaper DSLRs as a tele lens.Read full review...

Best SLR ever made

The EOS 3 is a professional spec camera.

Bought the EOS 3 9 years ago from new with BP-E2 motorwinder. This the best camera Canon have ever made and probably the best 35mm camera in world and I love it with all my heart and soul.

Its always gives me the type of professional spec photos I only dreamed of in the past.

It has all tools you'll ever need including 4 different metering modes + multi spot metering to name a few things. It can use all L series lenses, Eye control focus and has 45 AF points.

More AF points = more it can see.

I've used the EOS 3 in a monsoon, it was covered in rain water but it still worked and never let me down.

With BP-E2 motorwinder attached the EOS 3 can take up to 7 photos per second.

Most digital SLRs are not full frame, the 35mm film is full frame.

Even the new state of the art £7500 Canon EOS 1DS IV only has 16 mega pixel sensor which isn't full frame, The best 35mm film is full frame and the best 35mm film = 88 mega pixels.

No digital SLR has 88 mega pixels so 35mm film is still better than digital SLRs, 35mm film is superior to digital SLRs.

The EOS 3 can do things which even the newest most expensive digital SLRs including the Canon EOS 1DS IV can only dream of doing such as taking 7 photos per second in full frame format with a BP-E2 motorwinder.

In terms of picture quality for both landscapes and action photos NO digital SLR can ever match or beat quality of photos the EOS 3 and 35mm film can take.

Good points
-

Takes the best photos in the world, better than ANY digital SLR.

Build quality is excellent, the camera is built like a tank.

Its 100% reliable.

Weight and feel of camera is of very high quality, you know you can trust the camera.

Control layout is excellent.

45 AF points means EOS 3 can see and lock on to things which other cameras with less AF points fail to see and lock on to.

Auto focusing is perfect every single time.

Has many different metering modes.

Can use professional flash guns for special strobe light type effects.

Can use professional lenses and professional spec 35mm film.

EOS 3 can be used as a fully automatic point and shoot camera, as well as fully professional camera.

Using 35mm film on the EOS 3 means you will always get the BEST qaulity photos as nothing not even digital SLRs can better 35mm film.

BP-E2 motorwinder can use normal AA batteries (as used in calculators, torches etc), so you don't need to carry around a special expensive camera battery. You can buy AA batteries from any one, any where in the world.

These are just a few of the many excellent things the EOS 3 has.

Bad points
-
Canon stopped making the EOS 3 and roomers say 35mm film may be scrapped in 4-5 years time (I hope its not).

Most digital camera owners bad mouth 35mm film and take the mickey out of it as they think its old fashioned. But its not as 35mm film can still take better quality photos than ANY digital SLR ever made.

Camera magazines ignore 35mm film and concentrate on inferior digital SLRs.

Camera sellers ignore 35mm film SLRs and concentrate on inferior digital cameras.Read full review...

Awesome Film Body

I am a Professional Photographer. I use both film and digital, as each has its own feel. My film bodies are the EOS3, which I use mostly for B&W film (or Color for the Northern lights shot in Alaska inthe heart of the winter!), and my 2 EOS 1Ns I use for either Infrared Film or Black & white film. I know several others that rely on the EOS 3 and its a trooper. Its light and easy in the hand which is great! If you want to shoot film, except Infrared, I would suggest the EOS 3 to EVERYONE! I also have the Canon Digals, the 30D and 5D with the new Mark3 on order. You cant go wrong with the EOS 3! Plain and Simple! Not to mention as all the other EOS bodies it uses the HUGE line of Canon EF lenses! And when you put a "L" Series lens on the 3, and are using a good film you can easily get pro quality photos!Read full review...

Excelent film camera

I decide to brough this camera because I dont have money for full frame DSLR.

I can use my lenses which i also have anduse with my Canon 400D.

Camera is easy to use for user which have skills with any SLR or DSLR.
But this one have something special.
Eye control. With this function you can select point of autofocus only with your eye. I use it all the time. And really miss it on my DSLR.

other functions is also great. Like a 6 or 7 frames per second with boost motor or realy quick AF.

It is lovely with 15mm fisheye which i use with this camera a lot.

(And sorry for my english :-D )Read full review...