Customer Reviews

Canon Eos Elan 7/7E (Magic Lantern Guides)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

One review discribes this book precisely: "I lost my manual. This book replaced it perfectly"!
There's almost no information that's not already in the manual. Not even basic information I hoped to find in this book e.g. "Will the camera set the custom functions to default when changing the batteries?" No, it only "in portrait mode the depth of the field will be shallow." Even in the EOS manual there are sample pictures in order to illustrate this function.
For similar prices you'll find much better books on understanding photography (e.g. John Shaws nature photography field guide"). In combination with your manual even the biggest photgraphy rookie will learn more from this combination.
Of course, if you lost your manual, this book deserves five stars for it's a substitute to your manual - not more!

When I had bought Canon Elan 7E, I got quite overwhelmed by the miriad of buttons, options, and possibilities that the camera provides. I read the little booklet that came with the camera, but did not feel much relief. I thought a thicker, more detailed book will help. NOT THIS ONE! What I found inside were pages and pages of useless paraphrasing of what the little booklet had, minus the comparative pictures that show the effect, plus major technical inacuracies on top of that! For people who want to learn how to use Canon, I'd recommend the "EOS Magazine" from England.

Great book!, especially for the beginner that I am. Intriguing and very hard to put down. I am falling behind in my chores/honeydo's. Easy to understand and follow. TIPS GALORE!

This book was a complete waste of $20. The EOS 7 has so many features, but very few of them are explained in this book any better than the manual. These folks should be embarassed to sell this for the price. I now know why they're sealed in plastic wrap at the bookstore -- to prevent you from actually seeing inside before purchasing... For other cameras I own, I've found the Short Course in Photography series by Dennis Curtin to be great resources. I don't think they have one on the EOS 7 however.

There is so much good stuff to learn about my Elan 7E, that I kept this book next to the toilet for the first 4 months. I then put it in my camera bag, and have further accelerated my understanding of this very technical, and very fun camera.

In fact, just last weekend, I found the depth of field preview button.

So many buttons.

I would have liked to have seen better explanation of certain photography technical terms in the book. Depth of Field, Focal Length, F-Stop. I suppose the authors thought that anyone paying so much money for a camera would have understood these things. I now do, after I bought the Alesse book.

This book, however, does a very good job explaining how this camera worked. I would recommend it.

I lost my manual and this has replaced it with no problem. It looks a lot like the old one I had with my Rebel 2000 (EOS 300) camera, but has specific information about the Elan 7e. I will help you even if you are a beginner.

I think I got mine for under $3.00 incl. shipping and it is just what I needed since I bought my absolutely perfect, like new Elan 7 for $60.00 bucks at E-bay w/no manual included. The 1 stars given here are irrelevant. This book does exactly what it was designed and written for and does it well. Just a note on E-bay. There is a bunch of junk over there along with some very nice stuff and I did manage, through careful observation and a little luck, to buy a near perfect Canon Elan, a Canon EOS 1 and a Canon A-1 for right around $60.00 each along with a bevy lenses for each camera. I went with canon because I was already familiar with Canon and already had an old Canon Rebel and an AE-1 with a couple of lenses for each. Neither of the new one came with a lens so they were extra. All three are classics and well thought of in their time. So if you still shoot film or would like to with arguably some of the best camera equipment ever made, it is worth a look. The same goes for Nikon, Pentax, Olympus etc. It did take me a lot of hours accomplish this but I'm retired and enjoyed the passing of time in this manner. I could not have afforded a fraction of the cost of this equipment even 10 years ago. The equals of these cameras in digital would probably cost $1500-3000.00 each. TIP for E-bay: wait to bid at the end. Do not drive price up by bidding during the auction till the last 10-15 seconds and snipe with your best what you are willing to pay bid. The other guy usually will not have time to counter. The one star guys here are idiots for giving this manual, and it is just a manual not a college course in photography, 1 star. Foot note: You can also buy a DVD over at E-bay with several manuals on it. There's also one with lens information. These are very handy for travel if you travel with a lap top as I do. You can leave the books behind.

As compared to the camera's manual, I was hoping that this book would explain in a more comprehensive manner the camera's function (i.e. give practical advice). As it turns out, it does nothing more than paraphrase the manual. I found it to be a complete waste of money and would not recommend it to anyone except those that have lost their manual.