what is eye control

[jaep18]

the canon eos elan 7n got my intristed but what is eye control. im a newbie in the photo world(mostly take pictures that has to do with music) but hey, i gotta learn stuff like this sooner or later. also, should i buy the 7n or the 7ne since it has "eye control".

[arachnophilia]

i'm fairly sure it's autofocus control that tracks where your eye is looking...

...and never works right, from what i hear.

[gargoyle13]

Eye control could mean several things, but mainly Arach is correct in that it has been out for years now for focusing. Here's a spec excerpt for the Canon Elan in particular;

" The Elan IIE features an improved version of Canon's exclusive Eye
Controlled Focus technology. Focusing is faster, more precise and has
the capability of functioning in the horizontal and vertical position.
Additional features of the improved Eye Controlled Focus system include
its direct link to the camera's AI Servo AF mode and Depth-of-Field
indicator.
Hope that helps.

[arachnophilia]

what i wanna know is:

is using the focus ring REALLY so hard that we have to put with all these technological advancements?

[s9810588]

Theoretically, this "eye control" can detect where your eye is looking at and pick AF sensor closest to what ever you are looking at.

In One-Shot mode, before you press the shutter button, you look at a point where you want to be in focus (e.g. a person's eye when you're taking portrait) and the camera will automatically choose a focusing point that's located where this person eye is. Press the shutter button half way, the active AF will lock on that eye. If you keep pressing the shutter button half way after focus is achieved, you can change composition (point the camera somewhere else) and the camera won't readjust the focus.

In AI-Servo mode (tracking moving object), the camera will keep on switching active AF point and focus, depending on where in the viewfinder you're looking at, when you press the shutter button halfway.

Why theoretically? Because I never find eye control to work well. Not on EOS-30 (Elan 7e), not on EOS-3. I've done over 15 calibrations under one "CAL #" with different lenses attached, under different lighting conditions. Alas, this eye control always pick AF sensor I'm not looking at! With Elan 7e, you can customise the camera and change active AF sensor using only the cursor keys. I find it more reliable albeit a bit slower than using eye control. Bad luck on EOS-3. Can only use the two dials. Even by reducing from 45 to only 11 AF point, changing AF point is slow. No wonder eye control is never found on EOS-1 series because it's more of a marketing stuff, IMHO.

Cheers,
Kris

[ukexpat]

what i wanna know is:

is using the focus ring REALLY so hard that we have to put with all these technological advancements?

If you take that attitude, are we better off now then we were when living in caves?

[arachnophilia]

what i wanna know is:

is using the focus ring REALLY so hard that we have to put with all these technological advancements?

If you take that attitude, are we better off now then we were when living in caves?

it's not exactly the same thing. technology is great, until it gets to the point where it complicates something that would otherwise be very simple. eye control is over complicating it. it sounds like it would be simple, just track where the eye and focus on that.

but the human eye doesn't work like that. it travels all over things, always moving and taking in new information. this is one those things you have to learn physically in basic drawing classes, controlling your eye. i'm good enough at drawing to realize exactly how bad i am at this control. i don't expect this to be a convenience for anyone, as it will involve learning a whole new skill of selective focus. it took me a year to learn for the purposes of drawing, and takes lots of concentration.

but i am also the kind of person that would rather operate one simple control than hold down exposure/focus locks and hunt through autofocus points and menus. i've shot side by side with people with full-auto cameras, and i'm faster than them on a fully manual and mechanical camera.

so, i reiterate. is the focus ring really that hard to use for people?

[s9810588]

The idea of having eye control is actually pretty good because from time to time, you need to grab a moment where the subject is not always at the center and there's no time to focus-lock-recompose.





Having said that, this technology is just not advance enough to be reliable. Arachnophilia is right that our eyes jumps all over the place rather than looking at a single point. They should, otherwise that means you never check your framing if you cut someone's toe or arm or if your shutter speed has gone down too slow etc. Cursor keys so far is the best method, for me, to select AF point.

Regards,
Kris

[phillbrown]

I have a Canon EOS 30 which has EYE Control. I thought it was a gimmick at first but I calibrated it when I bought it - once for bright daylight, once for dull lighting in both lansdscape and portrait orientation.

I have run at least 200 rolls of film and have found it to be excellent.

I have found that the trick is to make a definite movement of your eye.

Having said this I now use a Canon EOS 20d as well as a range of vintage cameras and don't miss the EYE Control feature at all.

So my advice would be don't buy the camera JUST for the eye control alone, but if you find it as easy to use as I did it is a useful feature rather than a gimmick.

[rphoto]

I have the EOS-3 with eye control and it is great for sports or when you are trying to follow something moving.