Happy 30th, Canon EOS!

Happy 30th, Canon EOS!

The reason for this little exercise was realizing earlier this year, when Canon announced the 30th anniversary
of its EOS line of auto-focus cameras, that I have been a happy EOS shooter for 29 of those years.

My first EOS was the 620, which I purchased new in 1988. The 620 and the 650 looked essentially identical and the new form Canon gave these groundbreaking cameras made them feel very "right," as well as commendably solid, in hand. I chose the 620 as it had the more professional feature set of the two cameras.

My "original" 620 stepped aside for the more heavy duty EOS-1 (which I still own and enjoy using), but I never lost my appreciation for the form and straightforwardness of the 620, and in 2013 in a sentimental moment, I purchased a "new" one - well, a minty pre-owned one - and a short time later, also feeling sentimental, I added a minty 650.

Post digital juggernaut prices made them just irresistible ;-)
And they both meter and shoot just fine, including with slide film...

I decided, since the 650 represented the bouncing baby birth of EOS, that it should be my subject. So, on a recent shoot with the 650 on a tripod as I waited for some train activity along the Old Main Line of the B&O (*), I took a few moments to shoot this debut camera of the Age of EOS.

Incidentally, the two small red globes are not additional birthday balloons but reflections in
the dark red filter on the EF 35-135 USM lens, as I was shooting infrared black and white in the 650.

Happy Day, little Birthday Boy. Nice to have you (and the “new” 620) back in the film arsenal.

©2017 Steve Ember
(*)