gunnymo's Full Review: Canon EOS Rebel 2000 Body Only 35mm Film Camera
As the manager of a camera sales and service store I can assure you that the Canon Rebel series have been the best selling cameras we have ever stocked. Very user friendly, well designed, compact and lightweight the Rebels are made with the amateur to semi-advanced photographer in mind.
The latest entry to the Rebel family, the Rebel 2000, is no exception. In all reality, the Rebel 2000 is simply a silver rendition of the Rebel G with a couple minor changes. Bought in the kit form the camera comes with: Rebel 2000 body, 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 II EF lens, strap, batteries, lens/body caps, instructions and factory one-year warranty. Buy a roll of film when you purchase the camera and you’re ready to take pictures immediately.
Let’s go over some of the features. I won’t speak in high tech, pro-photographer only language as I don’t think that’s what you’re looking for. I’ll keep it simple.
EXPOSURE MODES: Anyone can take good pictures with this camera. Anyone. On the Command Dial on the left side of the camera is a little green box just below the “L” (lock-off) position. Set to “Green Box Mode”, as I call it, the camera is in full program mode where it will do everything other than zoom/focus/release. It will pop up the flash and it will set the proper exposure…everything. The only drawback is that you can’t change any camera functions at this setting. If the camera wants to use the flash, you have to. You can’t change your focus zone, exposure, etc. It is basically in point & shoot mode. At the “P” setting, while still Program Mode, you can change those settings. In the “Av” mode, Aperture Value, you control the aperture, or f-stop, of the lens and the camera will choose the corresponding shutter speed. In the “Tv” mode, Time Value, you choose the shutter speed and the camera will choose the proper f-stop. In “M”, Manual, you have full control of the aperture and shutter speeds of the camera. The “A-DEP” mode allows you to use program functions to set a depth-of-field so that both your foreground and background are in focus. On the Creative Program side of the dial you have Portrait (only your subject is in focus), Landscape (great for those Grand Canyon Shots), Macro (enhances your close up pictures), Sports (for fast paced, action pictures) and Night Scene (combination of slow shutter speed and built in flash to give night pictures a more natural look). On this Command Dial there is an “ISO” setting. This is the Japanese designation for ASA or film speed. The Canon Rebel 2000 will automatically set your film speed for you by reading the DX coding on the film canister. However, should you wish to push or pull your film speed (ISO/ASA) the Rebel 2000 allows you to do that.
FEATURES: There are some interesting controls on the Canon Rebel 2000. Ones that set it apart, in my opinion, from the other entry level SLRs out there. You have 7 auto focus zones. When you look through the viewfinder there are seven little boxes on the focusing screen. You can choose to focus on any one of those boxes or an average of horizontal or vertical. Example: say you are taking a picture of a river and there is a beautiful tree on the left side of your composition that you want to be the main focal point yet you want to keep it on the left side of the frame. Simply select the left most focus zone, frame your picture and voila! You have a great picture, beautifully composed with the tree in focus. There is a Red-Eye Reduction setting, a focus beeper (camera will beep when it is in focus. You can turn this feature off.), Multiple Exposure (up to nine frames of multiple exposure) and Exposure Bracketing. Exposure Bracketing is a technique where you take three pictures in a row of the same subject. One picture is over exposed, one is normal exposure and one is under exposed. What this gives you is three different views of the same picture and you would be surprised which one might actually be the best picture! Now, one of the best features of the Rebel 2000 is the Film Prewind. When you put a roll of film in this camera it will take all of the film out and wind it onto the spool. Your film counter will count up to 24 (for a 24 exposure roll) and then as you take pictures it will count backwards…rolling the picture you just took back into the film canister! What this means is that, should the film door of the camera be accidentally opened while film is in the camera your pictures will not be exposed to light and thus ruined! A great feature that is only available on Canon cameras. Some of the other standard features are: Self-Timer, Mid-Roll Rewind, Auto Exposure Lock, Single or AI Servo Focus (it will automatically switch between these modes for still or moving subjects), Built-in Pop Up Flash, TTL Hot Shoe for larger flashes (Rebel 2000 is fully compatible with the Canon Speedlite series), Manual Focus.
My only complaint on this camera really applies to all of the newer, entry level SLRs: too much plastic. Nearly everything on this camera is plastic which means, in all honesty, some parts won't last as long as the hardy metal construction of cameras in the past. Not to say it will break within a year, no. What I mean is that the newer cameras today simply will not last you 10, 20, 30 years without several repairs as models like the Pentax K-1000, Minolta SRTs or Canon Ftb's can do.
All in all, the Canon Rebel 2000 is an excellent camera for beginners or even the advanced photographer. As I said, anyone can pick up this camera and take good pictures. I highly recommend the Canon Rebel series and the Rebel 2000 is the latest edition to this stellar line of cameras.
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