My New Love: Canon Eos 3000n and Its Perfect Bokeh

At a recent camera fair in Boston Spa, UK I was encouraged by my friend @nicolas_noir to get a couple of Canon SLRs for a bargain price. I have recently been using the Canon EOS 3000N and I am loving it!

When I went to the camera fair, I had been talking about wanting a Canon SLR in the hopes of learning a bit more about the technical aspects of photography. I bought a Canon AE-1 as it was such a bargain, but I also spotted a couple of Canon EOS SLRs at really good prices. Following some gentle pushing from my friend, I also got a Canon EOS 3000N body only for £7! Obviously, I still needed a lens, as the AE-1 one apparently wouldn't fit. I then saw another Canon EOS with a 35-70mm lens but this was an APS version. I know some people don't really enjoy the APS format, but when I was a student, I loved APS, just for how easy to use it is. As a result, I still have quite a bit of this film in my house so I decided to get this one as well for the bargain price of £20. This is what the Canon website has to say about the 3000N:

"The EOS 3000N combines simplicity with elegance, offering enhanced operability and a new sophisticated design. Loaded with features, users will have no problem capturing the shots they want. With its eye-catching silver metallic finish, the EOS 3000N is Canon’s new entry-level EOS camera. Suitable for newcomers to SLR photography yet with enough advanced features to satisfy owners as their photographic skills develop, the EOS 3000N is an ultra-compact and lightweight camera with plenty of functionality.”

As I have far too many cameras and had lost my mojo a bit recently, I still hadn't used the camera in the first three weeks of having it. So my other half got impatient and ran a couple of rolls of film through it. These are some of the photos he took on it initially.

I absolutely loved the results and I was so jealous that he had got such great shots before me! I loved the bokeh effect that this camera gave, especially on portrait type shots such as the one with the dog. Of course, I demanded the camera back right away so that I could have a try with it. The first thing I loved about it was that as long as you use DX-coded film, then the camera sets the ISO automatically. I have since learned that you can set this yourself really easily too, if necessary.

Features

• Full range of exposure control functions, including five PIC modes)
• AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing)
• Wide-area three-point AF
• E-TTL AutoFlash with EX-series Speedlites
• Great variety of system accessories
• The EOS 3000N is the most outstanding cost performance EOS ever to be introduced to the market

My first day out with it was a super sunny day in Manchester, so I used a roll of Lomography X Tungsten 64 for the first time ever, too. The camera was so easy to use, due to the auto-focus and the fact that the lens is 35-70 mm means you feel like you get a lot of zoom. These are a couple of shots from that first roll:

It's a camera that's very easy to use, not too heavy, and it gives good results. It has portrait, landscape, sports, night mode, and a cute little pop-up flash, which comes out automatically on night mode. You can even use its flash whenever you think it is necessary. I have since used this camera on a trip to London and have been super happy with the photos I got from it. Okay, so it isn't going to teach me a great deal about photography, but I have the AE-1 for that.

This is a review submitted by Community Member kneehigh85.

written by kneehigh85 on 2012-06-14 #gear #people #35mm #review #slr #love #canon #bokeh #cheap #camera-review #lomography #portraits #autofocus #user-review