leftj wrote:
Curious - which high-end EOS film camera do you have?
I'd hazard to guess an EOS 1V or EOS-3.... both are excellent and can be bought for bargain prices today. The 45-point AF system in them continued to be used in the first few generations of 1D-series models.
With the PB-E2 Power Booster (and vertical grip) added, the EOS 1V becomes the "1V HS" or "high speed", able to shoot as fast as 10 frames per second (with the high capacity rechargeable battery in the power booster).
The EOS-3 increased from 4.5 to 6 frames per second using the same PB-E2.
Of course, this means you can burn through a 36 exposure roll of film in 6 seconds with EOS-3 & PB-E2... Or under 4 seconds with 1V HS! That made for a lot of film loading! Not sure if a "long roll" film back was ever available for either.... Some cameras offered an accessory back, big and cumbersome, that made for up to 250 consecutive shots between roll changes.... Film had to be bought in bulk and pre-loaded into the back. And a 1V HS could still fill that with one continuous 25 second burst!
The Elan 7 or EOS-30-series cameras were pretty nice, too... One of the quietest film SLRs ever made (I used one during wedding ceremonies, for example). They had a simpler AF system. 7-point, if memory serves... Largely the same as used in the earliest APS-C models: D30, D60 and 10D.
The EOS A2E/ EOS-5 (1992) were another really popular model... The first to have Eye Control AF (5-point). The EOS-3 (1998), Elan 7E/EOS-30 (2000), Elan 7nE/EOS-30V (2004) also all had Eye Control. EOS 1V (2000) never had it and, frankly I never was a huge fan, though it was a very cool idea... Just look at the AF point you want the camera to use and it would switch to use it.
My problem with Eye Control was that I was in the habit of looking around the viewfinder at various aspects of the image... background, foreground other objects... not just at the main subject that I wanted the camera to focus upon. As a result, the camera would follow my eye and take focus off the subject. I had much better results turning off Eye Control, then using Single Point and Back Button Focusing, after I learned how. But some people really loved Eye Control and still beg Canon to bring it back.