It’s been a while since my last post in the My Collection series, where I share the story behind my cameras.

With some cameras I feel a deep connection, with others not so much. There is no rule for this, it just happens. This time I’m going to talk about a film camera: the Canon EOS 3, which I bought in year 2000.

And why it holds a special meaning to me.

Canon EOS 3

The Canon EOS 3 was an SLR introduced by Canon in 1998. A member of the renowned EOS system, it was one tier below the flagship EOS 1. Still, the EOS 3 was professional grade and came with top features.

But before we go there, let’s roll back 25 years.

25 years ago

In year 2000, I was about to complete my Architecture course in Oporto, Portugal. Working as an intern in the university research center, I was also busy preparing my dissertation to be submitted before summer 2001.

It was December 2000 when I travelled to Macau to spend Christmas with my parents. I remember deliberately not taking a camera with me because I was determined to buy a new one in Macau.

I’m not sure if I had decided beforehand to get an EOS 3. What I know is that, by the time, I was using an entry level Canon EOS 500N with a EF 28-80 f/3.5-5.6 kit lens.

All made of plastic. And I felt it was time for an upgrade.

Local camera store

I went to Foto Nice, my preferred local camera store. Years ago in 1998, that was where my father bought me the Canon EOS 500N.

Later on as a Christmas gift, it was also in Foto Nice that my parents bought me a Canon mount Sigma 14mm f/2.8 wide angle lens. The Sigma was very, very useful to shoot Architecture.

Back to December 2000. I walked out of Foto Nice a happy man, with a Canon EOS 3 and a EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens.

I bought the camera with my money, not my parents’. The money I earned working as an intern, which was not much, but enough.

A solid set

The EOS 3 with the zoom lens proved to be a very practical combination. In case you are not familiar with Canon abbreviations for the lens, EF was the lens mount; IS stands for Image Stabilization; and USM meant Ultra Sonic Motor, providing fast and silent focusing.

To me this was a clear upgrade from my plastic 500N and kit lens. This new lens with IS was a new to me, so was the fast and accurate USM focusing. The zoom range was very useful.

I was a happy man and wouldn’t ask for more.

The EOS 3 body was bulky and built like a tank. With its all black paint metal body, it meant business. If it looks familiar to you, that’s because the more recent Canon 5D bodies are based on the EOS 3 design.

Spec-wise the EOS 3 was loaded. It had a large and bright viewfinder, a continuous shooting mode at maximum 7 fps speed. It may not mean much to you now, but remember this was film and film had to be advanced mechanically.

The EOS 3 had 45 points for AF. Can you imagine a 45-pont AF area in a film camera in 1998? My 500N had 3 points only. Even for now I think 45 is more than enough.

But regarding AF, there is more.

Eye Control AF

No, this is not BS. Canon had this patented technology long ago.

Based on infra-red technology, you could select AF point with your eye, just by looking at it in the viewfinder. Infra-red sensors would read your eye and determine the AF point you picked.

This is how Ken Rockwell – a camera reviewer I don’t take too seriously, but enjoy reading due to his comical and sarcastic comments – describes Eye Control AF:

” (…) When I first picked it up, I was astonished at how it just knew where I wanted it to focus, without me having to to do anything. (…)

Then I realized that it has Eye Controlled Focus, a name which doesn’t do this system justice. It should be called “mind-controlled autofocus (…)”

Brilliant.

Unfortunately, Eye Control AF never worked for me – even after many, many calibrations. Probably because I wear glasses. Or maybe because, unlike with Ken Rockwell, the EOS 3 couldn’t read my mind.

Why it means so much to me

The EOS 3 represents a specific time of my life, when I was transitioning from being a student to a young professional.

With the EOS 3 I made several trips together with my friends in Europe and in Portugal.

Belgium

We were fresh grads, young professionals with a newfound financial independence.

No longer dealing with the pressures of exams and school projects after 6 years of barbaric workload.

Not married, no kids. Totally free to enjoy life.

The EOS 3 reminds me of those days.

The fact this was the camera I used for my dissertation also holds a special meaning to me.

My mentor – Prof. António Madureira – was himself a photo enthusiast with rangefinder cameras on display in his office. When he saw the photos I took for the dissertation, he was impressed: “I can see you used a proper camera for this”.

Retirement

Together with the zoom lens, this was the camera I used for many years till I finally switched to digital in 2004 with a Canon EOS 300D.

Moving to digital, I retired the EOS 3. But never thought about selling it.

As for the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens, since it was compatible with the new Canon DSLRs, I kept using it with the digital bodies I used over the years: starting with the 300D, then the 20D and finally the 5D.

Adieu EOS

In 2010 I switched to mirrorless, seduced by the small size of the M4/3 system and the elegance of the Olympus Pen EP-1.

I ended up selling everything from my EOS system. The 5D, the zoom lens, plus a 75-300mm telephoto and a 50mm prime.

But I kept the EOS 3 to this day and in mint condition. Proudly displayed in my camera shelf. Ironically, I have no EF lens to shoot this camera with!..

Perhaps it’s time to look for a bargain EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM and return my EOS 3 to its past glory?