A little help with a canon 814

jon lawrence · November 4, 2006

Hello, I brougth this camera from ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...N%3AIT&rd=1

It was advertised as a 814 xl however, on receiving the item, I'm not quite sure it is. Could anyone clarify this from the pictures provided?

Secondly, does anyone know where I can find a manual for this camera on the web? I've googled it a few times but am yet to find anything.

Many thanks, Jon lawrence.

Richard Tuohy · November 4, 2006

Yes that is not an 814xls, its an 814 auto zoom. This is not an xl camera. Having said that, its a nice camera. If the camera works o.k, you did quite well for 33Euro. An 814xls would ordinarily go for a lot more. It is debatable whether the later xls is a better camera, but it is more desirable.

Alessandro Machi · November 4, 2006

Yes that is not an 814xls, its an 814 auto zoom. This is not an xl camera. Having said that, its a nice camera. If the camera works o.k, you did quite well for 33Euro. An 814xls would ordinarily go for a lot more. It is debatable whether the later xls is a better camera, but it is more desirable.

The camera may have sold for money because of the erroneous depiction.

I'd compare the final auction sale price from your auction with what the identical style of camera has been sold for in the past 30 days on that same Ebay auctionsite to see if the final price is acceptable. When the Euro is converted to U.S. Dollars and shipping is factored in it's still close to a one hundred dollar investment.

However, just how much cheaper would the camera have sold for if it had been correctly described? Perhaps 10 or 15 Euro? That I would agree is not a big enough difference, especially if the camera is properly packaged and actually survives the shipping intact, and if it works.

However, if you really want an 814XLS, don't settle for this camera.

jon lawrence · November 4, 2006

Thanks for your help. To be honest I think I got a pretty good deal despite the camera being listed wrong and I probably should've researched the camera better before I brought it. I'm not planning in shooting anything in low light at the moment so this camera should be all I need for the time being, I just didn't want to have to buy another camera if I should require to shoot in low light at some point.

I've tested the camera and it seems to be working fine. The only thing I'm having trouble with is working out how to set the apature manualy. I tried some auto shots outside in the sun and the f-stop reads at between 11 and 32 which might be to over exposed.

Also there is a dial on the side of the camera with open, 2, 4, close and stop. At the moment it is set to open and it will not move at all. I don't want to try and force it in case it breaks. Does anyone know whate this is and if it's behaving correctly?

Edited November 4, 2006 by jon lawrence

Richard Tuohy · November 4, 2006

Also there is a dial on the side of the camera with open, 2, 4, close and stop. At the moment it is set to open and it will not move at all. I don't want to try and force it in case it breaks. Does anyone know whate this is and if it's behaving correctly?

This is a variable shutter controll. When you press 'fade' where ever that controll is on the 814, the dial will rotate itself through 2, 4 to close and stop. While this is happening the cameras shutter will be closing, thus making a fade to black. It should also be possible to rotate this dial to any of the positions without forcing it. So don't force it. It must have a lock somewhere. By the way '2' is one stop under exposed, '4' is two stops under exposed. Can be useful in bright light situations. Remember that the light meter does not adjust for the closing shutter (otherwise you wouldn't get a fade).

I dont have a manual, sorry.

Fernando Morales · November 5, 2006

Hi, Jon

I have this camera and the XL-E model. I think this can be considered the newer model rather than the XL-S, to me a different kind, the latter has sound in the beginning. I would love the XL-E with 24fps, like the AZ-E (the one you bought). Said this, I love this camera too, althogh the viewfinder is not as ergonomic as the later Canon models and ISN'T an XL camera. Will work in most of the situations. Is a very versatile unit (you can't do 9 or 12fps either). If you're using B/W, I recommend Tri-x stock for interiors. It's simply beautiful. If you want color reversal you have to stick with E64T until Kodak make us a Christmas present with E100D <_<

The price you paid is OK, specially if you live in Europe. I bought mine from ebay Austria for ?18 and paid ?13 for shipping. The XLe I bought it from France for ?11 and ?15 shipping. But I got them in Spain, so it's a bit more expensive.

It's a great camera for almost all purposes, to me, a filmmaker workhorse, as most of the canons around.

By the way, PM me for the manual, I got it in word.

Kind regards,

Morales

Sean McHenry · November 7, 2006

As a quick note, I paid about $120 US last year for an 814 AutoZoom and it's great. I like it but man, it's one heavy piece of gear.

I also bought an 814 XLS for around $300 US and had to send it out for a complete cleaning. It's on it's way back from the shop but they tell me it's in great shape.

Also, I posted quite a few recent prices off Ebay in this link:

http://www.cinematography.com/forum2004/in...st&p=131262

Sean