Focusing and the eye piece with Canon 310XL

Matt Stevens · October 7, 2011

I snagged a very nice looking Canon 310XL for like $20 and wanted to use it because of the fast 1.0 lens. However, I was foolishly unaware of how difficult it might be to focus.

First of all, it's basically by distance, so how difficult is this thing to focus on the fly? Will I have enough depth of field to stay focused if I drift back or forward a foot or two?

How does the eye piece work for putting in focus with the shooter's eye sight? The manual says turning left or right, but that does absolutely nothing for me.

What does work is to pull the eye piece back a bit, say an 1/8 of an inch. Then everything I see through the viewfinder suddenly looks razor sharp. This contradicts the directions.

Is it possible that my eye piece is just so old and used that it no longer turns properly and works simply by pulling it back?

My experience with this little camera is zero, so forgive the questions.

Also, is the red lever on top for pushing it a stop? Up = pushed, down = not?

Is there a website that has information as to what notch hacks I need to do in order to use 200t and 500t negative stocks?

Thanks everyone.

Ian Payne · October 8, 2011

Hi, Set the focus on infinity and a distant object to set the eyepiece.Might be worn but turning and pulling has the same outcome.(I tend to have to reset it every time I use it) Its only a short zoom so focusing is forgiving. It has guess focusing. Red distance scale on the lens shows you its sweet spots for distance.

The red tab on the front, up is so you can use a nd4 filter for bright days or opening up the aperture for less depth of field. This is a really good camera that I use alot because its small and the images will surprise you how good they are.

Dont forget to switch the filter out of the way if using 100d.

http://www.mondofoto.com/manuals/canon310xl/

http://super8exchange.com/canon-310-xl-p-227.html

June 21, 2012

Dear Ian

I'd like to shoot 100d, I'm not sure what you mean by "Dont forget to switch the filter out of the way if using 100d". Does that mean I do pull the red tab up or not? And put the exposure setting on the sun symbol, correct?

thanks

Ian Payne · June 21, 2012

http://super8exchange.com/canon-310-xl-p-227.html here's a manual

Hi Garry , the 85 orange filter needs to be moved out of the way so slide the switch to the light bulb. I super glued mine into place( just a smear so I can open it if I ever use tungsten again) and keep the red tab pressed down, unless you have a nd4 filter on the front.

Edited June 21, 2012 by Ian Payne

Will Montgomery · June 25, 2012

My experience is that I can't tell the difference between infinity focus and closest focus through the view finder. However, it would show up in the film. So as you say, it's a distance guess type camera like my K100 16mm.

Richard Tuohy · June 25, 2012

Dear Ian

I'd like to shoot 100d, I'm not sure what you mean by "Dont forget to switch the filter out of the way if using 100d". Does that mean I do pull the red tab up or not? And put the exposure setting on the sun symbol, correct?

thanks

Ian is correct that you don't want to shoot 100d with the internal 85 filter in place. HOWEVER, this doesn't necessarily mean you should manually switch the filter out by putting the filter switch or whatever in the 'bulb' position. Yes, doing so will switch out the filter, but it can (and usually does) also affect the asa setting of the camera. The asa notch for 100d is the same size as the asa notch for 160T. Most cameras also have filter notch detectors. The filter notch detector pin will be pushed in by the insertion of a daylight type cartridge. Doing so will de-select the internal 85 filter. With most cameras with filter notch detectors however, when the filter pin is inserted, the asa rating used by the camera doesn't change to the tungsten setting. Thus, with the majority of super 8 cameras, inserting a 100d with the filter switch or whatever set to 'sun' - ie the normal position - the filter will be de-activated and the asa will be correct. With most cameras, de-selecting the filter switch manually for a daylight cartridge will not only de-select the filter, but will also set the camera's asa setting to 2/3rds of a stop higher - ie to the tungsten speed for the particular asa notch in question. This would mean shooting 100d as 160. not ideal. Kodak have written on the Ektachrome boxes that you need to manually switch out the filter. As general advice, this is wrong. But it is correct for several crappy little cameras that Kodak made.

cheers,

richard

Ian Payne · June 26, 2012

Thanks Richard , I stand corrected. My films always came out pretty well (saturated) have unglued and put it to the daylight (sun) setting. I didnt even see the small filter pin in the film bay.

Thanks for the information.