Yes, Yes I did. (Camera related)

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by john70t

I picked up a Canon E05 Rebel for cheap but not thrilled about it:
-It eats batteries like cookie monster. Maybe 1/2 hr use time after being fully charged. New batteries.
-Doesn't want to take a photo (freezes with the button pressed) even in 'auto mode' in lower light or when too close.
-Photos look good but still not up to modern cell phone quality.
-Canon erased my Win10 printer drivers which are "no longer supported" rendering my printer into a brick.

Was this new or used?
I had a canon suck down batteries, it was a short in a card somewhere. You couldn't leave a battery in there for any time at all. I got it fixed at high $$$$, but an EOS is probably not worth the expense. I cant remember if an EOS has a rear live view display. That can drain a battery quick also.
For the freezing, set the camera to "one shot" point autofocus and try again. If that doesn't help, I'd go "one shot" and in manual settings set up the shot to force the camera to make a picture. Even if the pic isn't properly exposed, it should take a pic. The manual mode is more a diagnostic test than a solution. Is it just freezing? or older tech getting confused and not committing? If those don't work, go to manual focus and see if it fires.

Fun little experiment which probably won't solve anything, but will let you know what's going on.

I don't know if rebels have this, but AI focus and AI servo modes get confused in low light and tough pic settings. They also will not lock if within a a close distance where the lense is too close to focus.

If the camera is really old, a cell phone might very well have better exposure/focus tracking etc.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

Was this new or used?
I had a canon suck down batteries, it was a short in a card somewhere.

I cant remember if an EOS has a rear live view display. That can drain a battery quick also.

For the freezing, set the camera to "one shot" point autofocus and try again. If that doesn't help, I'd go "one shot" and in manual settings set up the shot to force the camera to make a picture. Even if the pic isn't properly exposed, it should take a pic. The manual mode is more a diagnostic test than a solution. Is it just freezing? or older tech getting confused and not committing? If those don't work, go to manual focus and see if it fires.

TY kindly.
(That might relevant to all new camera users who miss a shot due to settings.)
I do use the back screen primarily but that should not even matter.

I was walking the dog around the neighborhood before. A pair of crows were attacking a Coopers Hawk sitting on a pole. Mate circling above. Above that a pair of bald eagles were circling and watching. It was a unique moment.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

This is an older video on canon 50mm lenses. It compares the 50's from the canon lineup in a variety of stops.

I've got the 1.4 and the 1.2. Overall, they are both awesome. The 1.2 really gives that extra bokeh quality at 1.2, but for weight, price, and everyday shooting, the 1.4 really is probably the more realistic choice. If I'm out in bad weather, or letting my daughter take pics- 1.4

But if I'm trying to get a really good shot- out comes the 1.2

Kai's a bit of a top gear flair from about a decade ago- love or hate, but his bokeh pics were helpful.
edit- now that I'm rewatching the video years later, perhaps there are better videos lol- but- his comments on near the end of the video are pretty accurate. I do find myself grabbing the 1.2 often- 'just because' though, even though it is the slowest to focus of the bunch (but not noticably so- it's just more 'solid').

Back in my photojournalist days the place I worked for had a great lens for working at the state legislature. It was a 85mm .95 lens. I had to be super careful with focus, but I could shoot photos of the senators on the senate floor without using a flash and alerting them I was photographing them. One big advantage of newspaper work was they did not have to have perfect focus to go in a one column wide photo. It was great using the .95 as it was so bright. It was a huge and heavy lens and had no auto anything back in the mid 1970s

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by john70t

A pair of crows were attacking a Coopers Hawk sitting on a pole. Mate circling above. Above that a pair of bald eagles were circling and watching. It was a unique moment.

Pics or it didn't happen!