EOS 3 Eye Controlled Focus not working

[xereeto]

Hey,

Just bought a used EOS 3 on eBay and it would appear that the eye controlled focus feature is faulty. It refuses to callibrate 99% of the time, and when it finally does and I switch the dial to I, it's hit or miss whether it will focus where I'm looking or not. In most cases the ECF icon blinks indicating it failed to track my eye.

I don't wear glasses or contacts, and I've tried this with and without the rubber eyecup thing attached. It just doesn't work.

I suspect the sensor is either dirty or faulty. If it's dirty, is it possible to clean it myself? If it's faulty, is it worthwhile taking it in for repair or should I just send it back? I bought it for £150, and I could get a refurbished (i.e. guaranteed fully working) one from a dealer for £200, so if the repair is likely to cost more than £50 it's not worth it.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers!

- Matthew

[TTMartin]

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@xereeto wrote:

Hey,

Just bought a used EOS 3 on eBay and it would appear that the eye controlled focus feature is faulty. It refuses to callibrate 99% of the time, and when it finally does and I switch the dial to I, it's hit or miss whether it will focus where I'm looking or not. In most cases the ECF icon blinks indicating it failed to track my eye.

I don't wear glasses or contacts, and I've tried this with and without the rubber eyecup thing attached. It just doesn't work.

I suspect the sensor is either dirty or faulty. If it's dirty, is it possible to clean it myself? If it's faulty, is it worthwhile taking it in for repair or should I just send it back? I bought it for £150, and I could get a refurbished (i.e. guaranteed fully working) one from a dealer for £200, so if the repair is likely to cost more than £50 it's not worth it.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers!

- Matthew

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In the US you can pick up EOS film cameras for $25 US. In my opinion you've already paid way too much for the camera. I doubt the eye controlled focus ever worked very well, as it wasn't offered for very long. If it worked, it would be on today's dSLRs instead of a footnote in the history of Canon cameras.