Howdy folks,
I've been a Canon user since the early 1980s, started out on an AE-1, then bought an A-1, then took a giant step forward (some would say backward) and got into the older FD cameras -- specifically the FTb and old F-1. Going to all-manual cameras really helped me develop a sense for the photographic process, the way no automated wonder can. But times change. I bought my wife an original EOS Rebel back in 1990, which she used a little and I used a lot. After the Rebel developed shutter bounce a few years ago, I retired it and bought a second-hand Elan IIe. Big difference. The IIe, although primitive by today's standards, is a very capable shooter. I like it a lot. We have a modest assortment of lenses to go with it, which include the 35-80/4-5.6 that came with the Rebel, the 28-80 II USM that came with the Elan, and a first generation 70-210 f/4 that I picked up used shortly after buying the rebel. Tell you what, that old 70-210 may focus slow, but it takes tack-sharp photos.
This past Christmas, my wife bought me my first decent digital camera -- an EOS Rebel XS. A good little shooter. But because the XS is a "crop" camera, the EF-S lenses will work only with it, and since I'm not ready to retire the IIe yet, I've decided that any future lens purchase will be EF and not EF-S glass. The better ones cost more, but in my view they're worth it, no matter how you want to slice it.
I have a question for the group: given the drastic devaluation in 35mm camera prices, which EOS would you buy? I used to think that an EOS-1 in its various iterations, was out of my reach, but not any more. Would you spring for one of these, or is something like the Elan 7e a better choice? Me, I think a late generation EOS-1 would be the way to go.