After selling all my APS film, I was sent one for Christmas, so I had to reinvest in the format. Luckily, the cameras are now very cheap; unfortunately, the price of the film is rising. A friend and I were discussing APS cameras, and he wanted one where you could set the ISO. I suggested the EOS range, as you can use Canon lenses, change the ISO, and you can often find them at a bargain price. I sent him a link to an example that was listed “for parts” as the film door was jammed. I knew from experience that it probably meant a part-used film was inside the camera and it had locked to protect it. Once it has all been shot, the door unlocks. It was worth the risk of about £10. He bought it, and just as I said, there was a half-used film inside. He finished the roll, and the camera was absolutely fine.

That got me to thinking, was there an EOS APS that I hadn’t tried? Yes, the IX. I have tried the IXe, but not the plain IX. I had a look, and there was one for sale. It was less than £10 untested, so I decided to take a risk too.

The EOS IXe was specifically released for the Japanese market, which is probably why I found it while living in Japan. The IX (no E) was made for the international market, hence I found it in the UK. The ‘E’ in the name is for eye control, which is missing on the IX model. The eye-control tracking is the only difference between the two models. Both were released in 1996.

Recently, I have only used APS films for double exposure projects such as this and this. For this, a new-to-me-ish camera, I decided to shoot a film straight, no doubles. So I loaded a roll of Fuji Nexia from 2005, 400 ISO, which I shot at 160 ISO to offset the expiredness of it.

I took it on a rainy walk around Nostell Priory. Unfortunately, the house wasn’t open, but it is close to me, and I have a National Trust membership. I will go another day to see the inside.

Here are all of the results.

I enjoyed using the camera. It is like all the other EOS cameras I have tried. The settings dial would be familiar to any Canon user. If you do have some APS, I would recommend this line of cameras to shoot it with. They are more reliable than the Nikon Pronea, and there is more control than a point-and-shoot, plus it accepts Canon EF lenses. As you can see, the ability to lower the ISO settings really helps the film get great results. I have a few more rolls of APS to use and will buy any reasonable one I see now that I have this camera to shoot it with.