Canon Wireless Remote Control RC1 for Digital Rebel Review

By Mike Keran (Seattle, WA United States)

This remote uses a small infrared transmitter to trip the shutter of many of the EOS line of cameras (EOS 10, Elan, Elan II/IIE, EOS IX and possibly others). I bought one 5 or 6 years ago and I haven't had to change the battery yet. Unlike wired remote shutter releases, the RC1 doesn't require the user to set anything up -- just point the remote at the camera front and press the button. The RC1 clips onto a holder that can be threaded through your camera strap so it's always nearby when needed. It measures (inches) 2.25 x 1 x .5 (length x width x height) and weighs not much more than one ounce.

The RC1 as two controls on it: a small slider switch and a larger button to trip the shutter. If you're wearing gloves, the slider switch is near impossible to adjust but the shutter button is easy to hit. The slider offers three settings: Lock (disables the shutter button), regular and 2-second delay. The regular setting works just like the shutter release on your camera although you can't press it halfway to autofocus. The 2-second delay locks up the mirror when you hit the shutter button and then trips the shutter 2 seconds later. This is very useful for longer exposures or shooting with telephoto lenses.

I've found the RC1 to be plenty sturdy (I shoot mostly outdoors and tend to be pretty hard on my equipment) and easy enough to unclip and operate with one hand. I have only two complaints with it: you need to point the remote at the front of the camera -- the IR sensor is right next to the shutter release -- which can be tricky when using wide angle lenses as you don't want to include your remote in the picture, and the RC1 doesn't provide any feedback that the shutter had been tripped -- I often find myself peering back through the viewfinder to see if the mirror is up or keeping my ear near the camera to listen for the film advance. This is a far simpler remote than the ones Canon offers for their top-end camera but it's also far less expensive and heavy. I only wish the RC1 worked for the EOS3!