Canon 60D test

40D owner (well someone has to be :D) here,
thinking of an upgrade, having read a couple of on-line reports (and this thread)
it would still be the 7D The 60D doesn't really inspire me TBH. Plus of course,
and this is very important, :D, they have gone to SD cards over the CF cards
of the 400D 40D and many others of that ilk :nono: :D

I agree with you that the 7D is the logical upgrade from a 40/50D.

To be honest, it was obvious this was what they were going to do with the XXD line when they brought the 7D out. The 60D was always going to have to be 'worse' than the 7D in some aspects.

The RRP that they're selling at now is for suckers who want it as soon as possible.
If you wait 3 months, the price will drop a couple of hundred putting it right into it's place in the market between the 550 and the 7.
 
Compare the us prices, they don't change but uk ones do.

The us price comparison based on an exchange rate of 1.5 will give you an indication of where prices will be in a couple of month's time.

Go to the B and H website.
 
I found DigitalRev has the 60D in stock and compare it with the 7D, the difference is at £160, so you can decide to save up and go for the 7D or the 60D is good enough for you
 
Unless you need the flip screen at current prices there is no real reason not to buy a 7D

But when the prices stabilise the 60D will probably end up at about £700 body only
 
I think a lot of people still don't understand what Canon are doing here, and that is re-positioning. This camera is aimed at existing 450D, 500D and 550D owners, not 40D and 50D shooters.

The logical upgrade path for xxD shooters is the 7D. I anticipate the 60D price coming down to be about £250.00 cheaper than the 7D. All would then make sense IMO ;)
 
Must say there isn't anything there to tempt me from the trusty old 40D

Was hoping they might have reduced the pixel count from the 50D as they did with the
G11 compact and upgraded the AF a bit

Think many people just want a well built camera without video, high ISO capability, good fps count and decent AF
Although a lot of people shoot RAW I think sharp straight from the camera jpegs would also be popular

Never fancied those fold out screens, look a bit vulnerable on the hinge and certainly don't want weird and wonderful effects like toy camera.

Think its a wasted opportunity and wonder who they were looking to attract, can't see
550D or 50D owners bothering and think most people would be thinking about upgrading to the 7D
(perhaps that's the marketing plan)

+1
Which is why I am using 2nd hand 1D/5D cameras - I cant see anything in the current range I would buy. I personally dont want a crop body multi MP noisy SLR with video, even if Canon say the video costs nothing to incorporate.
I'd like what the post above calls for. Ideally a 5D mk 3 with a decent bit of weather proofing (a la 50/7D), micro lens adjustment and 1D AF (although so far I have no complaints about the 5D AF for what I use it for)

Matt
 
Must say there isn't anything there to tempt me from the trusty old 40D

Think many people just want a well built camera without video, high ISO capability, good fps count and decent AF
Although a lot of people shoot RAW I think sharp straight from the camera jpegs would also be popular

Never fancied those fold out screens, look a bit vulnerable on the hinge and certainly don't want weird and wonderful effects like toy camera.

Think its a wasted opportunity and wonder who they were looking to attract, can't see
550D or 50D owners bothering and think most people would be thinking about upgrading to the 7D
(perhaps that's the marketing plan)


I totally agree with you.
I think Canon have missed an opportunity to impress 40D owners enough to upgrade to the 60D, not all xxD owners want to upgrade the the likes of a 7D.
I'm starting to think that with the use of SD cards on the 60D, the marketing department are hoping it will be one way to sway xxxD users.
 
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I was comparing the current prices on warehouse express.
Bodies only.
60D: £1099
7D: £1179

Which is a daft comparison as one is a lauch day product with an price inflated by idiot tax and the other is a mature product expect to see the 60D much nearer £700 in the comming months at which point it becomes a much more compelling purchase as do all electronics goos after the first few months of sales.

As for bashing the camera for including a feature you don't like I'm sick of it, canon don't make cameras in this price range specifically for an individual they don't even aim them at the small demographic of enthusiasts on this site they look for mass market appeal. The mass market wanted video and live view, they got it. The mass market wants smaller lighter bodies and articulated screens they are getting it. It really is as simple as that.
 
Which is a daft comparison as one is a lauch day product with an price inflated by idiot tax and the other is a mature product expect to see the 60D much nearer £700 in the comming months at which point it becomes a much more compelling purchase as do all electronics goos after the first few months of sales.

It's not a daft comparison if someone want's to buy one now.
I also totally agree with your point that it will be more appealing at around £700.
I just don't get the idea of initial rrp / street price as Canon know this is too close to the 7D.

As for bashing the camera for including a feature you don't like I'm sick of it

I'm not totally bashing the camera, I'm just saying like many others, I just don't get what Canon have done with the 60D.


canon don't make cameras in this price range specifically for an individual they don't even aim them at the small demographic of enthusiasts on this site they look for mass market appeal. The mass market wanted video and live view, they got it. The mass market wants smaller lighter bodies and articulated screens they are getting it. It really is as simple as that.

You mean Canon don't make a DSLR body individually for me?
Dam...I am gutted :)
I'm not convinced that the majority of DSLR users want HD video and an articulated screen.
The build quality of the xxD series has generally won people over due the material used and the weight of the body (there are a vast amount of threads where people have either opted for a 40D over a 450D or soon upgraded to one due the size of the body).
Perhaps I am wrong but although potential xxD owners might want them to be a bit lighter, do they really want them smaller?
We are after all talking about Pro consumer rather than consumer bodies.

Oh and by the way, I've not mentioned the weight / size of the 60D in any of my posts.

As I said in a previous post, I love Canon DSLR products and this the first time I think they have made a mistake.
Maybe future users upgrading from an xxxD do want HD video and an articulated screen.
Perhaps this is the changing face of DSLR technology and I am to old school to get the idea.
 
Perhaps this is the changing face of DSLR technology and I am to old school to get the idea.

Thats just it for me, people don't seem to realise that video and live view wouldn't be a feature on every DSLR comming to market unless the users wanted it. The R&D cost companies alot of money and they do it becuase thats what the research says the user wants. I've lost count of the number of times I've handed my 30D to a friend that isn't into photography to witness nothing but puzzlement and the fact they have to look through the viewfinder!

It is a daft comparison of price because anyone who buys 60D today is daft when the price will clearly fall. Every single camera release is the same people just seem to have forgotten how expensive the 7d, 50d etc were on release day.

It's also quite odd to see people saying if you have a 40D or 50D then upgrading to the 60D would be silly, this has always been the case 30D users didn't ruch out to upgrade when the 40D was released as it was just an incremental improvement. The 60D is positioned to attract those with an xxxd currently looking to upgrade and as a stepping stone towards the 7d.

Of course people want smaller cameras, the general hobbyist population on this site might not be bothered but the general public want small hence the current appeal of mft and the new sony cameras. Quality in a small package is a huge factor in the market at the minute.
 
"Never fancied those fold out screens, look a bit vulnerable on the hinge and certainly don't want weird and wonderful effects like toy camera."

I think that an articulated screen could be a very useful feature and I can't see how having such a feature makes a camera a toy. :thinking:

I think I'd use an articulated screen as it'll make some flower shots easier and I'm pretty sure that it'll make live view much more useful. As for a screen being vulnerable, I don't think that I've read lots of reports of articulated screens breaking off so maybe it should be a case of...boys who are careless and break their toys deserve to have them taken off them :LOL:

PS. There are a couple of 60D threads with sample shots over at DPR.
 
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I think that an articulated screen could be a very useful feature and I can't see how having such a feature makes a camera a toy

Toy camera is one of a few special effects that can be applied in camera, bit misquoted there I think
 
Well... I'll look forward to only ever using it once, assuming I can find it.
 
It's not a daft comparison if someone want's to buy one now.

If somebody desperately wants to buy one now then they'll have to pay the idiot tax (great phrase btw). By Xmas the price will have dropped to something more reasonable (a lot more). If it's stilll anywhere near £1100 by then I'll eat my lens collection.

Every time Canon release a new dSLR we have to listen to people whinging about the high price. Everytime they need to have it explained to them that the price will drop soon. And the next time we get a new release - bleat, moan whinge.
 
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When I asked in my local camera shop they said it was £899 and not £999 as it was on their web site. I'm sure it'll drop from that.
 
I think a lot of people still don't understand what Canon are doing here, and that is re-positioning. This camera is aimed at existing 450D, 500D and 550D owners, not 40D and 50D shooters.

The logical upgrade path for xxD shooters is the 7D. I anticipate the 60D price coming down to be about £250.00 cheaper than the 7D. All would then make sense IMO ;)


To add to that it's also aimed at people who want a more prosumer set of features but still in a compact body.I think their trying to entice those who want a DSLR and have the money to affird a good one but don't want the bulk of the xx or xd bodies?
 
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I'm not totally bashing the camera, I'm just saying like many others, I just don't get what Canon have done with the 60D.
You mean Canon don't make a DSLR body individually for me?
Dam...I am gutted :)
I'm not convinced that the majority of DSLR users want HD video and an articulated screen.
The build quality of the xxD series has generally won people over due the material used and the weight of the body (there are a vast amount of threads where people have either opted for a 40D over a 450D or soon upgraded to one due the size of the body).
Perhaps I am wrong but although potential xxD owners might want them to be a bit lighter, do they really want them smaller?
We are after all talking about Pro consumer rather than consumer bodies.

Oh and by the way, I've not mentioned the weight / size of the 60D in any of my posts.

As I said in a previous post, I love Canon DSLR products and this the first time I think they have made a mistake.
Maybe future users upgrading from an xxxD do want HD video and an articulated screen.
Perhaps this is the changing face of DSLR technology and I am to old school to get the idea.

As a 50d user, i think the changes are too drastic...

Gone from Magnesium alloy body to polycarbonate resin.. :puke:
Compact flash to SD cards... :puke:
The vari screen would come in handy for low level work, but how strong is the hinge...:puke:

Probably look at upgrading to 7d or 5D mkii instead.... maybe thats Canons plan... :cautious:

(y)
 
Why does everybody hate Polycarbonate resin?

Polycarbonate resin is an engineering plastic having excellent mechanical strength, heat resistance, transparency, weather resistance, flame resistance and the like. Accordingly, polycarbonate resin is used widely for electrical/electronic appliances, automobile parts, building materials and the like. Polycarbonate resin can also be a substitute for glass in applications demanding both transparency and impact resistance such as lens.
 
Why does everybody hate Polycarbonate resin?

Polycarbonate resin is an engineering plastic having excellent mechanical strength, heat resistance, transparency, weather resistance, flame resistance and the like. Accordingly, polycarbonate resin is used widely for electrical/electronic appliances, automobile parts, building materials and the like. Polycarbonate resin can also be a substitute for glass in applications demanding both transparency and impact resistance such as lens.

It's too light and doesn't balance well with a heavy lens!
 
40D: 822g
50D: 822g
60D: 755g

550D is on the other hand 530g

Do 67g make such a huge difference?
I think people just want something to moan about :shrug:

You're missing the point I think - I am saying most people don't like Polycarb from their experience with the xxxD bodies, which, as you have pointed out are considerably lighter!

As you point out the difference in the 60 is less pronounced,maybe because Canon felt a lot of people don't wan't this balance issue on a £1000+ camera where the likelihood is that people will be using heavier,pricier glass?
 
40D: 822g
50D: 822g
60D: 755g

550D is on the other hand 530g

Do 67g make such a huge difference?
I think people just want something to moan about :shrug:

:agree:

You're missing the point I think - I am saying most people don't like Polycarb from their experience with the xxxD bodies, which, as you have pointed out are considerably lighter!

As you point out the difference in the 60 is less pronounced,maybe because Canon felt a lot of people don't wan't this balance issue on a £1000+ camera where the likelihood is that people will be using heavier,pricier glass?

The xxxD bodies are also a lot smaller than the 60D! Why do think there will be a balance issue with 67g? :thinking:
 
The 60D I looked at didn't look any bigger than the xxxD's

No sure why! The dimensions are:

EOS1000D
126 x 98 x 62 mm
(5.1 x 3.9 x 2.4 in)

EOS60D
145 x 106 x 79 mm
(5.7 x 4.2 x 3.1 in)

and just for comparison the EOS50D:
146 x 108 x 74 mm
(5.7 x 4.2 x 2.9 in)

That's quite a big difference between the xxxD body and the 60D but hardly anything between the 50D and the 60D.
 
40D: 822g
50D: 822g
60D: 755g

550D is on the other hand 530g

Do 67g make such a huge difference?
I think people just want something to moan about :shrug:

Yup, I can just see all the whingers saying "No, I don't want a McLaren F1 thanks, because it's made out of plastic".
 
Yup, I can just see all the whingers saying "No, I don't want a McLaren F1 thanks, because it's made out of plastic".


...More like carbon fiber and other high tech composite materials vs polycarbonate round steel chassis.

I also heard McLarens aren't great to drive on the rocky and muddy beach, where I would normally take out my weathersealed titanium alloy dSLR. Horses for courses. I don't like low cars anyway :D
 
As a 50d user, i think the changes are too drastic...

Gone from Magnesium alloy body to polycarbonate resin.. :puke:
Compact flash to SD cards... :puke:

Probably look at upgrading to 7d or 5D mkii instead.... maybe thats Canons plan... :cautious:

(y)

I think you've made some valid points.
I've never intended on going from a 50D to a 60D.
The 7D is the next logical step for me but this doesn't necessarily apply to other xxD users.

There is nothing wrong with polycarbonate resin being used on some products but the magnesium alloy used on the 50D and earlier models certainly gives them a more robust and solid feel.
 
I think you've made some valid points.
I've never intended on going from a 50D to a 60D.
The 7D is the next logical step for me but this doesn't necessarily apply to other xxD users.

There is nothing wrong with polycarbonate resin being used on some products but the magnesium alloy used on the 50D and earlier models certainly gives them a more robust and solid feel.

Can you tell the difference between magnesium alloy and aluminium? .. :thinking:
 
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