On my Santa’s wishlist, in addition to world peace, I wished for an update to my seven years old Canon Rebel XT. Having already invested in a few decent lenses, I was pretty much set on a Canon EOS, but wanted a wee upgrade too. Weighing the features, spec, and the price, as well as a couple of visits to the shops to handle and feel a few (and compare them with Sony and Nikon’s offerings), the latest EOS 60D was on the top of my list. Well, Santa did deliver the kit version with the bundled EFS 18-135mm lens that has image stabilizer too. He bought it on-line for $1200. The lens is 67mm dia. and phenomenal in its range and versatility. The images are super sharp with excellent color accuracy. All my old lenses, including the trusty Sigma 70-300mm fit and work great, even though they are only 58mm dia.
The camera itself is nothing short of amazing for the price.
- 18MP CMOS Sensor.
- Amazing full 1080p HD movie capabilities.
- 5.3 fps shooting.
- Expandable ISO 100~3200
- Adjustable LCD display
- Built in camera software for raw processing and effects.
- In addition to all the easy and full manual settings you’d expect in this class of Camera.
The first of its kind for Canon, the Variable Angle 3” LCD display is really a must for the movies mode. I would suspect this will be a trend setting feature for Canon. Although I’d seen this on Panasonic cameras too. I found it very useful shooting awkward angles in the crowds at New Year.
Bigger, but more tactile than the Rebel XT, weights are comparable but a tad higher at 775g. Don’t be fooled by the reviews that call the body “plastic”. Not any old plastic. It may not be a 7D metal alloy body, but it is extremely well built, solid and lightweight.
The memory slot takes SD, SDHC, and SDXC storage cards. I got myself a 32Gig Class-10 SDHC Patriot card from my local Fry’s for $48! Yes, 32G Class-10, $48, and it works just grand.
My only gripe is in the Movie mode and the lens’s Auto Focus functionality AF, or lack of. It sucks! Don’t expect seamless camcorder style shooting at the party. You can shoot high end movies, but be prepared for a lot of manual focusing. To AF, you have to press the focus bottom every few seconds if you or the subject are moving, and it takes the camera a good 3~5 sec to actually re-focus with lots of lens sonic noise that will be recorded.
Overall, I really like my new EOS 60D. I do believe nothing beats it at its price – especially if you already have EOS compatible lenses.
A DSLR is more than its basic specs on paper. It is like choosing a car. You either drive it to enjoy it or you get it just to go from A to B. For me, it’s about how it handles, how it makes me feel, and of course the end result.
EOS 60D may not handle like my Carrera, but it does measure up to the midrange German sport sedans. It’s a lot of camera for the price. Plenty for serious amateur to be happy with.
If this layman’s summary is not in-depth enough for you, go to my favorite camera review site for the full geeky technical tests and details. They are just about the best:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos60D/
And Canon’s official site:
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/slr_cameras/eos_60d#Overview
These are my actual 60D night shots . No Flash, no effects.
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