Canon Announces EOS 60D

[dilbert]

So why don't I just buy a 7D? Because it is NOT what I want or need.

But. . . but. . . the 7D IS an "upgraded 50D with an 18mp sensor and video." You're chomping at the bit to spend $1300.00, but you absolutely can't come up with that last $235.00 for a 7D (current B&H price is $1535.00)?
...

This is the Internet. Even if Canon had of delivered exactly what people are currently saying  they want, they would have come up with some other excuse to not buy it because it was missing some other "must have feature" like Nikon's new video focus on the D3100, for example, and that they will wait until that is included.

[backshot_especiale]

it's quite obvious what canon marketing have come up with as a strategy, when an awful lot of people (myself included) were saying this time last year that the new 7d was the new 60d, so they release a disappointment camera with the aim not to sell it but to force an upsale, that's basic capitalism, not saying it is the right way to run things but what do you all expect?

They intend for potential buyers and upgraders to go to 7d or 5dii (whilst constraining supply to keep prices buoyant) I'd have rather seen canon move this same small sensor to a mirrorless camera system, rangefinder style body, small like the sensor, with the focus on manual shooting, prime lenses and flexibility. As it currently stands micro 4 3rds is looking quite good as a balance between sensor size and handling.

The G12 would have been great if it was more like the gf1.
The 60d on product history should have been a 12-18 megapixel full frame sensor in the same body, that would have been a bold, wise and creative move by canon, they pussied out, they had a massive market but have been too complacent.

[dilbert]

it's quite obvious what canon marketing have come up with as a strategy, when an awful lot of people (myself included) were saying this time last year that the new 7d was the new 60d, so they release a disappointment camera with the aim not to sell it but to force an upsale, that's basic capitalism, not saying it is the right way to run things but what do you all expect?

I think you and too many people are reading too much into Canon's move. They had to deliver a camera that is between the 550D and the 7D in specs. And that is what they did.

They intend for potential buyers and upgraders to go to 7d or 5dii (whilst constraining supply to keep prices buoyant)

Actually, the money is on the production lines for the 5D2 sensors being used to create sensors for the 1Ds4 - and possibly the same for the camera manufacturing too. Of course reality has never got in the way of a good conspiracy theory for those that believe in them.

I'd have rather seen canon move this same small sensor to a mirrorless camera system, rangefinder style body, small like the sensor, with the focus on manual shooting, prime lenses and flexibility. As it currently stands micro 4 3rds is looking quite good as a balance between sensor size and handling.

I think we have to wait and see what Canon does with that market segment. It's likely that they were caught unawares and thus have to spend time developing a complete product line to compete. That includes how to fit it into the existing lineup, how to market it, what level of technology, what price range, new lenses, etc. I suspect that creating a new type of camera that enters the market place and succeeds does not happen overnight.

The G12 would have been great if it was more like the gf1.

*yawn*
I'm sure if the G12 was like the GF1 then you'd wish it was like something else - like the G11.

The 60d on product history should have been a 12-18 megapixel full frame sensor in the same body, that would have been a bold, wise and creative move by canon, they pussied out, they had a massive market but have been too complacent.

A 60D with a FF sensor would not be a 60D. But if it did it exist then it would damage the sales of their 7D and 550D, not to forget the 5D2. It would be a stupid move for the company to make - not a bold and wise move.

[dilbert]

Hmmm, did anyone else notice that Canon have added back infra-red remote control activation to the 60D?

[Grendel]

Hmmm, did anyone else notice that Canon have added back infra-red remote control activation to the 60D?

Not too surprising, the 450D, 500D, and 550D (plus 7D & 5DII) all have it..

[c.d.embrey]

So why don't I just buy a 7D? Because it is NOT what I want or need.

But. . . but. . . the 7D IS an "upgraded 50D with an 18mp sensor and video." You're chomping at the bit to spend $1300.00, but you absolutely can't come up with that last $235.00 for a 7D (current B&H price is $1535.00)?
...

This is the Internet. Even if Canon had of delivered exactly what people are currently saying  they want, they would have come up with some other excuse to not buy it because it was missing some other "must have feature" like Nikon's new video focus on the D3100, for example, and that they will wait until that is included.

Sorry guys, but you don't know me or what I do. And I do have the money to buy a 1Ds III so the extra $235.00 has nothing to do with it.

I use CENTER POINT focus only, so I don't need the 7Ds improved focus. I shoot in sunny SoCal, mainly in a studio, so I don't need the 7Ds weather proofing. For what I do I don't need 18MP or video, but that is what Canon wants to sell so I'm stuck with it.

BTW if the D3100 video focus was important to me I would not hesitate to buy a D3100. I sure wouldn't wait for Canon to implement it in the 70D. Cameras are just tools, always use the right tool for the job. And sometime the best tool is a Canon at at other times it's a Nikon, and occasionally a Sinar 4X5.

[hoktar]

Yea, that sounds real cool and all but you do know what you need lenses to use a camera?.....

[channs]

60D samples photos look great at both low ISO and high ISO.
http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/samples/eos60d/

Noise does seem to be much less than 50D.
Looks like a winner to me if Nikon cannot match the video quality.
The target customers seem to be those who want better build than lower range canon SLRs like XTi...T2i and want to carry only one camera for photo and video. Missing magnesium and weather sealing does not seem to be an issue for this target group...they would take care of the cameras with the cameras covered with plastic bags.. or pop out a point and shoot covered in plastic bag.
So there should be many buyers for this camera.

It can be really competitive if Canon can improve their kit lens like Nikon.

[unfocused]

This is the Internet. Even if Canon had delivered exactly what people are currently saying  they want, they would have come up with some other excuse to not buy...

Well said.

Some of this discussion makes me want to scream. Cameras are a mass-produced product. Features have to balance out with demand. Companies weigh the incremental cost of adding a new feature against the expected increase in demand for that feature. There is no grand conspiracy to deny anyone anything or to purposely make a product less desirable.

If you want a camera that has ONLY the features you need, then contract with Canon, Nikon or any other company and have them custom build the camera for you. It will probably cost you a hundred grand or more, but hey, at least you won't be paying for features you don't need, right?

Of course my camera has features on it that I don't use. So does my car. So does Photoshop. So does my iPhone. So does my TV. What doesn't?

[CameraAddict]

If you want a camera that has ONLY the features you need, then contract with Canon, Nikon or any other company and have them custom build the camera for you. It will probably cost you a hundred grand or more, but hey, at least you won't be paying for features you don't need, right?

I would say you're taking things a little bit too extreme to prove your "point".  xxD users who are unhappy with this line have valid points.  Canon has basically ended the xxD line without saying so.  They have stopped providing support to a whole segment of their customers.  I don't think it's at all disproportionate to feel a little bit insulted by this. 

But your response to it, now THAT is disproportionate.  Because we wanted to be able to upgrade our cameras to slightly better at the same price point, we're asking too much? (computers, which DSLRs are, come down in price, they don't go up.)  To expect Canon not to take away the features we've come to know and need, we're asking them to build us our very own camera?  I think not, but that's just my own opinion. 

[ELK]

... Canon has basically ended the xxD line without saying so.  They have stopped providing support to a whole segment of their customers.  I don't think it's at all disproportionate to feel a little bit insulted by this. 

.... Because we wanted to be able to upgrade our cameras to slightly better at the same price point, we're asking too much?

Would you upgrade to 60 if it was same as now, except with metal body, CF card and AF microadjustment?

[unfocused]

I would say you're taking things a little bit too extreme to prove your "point".  xxD users who are unhappy with this line have valid points.  Canon has basically ended the xxD line without saying so.

CameraAddict, I apologize if you thought my comments were aimed at everyone who was disappointed in the 60D. I understand that many people were expecting something different and I didn't mean to be critical of those with a reasonable level of disappointment. (Although in fairness, I think you'd have to admit that it wasn't a total surprise if you follow this forum.)

My frustration was with what I see as some pretty unrealistic and unfair criticisms by a handful of people. Since I don't particularly want to start a personal internet war, I won't go into specifics. I would just suggest that if you read over some of the comments that have been made over the past several weeks regarding the anticipated and now announced 60D, I think any reasonable person would admit that there were a lot of unrealistic expectations (actually, demands might be a more accurate description.)

I am not in the market for a new camera at this point, so I don't feel the personal disappointment that some apparently do. All I was really trying to do was remind people that Canon is a business and they make decisions based on business principles. You have a right to be disappointed is you feel a favorite brand has gone in a direction contrary to what you would like. But, you might want to ask yourself why they felt compelled to go in the direction they did. The simple answer is almost always that they are following the marketplace and what you or I think the market demands, may not actually be what the millions of consumers that Canon needs to survive are demanding.

[mthrope]

A hearty AMEN to the points expressed by "unfocused". Frankly, the whiners on this forum are reminiscent of a bunch of kindergartners complaining about the selection of toys they have to choose from. Mature exchanges of divergent points of view make for interesting forum posts. The relentless bitching and moaning about a piece of hardware on this forum suggest either too much or too little in the way of drugs are being consumed.

[unexposure]

... Canon has basically ended the xxD line without saying so.  They have stopped providing support to a whole segment of their customers.  I don't think it's at all disproportionate to feel a little bit insulted by this. 

.... Because we wanted to be able to upgrade our cameras to slightly better at the same price point, we're asking too much?

Would you upgrade to 60 if it was same as now, except with metal body, CF card and AF microadjustment?

That's a good point.
Could just anyone explain, why cf is preferred about sd? afaik has cf a lot less (as defined in the standard) than sd and an very similar speed and capacity at an often enough higher price (in germany).
The next thing I wonder about: Why exactly metal-body? If you drop your cam, your least problem in regular is a scratch in the body. rather lens or bajonett might brake - and here it don't matters what material the body is made of.

[Rocky]

... Canon has basically ended the xxD line without saying so.  They have stopped providing support to a whole segment of their customers.  I don't think it's at all disproportionate to feel a little bit insulted by this. 

.... Because we wanted to be able to upgrade our cameras to slightly better at the same price point, we're asking too much?

Would you upgrade to 60 if it was same as now, except with metal body, CF card and AF microadjustment?

I would.  Even if it is proven that the camera body is solid with good plastic, I would still buy it. My 20D shutter release switch is the first thing to fail. So Mg body does not guarantee  it will outlast the rest of the body part.