Bought a 7D, considering exchanging for a 60D. What would you do?

[nolken]

I seriously doubt that the 7D will drop that low in price.

The 5D mark ii was introduced at $2699. It now has a MSRP of $2199. That is a 18.53% price drop.
The 7D was introduced at $1699. It now has a MSRP of $1399. That is a 17.66% price drop.
That is pretty close. We all know how business like to follow patterns. They probably did their market research and determined these are the appropriate deprecation values.

The 5D mark ii now has a rebate of $400. That gives you a 33.35% Total price drop.
The increase in saving percentage for the 5D mark ii MSRP to the price minus rebate is 180.0%

If the 7D is to follow the same pattern:
A 180.0% increase from 17.66 is 31.79%. That would drop the price minus rebate to $1159. We know the 7D's MSRP will not change again, so that only leaves the rebate to change. My guess is that the rebate will either stay the same or increase to $300 leaving the price minus rebate to $1099. I can't imagine it going lower than that new.

[nolken]

If you really wanted to get rid of your 7D and save some cash in the process. Why not get a 50D instead of a 60D. Some say the 50D is the better camera and it has AFMA, but no video unless you use ML.

the 50D doesn't have video.

[nolken]

Do you really think it will drop that much in price if the mk2 is priced so aggressively?
Was just about to pull the trigger on it and then it actually went UP in price this week.. sheesh
Then a friend started ranting about the chance of overheating the 7D during long video takes and the uncertainty concerning full functional ML release and thus I am back in the cursed state of mind, similar to the OP...
7D (AF-selector, build, HDMI-out, C1,2,3 for video, slightly bigger VF, AFMA, chance of overheating) vs 60D (Price, articulated LCD, ML) Meh

I have been experimenting with the magic lantern alpha build for 7d, and i must say it is very promising. all of the features that i find most useful are working wonderfully. There is even some talk about the chances of a clean HDMI out. only problem is i have to re-load it every time the viewfinder shuts off. this is purposely done by the magic lantern team because they don't want to modify the boot flag for an alpha version.

[expatinasia]

If you really wanted to get rid of your 7D and save some cash in the process. Why not get a 50D instead of a 60D. Some say the 50D is the better camera and it has AFMA, but no video unless you use ML.

the 50D doesn't have video.

Like I said in my post, the 50D does have video but you have to use ML (magic lantern) to get it. But overall the 50D is a better camera than the 60D, and has some benefits such as the sealing, body and AFMA etc.

Plus, I would imagine they are very cheap right now.

[nicku]

I understand my needs may be different than yours. I'm curious as to what YOU would do. Not necessarilly what I should do, but what you would do. Background:

I consider myself an advanced amateur. I originally had a 60D, but sold it at the beginning of last semester to focus more on school (and knowing that the body would inevitably experience a price drop soon. Glad I sold it when I did!). I thought I could live without for a year, but I couldn't take it anymore and I bought the 7D a couple of weeks ago for $1030. Now I can get the 60D for $560. That makes the 7D an extra $470, or 84% more. I don't do sports photography or BIF. The closes thing to fast moving is my kids playing, so I don't really need the 7D AF. Before I sold the 60D, I was doing some smaller paid video gigs. I would like to take that to the next level. I would like to do TV commercials for local companies and product advertising videos as well as what I was previously doing. I live in a small(er) town, and the ONLY competition is the local cable company who makes horrendous commercials. One concern of mine, Is it unprofessional to take a 60D to a shoot? Like I said, I only did smaller paid gigs, and nobody really knew anything about my gear. I was still a bit self conscious bringing my 60D, even on the smaller gigs. I did keep all my other video equipment when I sold the body since all the other items don't lose value so fast.

Why I would keep the 7D:

• 1080 HDMI output durring recording. This is pretty important to me, but alone doesn't quite justify the extra $470. Almost though because the screen going black on the 60D upon pressing record is incredibly annoying.
• Magnesium alloy body. For obvious reasons over the 60D's polycarbonate. This, however, isn't as big of a deal, as the 60D's body is still good.
• The 7D will have a better resale value. Again, though, this isn't as important as I can't really see myself selling it in the near future. Upon purchase of my next body, the 7D/60D will become my back-up.
• The AFMA and better AF of the 7D will be invaluable IF I end up actually needing that in the future. IF.
• It looks good in my hands

Why I would exchange the 7D for the 60D?
$$$$

So, what would you do personally if you were trying to decide between the 60D and the 7D? And, I suppose, what would you do in my situation?

I believe the extra money worth every $$$.
why:

- as you saying no near future replacement... shutter durability (100k clicks)
- way better weather sealing
- AFMA - very, very important. even my L lenses need some degree of adjustment. I manage to get the lenses from  sharp ( when using wide open aperture) to very sharp.
- and the 7D AF is light years ahead of the simple ( almost 10 years old) 9 points AF

[nolken]

If you really wanted to get rid of your 7D and save some cash in the process. Why not get a 50D instead of a 60D. Some say the 50D is the better camera and it has AFMA, but no video unless you use ML.

the 50D doesn't have video.

Like I said in my post, the 50D does have video but you have to use ML (magic lantern) to get it. But overall the 50D is a better camera than the 60D, and has some benefits such as the sealing, body and AFMA etc.

Plus, I would imagine they are very cheap right now.

oh ha i see it now, i skipped the "but no video"" part. I didn't know the 50D was capable of video with ML

[papa-razzi]

I haven't used a 60D, but read a bunch about it when it was released.  7D has a much better AF system, more FPS, a CF card vs SD, and AFMA.  The 60D has the flip screen.  The cameras share the same sensor.

You asked what I would do vs. what I think you should do. If I didn't shoot sports, I personally wouldn't have spent the extra few hundred $$$ on the 7D, but gone with the 60D instead.  The extra FPS and the AF system where the main reason I went with the 7D.

I don't think people care what equipment you have, they care about the results.

[eyeland]

I thought that the 60D was rated for 100k Clicks and the 7D for 150K?

[nolken]

I thought that the 60D was rated for 100k Clicks and the 7D for 150K?

this is true.

[jhpeterson]

I'd keep the 7d.

While the swivel screen and difference in price make the 60d appear more attractive NOW (you know, the "always greener..." sort of thing), you'll likely soon realize the advantages of the 7d (like the screen that doesn't black out when you press record) outweigh the negatives.

Besides, one more thing the 7d has going for it is its better build. You say you're plan to produce advertising videos. One of the most important factors in choosing equipment to do commercial work, is reliability. It is both personally embarrassing and costly in terms of business when an item breaks down, even if it is only for small-town clients (maybe more so, since you may have to live in the same community as them). The near-certainty that a piece of gear will keep working in difficult situations is what labels certain cameras as professional, and, in turn, gives the photographer greater confidence in appearing as a pro.

Coming from someone who doesn't really trust anything below the level of the 1D series, perhaps my advice should be taken with a grain of salt. And, as I shoot on the ocean about 100 days a year, my cameras have been know to acquire a few of them!

[preppyak]

I thought that the 60D was rated for 100k Clicks and the 7D for 150K?

I'm not sure that is really relevant when we are talking mainly video usage. Really, the question would be more to how well each camera handles heat, etc.

I'd keep the 7d.

While the swivel screen and difference in price make the 60d appear more attractive NOW (you know, the "always greener..." sort of thing), you'll likely soon realize the advantages of the 7d (like the screen that doesn't black out when you press record) outweigh the negatives.

Also, you can make a compelling argument that while the 60D is nice for casual video use, if you are getting paid for a gig, you should be using an external monitor to check focus, etc. You client finding out you have a 60D instead of a 7D is nothing compared to the embarrassment of them finding out their interviews are all out of focus.

Likewise, AFMA is a non-issue in differentiating the two, as you'll be pulling manual focus anyway, not relying on the cameras electronics.

If you were doing casual use, Id agree with those that say 60D, because Magic Lantern support and the swivel screen are nice, cheap stand-ins for pro features. But, when you are a pro, you need the right tool for the job. A DSLR may not even be the answer for some gigs.

[BrianMichael]

If you bought the 7d already.. It's a bit late now because now your cam is considered used... It is an upgrade to the 60D so just keep it..

I own a 60D wanna trade? Lol

In all honesty.. I love my 60D.. It is my first DLSR and I am able to get really awesome pictures out of it and even started getting paying gigs... If this keeps up I will upgrade to a full frame camera to keep up with professional needs..
For now.. I will enjoy what I have, not worry about the camera body I own and put my focus on investing in quality glass and equipment that Will be able to be used when I do finally upgrade and then I can just buy the body..

[nolken]

Currently I'm about 95% leaning toward the 7D. I almost exclusively use an external monitor for studio shots, and I don't think the 60D's 480 out is going to cut it. The more I think about it, the more I am in favor of keeping the 7D.

[preppyak]

Currently I'm about 95% leaning toward the 7D. I almost exclusively use an external monitor for studio shots, and I don't think the 60D's 480 out is going to cut it. The more I think about it, the more I am in favor of keeping the 7D.

Yeah, really no reason to swap then. If anything, you should be looking towards the 5d3 or BMCC as a future option

[nolken]

Currently I'm about 95% leaning toward the 7D. I almost exclusively use an external monitor for studio shots, and I don't think the 60D's 480 out is going to cut it. The more I think about it, the more I am in favor of keeping the 7D.

Yeah, really no reason to swap then. If anything, you should be looking towards the 5d3 or BMCC as a future option

Those options are definitely in my future, I just don't know when. That was one of the only reasons I was going to go with the 60D over the 7D. My thought was that since I am planning on getting a FF body in the upcoming future, should I just save the money. Sense I don't know when that will be, I'm just going to stick with the 7D more than likely. The uncompressed HDMI out firmware update coming april to the 5D mark III is something to seriously look forward for video.