60D or wait?

[neuroanatomist]

So, wait, the new Digic 5 would barely make a difference for photography purposes?

Big difference for shooting JPGs right out of the camera, not much difference if shooting RAW.

[Tijn]

Digic 5 means greater processing power. That applies to burst rate and stuff, and video capabilities, noise reduction... With bigger (higher resolution, higher ISO) images, more processing power is needed.

Sensor upgrades are what determine resulution (the amount of megapixels) and noise performance (how much noise at certain ISO levels, how much maximum ISO). Note though that in a 70D, it's highly unlikely that there will not be a sensor upgrade. The 550D and 600D, as well as the 60D, as well as the 7D, all share the exact same sensor. It's getting old and they will have to get a better sensor in the next model. It will have better noise performance than the previous model, period. However, how much better is still uncertain.

Question is, do you need the extra improvement enough to want to remain waiting without any upgrade, or is the 60D's ISO performance enough of an upgrade for you to want to buy it now? (For me, coming from a 350D, it was easy: I went and bought the 60D. Massive upgrade, well worth it.)

[marekjoz]

Eugene, I'd suggest you to upgrade your lens first. You should get more from grabbing 17-40, 24-105 or EFS 17-55 what people suggest you than upgrading body now. If you plan to upgrade your lens AND body as well, maybe it's better to get even better lens, than you consider. Take a look at this:

Pro DSLR + Cheapo Lens vs "Cheapo" DSLR + Pro Lens	Small | Large

[Eugene]

Sadly, most of the time I do shoot on JPEG on my 450D due to the slow processing of both JPEG and Raw files, and I sometimes just feel too lazy to edit my shots.
So having said that, JPEG on a digic 5 results into massive ISO performance, correct?
Tijin, do you find the upgrade satisfying? When did you upgrade?
Do you guys think the new sensor would be extremely superior to the ones found on the 7D, 60D, 600D, etc?
Well, it's never a bad thing to get "extra improvements"!

Marekjoz, I've watched that and plenty of digitalrev tv a ridiculous amount of times during this month! But I really do think that getting a new body + a new maybe L lens would be more efficient..... + WEATHER SEALING ON BODY!!!!!! I'm not quite sure whether better lenses on my 450D would really make it comparable to a new 60D (or 70D) with my current lenses........

[Marsu42]

+ WEATHER SEALING ON BODY!!!!!!

afaik, weather-sealing is relative - you cannot shot an 1DX underwater. Reviews say the 60D has better sealing than cheaper eos bodies, but of course Canon wouldn't promote this to sell their 7D bodies. I can say that shooting for short periods in light rain never did my 60D any harm.

So, wait, the new Digic 5 would barely make a difference for photography purposes?

Big difference for shooting JPGs right out of the camera, not much difference if shooting RAW.

... and I personally would not think of shooting jpg execpt on a very long trip w/o laptop access ... the dynamic headroom raw gives you is the thing I want from a dslr.

Concerning nose, the 60D sensor is noise-less on iso-200, very good -400, ok-800. Looking at my Lightroom statistics, this is nearly always the case when shooting outdoors with an average 4-5.6 lens - as long as you don't to shoot moving targets @1/8000 - then get a ff body.

[D.Sim]

So having said that, JPEG on a digic 5 results into massive ISO performance, correct?

Not at all... it'll affect how the images are processed at a faster rate, but noise quality... won't really be affected.  And as Neuro said, when shooting RAW... it'll be negligible..

I second the suggestion to upgrade your glass - it'll help the AF as well if you can get the 2.8 trinity

[Tijn]

Tijin, do you find the upgrade satisfying? When did you upgrade?

Very satisfying. Gave me the video capability I wanted, nice swivel screen for when I want to do a scary self portrait, max ISO been pushed up 2 stops or so (not counting 12800). Resolution also changed a lot, I'm actually not afraid to crop now (went from 8Mpx to 18Mpx). The body itself feels nicer, too. I'd always love better noise performance, but I think I'll just wait a year or two and then go fullframe with a 5d mk3.

Do you guys think the new sensor would be extremely superior to the ones found on the 7D, 60D, 600D, etc?

I think it will be a significant upgrade. As in, at least 1 stop of noise performance boost (which is a lot). But for me, getting an upgrade *now* was much more important than waiting for a sensor upgrade (and spending more money on a crop camera in the process).

[SJP]

I upgraded from a 450 to 60D last summer, and haven't looked back!

Yes, glass quality is the overriding factor.  Yes, the 60D will be updated sometime.  Yes, the 60D doesn't have a Mg-Alloy and (totally) weather-sealed body.  It was however a hugely satisfying upgrade.

The 60D's features which make the photography I desire achievable are worth the upgrade, and are something a glass-upgrade wouldn't have provided. 

For me, the killer-features are the articulated screen, much-improved bracketing control, wireless-flash control, the top-mounted LCD screen, digital-level, far superior high-iso performance, higher-speed (FPS) even when shooting RAW, higher pixel-count (more confidence when cropping) and the Custom scene-mode (I just wish it had three rather than just one!).  Even the (user-configurable) scene-modes are worthy of note.

Whilst I wholeheartedly agree that glass is the key to sharp shots, you need to get the shot first and the 60D's features are far superior to those of the 450D and go a long way to ensuring you get that shot in the first place.

Any camera will be updated at some time, and whilst the 60D's successor may be on the horizon it's by no means imminent.  I'd say go for the upgrade and reap the rewards!

[Marsu42]

I upgraded from a 450 to 60D last summer, and haven't looked back!

It's nice to hear other people are happy with the 60D, too, because I really like my camera :-) ... having said this, I just saw the 7D prices have dropped significantly. So if you don't need magic lantern (doh!) and the movable back screen you can get a body that fits larger hands, better weather sealing and a far, far superior af.

[mitchell3417]

If you could theoretically afford a 70d new, then you can certainly afford a used 7d right now. They aren't much more expensive and it meets your requirements of great AF and it was 19 wonderful crosstype points. Also IQ is great and honestly you won't see a huge jump between it and a 70d in terms of IQ. imo

[briansquibb]

If you could theoretically afford a 70d new, then you can certainly afford a used 7d right now. They aren't much more expensive and it meets your requirements of great AF and it was 19 wonderful crosstype points. Also IQ is great and honestly you won't see a huge jump between it and a 70d in terms of IQ. imo

+1 go for used kit

[Marsu42]

Also IQ is great and honestly you won't see a huge jump between it and a 70d in terms of IQ. imo

now this is canon *rumors*, but predicting the iq of a 70D is somewhat risky, wouldn't you agree? I think the 70D will have a new sensor (they cannot still recycle the 18MP, although it is working ok), so iq of course will go up, even if due to lower noise levels alone.

[ScottyP]

I think Eugene just has the "itch" to buy a new body.  The logic behind rentals, waiting and lens upgrades aren't cooling the itch.  Hey, that's ok too.   

Pull...the...trigger.....  You...know...you...want...to...