60D Owners - Overall, are you happy with your camera?

[wsmith96]

Canon has the 60D refurb on sale again and the price is such that it's calling my name. For those who own this camera, what do you think about it for $460 USD?

My usage would be for children's sports and general vacation type usage. I'm not shooting super models here.

-w

 

[Don Haines]

Mine has served me well. It's somewhere around 125,000 pictures and still works fine. There is a cat hair in the viewfinder prism and the rubber grip is getting a bit loose, but other than that it works great.

I do regret not getting the 7D with the superior autofocus, but overall I am happy with it.

 

[ajfotofilmagem]

I worked with 60D several times in photo and video. You could say that's a big Rebel. Does its job well, and has image quality equal to T2i. The advantage of 60D on the current Rebel is ergonomics, controls, and battery life. For the use you describe, is a very capable camera. Just do not expect to do video with auto focus, since it only searches for focus as his finger pushes the button, and then stops. In this respect, T4i makes autofocus video more efficiently.

 

[AudioGlenn]

well... i sold mine to help pay for my 5D mark III. Of course, there was a noticeable difference in IQ and low light capability but for $460, that's a pretty good deal. For your use, it should be fine.

 

[notoriouslightning]

I use a 60d as a backup to my 5d mark III for weddings. It sees little use, but its still a great camera. I use it with my 70-200 when I want a little extra reach for moon shots and such. I paid $500 for mine new, body only about 6 months or so ago. For $500 or less I would say its a good camera and worth the price.

 

[Act444]

When I had it, I loved it. It was great. Ultimately I parted with it to help finance a FF camera (wanted better low-light performance at indoor events), but especially at that price it's definitely a great value.

 

[Bennymiata]

The 60D is a great camera.
I bought mine when they first came out and it's given me excellent service for 3 years or so.

Image quality is very good and having the small LCD screen on the top deck is very worthwhile having.

 

[anthonyd]

I've had it for a few years now and I love it. I rented a 6D to do a wedding, next to which it felt clearly inferior, but it feels much better than the T2i I had before.
Most pictures in my flickr page are done with it.
I'm not a pro, but I would argue that light, composition and lenses matter more than the body.

 

[mpphoto]

I bought a refurb 60D for that same price in March during another Canon refurb sale. I was using a T3i and was satisfied with it, but I couldn't resist the 60D at that price. There were only 14 shutter actuations on the body I got. For the price, it was a nice upgrade from my T3i. Better autofocus, faster burst mode, and much better battery life. I routinely get about 1000 shots per charge.

There are newer bodies with more features, but for $460, I think the 60D is a good deal for someone upgrading from an older Rebel, or someone looking to have a very capable spare body.

 

[Hjalmarg1]

This is camera that produce very good results, I sold mine to buy a FF but while I had it it performed flawlessly.

 

[jdramirez]

I had it for 2+ years... and I really liked the 60D. I do like shooting at shallow depths of field though... and the 60D doesn't have AFMA... But if you are shooting at reasonable depth of fields, you should be golden.

Also... it is the same 18mp sensor that has been around forever... and it gets grainy pretty quickly depending upon your personal preference. I could tolerate iso 2500... but some people complain past 800.

I liked/loved the articulating screen, I loved the shoulder lcd as compared to not having a shoulder lcd.

the 9 cross type AF points is adequate... I really liked my 60D and in good light, I'm not sure I could see a difference in image quality between my mkiii and the 60D... I say get it...

 

[jdramirez]

Mine has served me well. It's somewhere around 125,000 pictures and still works fine. There is a cat hair in the viewfinder prism and the rubber grip is getting a bit loose, but other than that it works great.

I do regret not getting the 7D with the superior autofocus, but overall I am happy with it.

My rubber grip started to come loose as well...

 

[FTb-n]

I upgraded from a Rebel XT to the 60D and then added the 70-200 f2.8L IS II. My main need was figure skating, grade school sports, and indoor events. From the XT, this was a huge improvement.

Shortly afterward, I added a 17-55 f2.8 IS. It wasn't long when I realized that the XT was a poor second camera, then I heard the calling of a refurbished 7D direct from Canon. The 7D proved to be a great improvement with more challenging sports action.

First, the difference for me wasn't really with the 8 fps. I rely more on timing of the first shot then may burst a second or third one. But, the biggest issue was with tracking erratic movement such as with figure skating. My guess is that the 60D had an in-focus success rate of about 80% where the 7D was at least 90%.

But, perhaps the biggest problem was that I didn't fully understand the predictive nature of the AI Servo mode. It isn't completely live focus, but rather it records movement to predict where the subject will be when the shutter is actually tripped. So, it works great tracking a subject that moves in a straight line. But, it can be off when the subject changes direction. The 7D can usually keep up, but the 60D lags behind when tracking the change in direction. It's sometimes best to momentarily lift your finger off the focus lock when the subject changes direction to force the camera start its calculations all over.

Another issue that you can run into is with burst mode or "near" burst mode. The 60D can only burst a few RAW images before filling the buffer. Part of this is due to the slower SD cards. It does a better job with smaller JPGs. Still, for me, this wasn't a huge problem.

That's the negative and is most noticeable with challenging sports action.

I still find the 60D to be a great camera and the articulating screen was quite handy for both creative shots and candids. Today, I mostly shoot with two 5D3's, but I kept the 60D (and the 7D). My wife kids now use these. On occasion, I'll grab the 60D and 17-55 or the 35 f2 IS for a lightweight grab shot camera -- especially for times when I don't want to carry 5 grand worth of gear for more casual shots.

For crop bodies, if lots of sports was my main need, I'd be tempted to look for a refurb 7D. But, for a more general purpose camera that can handle sports, the 60D is a great choice. Keep in mind, it's only when compared to the 7D that 60D falls short in the sports department.

 

[wsmith96]

Thank you all for your guidance. I get a lot of confidence in my ordering based up on recommendations from the CR community. You all have never disappointed.

Order number #119802592 will be at my house on Thursday

I believe that this camera will do everything that I want it to do. For the longest time I lusted after a 7d, but working with my T1i for a few years, I was able to start getting better and better pictures working on my technique. I've attached a few pictures I've taken from my son's baseball games. I think that 5 FPS will be enough for me regarding speed, but just having a physically larger camera will do wonders for my hand. I think I've got a pretty good kit for now:

17-55
10-22
60 macro
70-200 2.8 mk II
85 1.8
50 1.8

My rebel will go to my kiddo's who are taking an interest in photography. Now the wait.....

Thanks again!
-wes

 

[jdramirez]

Nice timing with the first shot. I can never seem to get that ball on bat shot... though in my defense I spend most of my time coaching the girls...

 

[Dylan777]

What camera you have now?

 

[wsmith96]

T1i. Bought it new in 2009.

 

[wsmith96]

Nice timing with the first shot. I can never seem to get that ball on bat shot... though in my defense I spend most of my time coaching the girls...

I'd like to think it is skill, but in reality it was pure luck.

 

[FTb-n]

Congrats on the order and enjoy the 60D.

For what it's worth, my 5D3 has 6fps, not much faster than the 60D. Most of the sports that I shoot is grade school level and I can't say that I miss the 8fps of 7D. There are times when burst is handy, such as a layup in basketball when there are a couple seconds worth of shots. But, when trying to get the batted ball or the moment when the basketball leaves the hand, it's all about timing that first shot. Relying on burst won't help.

When you dig into the 60D, there's really a lot there. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my 60D could control my 430EX flash off camera, in full auto, using the popup flash. I could also use the popup as a fill flash.

Enjoy!

 

[TrabimanUK]

I've owned a 60D since it came out as I couldn't afford the 7D. It has served me well, taken some great shots and survived two safaris. Not sure if it wil make the 3rd as I'm looking at a 5DIII due to being a bit better off now, but for the price, the 60D is a great camera.