The best features of the Canon 60D are...

[canonman]

I feel like many folks are disappointed with the 60D and I can see they are not being heavily bid up. Many of the retailers are dropping the price to get them out the door.

However, there are many positive differences over the T2i and the 7d too and the 2 best differences are:

- Longer battery life then either the T2i or the 7d. I read that 60D can take 40% more pictures on a single battery then the 7d under the same conditions. It can take 3 times the number of pictures then the T2i

- Articulating screen

The articulating screen is a huge option for me because you can take pictures discreetly in certain situations. In the past, when I have taken pictures in public I have had folks running after me as they somehow got caught in the shot. In NYC, it happens that when you take a picture someone gets caught in there. Then lets say you are taking a picture of the crowd, someone looks up because they see you are taking it.

The battery life is another huge bonus for me as most of the shots I take are on the street. I dont like carrying around several batteries and a battery grip adds bulk/heft to the package.

Do I need the 7ds ability to take 8 fps or the microadjust feature? Well, I might need the microadjust feature for my Sigma 30 1.4, but I can also simply send the camera and lens to sigma to have them calibrated exactly. The microadjust is not a useful feature for zooms and not really needed. For primes it might be worth it. Sometimes I take fashion shows and the 8 fps would be nice, but the 60d isnt too slow at 5.3 fps.

I can buy a "Camera Skin" or "Camera Armor" for the 60D that would toughen up the exterior a bit which makes up for the Magesium Body.

Making videos should be a lot better with the articulating screen and audio controls, although, I still believe a dedicated video camera would be better for video then a camera that was primarily designed for photography.

In any event, the 60D is an improvement on the 550D/T2i...what do you think?

 

[neuroanatomist]

In any event, the 60D is an improvement on the 550D/T2i...what do you think?

Absolutely! For one thing in addition to what you mentioned above, the AF system on the 60D is much better.

 

[canonman]

Here is something that I thought I would point out.

A Canon 7D costs about $1600 new from Amazon which is probably the best place to buy your camera. On Ebay, you will find the lowest price to be around $1400. On the other hand, the EOS 60 can be found on ebay for between $800-900 from authorized dealers. You can get a grey market model for even less.

Just earlier in the year, people were willing to pay $850 for the T2i. The EOS 60 is definately a much improved version of that camera for about the same price.

Many of the reviews poo-poo the articulating screen. However, I have found there are times as a professional where you find yourself in the photographer scrum where you have to hold the camera above the crowd to get any shot at all. There are also times when you want to be discreet in taking photos. Holding a 7D up to your eye and taking the shot can sometimes clue other people in that you are taking a photo and then you get different responses such as the classic hand going at your lens.

 

[lbloom]

I love my 60D. The articulating screen is great (except for the slow AF in live mode) and the battery life is excellent. It fits my hands way better than a t2i. No review has made me regret my purchase.

 

[canonman]

I believe you will regret the purchase with what I just posted. Amazon is offering a deal on the 60D for $899. I hope you kept the box so you can return your current 60D and buy another one through Amazon for an extra discount.

 

[canonman]

One thing about the Canon 60D is they combined some features that would normally be found on Canon's Point and Shoot line into the camera. One feature I enjoy on Canon's point and shoot line, that I wish was in their DSLRs, is the "Vivid colors" setting. This feature is now on the 60D where it was not before in any of the Rebels. There are other different scene modes on the 60D.

The 7D is more or less a fully manual camera with some program modes, AV, TV, etc. It is expected that a person using the 7D will be using photoshop to tweak the photo themselves and to know how to set the camera from situation to situation. I am a person who does not like to use photoshop or other post processing software programs because it takes up a lot of time. I enjoy scene modes because these cameras do a fairly good job of selecting the right settings themselves and Im not in the mood all the time to set the camera manually. Sometimes I want to kick back and just have fun and not have to think. I also enjoy the "Vivid color" because I like the photos I take to have the color pop out because it seems lively to me...however, I do not enjoy using photoshop because its one extra process that I have to do.

The 7D will take more time to learn and you will have to think where as the 60D has some of those automatic scene modes. Its like the difference between a manual and an automatic transmission. The 7D will make you think more as there are no automatic scene modes on its dial. There are no options for "Vivid color" so any processing llike that will have to be donene with photoshop. Photoshop does take more time...

 

[neuroanatomist]

One thing about the Canon 60D is they combined some features that would normally be found on Canon's Point and Shoot line into the camera. One feature I enjoy on Canon's point and shoot line, that I wish was in their DSLRs, is the "Vivid colors" setting. This feature is now on the 60D where it was not before in any of the Rebels. There are other different scene modes on the 60D.

To me, this is another piece of evidence supporting the idea that the 60D is a 'Super-Rebel' in terms of market position. I like the way DPR's review describes the Ambience setting: "In addition to setting the ambience you can also get the camera to consider what type of lighting you're shooting under - allowing you to set white balance in scene modes without having to learn what white balance is." It's like green-square mode on steroids.

There are no options for "Vivid color" so any processing llike that will have to be donene with photoshop.

Or, you could create a custom Picture Style that suited your taste, with increased contrast and saturation. At least, that's what I'd do if I wanted a specific style of JPGs straight from the camera. But maybe that's too much tinkering. Call the plumber.

 

[canonman]

I know how to program the camera through the custom modes you speak about, but I have never been able to duplicate the effect of "vivid color" mode. If you get one of the Canon point and shoots like the S95 then you can see exactly what I mean. A dull looking lawn turns into this super-green lawn.

 

[neuroanatomist]

I know how to program the camera through the custom modes you speak about, but I have never been able to duplicate the effect of "vivid color" mode. If you get one of the Canon point and shoots like the S95 then you can see exactly what I mean. A dull looking lawn turns into this super-green lawn.

Picture Styles ≠ Custom Modes, they are different settings with different purposes (the former deals with in-camera RAW conversion, the latter deals with pre-set combinations of exposure options and other functions - drive mode, AF mode, etc.). So, setting a consumer camera like a Rebel or 60D to the "Portrait" scene mode on the mode dial is not the same as selecting the "Portrait" picture style (although selecting the former automatically selects the latter, too, on consumer cameras with scene modes).

Actually, I do have an S95 - for times when carrying a backpack full of camera gear isn't feasible. It has the "Super Vivid" mode, and I found that I can very easily duplicate the effect myself in post-processing (which, when saved as a preset makes batch processing a two-mouse-clicks process), and by doing it that way I gain the image quality benefits of converting a RAW image with a much more powerful processor (computer vs. in-camera), since settings like "Super Vivid" are only capable of producing JPG images in-camera. One reason I got the S95 was that it shoots RAW (unlike most P&S cameras) - image noise is the bane of a small sensor, and RAW shooting enables much more powerful noise reduction without as big a penalty on other aspects of image quality (e.g. sharpness).

 

[armando]

iso steps + agc control + swivel out screen + feels like the focusing system locks on stronger & confident + faster fps than the t2i.

 

[unruled]

I own a 40D and so like many others I was quite dissapointing to see the compromises that Canon made with the 60D. (Unlike nikon who did the opposite and stepped it up with the D7000).

That said, a friend of mine has switched from nikon and bought the 60D so Il be taking a closer look at it. With regards to the swivel screen I have to say I think Im warming up to it. I had the same reaction when I got my 40d with live view-- I figured it was a gimmick, but turns out that I use it quite a lot when using tripods. Swivel+liveview surely will make tripod use even more comfortable.

most of my other issues are ergonomic ones (ie. no more joystick+wheel combo). Well, that and the lack of magnesium body. I thought it was done to save on weight, but the 60d is less than 70 grams lighter than the 50d if Im not mistaken.

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edit: ouch, this is a positives thread

well, lets summarise:

+ swivel screen
+ good quality plastics