Canon 60D: Homerun or Disappointment?

[Anthony Lee]

I have just completed testing the 60D against my 5D because I intend to get back to APS-C.
So, this is just my opinion of the 60D.

The camera feels good in my hands. Operation wise, very friendly, nice LCD, very good response and focuses well with 17-55f2.8, both indoor and out door. Combines very well, this combo, and I can hardly find any fault except the indoor high ISO color rendtion which I don't particularly like, slightly too pinkish/reddish and seem to be very difficult to adjust on DPP. Generally, excellent camera for most application with the right lenses. It also handles all my manual focus lenses very well without any modification.

Is this good enough to replace my 5D.....no? I will have to look elsewhere.

 

[raydio]

I have just completed testing the 60D against my 5D because I intend to get back to APS-C.
So, this is just my opinion of the 60D.

The camera feels good in my hands. Operation wise, very friendly, nice LCD, very good response and focuses well with 17-55f2.8, both indoor and out door. Combines very well, this combo, and I can hardly find any fault except the indoor high ISO color rendtion which I don't particularly like, slightly too pinkish/reddish and seem to be very difficult to adjust on DPP. Generally, excellent camera for most application with the right lenses. It also handles all my manual focus lenses very well without any modification.

Is this good enough to replace my 5D.....no? I will have to look elsewhere.

So does this mean that you are not going to buy the 60D?

 

[tonytan0]

Just curious....
For those of you who have upgraded from the 500D/550D (or earlier), what are your impressions of the new 60D? Was it worth the upgrade or is your experience with the 60D about the same as with your older camera?

I upgrade from 500 to 60, first impression - much heavier but the feel is good.
The swivel screen is an important feature for me, hard to explain the situation but I always required to raise my cam above my head to take a top-down photo.
Used to "fire" around 10~20 shoot before getting a good one,but now i can slowly aim and shot.
All stuff I own for 500D are usable for 60D, etc SD card,remote trigger and others. That save me some money too.

The weather sealed body also a plus point too.

 

[Anthony Lee]

So does this mean that you are not going to buy the 60D?

If I had not used a 5D before, I would have bought the 60D. I will wait for the 5DII upgrade, most likely to come out in 2011. FF feel and look, overrall color rendition, DR, and how my old lenses react on an FF sensor is so very different from the 60D's sensor. My personal feelings is that most APS-C photos tend to look artificial to me. Like I always say, this is very subjective, but I can't find what I am looking for in the 60D. There was some resemblance in my old 40D but it's not there anymore in the 50D, 7D and now 60D.

 

[postal]

If I had not used a 5D before, I would have bought the 60D. I will wait for the 5DII upgrade, most likely to come out in 2011. FF feel and look, overrall color rendition, DR, and how my old lenses react on an FF sensor is so very different from the 60D's sensor. My personal feelings is that most APS-C photos tend to look artificial to me. Like I always say, this is very subjective, but I can't find what I am looking for in the 60D. There was some resemblance in my old 40D but it's not there anymore in the 50D, 7D and now 60D.

I think u are comparing the ISO performance between a Full Frame and a cropped sensor... Without a doubt Full Frame has better ISO performance... 40D can match a Full Frame cause it is a 10 mega pixels camera. With a lower mega pixels count, the ISO performance would be better. That is the main reason why I bought 1000D a year ago... :-D

But then... 60D can squeeze 18 mega pixels into a small sensor which I find it pretty impressive. The ISO performance is satisfactory as well... I would say I would only use ISO max at 3200... will try to avoid ISO 6400.

 

[Anthony Lee]

I think u are comparing the ISO performance between a Full Frame and a cropped sensor... Without a doubt Full Frame has better ISO performance... 40D can match a Full Frame cause it is a 10 mega pixels camera. With a lower mega pixels count, the ISO performance would be better. That is the main reason why I bought 1000D a year ago... :-D

But then... 60D can squeeze 18 mega pixels into a small sensor which I find it pretty impressive. The ISO performance is satisfactory as well... I would say I would only use ISO max at 3200... will try to avoid ISO 6400.

I shot 2 portraits under low light condition at night with the 5D and 60D using my Zeiss 85f1.4 at F2, ISO 500, 1/50 in raw. At DPP, both images look different. the 5D was more natural but the 60D was very pinkish to reddish. At raw, I retune the color temperature and I could get a very natural photo on my 5D but I could not do the same with the raw image from the 60D. Why, I don't know. I never shoot above ISO 800 and even with the 60D, I will not do it, so high ISO is not mportant even though it's clean enough. Sorry, I cannot post the photos.

 

[postal]

Noted noted... guess u really need the IQ of a full frame camera... u can wait for the rumored 5D mark III... still a full frame with 7D features... :-D

 

[ahboy168]

Just sold off my 50D.

Anyone can tell me where can i get the cheapest 60D Body?
MS quote $1420 cash.

 

[postal]

Just sold off my 50D.

Anyone can tell me where can i get the cheapest 60D Body?
MS quote $1420 cash.

Can try Alan Photo... got people claim they selling it at $1400... but no freebies which is a good thingy... :-D

 

[raydio]

I shot 2 portraits under low light condition at night with the 5D and 60D using my Zeiss 85f1.4 at F2, ISO 500, 1/50 in raw. At DPP, both images look different. the 5D was more natural but the 60D was very pinkish to reddish. At raw, I retune the color temperature and I could get a very natural photo on my 5D but I could not do the same with the raw image from the 60D. Why, I don't know. I never shoot above ISO 800 and even with the 60D, I will not do it, so high ISO is not mportant even though it's clean enough. Sorry, I cannot post the photos.

Anthony, I respect your opinion on the virtues of the 5D classic. I too recently bought a used 5D classic from one of the used camera stores in Peninsula Plaza. I was quite happy with the purchase because the camera was in good shape and after taking it to CSC for a sensor cleaning, they told me that the shutter count was only 16,000 actuation's. Not bad for a 5 year old camera!

Anyway, coupled with the 17-40 lens, I find the photos from the 5D to be very good. I'm not a big fan of its LCD but when the photos are displayed on my computer monitor, they are nothing less than spectacular. Having said that, I also have a 7D. Frankly the photos from the 7D are very similar to the 60D and in my opinion, are sharp, vibrant, and colourful. I like them equally to the 5D.

When the 7D was launched over a year ago, I remember a poster on DP Review showing his pictures of Rome. He used both a 7D and 5D MkII. The photos were of very high quality... I would say professional. He provided the EXIF info for each photos but I tried not to look at which camera produced which photo. The photos from either camera were on par and it was next to impossible to determine which camera produced which photo.

When the 60D was launched, I tried it a few times when the opportunity arose. As I said earlier, I felt that the IQ of the 60D was very similar to the 7D. I would not hesitate for a second to recommend this camera to family or friends. Of course everyone has their own opinions and indeed I respect yours. You have also provided good reasons for your decision to remain with the 5D and to wait for the MKIII version. However for me, the 60D is quite a remarkable camera for its class and price point and leaves me wondering what could they possibly add to the 70D.

 

[nightpiper]

Can try Alan Photo... got people claim they selling it at $1400... but no freebies which is a good thingy... :-D

I bot mine at AP (1.4k cash) & got a freebie bag!! :lovegrin:

Anyway, coupled with the 17-40 lens, I find the photos from the 5D to be very good. I'm not a big fan of its LCD but when the photos are displayed on my computer monitor, they are nothing less than spectacular. Having said that, I also have a 7D. Frankly the photos from the 7D are very similar to the 60D and in my opinion, are sharp, vibrant, and colourful. I like them equally to the 5D.

When the 7D was launched over a year ago, I remember a poster on DP Review showing his pictures of Rome. He used both a 7D and 5D MkII. The photos were of very high quality... I would say professional. He provided the EXIF info for each photos but I tried not to look at which camera produced which photo. The photos from either camera were on par and it was next to impossible to determine which camera produced which photo.

When the 60D was launched, I tried it a few times when the opportunity arose. As I said earlier, I felt that the IQ of the 60D was very similar to the 7D. I would not hesitate for a second to recommend this camera to family or friends. Of course everyone has their own opinions and indeed I respect yours. You have also provided good reasons for your decision to remain with the 5D and to wait for the MKIII version. However for me, the 60D is quite a remarkable camera for its class and price point and leaves me wondering what could they possibly add to the 70D.

For IQ wise, i agree with Anthony. In the Official 60D users thread, i also posted that the 60D IQ is only so-so. Usable but not excellent, for 1.4k, i feel that's to be expected & acceptable. This is the reason also why i didn't bite the 7D, i feel its IQ not worth the money. Of cos this is juz personal preference & findings, not hard & fast rules.

 

[S1mplicity]

Just a few questons:

1. From which camera did you upgrade?
2. Have you found an improvement in IQ from your old camera to the 60D?
3. When you say that it is easier to take a photo, did you mean the flip out LCD or are there other aspects?
4. How can the shutter feel more solid?

1 - Upgraded from the 550D.
2 - With respect to that, since it comes from another 18mp sensor, there's not much improvement I'd say with IQ wise, but I did seem to notice slightly better high ISO performance, and dynamic range.
3 - Flip out LCD definitely there for awkward angles. But in general faster AF due to the better AF points which compared to the already decently fast AF on the 550D. Also another thing is the weight of the camera really balances out with my 24-105. Paired with the 550, it really did tend to point downwards. Also if you use liveview, the quick AF setting for it really makes a difference.
4 - I guess the shutter thing is a personal opinion. Haha, you should try going down to the show room and try it out, and compare it to the xxx series.

 

[postal]

I dunno how to describe it... but xxxD got this electronic shutter sound... 60D got the mechanical sound...

Hehe... dunno if it make sense to anyone... :-D

 

[Odyssey-Boy]

I just found out that Canon removes it's micro adjustment from the 60D. Now it makes me think twice before upgrading. Otherwise, the next body I will get is the 7D.

Future setup,

Canon 7D
Sigma 12-24mm
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 HSM
Sigma 70-300mm APO
Sigma 30mm f/1.4
Sigma 85mm f/1.4
Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro

 

[postal]

I just found out that Canon removes it's micro adjustment from the 60D. Now it makes me think twice before upgrading. Otherwise, the next body I will get is the 7D.

Future setup,

Canon 7D
Sigma 12-24mm
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 HSM
Sigma 70-300mm APO
Sigma 30mm f/1.4
Sigma 85mm f/1.4
Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro

Woo... a Sigma fan... actually me too! Wahaha! I got its UWA and 50mm... :-D Totally love the quality that both lenses can produce.

BTW, FYI Sigma HSM is very slow compared to Canon USM... found that out during my futsal shots... If u are planning to taking fast moving objects... even with 7D... u might not get a clear shot using Sigma lenses...

 

[postal]

With that... uploading some sharp shots during my company futsal event...

 

[raydio]

I just found out that Canon removes it's micro adjustment from the 60D. Now it makes me think twice before upgrading. Otherwise, the next body I will get is the 7D.

Yes, the fact that Canon removed the MA feature from the 60D was the reason for the dismal sentiment prior to its launch.... that and its plastic body.

But once it was launched, the 60D soared like an eagle. Sentiment changed to sincere appreciation. The first time I tried it, I was very impressed!

I wouldn't discount the 60D until you've gone to VivoCity Mall and tried one at the Canon Showroom. It may surprise you.

 

[ahboy168]

This short review coming from a Ex-50D user:

60D feel good in my hand.
The smaller body & lighter weight is a plus point not a minus to me.

60D is not much slower than 50d.
But do invest in a good brand class 10 sdhc card.

60D have more features than 50d that you will likely use it.

60D is designed as an advanced consumer dslr. 50D/7D is not.
But then ask yourself, are you a consumer ?

60D have the same IQ as 7D.

60D is VERY CHEAP for its features & quality.

 

[postal]

This short review coming from a Ex-50D user:

60D feel good in my hand.
The smaller body & lighter weight is a plus point not a minus to me.

60D is not much slower than 50d.
But do invest in a good brand class 10 sdhc card.

60D have more features than 50d that you will likely use it.

60D is designed as an advanced consumer dslr. 50D/7D is not.
But then ask yourself, are you a consumer ?

60D have the same IQ as 7D.

60D is VERY CHEAP for its features & quality.

Totally agree with ya... Great camera for hobby purpose... very suitable for people who want to get more serious in photography but don't wanna spend a bomb on a new camera... still can be used for professional purpose but not very advisable... :-D

 

[doodah]

Despite my initial whining, I must say I like the 60D design very much. It may be lacking in features as compared to Sony A55 or Nikon D7000, but I feel at home with the button layout etc. It is like an advanced Rebel camera... oops, it IS an advanced Rebel camera. LOL. Need to perform more rigorous testing before I come to a firm conclusion.