Canon EOS 60D

The Canon EOS 60D represents the middle of Canon’s SLR lineup, but it is a top-notch camera in terms of performance, handling and flexibility. There are a lot of upgrades from the 50D, including a significant bump in resolution and a completely revamped control system that make it more flexible to use.

Performance

We were very impressed with the overall performance of the 60D, which had some of the best color accuracy performance we have ever seen, excellent image sharpness and good dynamic range results in our tests. The thing that lets it down somewhat is the 18-135mm kit lens, which we found had significant issues with a lack of sharpness at the edges of the frame. It is a flexible lens, but serious shooters might want to buy the body only and spend the savings on a couple of higher quality shorter zoom lenses.

Video

Canon has produced some excellent video-capable DSLRs in the past, but the 60D may be the company’s best model yet. It’s performance in our video test was roughly on par with last year’s excellent Canon 7D, but the 60D includes a few more manual controls and features that should make professional videographers giddy. But what really puts the 60D on top is its rotatable LCD, which is particularly helpful for shooting video.

Hardware

The 60D shares many components with the 7D and T2i, including the same image sensor and image processor. There are differences, though: the more expensive 7D has two Digic 4 processors, while the 60D has only one. This means that the 7D can capture and save images significantly faster. The 60D does offer the best screen of the three, though, a high resolution 3-inch LCD that can tilt and pivot for more flexible shooting.

Controls

Although the number of buttons and dials may confuse novice users, this puts many controls within easy reach. The layout of these controls is also logical and easy to use, making it a flexible camera that can be used in a number of different shooting situations.

Overall, we found the 60D to be an excellent package, with very strong performance and a control system that makes it easy to use. It tested nearly as well as the more expensive 7D (which is not surprising as they share the same image sensor), but was not quite as fast or as flexible. However, most users won’t miss the speed and flexibility of the 7D, and the 60D is an excellent pick for the serious shooter who wants a fast, flexible camera, especially if they have a few Canon lenses already.

Sample Photos

In the following sample images, clicking on the larger image will download the full resolution original. Each photo is accompanied by four actual-size crops.

Statuary Sample
				Focal length: 18mm Aperture: f/4.0 Shutter: 1/320 ISO:100 Shot in Aperture priority mode, this shot of statuary in the Mt Auburn cemetery shows the level of detail that the 60D can capture: the fine details of the weathering on this statue are well captured.

Low Light Sample
				Focal length: 18mm Aperture: f/3.5 Shutter: 1/15 ISO:3200 For this shot of one of the more atmospheric crypts in Mt Auburn cemetery, the camera was set to program mode, where it upped the ISO to keep the shutter speed reasonable for a hand-held shot. The cost of this is noise: the image has very noticeable noise, especially in the areas of dimly-lit stone at the back of the crypt, which show the colored noise pattern that is typical of high ISO noise.

Noise Reduction Examples
				All of these shots were taken with the camera at an ISO level of 6400, the maximum that is supported by default. The difference between them is the noise reduction level. This one was taken with the noise reduction disabled.

				This images was with the noise reduction at the low setting

				Noise reduction at the Standard setting, which is the default for the 60D.

				Noise reduction at the Strong setting.

Canon EOS 60D Specs
Type	Medium SLR
Focal Length Minimum	24.0 mm
Focal Length Maximum	135.0 mm
Still Pixel Count (gross)	19.0 megapixels
Still Pixel Count (effective)	18.0 megapixels
Sensor Size	APS-C
Sensor Type - New	CMOS
Aspect Ratios	3:2
Frame Rate(s)	30p, 24p, 25p, 60p, 50p
Original Price	1099.00 $
Height	105.8 mm
Width	144.5 mm
Depth	78.6 mm
Weight	755.0 g
Model Colors	black
Display Type	articulated LCD
Display Size	3.0 in.
Display Resolution	1040000 pixels
Viewfinder Type	optical
Viewfinder Magnification	0.95 x
Viewfinder Coverage	96.0 % coverage
Diopter Adjustment - New	-3.0 to +1.0m^-1
Media New	SDHC, SDXC
Connectivity Options	A/V
Battery Type	removable lithium-ion
Battery Model Number	LP-E6
Mirror Technology (Interchangeable Lens)	DSLR
Waterproof	No
Manual Controls	manual focus, aperture priority mode, shutter priority mode, full manual exposure, custom white balance, ISO control
ISO Options	100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, Extended ISO
Minimum ISO	100
Maximum ISO	6400