Canon EOS 60D Digital Camera Review

Motion

The Canon 60D can record using a variety of frame rates: 30p and 24p in Full 1080p HD mode and 60p when using the 720p HD mode or the standard definition record mode. This is an excellent set of frame rates to choose from, and the only thing that's really missing is a 1080/60p option. More on how CamcorderInfo tests motion.

The 60D did well on our motion test and we were most impressed by the fact that its rolling shutter effect was kept to a minimum. What we mean by rolling shutter is a wobble in the video clip when you quickly pan the camera from side to side. It is something we often see on video-capable DSLRs and it was very present on the Canon 7D. Canon somehow appeared to address this issue with the 60D and it is much improved (it is still there, though, just not as bad). On the other hand, the 60D actually had a bit more artifacting in its video and wasn't quite as smooth as what we got with the Canon 7D.

The Canon 7D impressed us with in our motion test and we found its video to be slightly less choppy than the Canon 60D. The camera has the same frame rate options as the 60D, so there isn't any difference in that category. We just found the 7D to capture motion video slightly smoother with a bit less artifacting than the 60D.

The SLT-A55V had minimal artifacting in our motion test, and its video was fairly smooth, but we were disappointed that the camera didn't offer a 24p record mode. You must either record at 60i or 30p on the camera, which aren't awful choices, but many videographers prefer the cinema-like quality of 24p.

The Samsung NX10 uses a 30p frame rate in all of its recording modes, but it is also the only camera in this group that doesn't record a Full HD video image. It has a max resolution of 1280 x 720, which is still technically HD, but it doesn't have the same resolution as a 1920 x 1080 Full HD video. In our motion test, we saw lots of trailing and blur with the NX10 and the camera had a significant rolling shutter problem—similar to what we saw from the Canon 7D.

Video Sharpness

With its Full HD 1920 x 1080 record mode, the Canon 60D is capable of producing a very sharp image for a video-capable DSLR. Unfortunately, its sharpness wasn't quite up to par with the high-end HD camcorders that are on the market right now, but it was certainly close. Compared to the other video-capable DSLRs we compared it to, only the Sony SLT-A55V did better than the Canon 60D in this test. Here are the overall numbers: the 60D measured a horizontal sharpness of 600 lw/ph and a vertical sharpness of 700 lw/ph. More on how CamcorderInfo tests video sharpness.

Low Light Sensitivity

The Canon 60D needed 8 lux of light to pass our sensitivity test, which is a fine score for the DSLR camera. It's the same amount of light that the Canon 7D needed in this test, though, so it appears Canon didn't make any improvements (or worsen) the video low light sensitivity on its new DSLR.