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canon 60D or 7D (1 Viewer)

owl4one

owl4one

Member
I'm looking at replacing my Rebel XT. I have a 300mm f4 L IS and a 1.4 extender for lenses. I primarily shoot birds (static and BIF) but am also exploring macro work as well.

Is the 7D worth $500 extra over the 60D?

I was originally thinking of a smaller updrade to the T2i, but I think I can squeeze out some extra $$ to go further.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Mike
 
When I bought my 7D, back in October, I also looked at the 60D. I ended up with the 7D as I preferred the feel, the build quality and the fact the 7D took CF cards while the 60D took SD cards - the card type may not be a consideration for everyone though, it depends on whether you've got a number of one type or not.

I think the extra $500 is definitely worth it so, yes, get a 7D.
 
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I think the 60D is a great camera, but - for birds - the 7D wins hands-down for me too.

If I was more into the macro side of things the swivel LCD of the 60D would be a tempting option, but all told the 7D would still be my first choice. I've got biggish hands and dumpy fingers too, so a bigger camera always feels better to me.

Finally, if you want/need it, the 7D has Micro Focus Adjust (MFA) but the 60D doesn't. Personally I'd rather get a back/front focussing problem fixed, but as it happens I haven't needed it anyway.

Much of the advice in your previous thread still stands though.

As for high ISO performance, both the 60D and 7D are excellent - 1600 ISO, 2000 ISO and more, no problem. And away from birding, the 7D can provide amazing results right up to 12,800 ISO. (Sorry to post this again peeps, but it honestly amazes me that we can do this with a crop camera!)

The 60D shows little of the low ISO/pushed shadows/banding issue some folk have reported in the 7D, but there are ways to deal with that in conversion/PP anyway.
 
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Yes 7D,I bought the 60D ,was so dissappointed by the bird shots,I returned it to the dealer for a used 40D,yes the lowly 40D was the better cam.But then ,in all fairness I do not shoot in RAW.
 
I don't own either but based on specs the money is better spent on the 7D. It's a totally different (higher) class of a camera and is not in a crap plastic housing! :)
 
IMO, Canon shouldn't even use the xxD model designation for the 60D. It has enough changes (switch from CF to SD cards, swivel LCD screen, etc.) to not really be the successor to an xxD model - more of an advanced Rebel.

7D is more of a successor to the 50D than the 60D.
 
The 7D is no more an obvious successor to the 50D than is the 60D - they both start a new segment.

FWIW, I don't see any problem with the plastic body either - they make assault rifles out of that stuff.
 
Haha. :) Drop the plastic body on rocks Keith and see how it holds up. Plastic is for amateurs or fair-weather folks perhaps? :) I think Canon are on drugs with their naming conventions.

BTW Keith, just looked at your blog and am very impressed with the high ISO Goldcrest etc shots. You have some great images there! :)
 
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I'd be more worried about the lens anyway if I was in the habit of chucking my cameras at the scenery!

:D

There have already been reports of 60Ds hitting the deck from height without any fatal ill-effects: the plastic used is extremely tough.

The 60D is actually made of a polycarbonate resin/glassfibre composite over an aluminium chassis, so it's not exactly made of egg-shells. Polycarbonate resin (especially glassfibre reinforced) is as tough as hell, and is specifically known for impact resistance.

Naaah, I just don't see the body material as the make-or-break (pun intended!) feature of a camera. Just don't drop it!

;)
 
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mr_birdman said:
Haha. :) Drop the plastic body on rocks Keith and see how it holds up. Plastic is for amateurs or fair-weather folks perhaps? :) I think Canon are on drugs with their naming conventions.
Click to expand...

Did exactly that with my plastic 350D a few years back - with the 100-400 attached! And less than a moth before going on a 4-week trip to South Africa...
Camera and lens both survived (I have 3000+ images from that trip alone to prove it ;-)). True enough, the lens had to be calibrated later when I got a 40D. But the 350D still works fine (it's my landscape and macro camera today).

Thomas
 
I have a 7D and would not hesitate to recommend this camera. The faster shooting speed certainly has value for bird photography. If I were doing it today, I would get a refurbished 7D from Adorama (which saves about $200). Adorama offers a one year - return to Adorama warranty. Usually a refurbished deal has a shorter warranty period, but in this case you get a reasonable warranty from a decent source.
 
I dropped my 60D yesterday. Or to be more accurate, accidentally knocked it off a wall onto the ground. It fell about 2.5 feet onto the pavement - OUCH!

Thankfully no real damage - just a couple of minor scuffs around the card loading flap.

So I can vouch for the fact that the 60D is pretty rugged despite not being a metal body like the 7D.

BTW - I looked at the 7D before buying the 60D and decided to go with the 60D due to the lower weight/size and swivel screen (useful for low shots of insects, flowers, fungi etc). I didn't think I needed the higher burst shooting rate of the 7D. From all accounts IQ of the 60D is very close to the 7D. I know the 7D has more AF points but didn't think this was too important for me.

I like my 60D very much.
 
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Nick Leech said:
I dropped my 60D yesterday. Or to be more accurate, accidentally knocked it off a wall onto the ground. It fell about 2.5 feet onto the pavement - OUCH!

Thankfully no real damage - just a couple of minor scuffs around the card loading flap.

So I can vouch for the fact that the 60D is pretty rugged despite not being a metal body like the 7D.

BTW - I looked at the 7D before buying the 60D and decided to go with the 60D due to the lower weight/size and swivel screen (useful for low shots of insects, flowers, fungi etc). I didn't think I needed the higher burst shooting rate of the 7D. From all accounts IQ of the 60D is very close to the 7D. I know the 7D has more AF points but didn't think this was too important for me.

I like my 60D very much.
Click to expand...

Hello Nick,

The 60d also has a movie crop mode which gives 7x extra magnification in movie mode (in SD format).
I would be interested on a Birders' opinion of this function used with a telephoto lens, and how it performs. Don't suppose you've tried it out have you?!

p.s. I can vouch for a plastic EOS body surviving 5ft onto concrete!

Peter
 
Hi Peter

No, I haven't tried that out yet. SOunds like it might be worth a go. Will post something on here if/when I have tried it.

cheers,
Nick
 
I have tried the 7x crop mode and noticed:

1. Very difficult to keep the lens steady even on a tripod.
2. Quality is not bad at all with a good lens
3. Similar quality can be achieved by using HD recording and cropping the video and this makes it easier not to cut off the bird while recording
 
micloi said:
I have tried the 7x crop mode and noticed:

1. Very difficult to keep the lens steady even on a tripod.
2. Quality is not bad at all with a good lens
3. Similar quality can be achieved by using HD recording and cropping the video and this makes it easier not to cut off the bird while recording
Click to expand...

I can imagine keeping the thing steady with that mag. would be tough.
Can I ask, what do you use to crop the video?

Peter
 
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