60d or 7d?

[MichaelH]

Hi. I'm 15 years old and have been shooting on a film SLR (Minolta X-700) for two years, and I've decided I want to upgrade as I don't have access to a black room and I don't get as much editing options as I would like. My dad has given me the option of buying a DSLR for Christmas, but only if I get a 4.0 (which I have!). My dilemma here, is 60d or 7d? I don't have a ton of money to spend here, but I don't want to get something I'm going to regret later on. Either one, I'd get a 28-135mm lens as well as the 50mm f/1.8. The little I've looked at on the 7d has said that it's the upgrade for the 50d, but then the 60d has come out as well. I have very large hands and I'm interested in getting a battery grip later on. The 100% EVF on the 7d has me interested, but the articulating screen on the 60d is preventing me from saying yes to the 7d. My shooting conditions aren't always ideal, i.e. at work at the boathouse and also around small kids. Also, is either one going to be easier to use? I've never had a DSLR before, just a barebones SLR. Thanks for all your help.

 

[BuS_RiDeR]

I can't speak for the 7D, but I have the 50D, which is the predecessor to the 60D, and I am quite happy with it.

 

[MichaelH]

I know the construction has changed on the 50d to the 60d, but do you think it'd be tough enough to stand up to a ton of moisture, sand and humidity everyday?

 

[BuS_RiDeR]

I know the construction has changed on the 50d to the 60d, but do you think it'd be tough enough to stand up to a ton of moisture, sand and humidity everyday?

I am not an expert... But I don't believe so... From what I understand it is only weather resistant to a small degree... But I could be wrong.

 

[Necim]

Hi, as a newbie in the DSLR world I decided to go for the 60D which is a great camera. Took me one weekend to go through and master the functions. It's easy to use, very handy, takes great pictures, can be protected with a plastic cover specially made for the 60D, I bought one 2 weeks ago. And most of all in my concern it has an underwater housing. Finally as a semi pro camera I know that it will take me few years before upgrading it.

Hope it will help you make up your mind.

 

[penfolderoldo]

Personally i'd go with the 7D. Like you, i've got chunky old hands, and it just fits better than the 50D I thought about briefly. Neither the 60D or the 7D is a direct replacement for the 50D, and whilst there are some decent new features on the 60D for me the complete lack of any inbuilt protection or weather sealing makes it a non starter.

 

[MichaelH]

Personally i'd go with the 7D. Like you, i've got chunky old hands, and it just fits better than the 50D I thought about briefly. Neither the 60D or the 7D is a direct replacement for the 50D, and whilst there are some decent new features on the 60D for me the complete lack of any inbuilt protection or weather sealing makes it a non starter.

Yeah, but would the weather sealing and added size make it that much better?

 

[PeterGrusel]

ahoi!

I have both and I definetely like the 7D much more because the whole handling is much easier than with the 60D one, although the 60D isn´t bad at all... the 7D just has a nicer and userfriendly way of button and wheel arrangements.

plus the 7D has a much better choice of focus points and some little other aspects like a port to add a lighting trigger cable etc. (I think the 60D doesn´t have that...). but it all depends on what you want to do with it?! if you are looking for a good camera that you can use for your daily shots the 60D will be good enough! if you want to get the maximum out of your pictures and upgrade to more professional work then I would recommend the 7D... but the 7D costs quite some more than the 60D, at least here in Germany...

 

[Overread]

I'm typically an advocate of putting more of your money toward good glass over a good camera body, within reason, since good glass will net you a bigger increase in quality over better bodies. However you are currently using 35mm film SLRs and if you go for something like a 60D or 7D you're going to notice that your field of view with lenses is going to be different to what you are used to with 35mm since the 60D and 7D are both crop sensor, so the sensor is 1.6 times smaller than the 35mm film negative.

If you want to retain the same angle of view then you want to be looking at a 5D (either second hand or reconditioned) which should fit your budget if you can stretch to a 7D in cost. That is a digital fullframe camera, which essentially means that its sensor is the 35mm size, just like the film you are used to.


This is something that is a big difference and the only way you'll clearly see the difference is to try them out in a shop or a local camera club (note some local camera clubs, if large enough, might have darkroom space or access to a local darkroom, like at a uni/school so it would be well worth investigating them).

Moving on from there to the 60D and 7D; the 60D's bonuses over the 7D are basically its tilty backscreen and some refinements with its video feature; meanwhile the 7D retains the superior build quality, weathersealing, a far more advanced AF, twin dials for settings control (ie in manual mode for adjusting shutter and aperture at the same time) as well as inside camera modes such as AF micro adjust.

From jumping right from film to digital a lot of these things will be the kind of feature you will likely be overlooking at first and will take time to get used to - neither camera will really be easier or harder than the other (the 7D might have more bells and whistles but you can ease yourself into learning to use them).

 

[penfolderoldo]

Personally i'd go with the 7D. Like you, i've got chunky old hands, and it just fits better than the 50D I thought about briefly. Neither the 60D or the 7D is a direct replacement for the 50D, and whilst there are some decent new features on the 60D for me the complete lack of any inbuilt protection or weather sealing makes it a non starter.

Yeah, but would the weather sealing and added size make it that much better?

Depends what you're after, for me the increased protection, better AF and a few other things made the 7D the right choice for me. Why not pop into your local camera store and try both of them, see how they feel.

 

[BJF]

Personally I would recommend 7D. Here you are some references.

Canon 7d + market price

Canon 60d + market price

Canon 28-135mm + market price

Canon 50mm f1.8 + market price

 

[TheBiles]

I wish I would have gotten a 7D over the 60D. The AF system on the 7D is just incredible. Now I'm just waiting to make the move to the 5DMkIII.

 

[MichaelH]

Thank you to everyone who's responded! I appreciate all your helpfulness and kindness!

I wish I would have gotten a 7D over the 60D. The AF system on the 7D is just incredible. Now I'm just waiting to make the move to the 5DMkIII.

The quickest thing I will be shooting would be Ultimate Frisbee games and four year holds running.around. Do you think I could get the 60d and a fast piece of glass and make up for it?

And will the 60d's construction be tough enough to be at the boathouse, on a beach five times a week?

 

[Nikon_Josh]

I think this has been said a billion times before but here goes..(Overread said it aswell) I seriously considered a D300S but I went with a D90 because it meant I could get more lenses. Now I have slowly built up my lens collection to the point where it is nearly complete apart from one lens.

Now when I next upgrade my camera body, I can invest in the body I really want as I know I don't need more lenses. As they say, glass is more important. The 60D will produce stunningly similar results to the 7D as its the same sensor, but as Penfolderoldo stated it depends whether you really need the extra Build quality and AF performance. I understand the 60D is not a flimsy piece of plastic like Canons rebel line, I understand it is a well built plastic camera. Tough Plastic as we know is alot tougher than we give it credit for.

 

[penfolderoldo]

I think this has been said a billion times before but here goes..(Overread said it aswell) I seriously considered a D300S but I went with a D90 because it meant I could get more lenses. Now I have slowly built up my lens collection to the point where it is nearly complete apart from one lens.

Now when I next upgrade my camera body, I can invest in the body I really want as I know I don't need more lenses. As they say, glass is more important. The 60D will produce stunningly similar results to the 7D as its the same sensor, but as Penfolderoldo stated it depends whether you really need the extra Build quality and AF performance. I understand the 60D is not a flimsy piece of plastic like Canons rebel line, I understand it is a well built plastic camera. Tough Plastic as we know is alot tougher than we give it credit for.

Josh is spot on here - glass will usually make a hell of a lot bigger difference to your pictures than one body over another.