Canon, my own forbidden fruit.

[Rafterman]

Canon fans, I have a bit a of a lengthy question for you all, so please bear with me. First, a brief back-story: my mom was a part-time pro portrait and landscape photographer in the 80's and 90's and used Canon gear, which I occasionally got to tinker with. I grew up gawking at the latest Rebel bodies and Canon lenses pimped out on TV by Andre Agassi. At a Web/multimedia job several years back, I fell in love with the department's Canon PowerShot G5. I was firmly in Canon's grasp without ever owning one myself. Then about 3 years ago, when I was finally financially and mentally ready to make the jump from P&S into DSLRs, a new Canon was all that was on my mind. Then, a coworker of mine who was firmly into photography introduced me to his Nikon D300 and (brace yourselves) Ken Rockwell's website. After talking with my coworker for countless hours and browsing Rockwell's site for countless more, I finally bought my first DSLR, a Nikon D3100. A couple years later, I now have a D7000.

Now as happy as I am with my Nikon, I have to say that I STILL to this day have a craving for a Canon DSLR. It's not just some long-lost childhood desire though, there are legitimate reasons, like the 50D (I wanted one of those REAL bad), the 7D, the 10-22mm ultra-wide, the 24-105mm f/4L and the sub-$700 70-200mm f/4L just to name a few.

I personally love the image quality of the D7000, but I feel like I'm sort of backwards where I have a nice camera body, but not the greatest (i.e. fastest and sharpest) lenses. I also don't currently have the disposable income for buying high-end Nikon glass either (our sizeable tax refund this year was mostly spent renovating our living room). For the past 2-weeks, I've been toying with the idea of selling my Nikon gear (body, 3 lenses and a flash) and switching over to Canon. I conservatively estimate that I could get around $1300 for all my stuff, which I would then use (with maybe a couple hundred out of pocket) to buy a used 50D or 60D, one high-end L lens, and the cheap 50mm f/1.8 with which to start. I'm not even really concerned with buying a flash right away, because I've used the one I have now probably 2 or 3 times in the past 2-years. I shoot wildlife and landscapes outdoors probably about 90% of the time. For what it's worth, I've handled both the 50D and 60D and they both feel great in my hands. I also realize that I'd have to learn all new buttons and menu functions of a new brand, and I'm totally OK with that.

Is it really wise of me to make the switch from a great body like the D7000 and a brand that I'm very familiar with to a much older enthusiast body like the 50D or 60D simply to scratch my long-time Canon itch and purchase some great glass? Am I crazy for considering this?

 

[goodguy]

I think you need to devide your needs to 2 parts.
A logic part and an emotional.

Logicaly the D7000 is the better camera in most parameters then the 50D or 60D, changing a good camera to equal or less camera makes no sense to me.
If you said you want to get the 6D or the replacemet of the 7D (when ever that will come out) then I would agree with you but other wise I dont see any need to logic to do that.

As for emotionally it sounds like you have a crush on Canon and there is nothing wrong with that.
If the craving is so great get the 7D, its a great camera and I see it going for 1200$ but honestly I wouldnt get the 50D or 60D over the D7000 you are bound to downgrade just to fulfill a dream and that is not the right way to go in my eyes.

 

[pgriz]

You're not crazy. But you are being influenced by the brand. And a brand is less about a set of attributes and properties, and more about aspiration (of what the brand is in your mind). Once your emotional side decided that a Canon is what you lust for, the rational side kicks in with why the emotional side is right. It's also called rationalizing. I'm a Canon user, more by accident than by conscious choice, and I see many of my collegues use Nikon gear and I think... if only I had Nikon... But I have used Nikon gear, and in the end, some things are better here, some things better there... I haven't found a compelling enough reason to switch. I'd told a fellow photographer using Nikon, the same thing. But in the end, it's your money.

 

[goodguy]

Just wanted to add to my first post that if I would get a Canon camera and wouldnt be able to afford the 7D I would get the T4i over the 60D.
Same sensor and the T4i is more modern and I really LOVE that touch screen, wish I had that on my Canon G15

 

[Canuk]

Just wanted to add to my first post that if I would get a Canon camera and wouldnt be able to afford the 7D I would get the T4i over the 60D.
Same sensor and the T4i is more modern and I really LOVE that touch screen, wish I had that on my Canon G15

The 60D, 7D, and T4i all use the same sensor. The autofocus, dual processors, and better build make the 7D a better camera. Image quality wise they will all be fairly close. The T4i would only be a better option than the 60D if one was shooting a bunch of video, the control layout, bigger size and moderate weather sealing of the 60D would trump the T4i, in my honest opinion.

 

[Rafterman]

If the craving is so great get the 7D, its a great camera and I see it going for 1200$ but honestly I wouldnt get the 50D or 60D over the D7000 you are bound to downgrade just to fulfill a dream and that is not the right way to go in my eyes.

I strongly considered the 7D, but a few things made me decide against it: 1) It's rumored to be getting replaced by the 7D Mk II sometime this summer, so the price would likely drop significantly at that point in time if I was still interested. 2) It's currently $1,500 at Amazon with nothing more than the 18-135mm kit lens, so that would take up all my money and defeat the purpose of the switch by not buying a pro-level lens. 3) It's so close in ability to the D7000, that it's not worth me trading apples for apples. Again, a primary reason for switching at all would be to get the best glass possible at the cost of losing the better body.

I have used Nikon gear, and in the end, some things are better here, some things better there... I haven't found a compelling enough reason to switch. I'd told a fellow photographer using Nikon, the same thing. But in the end, it's your money.

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. I've thought about this for a couple weeks already, but I'm still waiting on new camera body announcements from Canon about the 70D and 7D Mk II before I'd decide for sure because the 60D and 7D would drop in price. In the meantime, maybe I'll just go outside and shoot for now.

The T4i would only be a better option than the 60D if one was shooting a bunch of video, the control layout, bigger size and moderate weather sealing of the 60D would trump the T4i, in my honest opinion.

Yes, I would definitely choose the 60D over the T3i or T4i because of the size and weather sealing. I have zero desire or need to shoot video with a DSLR.

 

[Canuk]

The 60D is also due for replacement in the near future as well. I recently sold mine, as I found myself no longer using it that often and I want to sell it before the 60D replacement was annouced.

 

[TCampbell]

The rumor sites claim the 60D is likely to be replaced by a 70D in the early part of the year... likely in the spring. The 7D II is believed to be showing up sometime near end-of-year.

Assuming your D7000 is perfectly functional (and they've just started shipping the D7100 ... so it's likely cut into the resale value of your D7000) there's probably no compelling reason to hurry up and sell it. And given that the 60D isn't really an upgrade (unless you do a lot of video), the 7D would be an upgrade, but both are likely to be replaced by 70D and 7D II this year, you may as well save, wait for the 7D price to drop (assuming you'd still want a 7D) or wait for refurbs of 70D or 7D II to show up if you want a deal on one (that would probably be about a year away.)