Its time to upgrade 60D or 7D???????

[Fishmaster]

Its time to upgrade . The 30D is getting old and needs to go. I am looking at either the 60D or possibly the 7D.
I am strictly a slightly advanced amature. I really like nature and animal outdoor photography of all kinds including landscape and mountains rivers lakes etc. I have the 17-85mm, 50-1.4mm, 85 1.8mm, 100-400mm lenses. Looking for the pros and cons on these two cameras for what would best fit my needs? There is not alot of differance in price.
Any feed back would be greatly appreciated on these two Canon cameras. Thanks

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

The 7D is, overall, a better camera. The main advantage of the 7D is it's autofocus system. It's a very fast shooting (frames per second), although the 60D is pretty fast as well.

The 60D is a smaller, lighter camera. It's smaller than it's predecessor, the 50D, 40D etc. Some go so far as to call it a 'Super Rebel', rather than being a continuation of the X0D line.
But, the 60D does have an articulating screen, which may or may not be a useful feature for you. I've seen a few 60Ds in the classes I teach and those who have them, really seem to love that screen.

 

[CanonEOS]

IMO Buy the 60D for the articulating screen

 

[shortpants]

I'm not sure the price difference at this point, at the time I bought the 60D I did need to go for the lower one. I'm very happy with the camera however if money allows for you, I'd go for the 7D just for the weather sealing, especially since you're outdoors a lot.

 

[Destin]

If you can afford the 7d, get it. The weather sealing is well worth it. It's one of the most durable camera's money can buy, at any price. That articulating screen is great on the 60d, if you're big into video. For serious photographers, it's just an accident waiting to happen.

 

[Big Mike]

If you can afford the 7d, get it. The weather sealing is well worth it. It's one of the most durable camera's money can buy, at any price

Where in the world did you see that? :scratch:


From what I've gathered, the 7D has a little better sealing than the 5DmkII...which is probably a 'moderate to good' amount of sealing. And neither of these bodies is even close to the weather sealing on a 1D or 1Ds (or Nikon D3). The 60D apparently has less, but still has some, compared to the 30D which likely has none.
(although, I've soaked a 20D, and besides fogging up the inside of the LCD screen, it's still going strong)

7D. Green indicates a lap joint in the body panels, red is a rubber seal.

 

[Destin]

If you can afford the 7d, get it. The weather sealing is well worth it. It's one of the most durable camera's money can buy, at any price

Where in the world did you see that? :scratch:

Mike, there is a video of it online somewhere... Can't seem to find it now, where a guy takes a 7d on an expedition to Antarctica, using sealed L glass, and no weather covers. The thing gets absolutely soaked, then iced over, left outside for hours to do a time lapse, etc, and it just won't quit. It's all captured on video (by another 7d) and it's pretty freaking amazing.

 

[Big Mike]

That's good, but it certainly doesn't prove that it's any better than a pro level body.

Like I mentioned, I soaked a 20D (no weather sealing to speak of) while I was in the rain forests of Costa Rica. It's nice to know that these cameras can stand up to a beating, but I certainly wouldn't recommend letting a camera get soaked like mine did, or letting it get iced over etc.

 

[Joey_Ricard]

The 7D is a great body and will go great with the lenses you currently have. I don't have a 60D, but came up from a 40D to a 50D which I still use along with the 7D and 5DMKII. Image wise (and I shoot 10's of thousands of images a year) the 50 is very similar to the 7D (remember I said image wise) with the exception of considerably more noise (in general) with the 50. I would image and have seen in reviews and samples that the 60 is somewhere in between image wise.

So you could allways justify the lower price of the 60 and have a little left over for accessories, or go with the 7

 

[bratkinson]

I went from a 30D to a 60D about a month ago. I also upgraded to a couple of L lenses while waiting for the 60D to arrive.

Three things influenced my choice of the 60D over the 7D or a xD model...

First was cost. The extra cost of a 7D, to me, couldn't be justified as needed or necessary. Faster continuous shooting and the other features of a 7D are of minimal value to me. The cost of a full-frame xD body is way beyond my means. And, for what it’s worth, the extra 60% ‘reach’ with the crop sensor is like getting a telephoto freebie. In my film days, the FD 35-70 f2.8-3.5 was my usual lens. Perhaps 80-85% of my shots were with that lens. The 5 other lenses I had spent most of their time in the case. Having the EF 18-135 f3.5-5.6 IS as my 90% of the time lens on the 30D (ie, 28.8->216mm), I was more than satisfied with the wide side as well as the long side…except in limited-light. I’ve always preferred available light to using the 550 EX flash.

Next, I wanted 12 or more megapixels for improved clarity, and the 60D more than filled the bill at 18. As a reasonably experienced amateur with 30+ years of Canon film SLRs, when I moved to digital I started with a G-3, then a G-5, then to a used 30D with a grip. I got some fantastic pictures with the 30D and the 18-135. But there was a tad of unsharpness caused by fewer pixels that I thought I could improve. Also, the larger screen on the 60D and articulation was an added selling point for me.

Lastly, I based my decision partly because I had a pair of EF-S lenses. When I finally decided to get the 60D, I was leaning, but not yet sure I was going to buy some L glass. Having the option of EF and EF-S on the 60D really sealed the choice for me. 60D, here I come!....and did!

As it turned out, it took almost 2 weeks for my new 60D to arrive from <have-to-call-and-confirm/sales-pitch-dealer-name-withheld> in the NYC area. While I was waiting, and a couple of overtime paychecks in the bank, I took the plunge for an EF 24-105 F4 L and an EF 135 F2 L from B&H that arrived in 2 days as I placed the order at 11:00 PM. All three arrived on Friday 2 weeks ago. The next evening, I went to an informal affair at church in low light with lots of Christmas decorations to try out the new gear. Between the 60D and the L glass, I am STILL in a state of shock! No flash, hand held, and utterly fantastic results! OK, I used a monopod with the 135&#8230; I&#8217;m completely sold on the 60D and the Ls.

As it turns out, one of my friends&#8217; 17 year old daughters is interested in photography and I suggested I was selling my 30D + the 18-135. I made him an offer he couldn&#8217;t refuse (about $200 off current ebay prices). So I know it went to a good home and I know she has some decent equipment to get start with&#8230;and Canon will have a new customer in the future!

 

[Groupcaptainbonzo]

I bought the 7d and am in love with the thing. NOT weather proofed like a 1DS MK WHATEVER but enough to go out on fells and beaches in the UK in all the weathers that I want to be out in. The 1.6 x extra also give me access to a 480mm f4 l performance. From my 300 mm. That is worth a bit. And the image quality, ease of use, and features are "Gob Smacking"... Don't just sit there get one. ... NOW !
Also, once you start comparing the specs between the EOS 1, 5, and 7Ds you start to find that there is not that much between them. I use the 5 and 7Ds and if I am doing family stuff, a 500d. No complaints.

 

[Norma]

I upgraded from the 40D to the 7D. I would never go back. Love it!

 

[Chann]

I have a 60d and am very happy with it. A great solid camera. But, if you have the $$, the 7d is worth the additional cost.

A feature that was oddly left off the 60d is the focus micro adjustment to fine tune for lens imperfections. It is on the 50d and also the 7d has it.

I like the articulating screen but mostly because I can store it glass side against the camera for added protection in my bag. I do not shoot much video and 99% of the time I shoot photos through the viewfinder.

If you shoot video, the articulating screen is a plus for the 60d but a big negative is that the video mode is on the command dial at the last spot on the AUTO side. It is slow to get the video up and going and then to switch back to manual photo modes. The 7d smartly places it on a dedicated rotating switch around the record button. For the video that I occasionally shoot, which is of my kids, I would prefer this quick video access over the articulating screen. For a videographer who is creating movies, the screen is probably more important.

Lucky for you, either way you go is a win.

 

[brush]

I have a 60D for myself and use a 7D at work. The work camera has 24-70 L glass & is really nice, but to be honest I prefer my 60D...if only I could steal the lens & take it home with me! hehehe

Reasons I like the 60D better:
-articulating screen is golden when you're doing long exposures on a tripod & don't want to contort yourself up underneath it to see your settings without moving the camera & screwing up the composition.
-the only button on the left side of the body is delete...you can do everything else with your right thumb & forefinger, leaving your left hand free to zoom/focus/wave at your friend from highschool.
-Maybe it's because I use it more often and am more used to it, but it's grip fits my hand absolutely perfect.
-the weight of the body balances perfectly with both the kit 18-135 lens and the 24-70L when I borrow it from work. On the 7D it feels a little body heavy to me.
-heck of a lot cheaper.

So basically, when I look over that now...I prefer the 60D for its ergonomics. That's a much less long-winded response, lets go with that.

 

[xzoup]

I put out for a 7D after I went from film then to digital P&S. Now that I have figured out how to use the 7D I'm very happy with it. The image quality is acceptable for a common observer coming straight out of the camera, but I personally think it should be sharper image. I looked at the 60D and I liked the way it felt in my hands the high shutter speed was continuous, no slow down but I read the image quality was no better than the 7D with less weather proofing. I need an extra body so I don't miss shots at those times when I need to change lenes. I was set on the 60D when a Lady I work with said why don't you save your money and buy that expensive camera you've been talking about. So she helped me make up my mind, its the 5DmkII or III . Enough said