Introduction

Design & Appearance

The 60D shares many of the same design elements as its predecessor. One significant improvement over the 50D: an articulated LCD panel, which flips out from the body of the camera and can be rotated/tilted in order to achieve some unique shooting angles. Other than that, you'll find the same rubberized texture for improved grip and the same style of buttons, controls, and ports.

Tour

The 60D is compatible with the standard library of Canon lenses.

The articulated LCD panel is a major upgrade since the 50D.

The left side houses all the ports...

...the right side has the card slot.

The monochrome LCD up top keeps track of manual image adjustments.

That's a tether on the bottom—to make sure we don't steal the camera!

Hardware

Viewfinder

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The viewfinder received a slight upgrade over the one included on the Canon 50D. You now have 96% vertical/horizontal coverage and a couple of extra pieces of information on your display. For instance, the viewfinder has an exposure warning display, battery check, and electronic level. As with 2008's 50D, the 60D viewfinder is surrounded by a comfortable rubber cup and includes a diopter adjuster with a range of -3.0 to +1.0m^-1. Once again, the neck strap comes with a small rubber viewfinder cap.

LCD

 

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The LCD panel received a major upgrade over the 50D. Instead of the built-in LCD, the Canon 60D has an articulated panel that hinges out from the body of the camera and can be rotated for numerous different viewing angles, up to 160 degrees. That includes easy self-photography and shooting from both above and below eye level.

The display itself is a 3.0' 920,000-pixel TFT color LCD. You can protect the screen when not in use by simply flipping the panel so that it faces the body of the camera. There are 7 brightness options available.

Since Canon has implemented an articulated LCD for the 60D, it seems likely that users will rely on Live View more often. While using Live View, the user may choose from three autofocus options: Live Mode (one-point contrast AF), Face Detection Live Mode (face detection contrast AF), and Quick Mode (nine-point phase detection AF). You can select different points when using Live Mode or different faces when using Face Detection Live Mode. These are all the same options that we saw on the 50D and, as we saw on the 50D, Quick Mode seems to be the most responsive of the three options.

Live View can be used in conjunction with the Depth of Field preview option.

Flash

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The pop-up built-in flash on the Canon 60D appears to be the same hardware that was present on the 50D. The flash automatically pops up and fires if you have the flash set to auto. On all other settings, there is a small switch on the front of the camera that will allow you to manually open the flash. One aspect of the 60D that is new this year is an expanded range of flash exposure compensation: ±2 in 1/3- or 1/2-stop increments.

 

Lens Mount & Sensor

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The 60D is compatible with the same deep library of lenses that has nurtured so much brand loyalty to Canon. That means the 60D is compatible with both EF and EF-S lenses from Canon. Canon keeps its OIS and autofocus motors inside the lens.

The 60D also brings back one excellent function from the 50D that improved the camera's compatibility with these lenses: the lens peripheral illumination correction function. The 60D has built-in information for 25 lenses, but you can add more information if you want to use a lens whose data isn't provided.

Conspicuously missing from the 60D is the ability to make autofocus microadjustments. The Canon 50D had the ability to make microadjustments by ±20 points.

The image sensor in the 60D is the same high-sensitivity 18MP CMOS sensor that Canon instituted on this year's Rebel T2i. That's a significant (though predictable) upgrade over the 15.1MP sensor from the 2008 EOS 50D.

 

Jacks, Ports & Plugs

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Canon has made some changes to the connectivity options on the 60D. Most prominently, the camera no longer has an external flash/PC terminal and now includes a microphone input. The latter will certainly be a boon to those hoping to use the 60D to record video. The A/V output now shares duties with the USB port—a single proprietary jack now handles both types of connections. Fortunately, you can just as easily buy a miniHDMI cable for connection to your HDTV. As was the case last year, there is also an N3 type remote control terminal.

 

Battery

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Canon has overhauled the battery pack that ships with the 60D, upgrading it from the BP-511A that came with 2008's 60D to the LP-E6 battery pack. The new battery has approximately twice the life of the 50D's battery. With the excellent articulated LCD, we expect more people to use Live View for shooting with the 60D, so it's good that Canon has provided a more robust battery. The LP-E6 is rated for 1600 pictures without using the flash and 350 while using Live View.

If you need something with a little more battery life, you can purchase the optional BG-E9 battery grip for $270.00. This is not the same battery grip that is compatible with the 50D; if you have the BG-E2N, you'll have to buy the E9 in order to have a battery grip that works with the 60D.

 

Memory

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Canon has made a huge shift in recording media for the latest in their EOS series of DSLRs. The 60D records entirely to SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards, instead of the traditional compact flash (CF) cards that were used by the 50D and its predecessors. CF cards tend to be affordable, even for higher capacities, while SDXC cards are still relatively new and can be quite pricey.

Handling

 

Size & Handling

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The Canon EOS 60D is lighter and smaller than its predecessor, the 50D. The company has managed to trim 55g off the weight of the body and about 8mm off the size. The official dimensions are 5.69 in. x 4.17 in. x 3.09 in. (144.5mm x 105.8mm x 78.6mm). The official weight, excluding battery and lens, is 23.8 oz. (675g). That's still heavier than a great number of cameras out there, so we're relieved that Canon thought to provide us with a firm, textured, rubber grip.

For those familiar with the 50D, not much has changed in the handling of the 60D. There are easy locations to place your fingers when at rest and most of the buttons, switches, and dials are in easy reach. The primary dials are positioned to allow you to make camera adjustments easily when holding the camera both horizontally and vertically. Some buttons can be difficult to reach if you have small hands, but those are typically the less important buttons.

The most significant upgrade in controls comes with the new lockable mode dial, which will keep you from accidentally shifting modes in the middle of shooting. While the dial certainly prevents accidently mode switching, it's also pretty annoying to use at all. The center button that unlocks the dial is difficult to press while rotating the dial.

The most significant shift in handling certainly comes from the 60D's new articulated LCD panel, which flips out from the body of the camera and can rotate for easy self-recording or capturing photos from high and low angles.

 

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Ease of Use**

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General user interface with the 60D will be very similar to that which was encountered with the 50D. There is a dedicated auto mode, as well as numerous scene modes for those looking for more of a point-and-shoot experience. For complete novices, the 60D can be as intimidating as its predecessors. There are no in-camera tool tips or explanations and there are quite a few options and controls—more than a beginner would want to handle.

If know a thing or two about cameras, the 60D can be a joy to navigate. It has the elegantly designed menus that we've come to expect from Canon and all the most important settings can be quickly accessed via the monochrome LCD on the top of the cameras or via the Quick Menu on the primary color LCD.

 

Modes

Auto Mode

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The 60D isn't exactly aimed at beginners, but there is an auto mode, for users that are trying to learn to use DSLRs or users that just can't be bothered with manual controls for a little while. When shooting in auto mode, the only options you can change are image size and drive mode / timer (choose between single shot and ten-second delay).

If you think you can handle a little more than that, Canon also provides a Creative-Auto mode, which gives you access to some settings without bogging you down with technical terminology. These are the exact same options that were available on the 50D, giving you choices such as blurred or sharp background and bright or dark image. Creative-Auto mode also gives the user access to some flash controls, picture style options, and drive/timer modes.

Movie Mode

 

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Perhaps the biggest new feature to the 60D is its video-recording capabilities. Previous models in the series did not include this feature, which is gradually becoming standard on all DSLRs. Video can be captured on the 60 in a number of resolutions and frame rates, including 1080/30p, 1080/24p, and 720/60p. There are also several standard definition options and PAL frame rates available.

The most significant upgrades that videographers will notice on the 60D (as compared to the T2i) are manual audio gain control, manual white balance in Movie Mode, and the availability of 1/3-stop ISO increments. These three elements, in addition to the articulated LCD panel, are features that are incredibly useful for those that want to shoot the best possible video with a Canon DSLR. Currently, the 5D Mark IV is the only other Canon SLR that has manual audio gain control.

Drive/Burst Mode

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Continuous shooting on the 60D is a small step down from the 50D. There are both high-speed and low-speed options, but at an estimated 5.3 fps and 3.0fps, respectively. Either mode shoots full resolution photos, with Canon stating that you can capture approximately 58 largeJPEGs, 16 RAW files, or 7 RAW+JPEG. (These stats are also a step down from the 50D.)

The other features remain exactly the same as they were on the preceding model. Self-timer can be set to either 10 seconds or 2 seconds. Auto-exposure bracketing is available in 1/3 steps from -1 to +2 EV. Auto white balance bracketing is available with a blue, amber, green, or magenta bias. White balance and exposure bracketing can be combined for a total of nine images.

Playback Mode

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Playback mode is nearly identical to what we've seen on previous Canon SLRs. You can press the Info button to toggle the amount of information displayed (including, if you like, histograms and detailed photo info). Zoom during playback can be accomplished in a range from 1.5x to 10x magnification, in 15 steps. You can also choose how many images are visible at once: Single Image Display, Index Display (4-image or 9-image index view), Jump Display (1/10/100 image thumbnails). You can sort images by date, folder, videos/stills, or rating.

As we've seen on other Canon models, the 60D offers a playback slideshow option. You can select images according to the same criteria by which you might sort them: date, folder, videos/stills, or rating. There is a small handful of transition effects and six different interval times.

Custom Image Presets

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The 60D gives you the same image presets that you had on the 50D: a modest number of scene modes (Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports, and Night Portrait), as well as the Picture Style options. The latter applies various filters, as well as altering sharpness, contrast, color tone, and saturation. Options are the same as always: Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, and Monochrome. Three user-defined settings allow you to adjust sharpness, contrast, color tone, and saturation manually, then save the setting for future use.

Controls

Manual Controls

 

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Canon did not make significant changes to manual controls with the 60D. Everything can be altered using one of the camera's control dials and settings can be seen in the monochrome LCD on the top of the camera. The use of multiple dials lets you make easy changes to both aperture and shutter speed without having to toggle between the two in full manual mode.

Focus

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Manual focus depends on the lens you're using and is usually activated via a switch on the barrel. If you're using Live View to focus, there is an auto focus select button that enlarges the focus area to make it easier to manually focus.

There are three varieties of auto focus available in Live View: Live Mode (one-point contrast AF), Face Detection Live Mode (face detection contrast AF), and Quick Mode (nine-point phase detection AF). You can select different points when using Live Mode or different faces when using Face Detection Live Mode. These are all the same options that we saw on the 50D and, as we saw on the 50D, Quick Mode seems to be the most responsive of the three options.

In low lighting conditions, the 60D uses the built-in flash as an autofocus assist lamp. It's a lot brighter than a dedicated AF lamp, but also a lot more distracting if you're the photographee and not the photographer.

ISO

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ISO options range from 100 to 6400 in 1/3-stop increments. There is also an extended ISO option that sets the camera to the ISO equivalent of 12800. (6400 was considered extended range on the 50D, but it is part of the normal ISO range on the 60D.)

White Balance

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The 60D offers a healthy range of white balance presets, described in the table below:

 

The custom white balance process mimics the approach that was used on previous Canon models, requiring you to have a photo of a white or gray object in the camera's memory in order to set the appropriate white balance. (Most DSLRs just let you point the camera at a white or gray object and set the white balance from that.)

A color temperature option lets you manually set the white balance from 2,500K to 10,000K, while a color shift option lets you set the white balance along a green/magenta or blue/amber spectrum. If you're not sure which setting to use, there is a white balance bracketing option.

Exposure & Metering

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Control over exposure can be set in either Tv (shutter priority), Av (aperture priority), Manual, or A-DEP (automatic depth of field) modes. Exposure compensation can reach ±3 EV in either 1/3 or 1/2 steps. Auto exposure bracketing has the same range, but is limited to 1/3 steps only. The increased range up to ±3 EV is an improvement over the 50D's ±2 EV range.

Like the 50D before it, the 60D has a Highlight Tone Priority option, which is designed to optimize dynamic range. Auto Lighting Optimizer adjusts brightness and contrast of underexposed images.

The60D uses 35-zone TTL full-aperture metering. You have a choice of four different metering modes: evaluative (linked to any auto focus point); partial (approximately 9% of viewfinder at center); spot (approximately 3.8% of viewfinder at center) and center-weighted average.

Shutter Speed

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The 60D has an impressive range of shutter speed options, ranging from 30 seconds to 1/8000 of a second. The bulb option allows the user to hold the shutter open for up to 30 seconds: the shutter will close whenever you release the shutter button.

Aperture

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The available aperture range will depend on what lens you're using with the 60D. No matter which lens you use, there is a Depth of Field Preview button that can be used in conjunction with either the viewfinder or Live View.

The 60D continues the interesting A-DEP setting that we saw on the 50D. This is for automatic depth of field adjustment. While shooting in this mode, the entire focusing diamond is used and aperture is automatically set so that anything inside of those auto focus points is in focus, while objects further away are blurred.

Image Stabilization

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Image stabilization is also dependent on the lens you use. Canon (like Nikon) has no in-camera stabilization, choosing instead to incorporate OIS into its lenses.

Picture Quality & Size Options

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The 60D has numerous picture quality and size options, as outlined in the table below:

 

Picture Effects

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In addition to the Picture Style options (Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, and Monochrome), Canon offers a handful of 'Ambiance' selections. Instead of manually altering color tone or exposure, you can suggest a mood for your scene and the camera will adjust acordingly. Options include Vivid, Soft, Warm, Intense, Cool, Brighter, Darker, and Monochrome.

Other Features

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A minor but handy feature new to the 60D is an electronic level, which will help you take pictures—or hang them in your home. The level functions via an internal gyroscope, which only works when you hold the camera horizontally.

 

 

Conclusion