Cameras

The EOS 60D represents a strong consolidation of Canon’s mid-range DSLR cameras, taking features from the EOS 7D and the ease of use of the EOS 550D to create a camera that will appeal to photographers at all levels. In a first for the EOS system, the EOS 60D features a Vari-angle Clear View LCD monitor that flips out from the body to provide a great tool for both Live View and EOS Movie shooting, even at awkward angles or in very bright light.

Who is it for?

For the hobbyist looking for their first “professional-style” camera, or the enthusiast aiming to take their photography to the next level, the EOS 60D makes a sensible choice. The EOS 60D also makes an ideal choice for photographers wishing to experience the benefits of HD movie shooting as well as videographers looking for a highly capable, compact camera to add to their shooting arsenal.

For travelling photographers, the high resolution APS-C sensor will capture all the details while at the same time keeping the body and lenses small and light enough to avoid weighing you down.

Key features

• 18 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
• 5.3fps shooting speed
• ISO 100-12,800 with expansion
• 1920x1080p full HD EOS Movie shooting at 24, 25 and 30 frames per second.
• 1280x720p HD shooting at 60 or 50 frames per second
• Manual and auto audio recording levels
• 3.0” Vari-angle Clear View LCD screen
• iFCL Metering algorithm
• 63-zone Dual-layer Metering Sensor
• DIGIC 4 processor
• Integrated Speedlite Transmitter
• Wide-area 9-point AF system
• Integrated Single-axis electronic level
• Eye-Fi and SDXC memory card compatible

 

Please click here to take a tour around the EOS 60D

Featuring a flip-out LCD screen, the EOS 60D is a very versatile tool for Live View and HD Movie shooting. Despite being a flip-out design there is no loss of screen size. The screen is a 3-inch design and features 1,040,000 dots for very high-resolution viewing of your images and movies. The screen also makes it easy to capture images from awkward camera positions without having to strain yourself by over-reaching. High shots over a crowd or low shots in a tight corner are both easy to achieve.

The addition of the single-axis electronic level means ensuring the horizon is level before shooting is easy, even with the screen or camera placed in an awkward position.

Like the EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D and EOS-1D Mark IV before it, the EOS 60D offers full HD movie shooting to allow photographers at all levels to experiment with the possibilities of shooting movies. It offers full manual control over the exposure as well, though auto movie exposure can also be used for those who are not so confident with shooting movies. The EOS 60D, like Canon's EOS 7D, EOS-1D Mark IV and EOS 5D Mark II DSLRs, features user selectable frame rates including 24, 25 and 30fps at 1920x1080p, and 50 or 60fps at 1280x720p (except for 1280x720 on the EOS 5D Mark II). As with the EOS 5D Mark II, the audio recording levels can be left in Auto or manually set to provide more control over the final results.

For those times when your subject may be a little too distant for the lenses you have with you, Movie crop allows you to shoot movies at 640x480pixel resolution with approximately 7x magnification.

For ease of use the EOS 60D has not only the Basic and Creative sections of the mode dial, but also a new Basic+ mode that can be accessed from the Quick Settings screen in the Basic modes. Basic+ makes it quick and simple to add a creative touch to your images without having to worry about camera settings. The options allow you to select either by the atmosphere you wish to create or by the conditions in the scene. For even more control, the adjustments can be modified to one of three levels – Strong, Standard or Weak, depending on the effect you wish to achieve.

Continuing with making the camera as easy to use as possible, the button and dial positions have been moved to provide even better ergonomics. For quick access to the movie functions the camera features a dedicated Live View/Movie shooting button. To avoid accidentally knocking the mode dial while carrying the camera, a lock has been included so you have to release the lock before turning the dial. Also, the buttons on the top LCD panel have been modified so there is only one button per function rather than two as found on the EOS 7D and EOS 5D Mark II.

The Quick Command Dial on the rear of the camera has been positioned to make it easy to access in both a landscape and portrait orientation, even when using the BG-E9 battery grip. The centre of the Quick Command Dial now features a rocker switch that functions in the same way as the multi-controller on other EOS DSLR cameras.

To speed up image selection and processing it is now possible to rate images within the camera and also to perform RAW processing in-camera including adjustment of brightness, white balance, picture style, colour space and lens corrections.

The image rating function allows you to review images and give them a rating in XMP compatible format so when you transfer the images to your computer, the ratings are transferred and can be read by any XMP compatible software application. The Digital Photo Professional application provided with the camera is also compatible with the XMP standard and therefore ratings given to images in DPP can be transferred to third party software if required.

Compatible with both Eye-Fi cards and SD, SDHC and SDXC the EOS 60D is 'future proof' and helps to keep the size of the camera compact. Eye-Fi cards are SD format cards that integrate a wireless LAN module and an antenna so you can save your images to the memory card and wirelessly transmit them to a WiFi network.

To ensure cross-compatibility within the EOS range, the EOS 60D uses the same LP-E6 battery as the EOS 7D and EOS 5D Mark II. This saves the need to carry several different battery types while providing a long battery life in a lightweight form factor.

For those times when the action will not stop, the 5.3fps shooting speed and the ability to capture up to 58 Large JPEG files in a single, continuous burst means you won’t miss out on the shot even with fast moving subjects.

• 18 Megapixel CMOS Sensor

  Canon designs and manufactures its own CMOS sensors (and DIGIC processors) in-house giving a holistic approach to camera design and function. The 18 Megapixel sensor in the EOS 60D provides high resolution results suitable for taking large crops from, or for making large format prints.

• DIGIC 4

  The DIGIC 4 processor (developed, designed and made by Canon) brings a lot of processing power to the camera – a single DIGIC 4 processor is 25% faster than the DIGIC III processor. The DIGIC 4 processor consumes very little electrical power thereby increasing the battery life of the camera and providing sufficient processing power to perform in-camera RAW conversion, lens correction functions and Full HD Movie shooting.

  The DIGIC 4 processor is also responsible for high ISO noise processing. By having a more powerful, faster performing processor, more complex image processing can be achieved in the same time giving even better high ISO performance. This has allowed the ISO range to run from 100-6400 as standard, with ISO 12,800 available as an expansion setting.

  The processing power of the DIGIC 4 has also allowed the inclusion of two new JPEG images sizes – S2 produces images that are 1920x1280pixels to match HD Movie resolution, and S3 produces 720x480pixel images suitable for sharing by email or uploading to websites without first having to re-size them.

• iFCL metering algorithm and 63-zone Dual-layer metering sensor

  Recording light is the basis of what a camera does. In order to record it correctly, it needs to be able to measure the light in the scene accurately. For the EOS 60D, the iFCL metering algorithm and 63 Dual-layer metering sensor first seen on the EOS 7D, have been incorporated.

  The iFCL metering algorithm is an intelligent system that uses colour and luminance information to more accurately determine the light levels and is used by the focus system to help to enhance focus accuracy.

  The metering sensor features 63 metering zones and has two light sensitive layers. One layer is sensitive to red/green light and one is sensitive to blue/green light. Being able to measure the relative levels of red and blue light allows the system to more accurately expose a scene.

• 9-point AF

  The AF sensor in the EOS 60D has a slightly wider coverage area to the sensor in the EOS 50D, to provide more freedom in composition. With nine Cross-type sensors to select from, all AF points provide high speed, high accuracy autofocus to allow you to accurately track moving subjects and lock on to static subjects. The central point provides improved precision with lenses featuring a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or greater to really make use of fast, wide aperture lenses.

• Integrated Speedlite Transmitter

  The EOS 60D, like the EOS 7D, features an in-built wireless flash controller that functions in a similar way to actually having a Speedlite 580EX II mounted on the camera. It allows the use of full wireless multiple flash control without having to buy extra accessories like an ST-E2 to act as a master unit.

  The in-built transmitter can control two remote groups of Speedlites using E-TTL II or by setting the flash powers manually for each group. The built-in flash can also act as a third group to provide and extra light source when required.