D60 vs. 10D

[IncompletePete]

My girlfiend is after her first DSLR, but on a budget.

She wants to shoot all sorts of things, weddings ideally, so how much better is the 10D over the D60? Is it worth the extra cash?

Thanks in advance

[Persian-Rice]

The 10D is better all around, but the D60 is great camera as well.
Even if she is serious and on a tight budget, baby steps are always ok.

[defordphoto]

The D60 is an excellent camera EXCEPT for marginal low-light AF.

[robertwgross]

The D60 is an excellent camera EXCEPT for marginal low-light AF.

Right. This is not much of a problem at a wedding until you get to the reception, and the dance floor is poorly lit. However, if you have an external flash unit running with the red AF pattern lit, that beats the darkness.

My D60 is fine now. However, if it were suddenly lost or stolen, I would try to replace it with a 10D or newer model.

---Bob Gross---

[defordphoto]

Bob: What's the distance limit on the AF assist?

[PacAce]

Bob: What's the distance limit on the AF assist?

With the 550EX, it's ... 2 to 33 feet at the center and 2 to 16 feet along the periphery (in total darkness).

[robertwgross]

I would not argue with Leo's numbers, but it will vary with the ISO setting.

I found the autofocus assist red pattern to be handy in one respect. I would wait until wedding reception guests were starting to wander out onto a dimly lit dance floor, and then I would step up closer (six feet?) with my D60 and 550EX on a bracket ready to go. When I half-pressed the button, the red pattern shines, and that does not startle the subjects. But it is just enough that they turn around to see what the hell that faint red light is. SNAP!

I'll tell you, wedding photography is a dirty business.

---Bob Gross---

[IncompletePete]

Right then, that's solved it. She'll get that along with 550EX and be sorted out and then probably upgrade once she's getting a regualr income off it *nods*

Thansk!

[montyl]

I have both, and if you are looking at marketing your photos, go with the 10D and set it to use the Adobe RGB color space.

[Cordell]

I agree that she will be perfectly fine with the D60 especailly if cash is an issue. I know of many photographers, including me, who use or once used the D60 for weddings.

You might also want to save a few bucks by looking at the Sigma 500 SUPER DG as an external flash. It has 99.9% of the functions of the 550EX (a little less on the build quality and the manual sucks).