60D or 7D

Just dunked my 50D in water. No I didn't do it on purpose. (See Error Codes posting farther down). Depending on the cost I may be replacing it rather than fixing it. the 60D and 7D are the only 2 that are in my price range. Since I don't really care about the video which would be closer to the 50D as far as performance goes? Which one would you upgrade to?

7D for sure

7D. Make sure to check used market.

I vote for the 7D!

Video not important, maybe consider the 1D Mark III or IIn, depending on intended use. 60D and 7D are both great though.

7D has superior AF and continuous shooting speed (by a lot), 60D is lighter and has a swivel screen which is quite useful for video.

The 60D, however, has good AF capability for OUTDOOR moving things. Indoors or under poor light the 7D blows its doors off in terms of being able to nail a focus lock.

The 7D is quite a bit more money though and requires CF cards (also more expensive, and not by a little either!) where the 60D uses SD cards.

7D also has microadjust where the 60D does not (and IMHO this is a bummer, as if you get a lens that front or back-focuses on the 60D there's nothing you can do other than send it to Canon and ****.)

Between those, 7d since it has the mag alloy body, dual processor, better AF and the MFA that 60d doesn't have. But if the swivel screen interest you and missing those features is not an issue then 60D.

The 7D is most "similar" to your 50D in terms of build, ergonomics, and layout(and uses the same memory cards, and remotes).
The 60D is most "similar" to your 50D in terms of performance ( AF, FPS,) and only lacks the MFA.
That said, 60D's seem to have less issues with AF with lenses from the factory, than 7D's. The AF seems to have more latitude/more forgiving, so the lack of MFA is not as big an issue as it's made out to be.

If money isn't a concern, the 7D might be a better "fit" for you..although the AF will take some getting used to. If money is a concern, the 60D is still an awesome body, and i highly doubt it would leave you wanting.

That's a good point -- on my 7D you actually NEED to use the MFA, particularly with wide-aperture lenses.

I was convinced that my 7D body was very slightly out of alignment right up until I tested my 70-200 f/4 for MFA required corrections (the last lens I jacked onto it to do so) and found it was dead-balls on at all focal lengths. Zero MFA required. The very same lens on my 60D is tack-sharp while my 50 f/1.4 front-focused a bit on the 60D -- just enough to annoy me a bit. On the 7D that same lens was UNUSABLE in autofocus up close at wide apertures - until I nulled it out with MFA. Now it's very nice.

I know that doesn't make any sense; a variation in the distance between the mount and sensor should impact all lenses identically. I can't explain this from a physics perspective -- but it is what it is.

Why not pick up another 50d on the used market for $500 or less?