60D or 7D or something else?

I'm a photography student who went back to college a little later in life. I have a T3. As I expand some of my knowledge and experience, I'm thinking I may want a few more features and bells and whistles.

I've read about the 60D and the 7D and heard a rumor that there is a possible 70D that might hit the street sometime soon. Currently there are some nice rebates going on. It may make more sense not to wait for something newer. Both of those cameras mentioned have dropped quite a bit in price and I'm sure the 70D when released will be more that the 60D's current price.

Other than the Magnesium sealed body and the higher continuous shooting rate are their many other differences between the 60d and 7D?

I know there are also some good full frame deals, but i have a pretty good assortment of EFS lenses and can't afford to replace them all

I'd love the pros and cons from you all.

My Dislikes about the T3
1. The T3 is nice, but I've been asked as of late to take some 20x30 photos or some crops and the T3 only has a 12.2 mp. Both the cameras I listed have 18mp

2. I hate the texture and finish of the T3, it feels like a toy

3. I'd love to have custom setting option when shooting HDR Brackets

3. The continuous mode is awful.

sounds like you have a good handle on things... you didn't mention anything about particular shooting style you have so that might mean you don't require the 7D's auto-focus system, which is certainly a head-line feature of the 7D.

The 60D inherited the 40D/50D AF system and is just dandy for tracking birds in flight with the right lens attached but again, you didn't give any indication of the demands and features you need so I'd say the 60D would fit your bill quite nicely. I'd suggest finding a refurbished one to save a few bucks from the Canon Store or B&H, for example.

Hope this helps a little

Immaculens wrote in post #15885339
sounds like you have a good handle on things... you didn't mention anything about particular shooting style you have so that might mean you don't require the 7D's auto-focus system, which is certainly a head-line feature of the 7D.

The 60D inherited the 40D/50D AF system and is just dandy for tracking birds in flight with the right lens attached but again, you didn't give any indication of the demands and features you need so I'd say the 60D would fit your bill quite nicely. I'd suggest finding a refurbished one to save a few bucks from the Canon Store or B&H, for example.

Hope this helps a little

Sorry, I forgot to list my fave subjects to shoot. Being a student, I'm given different concepts every class. Some of my faves this semester were, Landscapes, Nature, Cityscapes,Birds and Motion. But trying to do sports photography was a complete nightmare with the 3.2 shots per second. Check out my Flickr portfolio to get a better idea of my style.

Thanks!!

i sold my t3 for the 40D i have now, and haven't looked back since.

the 40D as well as the 60D and 7D has much much better build quality than all the rebel series IMO.

The thing i miss most about my t3 most is that it was slightly newer with broader ISO range, up to 6400. the 40D is 1600. but it's SO much faster in every way that it blows the t3 out of the water, matched with a 85 1.8 i purchased recently. Super accurate AF.

I totally agree, my t3 feels too small and toyish to me. but it's ok for simple family gatherings and such.

Adorama has refurbished 60D on sale for $589 shipped, a truly great deal.

I use the 60D for work--photojournalism, event photography and portraits--as well as to shoot videos of my toddler with. It has been a great all-around performer for me after moving up from a Nikon D40.

It has the same sensor as the 7D and it has a nice, deep grip. It also shares a battery with the 7D, which has given me well over 1k shots on a charge in the past. I paid $745 for mine shipped as a refurb from Canon in Dec 11 and I still consider that money well spent.

I can recommend the 60D too. For one thing the magnesium body on the 7D is pretty much irrelevant. The polycarbonate body of the 60D may even be tougher. The 7D is slightly larger and heavier, which is better for some, not as attractive to others. The biggest difference is the frame rate, and you really only get a couple more frames per second. Unless you are shooting fast action, the 60D will serve nicely. The real advantages of both are the nice dual dial control setup, and if it matters to you, the 60D adds the swivel screen which is handy for macro and video.

I looked at both when I had outgrown my T1i, and decided on the 60D.

You cant go wrong with either body.
I had a t1i and upgraded after 2 years to a 60d. I loved it.
I shot that for a year (about 8500 pics) and sold it for a 7d.

they are both equally great cameras. I think for your uses the 60d will be the way to go.
the IQ is slightly better on it too. I dont care what people say I have shot them both extensively and side by side. The 60d is a bit better with noise for sure.

But if you need the faster FPS and AF like I did, the 7d will do you right. I only rarely wish I had my 60d back. Usually when the light starts to decrease.

The big advantages of the 7d are:
af performance
speed
build quality
better viewfinder
compact flash vs sd memory cards
more buttons for direct control
pc sync port(for flash)

When I was looking at crop body cameras last year I went through the same thing and ended with the 7d for my needs. For me the button layout and the AF system were the big selling points but everyone's needs are different.

That being said, people who say that you only want the 7d for shooting bif or sports may just not know what they are missing out.

Either way you would be getting a great camera but since both those models are near the end of their life I would buy used/refurbished. Both are pretty inexpensive in the used market and there are always people selling bodies in near new condition.

One of the pros for the 7D which I don't think it was mentioned was the MFA for 1 point. This is about the only thing I'd like to see on the 60D. It also has 3 flash groups instead of 2 in the Flash Commander.

The flippy screen and the 8 point circular switch are pluses for the 60D (I tried the joystick on a friend's camera... meh...). The biggest plus is price! Always was...

Both are great with the 7d giving a faster fps and af. You know the pros and cons, you just need to decide if you need the bells and whistles extra on the 7d over the 60d and are they worth the price. I would say unless birds and motion is your main thing the 60d represents better value as even in these its very good (my comparison is to my previous 50d which tracked great and 60d has same af).

The few things I'd say on the 7D's favor:

-Ergonomics, This is personal of course, but the 7D puts more controls at your fingertips (Like AF point selection) and I find it more comfortable, Also if you plan to continue photography, the 7D's layout is practically identical to the upper tier Canon DSLRs which means down the line should you add a 5DIII to your system you'll have little trouble switching between the two... (That said the 60D and the 6D are very similar in control layout..)

-Better AF, Not just speed, but you get an extra 10 points to choose from, meaning you wont need to focus/recompose

-Better build, The 60D is nice, but the 7D is a tank, DigitalRev set one on fire and it still worked... I've had mine since they came out 4 years ago, Still works flawlessly

-Better viewfinder, the 7D has a big bright viewfinder which makes composition easier, its also a 100% finder which means you see EVERYTHING

-Off camera flash commander, This one im shocked wasnt mentioned before, but the 7D has the ability to remotely trigger flashes with the built in flash which is IMMENSELY useful sometimes


Now, the 60D is a great camera and certainly you cant go wrong with either, the IQ is still impressive on both cameras, and both are leagues above your rebel in every respect, I just feel you'll get a little more longevity out of the 7D than the 60D...

KenjiS wrote in post #15886662
The few things I'd say on the 7D's favor:

-Ergonomics, This is personal of course, but the 7D puts more controls at your fingertips (Like AF point selection) and I find it more comfortable, Also if you plan to continue photography, the 7D's layout is practically identical to the upper tier Canon DSLRs which means down the line should you add a 5DIII to your system you'll have little trouble switching between the two... (That said the 60D and the 6D are very similar in control layout..)

-Better AF, Not just speed, but you get an extra 10 points to choose from, meaning you wont need to focus/recompose

-Better build, The 60D is nice, but the 7D is a tank, DigitalRev set one on fire and it still worked... I've had mine since they came out 4 years ago, Still works flawlessly

-Better viewfinder, the 7D has a big bright viewfinder which makes composition easier, its also a 100% finder which means you see EVERYTHING

-Off camera flash commander, This one im shocked wasnt mentioned before, but the 7D has the ability to remotely trigger flashes with the built in flash which is IMMENSELY useful sometimes


Now, the 60D is a great camera and certainly you cant go wrong with either, the IQ is still impressive on both cameras, and both are leagues above your rebel in every respect, I just feel you'll get a little more longevity out of the 7D than the 60D...

Add micro adjustment for up to 20 lenses
Add the higher FPS and larger raw buffer
Add in-camera raw editing after the shot has been taken
Subtract the off-camera flash commander, because the 60D has this too, just 2 groups instead of 3, I believe

Wow, Thanks for all the feedback!!! After reading all the other things about the 7D it's really got me thinking... I will get back to you all..

In your position, I would be looking ahead to after you finish photo school. The 7D is a professional camera, with more bells and whistles than most will use. But, as a budding professional you will need all those bells and whistles to decide what type of photography you are going zero in on. You can get a new 7D at most camera sites for about $1200.00 or as little as $859.00 for a refurbished model. I shoot with a old obsolete 50D, and since that camera is working very well, I'll wait until the 7DII arrives on the market, to see if it brings more to the table than the 7D classic. Read Canon Rumors, and you will see the 70D, and 7DII will share the same sensor (22-24Mpix) This means a updated, faster processor, and faster CP cards. Hopefully, the 7DII will have low light as the 6D, and higher ISO, and faster shutter speeds. Focus speed is a no brainer, the limit to focus speed will be the speed of the lens motors. So, those USMs will be working at full speed. I'm looking at faster frames per sec too. So the good sports camera will become a great sport and wildlife camera. I would put up with the T3, and wait for the 7DII to hit the street.

I agree with most of what is said above. MFA, the wonderful viewfinder and more high sensitivity AF points are great.

Having said that, you should be able to do 20x30 prints pretty easily with your current camera. I've done plenty with a 6.3MP camera and they look outstanding (granted, you don't have much cropping room). going from 12-18MP isn't going to be as big of a difference as you might think.

Just saying.