Anyone choose a 60D over the 7D?
 

I am trying to decide between the 60D and 7D. For those of you who have purchased the 60D, what was the selling point for you?

Thanks in advance.

The manual audio gain and swivel LCD made it a no-brainer decision as far as I'm concerned.
That said, while the body build quality is fine, I find the responsiveness and layout of the buttons a little disappointing coming from previous xxD models, and the lack of a dedicated movie mode switch is a bit of a nuisance.
If you are going to use the camera mostly in types of production where you will be using a field monitor and dual system audio anyway, the 7D is probably a better choice - but in that case I would personally skip the crop sensors altogether and go for the 5D.

sorry wrong thread

Articulating LCD is huge advantage for video, although I keep it in fixed position when needing loupe for critical focus. Manual audio is crucial - much quieter than AGC. The 60D is lighter and cheaper than 7D - a superior camera for video.

For stills it's pretty close to 7D, unless you shoot sports exclusively.

Are you guys really doing production sound to a DSLR? That's amazing. I rarely even do that on the EX1.

I sold my 7D and bought a 60D for the very reasons already stated. Swivel LCD with Hoodloupe 3.0 Mounted. No need for expensive external monitor. Manual audio with my JuicedLink Mixer (works best with a mixer). Sounds wonderful. Histrogram in video mode before and after shot. LOCKING mode dial. SD cards (I have 16, 16gig cards. Bought for my JVC HM-100) and can put them directly in to my MacBook Pro.

I'm in the market so reading the above replies is just the sort of info I need. Coming from the camcorder side of things I'd think that the twisting, turning, swivelling screen is the knockout punch, even if all other aspects were diluted. It sounds as if they aren't, so it sounds as if the 60D wins. Just wish there was a full-frame version though, the 60FFD.

tom.

Regarding audio (only) ...

The way to improve signal-to-noise performance is to throttle back the noisy amps in the camera, and replace that noisy gain with clean gain from the juicedLink low-noise preamps. This is simple to do if your camera has manual control. If it does not have manual control to override the Automatic Gain Control (AGC), then you will need to use an AGC Disable technique.

The 7D will require you to use an AGC Disable technique, since it does not have manual control of audio. It works well, such as the AGC Disable feature on the juicedLink DT454, but you are going to have to sacrifice one of your recording channels, to get 1 clean channel for recording.

The 60D has manual control, so there is no need to use an AGC Disable technique. You will get 2 clean tracks for recording.

So, in terms of just audio concerns, I prefer the 60D. The 60D is capable of high quality audio recording of 2 tracks without the need for AGC Disable. The juicedLink DT454 adds the low-noise preamp, headphones, and meters (visible while recording), and XLR inputs. There is no need to use an external recording device which will require you to sync in post.

IMHO ...

-R

The flip LCD, AGC kill, and lighter weight was crucial for me- I chose the 60D. It think it also takes still photos- I wouldn't know I just use it for video.

Do you mount hoodloupe while swiveling?

I bought a Hoodloupe holder for video camera LCDs. It is neoprene with velcro with a hole in it for the loupe. I bought it on Amazon for $10. Loupe cost $75. So whole thing is $85. Multi hundreds of dollars saved on no monitor needed and mounting system.

Originally Posted by Sam Kanter :
>>>Do you mount hoodloupe while swiveling?
>>I bought a Hoodloupe holder for video camera LCDs. It is neoprene with velcro with a hole in it for the loupe. I bought it on Amazon for $10. Loupe cost $75. So whole thing is $85. Multi hundreds of dollars saved on no monitor needed and mounting system.

Could you point me to that?

Thanks...

Is it this?

Hoodman Camcorder Mount Strap for HoodLoupe Glare Free LCD Viewing Loupe (3-in) (HCAM4)

It seems a ripoff for 18 bucks - but does it work? Does it put too much weight on LCD hinge, endangering it's functionality?

I had been looking for some time at making the jump to the HD-DSLR's for my professional video work, especially because of all the great things I had been hearing about their imagery and cost compared to the more expensive and arguably less-superior-in-terms-of-image-quality video cameras I had been accustomed to for so many years. So I decided to start doing some digging and see if this could really be a major asset for my work. Coincidentally, Canon was about to realease their "much-anticipated" 60D at the same time I began looking.

After doing a lot of research in regards to the video quality of both the 7D and the 60D (I didn't bother looking at the 5D Mark II despite the full-frame sensor simply because, at the moment, it is out of my price range), it appeared that if there WAS a difference between the two, it was slight. They both still produced beautiful images regardless. According to most, the main beef of the 60D compared to the 7D was the body and its less-than-rugged build. For being such a pricey camera, it seemed to take a step backward in that regard, even though it added some much-desired features like the manual audio control and swiveling LCD monitor. There was also concern about the 60D downconverting the video's Live View image to SD when in record mode, which made it very difficult to get a proper focus, while the 7D maintained its HD image.

These reasons still didn't seem that crucial in keeping me from saving several hundred dollars in buying the 60D. So I checked one out for myself at the local Best Buy. Bare in mind, as far as still cameras were concerned, I've only had a Rebel 35mm prior to this, so needless to say when I saw and picked up the 60D, I was pretty blown away. It still felt rugged to me and was certainly much larger than any other still camera I had ever held (again, I'm not a photographer, so this is my first venture into this realm--I've got nothing to compare it to).

I watched many posted videos of the two cameras, and it still appeared they both produced beautiful, but comparable results. I felt that there was nothing worth paying several hundred dollars more for the 7D; it seemed I could get what I needed from the 60D. And with the money I saved, I could outfit the camera with an XLR adapter, shotgun mike, shoulder mount, and perhaps a follow-focus set.

Several weeks and one 60D later, I certainly still stand by my choice, but I'd like to point out a couple of things for anybody looking at the 60D. If you're going to use it for video, especially run-and-gun, the downconverting feature WILL definitely be an issue. I found it nearly impossible to get any kind of focus at certain times, specifically in brighter conditions. Why have an HDMI output if it doesn't output HD?!? Also, you WILL have to be shelling out a few to several hundred more dollars in order to outfit it as a proper video camera; there's no other way around it. This is NOT a video camera. Afterwards, the video imagery is definitely worth it, though, in terms of your ability to control depth-of-field with different lenses. Sorry so long....

if you had to do it again i guess the question would be, pay the extra for a 7d and just use a mounted external monitor for monitoring or make due with the 60d screen. Because if i am correct you can't use the built in lcd and the hdmi out at the same time on either camera correct?

Considering my budget for now, I'd probably still stick with the 60D and just find a way to deal with the issue (a 5- to 7-inch LCD monitor with a hood around it so I can see the best possible image). Several hundred dollars more for the ability to see an HD image might be much of a stretch, especially when you can use that towards other vital accessories.

This is a reason.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/attachme...p-img_9980.jpg

Alan, would that hoodloupe be okay with glasses? I hate to take my glasses of every time... Z-finder in combination with glasses would be no problem I've heard (but mounting on the swivel screen would be somewhat more difficult)

60D = great value / price
 

I recently sold my 7D and replaced it with a 60D. For me, it came down to the whole overheating issue which plagues certain 7D bodies. Since using the 60D, I can say that I absolutely love it. There are no overheating issues and the build quality is surprisingly good. A few things to note about it:

- The articulating screen comes in handy more often than you would think. The point is that even if it doesn't suit you, you can flip it back into the closed position and use it like the 5D or 7D. At least there's the option there.

- I don't know about you guys, but with the 5D and 7D I find myself constantly bumping the dial into B (Bulb) mode accidentally. The 60D lock function, which prevents you from shifting the dial like this, is highly underrated and a complete blessing.

- The 60D in your hands feels a bit small. Not as uncomfortably small as the 550D, but still slightly smaller than a 7D. I've since gotten it with a battery grip and it's been great. With the extended height, it actually fits perfectly into your hands, moreso than a 5D/7D with battery grip as I feel that sometimes adds way too much height on an already tall body.

Those are just a few points on why the 60D has been so great up until now. It's a STEAL at the price point. I remember back only a few years ago, that $900 would only get me a consumer Canon HF11 camcorder, which while still good, is nowhere in the league of this still camera that shoots video. My only beef with the 60D is the lack of easy access to your white balance (as you have to enter the menu to access it) and no WB Shift options in video mode. Other than that, it's fantastic.

Alan, could you post a link to that Neoprene Hoodloupe holder?

[second request]

- I don't know about you guys, but with the 5D and 7D I find myself constantly bumping the dial into B (Bulb) mode accidentally. The 60D lock function, which prevents you from shifting the dial like this, is highly underrated and a complete blessing.

I own the T2i, 7D and the 60D. This lock function on the 60D is HUGE. I always bumped my 7D into the B Mode.

Never happened to me on the 5D or the T2i. But then I don't put my hands on the camera when I shoot and not sure why I ever would.

I just got a 60D and considered a 7D, but couldn't find any overwhelming reasons to spend the extra money.

The articulating screen is huge for me when doing video. I do hate going back and forth when I want to shoot photos, though. Guess I'm "old school" because I still prefer looking through the viewfinder instead of looking at the screen in Live View.

Also, having more manual audio control is important. I'm still not ready to sync audio and the audio I get from the input with my mics and a Juiced Link preamp work fine for my uses.

I like the smaller body for what I'll be doing the next few weeks -- shooting photo and video in a remote area of Peru. The more inconspicuous I can be, the better. (Unfortunately, I fear everyone in the village where I'm going already knows that a gringo is coming next week!) I don't have the need for the better body of the 7D.

Hopefully, I won't miss the HD out while shooting. Right now, I'm okay without it, but there are times when it would sure be handy.

The 60D is indeed a very compact camera, but has anyone put the Sony Alpha 55 up alongside it? I know it's not a true vDSLR but Popular Photography have awarded it Camera of the Year 2010, so I'm getting more interested. Swivelling rear screen, ALL lenses stabilised, GPS, and a big promotion that shaves lots off the price here in the UK.

tom.

I would recommend a Z-Finder Cine kit for those thinking of external monitors. I love mine for the T2i. And the magic lantern software will give this camera better audio displays and control than the 60D.