60D or 7D??

I have decided to get a second body. I have a T1i already.
I use just for hobby, for vacation and nature shots, sometimes to shoot my daughter playing or ridding her bike, but I would like to apply to get into a soccer match to take pictures there, and regular, party or personal events shoots.

Regardless of the price, any advice if I should get the 60D or the 7D? I kinda know there features, I've read reviews about what both have and can do. But I would like advice from people that have used them before.

7D > 60d.

I would move from the t1i to the t3i or the 60D because of the adjustable view finder to use the camera at different levels and size and weight of the bodies.

I had T1i as my first SLR, and was looking to upgrade for better high ISO quality for my son's sports (and the higher shots per second was nice too).

I drooled over the 7D for a long time, but then I was talking to a Canon rep at a local camera store learned that the 60D has the same sensor. That made me start re-evaluating my purchase.

Ultimately, as much as I wanted a 7D I could not justify it. I kept asking myself what it offered over the 60D that I NEEDED. There was simply nothing that it offered extra that was worth spending nearly twice as much for me.

If you have an unlimited budget, by all means go with the 7D. But if not, look for what features it offers over the 60D, and ask yourself how much those features are worth. You obviously have to factor in what you'll be doing with it into that equation as well. The 7D is without a doubt a better camera - but whether it's worth the extra money is something only you can ultimately decide.

Good luck!

BTW - I have zero regrets with my decision.

shelland wrote: I had T1i as my first SLR, and was looking to upgrade for better high ISO quality for my son's sports (and the higher shots per second was nice too).

I drooled over the 7D for a long time, but then I was talking to a Canon rep at a local camera store learned that the 60D has the same sensor. That made me start re-evaluating my purchase.

Ultimately, as much as I wanted a 7D I could not justify it. I kept asking myself what it offered over the 60D that I NEEDED. There was simply nothing that it offered extra that was worth spending nearly twice as much for me.

If you have an unlimited budget, by all means go with the 7D. But if not, look for what features it offers over the 60D, and ask yourself how much those features are worth. You obviously have to factor in what you'll be doing with it into that equation as well. The 7D is without a doubt a better camera - but whether it's worth the extra money is something only you can ultimately decide.

Good luck!


BTW - I have zero regrets with my decision.

7D has better high ISO's which is a huge selling point.

Scotty wrote:
7D has better high ISO's which is a huge selling point.

60D has the same ISO specification as 7D. The advantage of going to 7D is you get 19AF points, as opposed 9 in 60D. 60D is almost similar to 7D, very subtle changes IMO.

You can compare them both here

It's not just the number of AF points. It's the fact that the 7D can actually track an object. This is handy a lot more than you think. For example. If you use a 5Dii to shoot you'll likely have to use the centre point to focus and recompose the shot. This is fine but when you move you're moving the plane of focus too. When you have a shallow DOF this can be the difference between the shot being in focus and out of focus. With the 7D you can just move to one of the outer points, lock onto the, let's say eye. Then take the shot. If you move slightly before taking the shot then the camera will adjust much better than a 60D will.

Also being able to track focus obviously has advantages when shooting anything moving.

You really won't understand how bad the AF is on a 60D or 5Dii or Rebel until you try something decent. I didn't realize how freakin' bad the 5Dii was until I got a 1DIV. This actually was a major reason for my switch to Nikon. Nikon do AF right.

Don't forget a stronger body in the 7D too. The 60D's body was a big joke in the beginning (till Canon guys justified it in their mind IMHO). Lots of people still consider the 60D a bit of a backwards step from the 50D which was a decent camera. In fact I'd say Canon started going down hill in this range from the 40D. The 40D was a pretty awesome camera.

Even with my 50D the AF tracking in the slow continuous mode is way better than the fast continuous mode. I gave up on using the fast mode, unless I know the subject distance is just not changing.

Kelly

The speed of AF tracking is one thing,
the accuracy of your composition is yet another.

As Kelly says: "I gave up on using the fast mode, unless I know the subject distance is just not changing"

Really, it's not the instrument, it's how you play it.
Canon EOS 60D user.

GT . . . .

Gary Trent photography wrote: The speed of AF tracking is one thing,
the accuracy of your composition is yet another.

As Kelly says: "I gave up on using the fast mode, unless I know the subject distance is just not changing"

Really, it's not the instrument, it's how you play it.
Canon EOS 60D user.

GT . . . .

50/60D can't track at all really. They just have Ai-Servo, but the tracking options are nonexistent. And their Ai-Servo just doesn't work much at all. They're just not made for moving subjects. If you want to focus on moving things, skip the 60D.

As for your point on composition, while it's true, it isn't really a valid point here as that's not reliant on the camera. We're talking camera differences and you can compose the same shot with either camera.

chakkaradeep wrote:

Scotty wrote:
7D has better high ISO's which is a huge selling point.

60D has the same ISO specification as 7D. The advantage of going to 7D is you get 19AF points, as opposed 9 in 60D. 60D is almost similar to 7D, very subtle changes IMO.

You can compare them both here

I was not aware of that ISO fact. I stand corrected.

Scotty wrote:

chakkaradeep wrote:

Scotty wrote:
7D has better high ISO's which is a huge selling point.

60D has the same ISO specification as 7D. The advantage of going to 7D is you get 19AF points, as opposed 9 in 60D. 60D is almost similar to 7D, very subtle changes IMO.

You can compare them both here

I was not aware of that ISO fact. I stand corrected.

The 60D and 7D have the exact same sensor.

I've read that though both have the same ISO settings, the 7D handles noise much better, despite having same sensor, is that what you all mean?

If you are intending to do a lot of shooting in harsh country, (windy,sandy,humid) and may knock it around a bit climbing or trashing through scrub go the D7. You'll have a blast with either of them.

I use the 60D and as mentioned earlier there are some tracking problems with the AF. I'm saving for a 7D as my next step up in bodies.