I purchased a Canon 400D in April 2008. It served me well, but after three years I was beginning to feel its limitations and decided it was time to upgrade. I bought the Canon 60D a bit over a week ago. After using it for a short time I have already found it to be an excellent camera and I’m very happy with the decision to buy it.
One of the main reasons I chose the 60D over the 600D or 550D was the larger body and better ergonomics. All these cameras have the same sensor so at the basic level are going to produce very similar images. The 60D’s larger body gives more camera to hold onto, although I still find it slightly small in my hands. The LCD on top of the camera is also a feature not found on the Canon Rebels. This is one of a number of features that makes it easier and faster to change key settings such as ISO and exposure compensation.
The high ISO performance is notably better than the Canon 400D. The above shot was taken at ISO 3200. I haven’t even tried ISO 6400 yet.
This photo was taken at ISO 1600. The skin colors here are very nice.
I also purchased a Canon 28mm f/1.8 lens to go with the 60D. I have developed a preference for prime lenses because of their good image quality and larger apertures. The 50mm and 85mm lenses have been great, but I felt frustrated by their relatively narrow field of view and wanted something wider for general use. I chose the Canon 28mm f/1.8 for its reasonably price. My impressions of it so far are very good. The best thing is that it approximates the normal field of view of a 50mm lens on a 35mm film (or full frame) camera. This approximates what we normally focus on with our eyes, so when you see a scene and then lift the viewfinder to your eye you get a similar view.
This photo was also taken at ISO 3200. It is a good example of the field of view and depth of field (DOF) of the Canon 28m f/1.8 lens.
This shot provides a good example of the DOF of the Canon 28mm f/1.8 lens at f/1.8. The circular bokeh in top left hand corner is very nice too.
I also bought a Domke F3 bag to go with the new camera. This bag is awesome. It is beautifully made from canvas and it looks and feels great. It just seems to swallow a lot of gear without ever being too big and bulky. The only downsides of the bag are lack of padding and it not being waterproof. I might try to find some sort of rain cover for it.
