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Canon EOS 60D with 18-135mm lens review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £1029
inc VAT

Superior ergonomics – particularly the bigger viewfinder and articulated screen – make this a shrewd choice for Canon upgraders willing to look beyond the 550D.

Specifications

22.3×14.9mm 18.0-megapixel sensor, 7.5x zoom (28.8-216mm equivalent), 755g

http://www.jessops.com

It’s not easy following the trajectories of Canon and Nikon’s SLR product lines. As Nikon replaces its superb but aging D90 with the considerably more upmarket Nikon D7000, the Canon 60D is in many ways a downgrade to the 50D it replaces. It’s encased in plastic rather than magnesium alloy, has fewer buttons and slower continuous performance. However, the 60D is still a tempting alternative to the more affordable Canon 550D, so let’s examine how these two differ.

The short answer is hardly at all. They share the same 18-megapixel sensor, DIGIC 4 processor, 63-zone metering system and – by and large – the same range of photographic functions. The 60D’s nine autofocus points are all cross-type for increased accuracy whereas only the 550D’s centre autofocus point is cross-type. It also has a manual volume control for its video function. Otherwise, though, the quality of their photos and videos is identical for any given lens.

Canon EOS 60D left

The video mode has the same virtues and flaws. It offers full control over the aperture, shutter speed, ISO speed and frame rate – a critical feature for creative videographers. Quality was excellent, with crisp details, rich colours, barely any noise and no sign of compression artefacts, thanks to the AVC codec and massive 45Mbit/s bit rate. The resulting files are huge, though, and require a fast PC for playback and editing. It also means that the 4GB file limit equates to around 12 minutes of video at 24fps. There’s no countdown to warn when recording is about to stop.

Sound quality from the internal mono microphone was excellent, and there’s a stereo minijack for an external microphone. Autofocus during video recording was terrible, though. The focus darted back and forth like a learner driver trying to reverse park, the soundtrack was obliterated with lens motor noise and manual exposure settings were interrupted as the camera adjusted the image to assist the autofocus. Creative videographers will be happy to focus manually but this video mode isn’t for casual use. We also found that inadequate anti-aliasing sometimes created moiré patterns and odd motion in dense textures – something that won’t bother casual users but is more of an issue for discerning use.

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Basic Specifications

Rating ****
CCD effective megapixels 18.0 megapixels
CCD size 22.3×14.9mm
Viewfinder optical TTL
Viewfinder magnification, coverage 0.95x, 96%
LCD screen size 3.0in
LCD screen resolution 1,040,000 pixels
Articulated screen Yes
Live view Yes
Optical zoom 7.5x
Zoom 35mm equivalent 28.8-216mm
Image stabilisation optical, lens based
Maximum image resolution 5,184×3,456
Maximum movie resolution 1920×1080
Movie frame rate at max quality 25fps
File formats JPEG, RAW; QuickTime (AVC)

Physical

Memory slot SDXC
Mermory supplied none
Battery type Li-ion
Battery Life (tested) 1,100 shots
Connectivity USB, AV, mini HDMI, remote, mic input
HDMI output resolution 1080i
Body material plastic
Lens mount Canon EF-S
Focal length multiplier 1.6x
Kit lens model name Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Accessories USB and AV cables, neck strap
Weight 755g
Size 106x145x79mm

Buying Information

Warranty one-year RTB
Price £1,029
Supplier http://www.jessops.com
Details www.canon.co.uk

Camera Controls

Exposure modes program, shutter priority, aperture priority, manual
Shutter speed 30 to 1/8,000 seconds
Aperture range f/3.5-22 (wide), f/5.6-36 (tele)
ISO range (at full resolution) 100 to 12800
Exposure compensation +/-3 EV
White balance auto, 6 presets with fine tuning, manual, custom
Additional image controls contrast, saturation, sharpness, colour tone, auto lighting optmiser, aspect ratio, noise reduction, highlight tone priority
Manual focus Yes
Closest macro focus 45cm
Auto-focus modes 9-point
Metering modes multi, centre-weighted, partial, centre
Flash auto, forced, suppressed, slow synchro, rear curtain, red-eye reduction
Drive modes single, continuous, self-timer, AE bracket, WB bracket

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Reviews | DSLRs