Canon 60D, Tamaron 18-270, or 7D?

[kylieh]

DH and I are planning on upgrading cameras soon. We have a Canon Rebel XT / 350D (in Australia) which had the twin lens EF/EFS 18-55 and 75-300 kit. My P&S is a G11.

We're thinking of the Canon 60D Body only as our replacement, and is pretty much top of my budget with a the Tamaron 18-270 lens so I don't need to change over and only carry the one lens. Though I wonder if because I've got the G11 which is ok for a P&S I might be better getting the 7D body only and saving a bit longer to get an 18-270, swap lenses and/or carry the G11, though I'm trying to avoid that hence wanting the 18-270. My MIL has a "doubler?" for her Canon XT which I can borrow if I want.

Apart from our next trip we mainly use the camera for taking pics of DD when she's dancing (on stage at community performances,) general family stuff, etc. But when I take a photo I like to take a good one.

I did a lot of photography back in my teens/early 20s on a Pentax K1000 kit which had a few different lenses.

Any suggestions?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hi KylieH.....where are you planning on purchasing the new body? On-line, Oz or US?

 

[kylieh]

Hi PrincessInOz - was looking at B&H, but if the price wan't too different (yeah right..) maybe Ryda as they have the Australian warranty. So if I go the 7D I may have import duty.

ETA - online purchase as I would like to have it before we go away.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I shopped around for the T2i....and visited one of the camera chains. I didn't push but I hinted that I would be happy to buy the camera body in the US when I got there and purchase a Mack International Warranty. They ended up giving me a quote that was a little bit more than the prices in the US; and I was happy to pay the little difference (I think it was $80) to buy the body in Oz and qualify for the Canon Australia warranty.

If you decide to buy in the US in person and depending on what else you get shopping wise, you might find that you won't get charged the duty on your return. It is a combined taxable amount that they look at i.e., $900 per adult and $450 per child (Add the total amount for your family), rather than a per item basis.
If you buy on-line through B&H or Adorama; then you'll have to contend with import duty.

If you're a photo-nut and depending on budget, my vote goes to the 7D.

I haven't looked at Ryda. Is it a proper Canon warranty for the body or is it to a "qualified" service shop?

 

[kylieh]

I shopped around for the T2i....and visited one of the camera chains. I didn't push but I hinted that I would be happy to buy the camera body in the US when I got there and purchase a Mack International Warranty. They ended up giving me a quote that was a little bit more than the prices in the US; and I was happy to pay the little difference (I think it was $80) to buy the body in Oz and qualify for the Canon Australia warranty.

If you decide to buy in the US in person and depending on what else you get shopping wise, you might find that you won't get charged the duty on your return. It is a combined taxable amount that they look at i.e., $900 per adult and $450 per child (Add the total amount for your family), rather than a per item basis.
If you buy on-line through B&H or Adorama; then you'll have to contend with import duty.

If you're a photo-nut and depending on budget, my vote goes to the 7D.

I haven't looked at Ryda. Is it a proper Canon warranty for the body or is it to a "qualified" service shop?

Ryda say a full Australian Canon supplied warranty. http://www.ryda.com.au/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=EOS60DB

I'm thinking if I go the 7D from OS I'll have probably $130-$150 of duty on the body. I'll be getting it sent over before we go. The 60D is under $900 so no duty on the import so that bit will make a bit of a difference. If I purchase the lens I'll need perhaps to do it in two transactions, need to do some maths there!

 

[PrincessInOz]

That's a good price for the 60D and if it is supplied from Canon Australia then you're on a good thing, warranty wise.

Why don't you just get the body and then get the lens when you're OS? That way you don't need to pay shipping twice. Will you have time to shop when you arrive? Are you flying into LAX or SFO first and stopping or heading straight to MCO?

 

[kylieh]

That's a good price for the 60D and if it is supplied from Canon Australia then you're on a good thing, warranty wise.

Why don't you just get the body and then get the lens when you're OS? That way you don't need to pay shipping twice. Will you have time to shop when you arrive? Are you flying into LAX or SFO first and stopping or heading straight to MCO?

Heading straight to MCO, and only there for just over a week! Then coming back home.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Heading straight to MCO, and only there for just over a week! Then coming back home.

Looks like 2 lots of shipping might be the way to go; unless you want to pay extra duty.

I don't know anything about the Tamron lens, but I'm sure someone else here will come and play with us whilst we are sleeping.

 

[ukcatfan]

I suggest also looking at the T2i and 50D. The 60D is not a direct upgrade from the 50D and they removed some of the features that made that model so great.

 

[VVFF]

I suggest also looking at the T2i and 50D. The 60D is not a direct upgrade from the 50D and they removed some of the features that made that model so great.

The 60D may not be a direct upgrade as Canon rearranged to match up better with Nikon's offerings. It's still got most of what the 50D has and has some nice upgrades. The only downgrade I really mind is the lack of AF microadjustment...even then I don't really use it much.

OP, the 18-270mm really isn't a good matchup for a 18MP sensor, its really a mixed performance lens and can't take advantage of the high resolution sensor. Perhaps you don't care but I wouldn't be pixel peeping or you might be disappointed.

 

[Anewman]

The only downgrade I really mind is the lack of AF microadjustment...even then I don't really use it much.

The "downgrade" that gets the most attention is the Body material, 60D build is very solid but not made of mag.

The FPS might be lower, but still well within xxD range IMO. This is due to larger file size, and buffer size is actually larger.

Apart from the missing microadjustment, other "downgrades" can be considered "changes" IMO. I wont get crazy enough to call any of them upgrades, but I do prefer some of them.

Direct upgrade to previous xxD cameras or not, it is still a great buy at recent price points.

 

[VVFF]

The "downgrade" that gets the most attention is the Body material, 60D build is very solid but not made of mag.

The FPS might be lower, but still well within xxD range IMO. This is due to larger file size, and buffer size is actually larger.

Apart from the missing microadjustment, other "downgrades" can be considered "changes" IMO. I wont get crazy enough to call any of them upgrades, but I do prefer some of them.

Direct upgrade to previous xxD cameras or not, it is still a great buy at recent price points.

Yeah I've heard all about the change of body material and even held the 60D. That point is vastly overrated. The new body feels fine. Some people also complain about the Canon 100mm F2.8L which has a "engineering plastic" on the outer body. The lens feels great and is lighter to boot. Plastic can in some cases be made to tighter tolerances than metal anyway, and with greater resistance to denting/impact. I have never heard one case of a SLR body simply "falling apart".

So, I'd give the body material very little influence on my decision, unless you wanted weather sealing.

 

[ukcatfan]

But what makes it more compelling to buy over the T2i?

 

[VVFF]

But what makes it more competing to buy over the T2i?

The first things that come to mind is the autofocus, swivel screen, viewfinder, faster FPS, battery life and controls.

 

[ukcatfan]

The first things that come to mind is the autofocus, swivel screen, viewfinder, faster FPS, battery life and controls.

I can see the screen being nice if live view is important to you. Then maybe the fps, but if that is really important there are other brands offering much more for the money anyway. The other things don't seem like they would be enough to justify the cost increase. Just my opinion.

 

[VVFF]

I can see the screen being nice if live view is important to you. Then maybe the fps, but if that is really important there are other brands offering much more for the money anyway. The other things don't seem like they would be enough to justify the cost increase. Just my opinion.

I think the better autofocus(keep in mind it is quite good with all 9 points cross type and the middle extra sensitive at F2.8 or faster vs. only the middle cross type on the T2i), viewfinder(ever used a rebel viewfinder? It's TINY/dark), faster fps/better screen, and DOUBLE the battery life is enough to justify a $250 cost increase(current prices on amazon)

And that doesn't even bring into account the better build/better controls which I suppose could be debated.

Canon knows they didn't match up to the competition in this model unlike their success with the 7D. That shows because of how much they reduced the price out of the gates. Now its not really a direct competitor to the D7000 but more of a midground competitor for the D5000/D7000. At that point it is a competitive offering.

 

[kylieh]

Thanks for the comments.

The battery life is something that is important to us.

I had a look then at the T2i and discovered the newly released T3i / 600D (Australia) in the process.

From what I can gather the only differences are 1/4000 v 1/8000 max shutter, and a few less video modes. Video not a biggie. The T3i says a 9 point focus system which I think is the same as 60D(?) , and a battery that matches the 60D, according to one review.

So now I'm thinking that T3i may be the way to go and a couple of hundred cheaper than 60D, and get a better lens than the Tamaron if I can find one in the price range - maybe the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS?

 

[VVFF]

Thanks for the comments.

The battery life is something that is important to us.

I had a look then at the T2i and discovered the newly released T3i / 600D (Australia) in the process.

From what I can gather the only differences are 1/4000 v 1/8000 max shutter, and a few less video modes.

No, the T3i has basically the same video mode and the same max shutter speed. The 60D has the 1/8000th max shutter speed.

Video not a biggie. The T3i says a 9 point focus system which I think is the same as 60D(?) , and a battery that matches the 60D, according to one review.

No, the T3i has the same focus system as the T2i. The 60d is significantly better when using any point other than the center. The battery that the T3i uses is not the same as the 60D. The battery life of the 60D is still more than 2x better than the T2i/T3i. Even if the battery used was the same...the 60D would do better because it doesn't need to use the LCD screen to change settings as much.

So now I'm thinking that T3i may be the way to go and a couple of hundred cheaper than 60D, and get a better lens than the Tamaron if I can find one in the price range.

The T3i is really a minor upgrade from the T2i besides the swivel screen.

 

[kylieh]

No, the T3i has basically the same video mode and the same max shutter speed. The 60D has the 1/8000th max shutter speed.

No, the T3i has the same focus system as the T2i. The 60d is significantly better when using any point other than the center. The battery that the T3i uses is not the same as the 60D. The battery life of the 60D is still more than 2x better than the T2i/T3i. Even if the battery used was the same...the 60D would do better because it doesn't need to use the LCD screen to change settings as much.

The T3i is really a minor upgrade from the T2i besides the swivel screen.

Thanks VVFF. All being the case I might be better sticking with my original plan of the 60D with the better focus and battery life.

 

[VVFF]

Thanks VVFF. All being the case I might be better sticking with my original plan of the 60D with the better focus and battery life.

I would agree with this choice unless you consider size a big issue(no pun intended). Even then, once you get an SLR, size kinda has to take the back seat because no matter what it isn't going in your pocket.