EOS 60D AF Performance on BIF's

[Bobby Kintanar]

I just gave the new EOS 60D a field test, courtesy of my friend who owns a photo shop here, and I've found that the AF system in this unit is, IMHO, better than the 5D2 that I have:

Canon EOS 60D; Exposure 0.001 sec (1/2000); Aperture f/8.0; Focal Length 400 mm (Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L); ISO Speed 800; Ev +1 EV





Stills: With 2X TC attached and using Live View on Bean Bag from Car window:



Bare 400 mm Lens:

[Bobby Kintanar]

More observations:

1. The swiveling/tilting screen is VGA quality and playback is superb off the screen, even in the field. The new design makes overhead and low-level shots a breeze.

2. The 5.3 fps speed is adequate, but not ideal. The 7D is better at this. However, for my needs, it seems perfectly alright. Budget-wise, the 7D costs 30T plus more, body only! :-)

3. The metering, specially for static subjects is quite impressive. I stacked 2 1.4X TC's and relied on the meter and got excellent results all the time!

4. The 60D uses SD cards, so I can use the cards I have from the 450D. Too bad for those using CF Cards.

5. The grip is better for my smallish hands than the 5D2 - btw, they use the same battery. Another bad news for those using the XXD series of batteries. However, the new battery is unbelievably robust - a whole day of shooting and it was still full at the end of the day!

6. The Movie mode has manual controls for Audio too! :-)

7. It's lighter than the 5D2 - so it's better for my use. :-)

8. At last, the mode dial has a lock! Too many times I've shot my former bodies in the wrong setting coz I accidentally brushed the knob and turned it to some other setting. It cost me a shot of the Cebu Flower Pecker! This improvement, for me, is a must-have for nature photographers.

Another set for your perusal:

[Romy Ocon]

Wow.... very impressive early results with your new 60D, Bobby!

The 5D2's AF is no slouch (the only things it yields to the 1D4 and 7D at BIFs are frame rate and reach). If the 60D's AF is equal or better than the 5D2's, that's very promising.

Looking forward to more BIFs from your 60D!

[Bobby Kintanar]

The AF performance of the 60D is most definitely a step up from the 5D. This is the first time I have ever captured an 11-shot burst of a BIF:

Canon EOS 60D; Exposure 0.001 sec (1/2000); Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 400 mm (EF 400mm F5.6L); ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias +1 EV; Partial Metering; Hand-held.

All shots were just cropped from the JPEG's converted directly from RAW. No other PP was performed to keep the photo as intact as possible.

Click on the image to go to the Flickr Source page - click "Actions" Tab and chose "View All Sizes" from the drop-down list to see original image.

[Godfrey "Godo" Jakosalem]

60D is quite amazing and really value for money. Which is better and faster focus 60D or 7D? It has also 18 mp with iso expandable to 128000. Hmmm tempting I’ll try to check this camera now before i decide to get 7D. Sir Bob how's the noise level if you used higher iso?

Salamat Sir Bob.... I might take 60D after my testing today. This is good for the elusive Cebu Flowerpecker hahaha. BTW nice BIF. See you April.

Cheers,

Godo

[Bobby Kintanar]

Goodskie, the DP Review of the 60D is out, and their findings are basically in line with my observations. The noise is quite good up to ISO 1600 and even 3200 may be usable in some cases. Please check this out:

The EOS 60D was awarded the Silver Award (even the 7D was not awarded this medal by DPP)!

www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos60d/

[Ronnie Dominguez]

Thank you for the field test Bobby K.
Makes my decision to really go with the 60D in a few months time and then save again for a third party birding lens.