A few comments on EOS 60D

I have now used the Canon EOS 60D DSLR for a month, and during this time I've shot a lot of stills and videos. I really like this camera! The body is only a bit larger than the EOS 550D but it feels very well shaped and comfortable to use.

 

A big plus: the tilt/swivel screen

For me, the most important new feature in the EOS 60D is the tilt/swivel LCD. Beforehand I didn't think it makes a lot of difference whether the camera has a tilt/swivel LCD or not, but now I think that I will never buy a DSLR without one! 

You can flip the screen in any direction and use it in many ways and in many kind of shooting situations. I keep it open it for all my video shots on tripod, and it helps with low and high angle shoots (both with video and stills). When shooting video without a tripod, I also find that it is easier to balance and keep the camera steady if I have the tilt/swivel screen open. Especially helpful it is when I’m shooting video (or candid stills) holding the camera on my palm, almost down at waist level.

Smaller additions

With all new cameras, you will always get some new photography functions. With the EOS 60D you can do some in-camera RAW processing - nice to have if you need to be able to produce JPEGs out of your RAW files when don't have a computer available. You will also be able to apply creative special effect filters to the photos taken.

I seldom use flash units when taking photos, but when I do, I like to position the flash freely – sometimes on top of the camera and sometimes in a more interesting angle and perhaps also a bit further away from the camera. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised to see that the EOS 60D (just like the big sister EOS 7D) has an integrated Speedlite transmitter, and you can use the built-in flash of the camera to trigger external Speedlite EX flashes wirelessly.

Comparison to EOS 7D

With video, I believe that with the EOS 60D overheating is not a problem even when you record a series of long video shots. With the EOS 7D you should pause shooting video every now and then to avoid the camera becoming too hot and displaying a warning sign on the LCD. For videographers it is also nice to know that with the EOS 60D you can manually control the recording volume – just like the pros shooting with the EOS 5D Mark II.

Or course the EOS 7D, which costs a few hundred euros more that the EOS 60D, has its benefits. With that extra money you'll get a somewhat bigger and sturdier body with better weather sealing, a 100 percent viewfinder image, a faster frame rate and the possibility to do AF micro adjustment. The EOS 7D also has a dedicated button for video mode which makes changing the mode from stills to video a lot snappier – this is something I really miss in my EOS 60D.

For people who want to use a HDMI monitor or a HDTV set for monitoring, it is worth noting that the EOS 7D provides higher resolution video image via the HDMI output while recording. The output of EOS 60D (just like all the other EOS video DSLRs) drops down to 480p when you press the record button.

For me the perfect choice would probably be something like an "EOS 7D Mark2" with a tilt/swivel screen. But because there is no such thing, and I really appreciate the tilt/swivel screen, my choice for now is the EOS 60D.

New gear for video use

During the last couple of months I have been buying some new gear for video use.

In addition to the new Canon EOS 60D camera and some new Canon lenses, I now have the Glidetrack ShooterSD which you can use both as a camera slider and as a shoulder support. Last week I bought a Velbon DV7000 tripod with the PH-368 fluid head. If you buy a different set of tripod/head, make sure that they can be detached so that you can position the Glidetrack in between the tripod and the head. I also have the LCDVF 3:2 ViewFinder which allows you to have a closer look at the image (a great help when using manual focus) and it also makes shooting handheld easier by stabilizing the camera.

This video is a combination of a couple of test shots using the gear mentioned above. Everything seems to be working just fine. Except that I need more time to learn to use the equipment better...


Testing GlideTrack from Jukka Kolari on Vimeo.

Eating in Paris (with EOS 60D)

A short collection of clips shot in cafes and restaurants in Paris in October 2010. All the shots were filmed with Canon EOS 60D DSLR camera and the lens used was Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM. Sometimes the lighting was very scarce in the restaurants so next time I must remember to bring an f/1.4 or at least f/2.8 lens with me...


Eating In Paris from Jukka Kolari on Vimeo.

Bookfair in Helsinki

Third fair in two weeks with the EOS 60D – this time the biggest bookfair in Finland. All shots here were taken with the Canon EF-S 10-22 lens, mainly using ISO 1600.

HkiBookfair2010 from Jukka Kolari on Vimeo.

Some random shots with a lot of ebook reader devices in them. Many of the current ebook readers are based in e-ink/e-paper (from Amazon, Sony and a lot of smaller manufacturers) but also many devices with colour display being launched (like the iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab etc.). Somehow I can not avoid thinking that some of the ebook reader devices seem already old-fashioned…

10 pics from Paris (EOS 60D)

During our visit in Paris, big demonstrations were going on all around France, mainly against the Sarkozy's retirement reform. Fortunately not all demonstrations were violent...

For us, good food is one of the reasons why we love Paris so much. Below a few highlight of our visit -- the two first ones taken in Christian Constant's enjoyable bistro Les Cocottes (both ISO 1600).

Another favorite hobby of ours in Paris is just walking around, sitting in cafes, spending time doing nothing.

If we do something besides sitting in cafes and eating out, we normally go to art galleries and museums. This time it was time to visit La Maison Européenne de la Photographie (this time Kimiko Yoshida, Koos Breukel and the fashion guru Karl Lagerfeld) and the Polka Galerie (exhibitions of Peter Lindbergh and Stanley Greene).

In Paris, you always see some wierd stuff happening. There was evidently something interesting happening behind the bushes...

Canon Expo video clip

Here another video shot in Paris, this time from the Canon Expo 2010.

CanonExpoParis2010 from Jukka Kolari on Vimeo.

This is mainly a collection of clips about the 4K video/multipurpose camera.

Handheld point-and-shoot style captures, unedited, combined in ZoomBrowser, some of the material overexposed etc. but again showing what kind of video material you get with the Canon EOS 60D.

Paris Motor Show (with EOS 60D)

Here is a short sequence of clips shot handheld with the EOS 60D at the Paris Motor Show.


2010 Paris Motor Show from Jukka Kolari on Vimeo.

The video clips were joined together with cross fade in ZoomBrowser, otherwise the material is unedited.

Basic settings: lens EF 24-105mm f/4, shutter speed 1/50 sec and ISO 1600 most of the time.

Canon Expo: Photos

Here's some photos from the Canon Expo 2010 Paris.

One of the absolute highlights of the expo was the 4K video/multipurpose camera. Ultra-high definition 4K resolution video by the camera was shown on a 30 inch 4K screen and all the small details were there just like I always wanted! There was always a very interested crowd around the these cameras.

Canon also had in the exhibition an array of 8K displays which would be great tools (if they ever come available) for design, printing and video production professionals.

It seems like the megapixel race has not reached it's limits in digital cameras. Not sure if this kind of sensor will ever reach the customers, but Canon has produced a APS-H size CMOS sensor with 120 million pixels!

And if the physical size is no obstacle, you can go really big as seen in this ultra-high sensitivity sensor developed by Canon.

Digital camera technology could also be found at the medical solutions area in the Expo. A special version of a Canon EOS 50D DSLR is used in the CR-2 digital retinal camera designed for eye care specialists and optometricists for screening retinal diseases.

Canon believes that in the not so distant future, mixed / augmented reality will enter the consumer market. The Expo made it clear that Canon wants to be part of this revolution. With thse glasses on, we could see a young football player do tricks with his ball in the middle of the crowd (even though the boy was only present in a 3D'ish video recording). A mixed reality solution (again with special glasses on) gave you the opportunity to step inside a DSLR camera and have a look around by turnong your head.

PS. I also shot some video clips but at the moment I am unable to edit the videos. I'm on a well deserved holiday in France and the computer I have with me just can't cope with the HD videos shot with a DSLR...

A Day in the Canon Expo in Paris

Canon's technology exhibition opened early on Tuesday with the keynote speech from Mr. Fujio Mitarai, CEO of Canon Inc. Among other things he shared his visions about the future of global economy and told us something about Canon's plans for the next five years. He envisioned that we will see all kinds of new innovations from Canon, and not only in traditional imaging but also in medical imaging, machine vision and mixed/augmented reality.

Already in Paris we got to see some of Canon's innovations in medical imaging, like mobile digital X-Ray equipment and digital camera based eye care systems.

But of course the main focus of Canon still is and will be in traditional fields of imaging, like in photography, videography and printing,

There were many interesting concepts/prototypes of cameras to be seen in Paris. One of the new concepts shown was a 4K video camera (or "multipurpose camera" as they call it). The camera had an integrated 20x zoom lens and it was a completely functioning device with which you could shoot, zoom and focus. Unfortunately it had no memory card slot so I will have no 4K video material to take home with me :-(

In addition to many kinds of concept cameras we got to see ultra high-resolution (4 and 8 megapixel) LCD monitors and new concept printers. The entry-level Selphy line might be getting bigger print sizes in the future. Also on display was a new pro printer with 12 inks, bigger ink cartridges and faster printing speed than the current Pixma Pro printers. No information was given whether these printers will hit the market or not, but you could sort of read between the lines that all who might be interested should keep their eyes open in 1Q next year.

Tomorrow my laptop arrives to Paris :-) and I will try post some videos from the Expo here. I all goes well...

Canon Expo in Paris

Tomorrow I'll be heading to Paris for the Canon Expo, held every five years in New York, Paris and Tokyo.  It's a technology exposition, and Canon will be demostrating new technologies and prototypes based on those technologies. We probably won't see any new products launched but a lot of interesting stuff that will be integrated into future products.

 

I will take the EOS 60D with me to Paris – hopefully I will find time to blog and publish some photos and videos during my visit.

Second day, night time video

I managed to spend some time this evening with the EOS 60D shooting video. Amusement park, lots of bright lights etc. but alomost no natural light (very dark evening/night).

A combination of F/4 lens and ISO1600 produced very good image quality. I also tried ISO3200 and ISO6400 but the results were not as clean so in the future I'll stick to ISO1600 and take f/1.4 and f/2.8 lenses with me.

Fun with photos

I was checking out the new stuff and I noticed that EOS 60D has a lot of possibilities for in-camera image editing.

Maybe not absolutely important for me but still nice to have – for example if you shoot RAW (like I almost always do) and you need to give some JPEG images to someone else and you're not carrying a laptop with you...

The camera also has something called "creative image filters". After you've shot an image, you can make a copy of it using these filters: Soft Focus, Grainy B&W, Toy Camera Effect for lomo photos and Miniature Effect which kind of simulates the look from a TS lens.

Just played around with these and made a BW+Lomo+Miniature version of a completely uninteresting original test shot.

More first impressions

Today I only had time to shoot a couple of test videos (yes, no still photos today!).

New button ergonomics needs some getting used to but I definitely like Canon's decision to remove the joystick and use the new multi-controller to navigate the menus etc. Another welcome change is in the mode dial: in EOS 60D it must be unlocked if you want to change the shooting mode – a bit more tricky but prevents accidental mode changes. One wish I have for my next EOS: I would really like to set movie mode on just by pressing one button instead of choosing the movie mode from the main dial...

Anyway: all in all, already now this one feels good in my hands.

First impressions

The swiveling LCD gives more support while shooting than what I expected. It also makes low level shooting a lot easier. In my case this usually means semi-candid street videography -- camera is resting on my palm (about waist level) and I support it with my arm. With the 60D I don't have guess if I'm pointing in the right direction :-)

Got my Canon EOS 60D

Yesterday I went and bought a Canon EOS 60D. I hope to get some photos and maybe a short review – or at least some comments – about it when I spend some time with it.