The jump from the Canon 40D to the 50D was like that from the 20D to the 30D: incremental, evolutionary, but not revolutionary. The 60D is more revolutionary. Most of the changes are for the better, but others are for the worse, especially if you have a 40D, or 50D. So just consider these before making the jump, after all, your current camera didn’t stop working just because the 60D was announced!

1. Slower frame rate. The 60D shoots at 5.3 frames per second. This sounds good until you realise the 50D shot 6.3 frames per second. If you’re shooting sports or action, this is a major step back.

2. Change of controls. For years Canon has used a back wheel and a joystick to navigate photos and menus. In their wisdom they’ve changed it, meaning long term users have to relearn their cameras.

3. Megapixels. More megapixels is more of a curse. 12 megapixels is sufficient for most things, and the increased jump to 18 is ridiculous. In addition to the extra card space required, higher megapixels means more photosites on the sensors, which tends towards more noise.

4. Shutter Life. The shutter on the 60D will wear out long before the 50D with 100,000 vs 150,00 shutter cycles.

5. Battery. Rather than the BP511 that has been the hallmark of the X0D series cameras, the 60D has changed to the LP-E6, the same battery as 5DII and 7D. While the LP-E6 does allow the camera to have ‘Battery Info’, there is a lot of cheaper aftermarket batteries for the BP511 vs few for the LP-E6.

The 60D has just been announced, and this time it’s a major jump in design and features. Some great new features, some changed features too. Here’s some of the good stuff.

1. Articulated screen. Canon have finally taken the plunge giving the 60D an articulated screen. Very useful for video, and for macro and ground level shots.

2. Better metering. The 60D has the same 63 zone metering of the 7D.

3. Video. The 60D has the same video as the 7D. Mix this with the articulated screen, and you have more versatile video options.

4. Speedlite control. The 60D, like the 7D allows you to remotely control speedlites from the on camera flash. It’s great to see this becoming a standard feature on Canon cameras. This is similar to the CLS Nikon users have had for ages. I love this on the 7D, so it’s great to see it migrating to new cameras.

5. Focus. While the 60D still has 9 focus points, they’re all cross type, with the center cross being f2.8-type (meaning that it has higher precision with lenses of f2.8 or faster).

One problem with having a 2 head Quadra kit is easy transport. I did get a nice case with the kit, and I even managed to make space for a second pack in it. But carrying this in one hand with a shoulder bag and a stands bag has proved fruitless.

As I’ve a lot of varied kit, I have a variety of camera bags floating about. Knowing I’ve a reasonably long walk tomorrow with the kit means there was no way I was going to bring the case. So I looked through my bags and found a Lowe Pro Computrekker. I don’t use it because when it’s full of camera gear and a laptop, it’s impossible to lift. But for this it’s absolutely perfect.

Strobist Info: Canon G10 with STE-2 triggering a 580EXII using ETTL, on a Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe 60cm, held with the extension arm position to the rear of the bag. The G10 was near and was ‘good enough’ for a record shot like this.

Update: After carting this around today, this rocks. Much more comfortable. Now to figure out a way of making carrying my 95cm Octa, Striplight, Beauty Dish, Maxispot and stands easier!

As a lover and user of the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra system, I’m delighted to see there’s now a group on Flickr dedicated to them. There was 7 members after I joined last night, but now there’s 17, so a good start!

Flickr Quadra group