Two weeks ago we decided to buy a new camera body. And again it’s a Canon EOS dSLR which was the only thing we knew for sure before we started for a new camera. The cameras which I (Sander) looked at where the EOS 600D, 60D and the 7D. It should be a significant upgrade from our 400D and normally a upgrade would be buying the next expensive model. But this time it was different since the 400D is a camera released in 2006 and the 600D is released in 2011. That means 5 years of innovation.

The first thing I did was comparing the specifications which are important for us as hobby-photographers. We use the camera for both point and shoot and real photo-shooting during our trips which means that we might look into different features as usual. The things I looked into was the Sensor size, the image processor, the LCD-screen, Auto Focus, ISO sensitivity, the body, video capturing, live-view and the capturing presets. And off course the price for the body in respect to the features and specifications.

From the 3 cameras it seemed like it was a real close call between the cameras. Some real nice features like the variangle LCD-Screen, more presets for point and shoot and the lower weight of the body where not present in the 7D. Therefor the 7D seems to be a body which is more suitable for the semi-professional photographer which we are not. Knowing that including the higher price for the body which was about € 1275 (amazon.de) made it a simple choice, the 7D would not be it for us.

That left over the two bodies and as can be seen in the comparison below the difference in features and specification between the two are minimalistic. We decided to look at the bodies at electronic stores and we weren’t sure if the handling of the 60D was better due to the bigger size or made it more difficult due to the significant weight difference. So all this made us compare the prices. The EOS 60D was available for a price of €899 (amazon.de) and the EOS 600D for €559. This huge price difference made us choose the 600D instead of the 60D.

Sensor:
EOS 600D: 18,0 Megapixel, 22,3 mm x 14,9 mm CMOS
EOS 60D: 18,0 Megapixel, 22,3 mm x 14,9 mm CMOS
EOS 7D: 18,0 Megapixel, 22,3 mm x 14,9 mm CMOS

Image processor:
EOS 600D: DIGIC 4
EOS 60D: DIGIC 4
EOS 7D: Dual “DIGIC 4″

LCD-Screen:
EOS 600D: 3″, 1.040.000 dots, Variangle with Live View
EOS 60D: 3″, 1.040.000 dots, Variangle with Live View
EOS 7D:3”, 920.000 dots with Live View

Auto Focus:
EOS 600D: 9 ‘cross-type’ AF-points (f/2.8 in the center)
EOS 60D: 9 ‘cross-type’ AF-points (f/2.8 in the center)
EOS 7D: 9 ‘cross-type’ AF-points (f/2.8 in the center) + Micro Adjustment

ISO-Sensitivity:
EOS 600D: AUTO (100-6400), 100-6400
EOS 60D: AUTO (100-3200), 100-6400 (in 1 and 1/3 stops)
EOS 7D: AUTO (100-3200), 100-6400 (in 1 and 1/3 stops)

Body:
EOS 600D: Steel & Polycarbonate with fiber (570 gram)
EOS 60D: Alloy & Polycarbonate with fiber (755 gram)
EOS 7D: Magnesium (820 gram)

Video capturing:
EOS 600D: Full HD, 1080p
EOS 60D: Full HD, 1080p
EOS 7D: Full HD, 1080p

Capturing presets:
EOS 600D: 14 presets, 9 auto
EOS 60D: 14 presets, 9 auto
EOS 7D: 7 presets, 2 auto

We haven’t made a lot of pictures with the camera yet but we tried it in difficult light conditions. Compared to our 400D the 600D is much better. We can now make pictures without flash due better sensitivity of the processor. Here you can definitely see what 5 years of innovations can mean for electronics.

So far we are really happy with the camera and we can’t wait to take outside for lots of pictures.