Performance

Canon has seemingly adopted an ‘if it’s not broken’ approach to the 60D’s AF system and there is certainly merit in it. The nine-point AF is fast and accurate and, for most users, offers more AF points than they are ever likely to need.

Where the lack of AF points may come unstuck is for focus tracking and pin-point focusing on a tripod, though the live view mode allows exact placing of your focus point across most of the screen in Live AF mode. The move to use of pre-flash for AF instead of a dedicated AF beam is becoming more common in consumer DSLRs and though it might not suit everyone’s tastes it does allow a much quicker focus time, though is far from subtle.

The Canon EOS 60D’s metering system certainly shows its pedigree. Using the evaluative mode, the 63-zone iFCL system had no problem in keeping both highlights and shadow detail, and only occasionally were highlights clipped to maintain an even exposure.

The Canon EOS 60D uses SD memory cards in a move from CompactFlash cards in the 50D. This, Canon tells us, is in part to support the new SDXC high-capacity cards for video users. Write speeds, using a Sandisk Extreme III 8GB card, are around 2.5sec for a combined Raw and JPEG, 2sec for a Raw, and 1sec JPEG. This means at its maximum burst of 5.3fps it can shoot eight Raw/JPEG, 16 Raw, or 105 JPEG images before filling the buffer.

Battery life is stated in the specifications as approximately 1,100 shots at 23°C, but after I’d taken over 500 shots, plus video, the battery indicator was still showing three-quarter charged.