These things aren't hitting the stores fast enough. If you're lucky you'll find a kit for sale, but if you just need Canon 60D Body only, at the time of this posting there's a few shipping from the USA. Here's the Links:
Link #1: Canon EOS 60D Body Only
Link #2: Canon EOS 60D Body Only
Above: Family Portrait from left to right
Canon 5D Mark II + 24-70mm F/2.8L, Canon 7D + 100mm F/2.8L Macro IS, Canon 60D + 85mm F/1.2L, Canon T2i + 24-105mm F/4L
My first video test out in the front driveway with the new Canon 60D. I was too lazy to do anything other than use a tripod, so the video is going to be quite boring. Lens was the Canon 24-70mm F/2.8 with Hoya ND4 + Fader Filter (stacked). Shot in 1080, dropped down to 720 and compressed to WMV (not the best example). I'll do something more interesting soon enough.
The Canon 60D is a new pup in the house, so she's been caged. LOL. Testing out some possible configurations with the Letus35 Letus Talon DSLR Camera Cage. I have the Hawk VF on the back which works with the cage, but I think it'll be better used with an external monitor. I have those new Power Arms mounted onto the many optional threaded holes around the cage with the Z96 LED Video light off center and a Rode Shotgun Mic (soon to be replaced). Those Power Arms Rock!! I'll do a video on those in a bit, gotta show you how they work.
The Zoom H4n is also thrown over the top. Having a DSLR cage is really handy when you have so many accessories to mount. If you start with a standard base Rod type rig, you'll still need different methods of mounting accessories. Using the cage method, you'll have more mounting spots that one would ever need. The Letus Talon DSLR Cage also has several optional accessories from Letus to further expand the cage including handles to be used like a fig rig. If you wanted to move into a Rod Rig, you can add standard Rods possibly for your follow focus, Matte box, and shoulder pad if you really wanted.
Just opened the box and the thing feels beefy. Yeah it doesn't at all feel like a Rebel series camera. It's got a bit of weight and sturdiness to the whole camera body. Sure that's no reason to upgrade from a T2i, but the new features of the 60D should definitely be taken into consideration if you're a first time DSLR buyer. I'll have more on that soon, but the first thing I did was test the Letus Hawk VF. This is probably the first photo on the internet of the Canon 60D with a Letus Hawk VF mounted. I bet you're wondering why I would pin down the articulating LCD. The LCD is nice, but it is still difficult to get focus on an F/1.2 lens without a magnification loupe. It's also handy for those super bright days when you want to review your image. These days you just can't live without a loupe.
Traditional LCD view finder mounting with sticky metal frames would work such as the LCDVF on the Canon 60D, but you'll lose the functionality of flipping the LCD around for protection. The Letus Hawk VF now comes with a quick release adapter so this type of mount should work fine for the Canon 60D as an LCD View Finder. Fast on for focus and fast off to take advantage of the rotating LCD. Check out the way the Letus Hawk VF mounts to get a better idea of why this would work as a great loupe on the Canon 60D. http://cheesycam.com/letus-drops-new-videos-hawk-vf-qr-plate/
Canon 60D reivew To be continued...
My Canon 60D has finally arrived. Well let me prepare you now that there will be lots of Canon 60D talk on this blog for the next week. The Canon 5DM2 is just way too different, and Canon has designed this 60D to sit right in the middle of the T2i and 7D. So i'm going to do what I can to show the differences between those two cameras. Everyone has been talking about the disappointment in the specs of the Canon 60D and video quality shouldn't be anything mind blowing. The thing that will change buying decisions from a T2i would be the additional features, controls, and the build of the camera. Somehow i'm still more excited about getting a hold of the awesome zoom power of the Canon SX30 IS which is not yet available. Or even testing out the new G12. I'll be upgrading myCanon SX210 IS point and shoot, so that may be up for sale soon enough.
It's product name is the BG-E9 and it's the battery grip for the recently released Canon 60D. Before you go out hunting for one, it's not yet available at the usual retailers and not even mentioned on many of the big named sites. There are a few places starting to accept pre-orders of this item, but since the OEM will be the only thing available, it runs well over $215 dollars (without batteries). Why the high prices? I'm going to start a rumor here and say, my guess is there's going to be some new gadgetry involved in the grips preventing the use of non-oem batteries from being used. Accessories in the DSLR market are huge money makers, so like the batteries themselves there may be some chip information in the grips. If this is anywhere true (remember i'm starting rumors), then this could cause some problems with non-oem batteries we already own. So if you received one early, and If you're planning on taking that new Canon 60D DSLR out for a long shoot that requires power power power, that Swintronix Power Pack I talked about earlier doesn't sound like such a bad deal now.... Unless Canon has the 60D DSLR body setup to reject non-oem devices too. Mine is in tomorrow, i'll have to test.. http://cheesycam.com/switronix-powerbase-70-battery-pack/
[Update] New 60D Aftermarket Grips for Cheap http://cheesycam.com/canon-60d-aftermarket-grip/
Damn, i've been catching Twitter pics and news clips about the Canon 60D in stock and shipping all day today. It's still a very rare find, but I managed to check out a few of my 'secret fishing holes' and it should drop in on Tuesday. Yeah, I tried to get it in earlier, but Jewish holiday they say.
Check out an early review @ https://nicolesyblog.com/2010/09/16/hands-on-with-the-canon-60d-first-impressions/ who shows off some of the in-camera filters. I think the 'Toy Camera' filter looked pretty good, and would be tons of fun in a Timelapse project. Curious if they stuck with the same Intervalometer as the T2i.
So i'm excited to see how this thing sizes up against it's 'older' siblings. I have another big event out of state that i'll be dragging this thing to, so I stocked up on the 32GB Transcend SDHC Class 10 Cards which is a deal right now.
I also noticed that the Zoom H1 and Tascam DR-08 only come with 2GB microSD cards. At the highest bitrate, i'm getting short of one hour total record time. If this this is going to be useful in a Catholic ceremony it's gotta run at least half a day! I managed to find some Sandisk 8GB microSD Cards for fairly cheap. With 8GB at the highest 96/24 I should be able to get close to 4 hours of total record time.
Transcend 32GB Class 10 SDHC Kit - Amazon
I'm in search to fill the card slots in the Canon 60D on order. For those who swear by the affordable Transcend SDHC cards, i'm surprised that SDHC cards have really dropped in price. Considering every new camera announced is practically using this format, and Nikon's new D7000 has dual slots, there would be some demand inflating prices. I've been looking at other options, but wow the Sandisk brand is going for more than twice the price!
I have to admit that i'm sold on those Transcend 32GB Compact flash cards I received. They are now standard issue in my cameras and have had absolutely no issues offering fast dump times through my Belkin card reader. So I think i'll take my chances. Available at BHPHOTOVideo and Amazon, these Transcend 32GB Class 10 SDHC Cards should be a hot seller after Photokina. I think i'll try these for the new Canon 60D I have on order.
If you're not feeling the Card Reader kit, you can save a few more dollars for just the card itself over at BHPhotoVideo.com
The Swintronix Powerbase 70 Battery Pack is back in stock again. Supposedly 6 times longer run time than a single Canon LP-E6 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery, it is designed with two optional power ports for powering up other compatible accessories. Yeah I know, Swintronix Powerbase is old news right? Not really, since this battery pack is designed for use with the Canon 5D Mark II & Canon 7D which shares it's battery type with the Canon EOS 60D. Get where i'm going with this? Theoretically it should have absolutely no problems powering up the new Canon 60D camera, and with it's mounting capabilities can double up to be used as that rear weight on your new shoulder rig. Double function means lighter run and gun rig since you don't need to add on that extra battery grip + extra rig weight. Soon as the Canon 60D DSLR starts shipping, expect these power packs to sell out just as quickly. The charger for the packs are sold seperately which might be a good thing. You can purchase several battery packs without having to incur costs of having multiple chargers.
Switronix PowerBase Battery Pack Canon EOS 5D Mk II & 7D Pricing
Here's another interesting comparison between Nikon's new rival to Canon's G series camera. Nikon wasn't a big player in this sub DSLR space before the recent announcement of the Nikon CoolPix P7000, but check out what they had to bring to the plate against the new Canon G12. Both cameras have DSLR like functionality with manual control of shutter and aperture and come in with 10 megapixels. Estimated price around $500 dollars, these two cameras are HD video capable at 720p @ 24fps (interesting they would use only 24fps). 30fps can be achieved when shooting at 640 x 480, but you know what they say. Once you go HD you never go back. Ok maybe i'm the only one who says it, let's move on.
Canon's G12 can do an ISO of 3200 while Nikon can move up to ISO 6400. (It might be a terrible 6400 so i'm not looking into that feature so much). The Nikon P7000 zoom is rated at 28-200mm while Canon's G12 sits at 28-140mm. Canon's G12 LCD is a tad smaller at 2.8" than the Nikon P7000's 3" and the G12 LCD also has a lower resolution. C'mon Canon get in the game here. Ok here you go - Canon does have the upper hand in maximum shutter speed set to 1/4000ths while Nikon maxes out at 1/2000ths. Canon is also throwing in their new found love for Vari-Angle LCD that seems to be appearing on all their new gear including the Canon SX30 IS and Canon 60D. Feature wise, Nikon is definitely hitting hard this year and I expect them to gain some fair market share in at least entry level DSLR's and sub DSLR's. They are finally bringing down their prices to compete with Canon's new lineup. Everyone is still waiting for each brand to pull the big rabbit out of the hat at Photokina in a few weeks, shortly afterward we'll start seeing some real live comparisons.
