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Now that the 60D specs are released.

When choosing a camera for still photography (no movies) which one of Canon 50D, 60D and 7D has an edge over the others and why?

What still photography features does each camera, respectively, have that the others don't?

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  • 2
    I suggest to replace "pure" with "stills" and "film" with "movies" :) Otherwise it's fairly hard to understand the question. I'm not a native speaker either, so correct me if you know better terms. – Karel Aug 27 '10 at 8:51
  • Your absolutely right. Made some clarifying changes. – maz Aug 27 '10 at 9:00
  • Tough choice - you can't go wrong with any of them. If you plan to shoot a lot, or use video, I'd prefer the 7D. – user17982 Mar 26 '13 at 15:58
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There is a very good feature comparison on dpReview site

To give you some summary:

In terms of picture quality I would say that you would not spot a difference between results achieved from all the camera on the list, and I would say that the choice would be more related to handling and the way you are planning to use the camera.

7D is pro grade body, with magnesium body and environmental sealing. It has an excellent pro grade autofocus and offers 100% view viewfinder. So it will have an edge when it come to shooting sports, birds and in rough conditions. Those features come at price though.

50D has pretty similar body to 7D (magnesium) but it is not that well sealed and the autofocus is a bit lower quality as well.

60D has plastic body, same autofocus as 50D and similar sensor to 7D. It offers swivel LCD which can come handy in some situation, and its lower weight and size can be considered an advantage by some (me included).

So you need to handle the cameras, consider your budget a see which one works best for you.

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  • +1 Good spot! I went to look there but missed that somehow :) – NickM Aug 27 '10 at 9:52
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The 60D has supplanted the 50D in Canon's range, so to my mind the only advantage the 50D would have over the others now is price.

Otherwise, if you go to this page and click on 'Digital SLR', you can generate a side-by-side comparison of the features of the 60D and 7D. If you know what you're looking for in terms of features, then that should help you.

To summarise though, the 7D has dual processors instead of one in the 60D, more AF modes, including microadjustment for when your lenses aren't spot-on when using AF, a smaller spot metering zone, larger partial metering zone. Other than that there isn't a huge amount to choose between the two, and the 60D has a better LCD screen and more image size options.

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    I would agree with the summary +1 , but I would say that D60 is not a straight line replacement to 50D as it really creates a new class in canon offering, some of the features can be considered downgrade compared to 50D (plastic body, continuous shooting). Since the release of 7D xxD class is no longer canon's top offer with APS-C sensor – kristof Aug 27 '10 at 10:04
  • Agreed, but as Canon no longer sell the 50D, that's what I was referring to. – NickM Aug 27 '10 at 10:07
  • There are bound to be some 50D bargains to be had once the 60D is available, it might me worth hanging on a little while to see. – Simon Aug 27 '10 at 16:04
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    I agree the 60D is not a straight 50D replacement - there are a number of features that are retrograde compared to the 50D. I think Canon think of it as a 'realignment' of their range, as the 50D with no video always looked a bit out of place between the 550D and 7D. I upgraded my 350D to a 50D a couple of months ago, and having seen the 60D specs am more than happy with that decision - it's £500 cheaper for a start, which I would rather spend on a lens. – Greg Whitfield Aug 29 '10 at 8:04

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