Canon EOS 60D + EF-S 18-135mm - digital cameras (Auto, Cloudy, Daylight, Flash, Fluorescent, Manual, Shade, Tungsten, Close-up (macro), Landscape, Night, Portrait, Sports, Black&White, slide show, SLR Camera Kit, 18 - 135 mm)

This is a late review I've been busy with college and other things. Anyways here is my review. ITEM: I purchase this camera a month and two weeks ago. I burned about 1,265$ for this DSLR camera. I THINK IT'S WONDERFUL (no sarcasm intended)!! I was so excited after un-boxing this package. The DSLR comes in with an audio function, which I can adjust the audio if it's too loud, and increase or decrease the sensitivity of the audio. I think the Canon 60D is the only DSLR camera (that I know of) with audio function adjustment. Hence this is why it's great for filming. It's good for photography, and enthusiast young filmmakers (like me). It's a little pricey, but hey, I voluntarily purchase this camera at my own free will, which I received this benefit in return. Both sellers and buyers (Canon Company, and I) earned wealth. In other words, we're both happy of this trade. I give this DSLR camera a 5 star overall. LENS: 5 stars on the 18-135mm lens. The lens came with the package because I did not ordered the DSLR body camera by itself. It wouldn't be great without a standard lens. It's great for beginners, and pretty big at first sight. Battery Performance: The battery performance last pretty long. Of course, when the battery arrives in the package it always needs a full charge. Don't expect it's going to be fully charge for you (just like any other kind of new a cell phone. Suppliers/Sellers don't have the time to charge your battery if they are selling their product). I would forget to turn off the camera for a few days and the battery still last really long (It's at a full battery power) probably because it can conserve in standby mode. Construction Quality & Controls: 5 stars for the construction and controls, not too difficult at all. The camera fits perfectly right in your hands as you firmly grip it. Comparing to my brother's DSLR Canon 600D(T3i), the 600D is slightly smaller than this 60D. The construction is bigger, almost as big as the Canon 7D from looking at the online reviews. What is different are the controls, buttons, and settings. It is different from any other kind of Canon DSLR cameras(It doesn't surprise me). It's pretty straight forward, if you don't understand or think the buttons and controls are overwhelming. Then read the manual that is what it's there for. Image Quality: I am not going to give the image quality a rating because taking photos and collecting footage are all base on YOU. You need to alter and adjust the settings. You can't just give the quality ratings by default. It's how you can change the image quality through the settings. You can color correct it through this Canon 60D, saturation, increase or decrease the ISO levels, landscape, portrait, in doors, out doors, etc. and other color correcting settings. I can't give my opinions on this. I would if I were to compare this to a different DSLR camera like Sony, Nikon, and etc. Other than that all the images are sharp when you focus with your lens (FYI, there are plenty of lens you can buy), or you can adjust the colors and sharpness through the settings. Other thoughts, I was going to purchase this DSLR camera on Newegg.com, however, when I was browsing online it was out-of-stock for two whole weeks. I had to buy one somewhere besides going to Best-buys or Fry's N Electronics. Luckily, Amazon only had 8 in-stocks left when I checked before I purchased one. This was the quickest option I did before it gets out of stock. When the package came in the box itself was slightly ripped. I was a bit afraid it could've been damage, however, it wasn't damaged at all Amazon got me a bit worried with the shipment hahahaha. It's an easy DSLR camera, great for beginners especially for young, new, intermediate filmmakers. This is a good camera for great investment. I'm sure I'll keep this for a very long time before I move on to a better camera.

Love the camera, but UNFORTUNATELY it came with a pixel out and the only way to find out that it was out was to use the camera (which voids the ability to return it) so now I'm photoshopping out a TINY red spot in every image I take from now until forever. I'm glad I bought it, but I definitely won't buy from this seller again. Buy new people - always buy new when it comes to cameras.

With the myriad of high end Point & Shoot Cameras, DSLR, and newer SLT technology what does the photographer enthusiast level buy and utilize? Many of us can not afford the true professional grade product(s), nor do we need that level since we may not be actual professional photographers. However, if you want something that has proven itself over the past several years of being manufactured (the EOS 60D is not the newest design), is of excellent initial engineering design, numerous capabilities, quality of manufacture of the camera itself, relative ease of usage, versatility, and simply allows you to create excellent photographs or video movies. If this is what you are after, then this is one of those currently available cameras for you. This model is made in Japan, not China, Malaysia, Thailand, etc. The 60D uses Canons a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semi-Conductor) type Sensor, and Canon's proven Digic 4 Processor for this model. The EOS 60D camera is plenty fast for Shutter triggering and flexibility, Bursting is more than adequate, the articulating LCD is very handy, and of course this model accepts a wide range of Canon or quality aftermarket Lenses. Without boring the reader herein with all the repetitious techno features - you have already read or can read about these - the bottom line is that the Canon EOS 60D is a proven excellent product that is in between the less expensive - or more entry level DSLR type product - and the truly very expensive professional grade Camera products. It comes with two Discs that enable the user/owner to have both a (300+ page detailed Users Operational Manual, and complete detailed Software Users Manuals' for Importing, Handling, and Modifying your Photos and Images). Some of the current well know Camera makers have ceased providing an actual PC loadable Disc(s) for these purposes, and force you to obtain your user information via going to their on-line only sites, and viewing operational details in HTML Format only (ie):certain Sony's, which makes excellent camera products that I also utilize, but some with NO discs! This is a real issue, and happens with several top camera makers to shave expenses. My only personal disappointment with the 60D is that the built in Microphone for Movie Recording is Monaural vs. Stereo. You can create and record Stereo Audio by using a second, external Microphone, which plugs into the Cameras side port - however, given that nearly all current DSLR Cameras of this level are stereo audio at this point, Canon should have adtopted accordingly. Several similar products from Nikon are only Monaural also. Bottom line, great Camera, you will be happy, Photos and Movies come out making you look like a pro, and provides you with life long memories. WMB.

I have learned photography for several years shooting film on Contax cameras, which have wonderful ergonomics and excellent lenses. However, the time delay and inconvenience of developing film (especially for a busy student like myself) meant that I was shooting less and less as time went on. However, I realized that if I bought a Canon DSLR, I would be able to adapt my manual-focus Zeiss lenses to it for great image quality and a low price. However, I had several criteria: I wanted a decent viewfinder (bright and large), I wanted a larger grip than a Rebel provides, and I was on a budget. The 40D and 50D passed me by, because whenever I held one, I simply didn't like the ergonomics: the top LCD was cluttered, I disliked the 8-way controller, and CF cards were a pain. I would be able to overcome those issues if I were up to purchasing a 5D mark II, but that was considerably out of my budget. The 7D looked promising too, but there were several critical flaws: It has a non-interchangeable focusing screen, and it cost a bit too much for my liking. However, when the 60D came out, I knew I had to have one for several reasons: It has a pentaprism finder of decent size. It has a swivel screen (My point-and-shoot has one and it's indispensable!). The camera took SD cards, which my laptops can read without a USB card reader. The body is lighter than any of the xxD or xD cameras that preceded it. So, I tried one in a store, and it fit my hand so perfectly that I decided to buy it as soon as the price dropped. So, a month later, the price dropped a hundred dollars and I bought it, and I could not be happier. The 18-135 lens, which isn't really the sharpest lens in the Canon stable, is an ergonomic gem. The zooming on this lens is so smooth and even, and the feel of the zoom grip is just outstanding: not tacky or liable to peel, but not slippery either. Focusing was fast enough for me. The camera itself can take pictures at ridiculously low light conditions: I mounted my Contax 50/1.4 lens on the 60D (with an adapter) and took a photo of a deer, without flash, AT MIDNIGHT. I could never even dream of doing that with a film camera. The grip is incredibly comfortable that I can hold the camera for hours without fatigue. IQ is extremely good, in both photos and video (720p video does have aliasing, though). The battery lasts essentially forever unless you do live-view shooting. The camera hardly slows down its picture-taking. The button arrangement is excellent for one-handed use: I could never get used to the left-handed buttons on the 7D and 5Dii when I tried them. Plus, the top plate buttons are single-function, and the new 8-way controller is outstanding for navigating menus. I use the Ef-S focusing screen in it for manual focusing my fast Contax primes, but the finder is still a bit unsharp. That's my main problem with the camera, but I'm planning on remedying that with a viewfinder magnifier: I hope it works well and doesn't obstruct the swivel screen. Overall, if you want the best compromise of image quality, camera ergonomics, performance, and price in the entire Canon lineup, this is it.

This camera is not just a great value at the price, but a genuine pleasure to use. It's true that as my first DSLR, I can't compare it to owning anything else, but I have used others, and this definitely compares well. Solidly built. I have bumped this camera around all over New Mexico for 6 months, with no problems. I got the 18-135mm kit lens, and it is simply superb. I do not think I would have been happy with the 18-55mm kit. This rig is a handful, but I don't mind lugging it around. I use a hand grip strap and much of the time when in a target-rich environment, I just leave it strapped onto my hand fairly comfortably, at the ready to swing it u to my eye and shoot. I recently added a Canon EFS 55-250mm lens, and it is a bit lighter, due to all-plastic barrel and mount. I love everything about this new lens, too. The design and build quality of the Canon high-end consumer line is outstanding in its class. As far as operation, once you learn the uses of the various modes and functions, there are no surprises. As an aerospace computer engineer who works with the controls and displays on military planes, this camera works the way I had expected in every respect, which is a very positive thing to say in my case. The Live View mode (where you use the LCD screen as a viewfinder) is fairly worthless, because it doesn't autofocus well in that mode. If you're shooting over heads in a crowd, you could go to Live View (one button press toggles it ON/OFF), use the articulated screen to line it up, switch it off and shoot. I have always preferred the conventional viewfinder anyway, so it doesn't bother me. Also, I am still learning how to best keep it focused when using the video mode, but the videos are excellent. Before I start doing that a lot, I need to get an external microphone (about $60 for an acceptable one) that mounts on the hot-shoe. I got a couple of extra batteries (not much $), but the power use is so efficient and the capacity so good that I only keep the extras with me so that I'll have a fresh one on hand whenever the one in the camera happens to run low (after many hundreds of shots), and I might have expended two full charges in a long day of shooting once or twice. I work with an animal rescue group, so it's important to be able to repeatedly fire with no delay between shots or at power-on and come away with decent shots reliably. This camera does the job well.