After many months of rumours about the possible features and specifications for the Canon 60D, last week Canon officially announced the 60D.

Interestingly, the 60D features an articulated rear 3" LCD screen, something that is normally seen on lower-end cameras, rather than the prosumer models.

rear of the Canon 60D

photo by Canon

As expected, the 60D supports shooting video, thus filling the gap between the more expensive video-capable Canon 7D, and the cheaper Canon 550D (aka Rebel 2Ti).

An 18 megapixel sensor brings the 60D in-line with the 550D and 7D, although the shutter is only rated at 100,000 actuations, while the older 50D and the 7D's shutters are both rated at 150,000 actuations.

For a good comparison of the features of the 60D vs the older 50D, 550D (Rebel T2i) and the 7D, have a look at this CNET article.

I don't think the 60D is a very appealing upgrade for anyone currently using a 40D or 50D. The 60D has a slower shooting rate than the 40D and 50D, managing 5.3 frames per second, compared to the 6.3 frames per second of the 40D and 50D.
With the 60D's use of SDHC memory cards, anyone with a collection of compact flash cards will need to swap them out for some SDHC cards.
The AF micro-adjustment that was available in the 50D has been removed in the 60D.

top of the Canon 60D photo by Canon

front of the Canon 60D photo by Canon

I think Canon are positioning the new 60D as a suitable upgrade for people currently using a 500D (T1i) or 550D (T2i), as the 60D provides improved ISO sensitivity, faster frame rate, better autofocus points, and faster maximum shutter speed than the 500D/550D.

Photographers currently using a 30D, 40D or 50D are probably better off looking at the 7D or the 5D mark II as a suitable upgrade, rather than a relatively minor incremental upgrade to the 60D.

The Canon 60D is expected to retail for approximately USD$1,099 or AUD$1,699, which is about where the 50D was originally priced.

For more information on the 60D, see:

• Canon's press release for the 60D
• Canon EOS 60D specifications on Canon's website
• Hands-on preview: Canon 60D delivers major changes over 50D at CNET
• Canon 60D Impressions on Gizmodo
• Canon EOS 60D on Wikipedia

This is the second article in a series that I am writing as I teach camera basics and camera operation to my children. Other articles in this series include:

• Understanding Your Camera: Exposure Basics

In optical terms, the word "aperture" refers to a hole or an opening which light travels through.
In photography, the aperture simply refers to the diameter of the opening of a lens.

This table (from the first article in this series on understanding your camera) provides a summary of the effect of aperture:

impact of varying the aperture

Adjusting the aperture of a lens adjusts the diameter of the hole in the lens, thus controlling the amount of light that reaches the camera's sensor (or film). Setting a smaller aperture results in this hole being smaller, and thus allows less light onto the camera's sensor.

In photography, a stop is a unit used to measure ratios of light or exposure. Adjusting the aperture by one stop adjusts the amount of light passing through by a factor of two.

In other words, changing to a smaller aperture by one stop will reduce the amount of light by half, which means the size of the hole (the area) is reduced by half.

The series of photos below show the size of the hole set by the aperture blades on a Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens, with the aperture decreasing a full stop between each image (the left image shows a large aperture, and moving to the right shows successively smaller aperture settings).

Last year, my oldest son Ashley won first prize in the "Plant and Animal Habitats" category for Years 4 to 7 of Chevron Australia's Focus Environment photography competition.

And earlier this week, we heard that he won in the student category in the Curtin University National Science Week photo competition, winning an Apple iPad 32GB Wifi as his prize.

Here is Ashley (aged 11) posing with the iPad that he won in the Curtin competition, displaying the winning photo on the iPad:

Ashley posing with his iPad and camera

The Maritime Museum and some cranes at Fremantle harbour provide some interesting silhouettes on the skyline just after sunset. This shot was taken from Bathers Beach.

harbour silhouettes

Bathers Beach, Fremantle, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 3.2 sec, f/14, ISO100

Updated (25 August 2010) with pricing information.


The Strato 4-in-1 Trigger is a brand-new product from Phottix. It is a 2.4GHz 4-channel wireless flash trigger that can also be used as wired or wireless shutter release, and uses commonly-available AAA batteries.

Some of the key features that make this trigger appealing include remote flash wake-up capability, and a TTL pass-through hotshoe on the transmitter.
It's important to understand that the Strato 4-in-1 Trigger does NOT provide wireless TTL support. Any flashes triggered wirelessly by the Strato 4-in-1 Trigger must be in manual mode.

It can also be used as a wired or wireless remote shutter release, but it only provides fairly basic shutter release functionality.

Thanks to Phottix for providing a pre-release version of the Strato 4-in-1 Trigger (Canon-compatible version) for review purposes. They provided me with one transmitter, two receivers, and some PC Sync cables. Also thanks to Steve at Phottix for responding to my many questions about the Strato 4-in-1 Trigger.

While on a recent photowalk in Fremantle on a cold Saturday evening, a friend and myself went to a local cafe to grab some dinner and warm up.
When his cappuccino arrived, we both pulled out our cameras and started taking some shots of it!

Cappuccino

Fremantle, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/160 sec, f/2, ISO100

This is the first article in a series that I am writing as I teach camera basics and camera operation to my children, in particular to my 11 year old son who wants to buy his first DSLR. My children have been using cameras for a while (with some good results), but typically use full-auto mode, or rely on me to adjust the settings for them.

I thought it would be worthwhile to write a series of blog posts on this subject, to help other people who might be interested, and because one of the best ways to ensure you understand something is to try to explain it to others.



The exposure of a photo determines how dark or light a photo will be when it is captured by your camera's sensor (or film, if you are old-school).

There are three factors that affect the exposure of a photo:

• lens aperture
• shutter speed
• ISO

I'll briefly describe each of these (more detail on each in future blog posts), and how they work together to determine the exposure.

On Saturday, the third annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk took place. Two walks had been organised in Perth, with nearly 50 walkers for each.
I participated in one of the walks in Perth, and took my two oldest children (aged 10 and 11) with me, both with cameras of course ;-)

It was fantastic weather for a photowalk, and we enjoyed ourselves. Many people in Perth were wondering why there was a sudden influx of cameras in the city, with some interesting reactions, including a number of pedestrians insisting on posing for the cameras.

Photos from other participants in the various photowalks in Western Australia yesterday, as part of the Worldwide Photo Walk, can be seen in this flickr group.

Here is a selection of my photos from the walk - the full set can be seen in this photo gallery.

I see you!

Perth, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO100

reflections

Perth, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/400 sec, f/5, ISO100

Colourful autumn leaves provide an interesting background to this closeup of a seedpod hanging from a tree branch.

seed pod

Burswood, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/200 sec, f/3.2, ISO100

seed pod hanging around

Burswood, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/100 sec, f/5.6, ISO100

50mm prime lenses are quite popular - and this is apparently because a 50mm lens provides a similar focal length to the human eye. Most lens manufacturers sell a cheap and fast 50mm lens, and I have previously reviewed the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens, which retails for just USD$100.

My primary camera is a Canon 50D DSLR, and due to the size of its APS-C sensor, it has a 1.6x crop factor. This means a 50mm lens on an APS-C camera body has the same field-of-view as an 80mm lens on a full-frame camera body (ie, 50mm * 1.6 = 80mm).

While I like the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, I've found a 50mm lens on an APS-C camera body just a little too long, and started looking at slightly wider alternatives.

To achieve the equivalent field-of-view with an APS-C camera body that a 50mm lens has on a full-frame camera body, a lens with a focal length of around 31mm is required.
In the Canon lens range, there are a few options near this focal length, including various lenses at 24mm, 28mm and 35mm.

After keeping an eye on second-hand lenses on eBay, I managed to win a Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens at a pretty good price.
A 35mm lens on an APS-C camera body results in almost same field-of-view as a 50mm lens on a full-frame body - giving the same field-of-view as a 56mm lens on a full-frame body.

Canon EF 35mm f/2 and Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lenses

In the few weeks since buying the 35mm lens, it been the primary lens on my camera! I've been enjoying the focal length, and find it to provide a more natural field-of-view on my 50D than the 50mm lens.

I have already posted a few photos taken with the 35mm lens, and I'm intending to write a more comprehensive review of the 35mm f/2 lens in the near future.