Canon 60D DSLR
I have the $999 18-megapixelCanon 60D at my disposal for a few days, and perhaps I’ll publish a few things that I’ve shot with it, if there is interest.
In just about every respect, it’s an outstanding camera: 18MP, decent viewfinder, swivel LCD, etc.
Usability suffers: toy control dial
Why did Canon have to use a point-and-shoot toy control dial instead of the tried and true multi-selector as on the 5D Mark II?
The 60D control dial (rear dial with multi-directional thingamabob) is fiddly and difficult to operate without careful attention to finger location and pressure. I took an immediate dislike to it, so much so that I would avoid the 60D on that basis alone. It’s bad enough with bare fingers, but with cold fingers in an icy breeze, or with gloves, the 60D control dial is a non-starter.
Moron modes
I wonder when all the moron modes will disappear from the shooting mode dial. There are now so many modes that the user manual must be kept on hand to figure out what they all do. I can’t figure out how to use them; it requires far more thinking to use one of the obtuse little symbols than what worked for years on many film cameras: aperture priority, shutter priority, manual. Classic anti-design: throw in the kitchen sink, rather than think. Canon is of course not the only guilty party.