Product Comparison

Digital Cameras with Optical Viewfinder Using

Full Frame Sensor

Review by:

www.shirotekno.com

Head to Head Spesifications

Compared Items

Canon EOS 5D

Nikon D700

Canon EOS 60D

Nikon D4

Picure

Resolution 21.1 megapixel 12.1 megapixel 18 megapixel 16.2 megapixel

Price $2,199.00 $2,349.00 $1,199.00 $5,999.00

AMAZON.COM Available (click to go to amazon)

Available (click to go to amazon)

Available (click to go to amazon)

Limited Stock

(click to go to amazon)

REVIEWS

Rating

4.7 of 5

(52 reviews)

5.0 of 5

(19 reviews)

4.7 of 5

(128 reviews)

5.0 of 5

(10 reviews)

PRODUCT SPECS

Vista Compatible

Home Basic

Yes

Megapixels (Effective)

21.1 12.1 18.0 16.2

Megapixels (Total)

22.0 12.87 19.0 16.6

Image Up to 5616 x Up to 4256 x Up to 640 x 480 Up to 4928 x 3280

Resolution 3744 2832

Optical Zoom Lens not included

Lens not included

7.5x Lens not included

Digital Zoom Lens not included

Lens not included

7.5x Lens not included

Lens Features Lens not included

Lens not included;

Nikon F-mount accommodates a wide range of

AF lenses

18-135mm (16 elements in 12

groups)

Lens not included; Compatible with

AF NIKKOR lenses, including type G

and D lenses (some restrictions apply

to PC-NIKKOR lenses), DX lenses [using DX (24x16) image area], AI-P NIKKOR lenses, and non-CPU AI lenses (exposure modes A and M

only) Lens Focal Varies with Varies with 35mm equivalent Varies with lens

Length(s) lens lens 18-135mm LCD Screen Size

3" 3" 3" 3.2"

LCD Screen Features

TFT-LCD monitor with

920K pixels, 7-level

brightness control and

170° viewing angles

920,000-dot VGA color LCD

with 170° wide-angle

viewing

Vari-Angle Clear View LCD

921,000-dot, 170-degree wide

viewing angle

Viewfinder

Fixed pentaprism with 0.71x

magnification

SLR-type with fixed eye-level

pentaprism 96% viewfinder

Eye-level pentaprism single-

lens reflex

Image Stabilization

No No Yes, optical No

Face Detection

Yes No Yes Yes

Burst Mode Yes Yes Yes Yes Panorama No No No No

Mode Image Stitching

No No Yes Yes

Internal Memory

None None None None

Compatible Memory Formats

CompactFlash (CF)

CompactFlash (CF)

Secure Digital (SD)|Secure

Digital Expanded Capacity

(SDXC)|Secure Digital High

Capacity (SDHC)

CompactFlash (CF), XQD

Shutter Speeds

30-1/8000 sec. plus bulb

30-1/8000 sec. 1/60 - 1/8000

sec. 30-1/8000 sec.

Aperture Range

Varies with lens

Varies with lens

f/3.5 - f/5.6 Varies with lens

White Balance

Auto, preset (daylight,

shade, cloudy, twilight, sunset,

Auto, 7 manual modes

Auto, daylight, shade, cloudy,

twilight, tungsten light, white

fluorescent light,

2 auto modes, 7 manual modes

tungsten light, white

fluorescent light, flash),

manual (custom and

color temperature)

flash, custom, color

temperature, sunset

Flash Range Varies with

flash

3.5' - 12' (wide at ISO 100); 3.5' - 97' (wide at ISO 6400); 3.5' - 7.5' (telephoto at ISO

100); 3.5' - 86' (telephoto at ISO

6400)

Flash Modes Varies with

flash

Front-curtain sync (normal),

slow sync, rear-curtain sync,

red-eye

Auto, on, off, slow sync

Front-curtain sync (normal), slow

sync, rear-curtain sync, red-eye

reduction, red-eye

reduction, red-eye reduction with slow sync

reduction with slow sync

Orientation Sensor

Yes Yes Yes

External Flash Mount

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Focus Range Varies with

lens Varies with

lens

13.1' at center, approximately

11.5' at periphery (with included lens)

Varies with lens

Movie Mode Yes No Yes Yes

ISO Equivalent

Auto: 100 - 6400

(expandable to 12,800 and

25,600)

Up to ISO 25,600

100 - 6400|expandable

to 12800 Up to ISO 204,800

Self-Timer 10 sec. 2, 5, 10, or 20

sec. 10 sec. or 2 sec. 2, 5, 10, or 20 sec.

Interface USB 2.0 USB 2.0 USB Super speed USB

3.0, NTSC, HDMI output

Camera Dock Not included Not included Not included Not included Video Outputs

Yes NTSC, PAL NTSC, PAL NTSC, PAL

Audio Yes

Yes

File Formats

RAW, sRAWK1, SRAW2, JPEG,

RAW+JPEG, sRAW1 +JPEG, SRAW2+JPEG,

MOV

JPEG; DCF 2.0, DPOF and Exif 2.21 compliant

JPEG (Exif 2.3), RAW, MOV

JPEG, NEF (RAW), TIFF (RGB), DCF

2.0, EXIF 2.3

Exposure Control

Programmed AE; exposure

compensation (±2 EV in 1/2 or 1/3 steps)

Programmed AE, shutter-

priority, manual;

exposure compensation (±EV in 1/2 or

1/3 steps)

Program AE (shiftable),

shutter-priority AE, aperture-priority AE,

manual exposure, bulb, full auto, flash

off, creative

Programmed AE, shutter-priority,

aperture-priority, manual

auto, programmed image control

modes, E-TTL II auto flash

program AE (evaluative metering, averaged metering)

Image Storage Capacity

Varies Varies Varies Varies

Batteries Lithium-ion

Rechargeable lithium-ion EN-

EL3e (included);

works with the MB-D10

battery pack (not included)

LP-E6 Rechargeable

lithium-ion EN-EL18

AC Adapter Yes Optional Yes Optional Imaging Sensor Type

CMOS CMOS CMOS CMOS

Imaging Sensor Size

36mm x 24mm 36mm x 23.9mm

22.3mm x 14.9mm

36mm x 23.9mm

Software Included

EOS Digital Solution

Nikon ViewNX 2

Camera Body Style

Digital SLR

Digital SLR

Text Overlay

Date and time

Shooting data, Focus Point, RGB

Histogram, Highlights, IPTC

Data - in Playback mode

Tripod Mount

Yes Yes Yes

Accessories

Lithium-ion battery (EN-EL3e), quick

charger, video and USB

cables, strap, body cap,

eyepiece cap, rubber eyecup,

LCD monitor cover,

accessory shoe cover and

software CD-ROM

Digital Magnification

7.5x

Filter Diameter

67mm

Touchscreen

No

Color Category

Black Black

HD Movie Mode

Yes Yes

Smile Mode

No

Waterproof

No

Coldproof

Yes

Shockproof

Yes

Image Storage Type

CompactFlash/XQD

Time Lapse

Yes Low-Light/High Sensitivity

Yes

Camera Use

Advanced Warranty Terms - Parts

1 year 1 year limited 1 year 1 year limited

Warranty Terms - Labor

1 year limited 1 year limited 1 year 1 year limited

Product Height

4.5" 4.8" 4.2" 6.2"

Product Width

6" 5.8" 5.7" 6.1"

Product Weight

1.8 lbs. 2.2 lbs. 1.7 lbs. Approximately

2lbs. (body only) Product Depth

3" 3" 3.1" 3.4"

User Says About this Product:

Canon EOS 5D As Seen on Amazon.com

General overview (low light):

Coming from the 60D (which is a stellar camera in its own right), I was blown away by this cameras Image Quality.

With the 60D I found I could only use 50% crops for critical work. With the 5D Mark II, I found 100% crops were so

detailed I could use them no problem. Additionally the low light capability wipes the floor with the 60D. The

differences are night and day. With the 60D I would see noise creeping in at around 800 or so ISO. 1600 was the

max I felt comfortable shooting in, with 3200 requiring heavy use of noise reduction software resulting in much

less detail. With the 5D Mark 2 ISO 3200 is much better than the 60D's 1600 ISO. I can actually shoot at 6400 for

less critical work and it looks much better than the 60D at 3200. The retention of detail and the way the camera

squashes noise is very impressive. If you have the coin this camera is a rock star. However! The 5D Mark III is set

to be announced on Feb 28th 2012 or within the week of Feb 28th 2012, so you may want to hold off and grab

this sucker at a steal of a price. If you need the camera now, you wont be disappointed. Another thing to note.

Auto Focus:

I've read a lot of people complaining that this camera only has 1 cross type focus point. I want to say that most

people use the center focus point anyway, so it really is a bit of an overblown issue.

Canon vs Nikon:

The D700 has better focusing. But unless you're doing sports this is a non issue. The low light is better than the

Canon, but you only have 12.1 megapixels. It BETTER have better low light capabilities than the 5D Mark II. But

honestly, at only 1/3rd of a stop better in low light giving up around 2x the resolution seems a bit silly. It is argued

that the only time you will need the extra resolution is when printing billboard sized images. This does not factor

in cropping at all. If you want to crop your 5d Mark II image to say 100% you can do that while maintaining stellar

levels of detail. With the D700 you're left with a lot left detail. Another thing any prospective buyer should do is

look at the prices and quality of their potential lenses. I would start at the 24-70, then the 70-200 to cover your

zoom range. The canons being cheaper and the 70-200 IS II being MUCH better (probably the best lens on the

market) Then compare primes, the Cannon has the 85 1.2 V2 vs the Nikkor.... 85 1.4? You can't find a Nikkor 1.2

and the Canon 1.2 is only ~$100 more than the 1.4 Nikkor. The canon has a 50 1.2 the Nikon has a 50 1.4. Again

Nikkor doesn't even have a 1.2 lens.

One last thing about Nikon vs Canon. Movie mode. I know I know, but if you EVER want to record a movie, EVER,

you cannot on a D700 and you get commercial level videos on the 5D Mark II. Not just adequate movies, but box

office quality movies. That's a MASSIVE!!!! improvement.

Nikon D700 Review by Amazon.com

Just take it for granted that this takes amazing pictures under all conditions, including low light, and that it

contains all the manual controls that you'd ever want. Instead, here's some things that the camera does that you

might not have heard about:

* Built-in EyeFi support

If you've used EyeFi SD cards before, you probably assumed that it would work with the D7000, since the D7000

now uses SD cards instead of CF. But not only do you not have to mess around with SD-to-CF adapters, the

camera is actually EyeFi aware-- you can choose to have it upload or not upload on a slot-by-slot basis (so you

might have it automatically upload the RAW files you saved to an EyeFi Pro card in slot 1, but not bother to

upload the JPEGs you saved to the EyeFi Explorer card in slot 2), and there is also an icon that appears on the Info

display to indicate that there are files waiting to upload, that the upload is in progress or disabled, etc.

The Nikon Wifi adapter is going for $400. A 4GB, class 6 EyeFi card goes for $40. If you really want to move RAW

files, snag the Pro version for $80. Yes, the Nikon adapter does things that EyeFi can't, but if you just want to get

your files onto a PC without pulling the card, why spend 10X the money?

You're stuck with the usual limitations of the EyeFi card, but I fully expect to use this feature a LOT with studio

portraits-- yeah, it only takes 10 seconds to pull the card and have Windows recognize that you added it, then

another 5 seconds to eject the card and stick it back in the camera. But if you just want a quick check that your

exposure or focus is where you want it, wouldn't you rather just hit a single key and see your last shot, then get

right back into the flow? You may want to drop your JPEG file sizes to speed up the transfer.

* In-camera RAW file processing

The camera contains a ton of built-in settings-- in addition to the basics like Standard, Normal, Landscape, etc,

you also get all the various Scene modes, which are basically variations on those main settings.

RAW processing allows you to see how the shot would have looked had you used one of those other modes. In

other words, you shoot in Normal, which basically applies no processing to the image, then select the RAW file,

and choose how you'd like to adjust it. You can change the white balance settings, exposure, basic picture setting

(landscape, portrait, etc), noise reduction, color space, and dynamic lighting. With the exception of the advanced

details on the basic picture settings, you see a preview of how your change will affect the picture.

If you like it, just hit EXEcute and it writes out a JPEG to your card. Don't like it, just back out and nothing's saved.

This means that you don't have to worry that shooting in Vivid is going to result in an oversaturated image, or you

can punch something up even more after the fact. The only real drawback here to me is that it is going to kick out

a JPEG, so if you're planning on doing further editing in Photoshop, this may not be the best route. But if you're

just looking to go right from the camera to the web, or want to get an idea of how playing with custom settings

will affect your shots, this is a massive shortcut to taking and then deleting a ton of shots. (And keep in mind that

Photoshop will allow you to mess with most of these settings when importing RAW files anyway, and the plugin

D7000-compatible RAW plugin had a release candidate posted yesterday, so you can finally open your RAW

shots.)

And a related feature that's in most other Nikons, but that you might not know about-- you can define your own

basic picture settings. Want something that's super-saturated and super-contrasty? Just hit a few buttons, choose

a name, and you're done. On the older Nikons, you had to edit the basic profile itself, now, you can use one as a

starting point and adjust from there. Much cleaner.

* User-defined settings on the control knob

Not as hidden as the first two, but I can't emphasize how cool this feature is. Here's the situation I was in last

night-- I was shooting a singing contest in a dimly-lit venue. I was allowed to use a flash, but I didn't want to

constantly be blasting the singers while they were performing.

I defined one setting as shutter priority, 1/60th, ISO Hi 2, center-weighted metering & focus, no flash. The second

setting was automatic, ISO auto, full metering and autofocus, flash enabled. I'd take a couple shots in U2 with the

flash, close the flash down and switch to U1 and shoot a half a dozen shots, then switch back to U2 and use the

flash for a couple more shots. There was no fumbling for controls, no worrying that I changed the shutter speed

without realizing it when changing between Auto and S-- every time I went from U2 to U1, all my settings were

reset to where I put them before the event started.

I don't think I ever felt as confident about my camera settings in a rapidly changing situation as I did last night--

with just a simple twist of a knob, I was able to change to a completely different shooting configuration with

absolute confidence that it was what I wanted.

To me, the utility of this is almost endless-- I'll probably set up one setting for studio portraits, and the other for

landscape stuff. If I was still shooting news, I'd probably be swapping between flash and no-flash configurations.

For sports, I'd change between action modes and post-game portraits.

The only thing that would make this even better would be if I could import and export settings for later use-- even

if you use the "Save/Load" settings option to back up your current configuration to a memory card, it doesn't

appear that this information is stored. However, it may be a bug in the Load settings feature, as a number of my

settings were incorrectly reset when I tried to load in settings. Either way, it would work better if I could treat

these like custom basic picture settings, saving them by name and loading them at will.

* Built-in interval timer shooting

Want to take time-lapse pictures? Just set up your camera on the tripod, specify when you want it to start, how

many pictures to take overall, and how many pictures to take each interval and walk away. When it's time to start

taking pictures, the camera will automatically focus and shoot, then go back to waiting for the next shot. No

messing around with tethering, 3rd party software, whatever-- it's all in the camera, and it's all super-easy to set

up. You'll find yourself taking pictures of your living room just to see what your cat actually does all day while

you're at work.

* Zoom in live view

This might just be "new to me," but I found it to be very cool for manually adjusting focus when on a tripod--

frame your basic shot, then change to live view. From there, zoom in with the magnifying glass key, and move

around the image with the navigation pad until you find the point you want to focus on, then manually focus.

Since you can zoom into a tiny portion of the overall image, you can see that you're getting exactly the focus

point you want before you take the shot. One gotcha that I always forget, though-- don't forget to pick your

aperture BEFORE going into live view, as you can't change it once live view has started.

* Adjustable shooting rate

Again, might be "new to me," but in addition to blasting away at 6fps, you can manually adjust that from 1 to 5

FPS in order to get a different effect. You obviously need to be using a fast enough shutter speed to support your

choice-- if you're at 1/2 a second, you're not going to shoot faster than 2FPS.

As I mentioned in one of my other reviews, I used to be a semi-pro photographer-- I was the photo editor for both

a weekly and a daily paper, I've shot tons of sports and news photos, and landscape photography is my hobby.

I've recently gotten back into portrait photography as well. While I never owned as many cameras as a true pro

would have (that semi- means that I never made enough money at it to be able to really spring for equipment), I

have shot with a lot of other people's equipment, and I can honestly say that this is the best camera I've ever

used.

Canon EOS 60D as seen on Amazon.com

The three dSLRs in the Canon consumer line-up (60D, 7D, T2i) all share a number of specifications and features, a

similar exposure metering system, as well as an image sensor that is very similar, and all with 18 megapixels. Due

to this, the image quality and ISO performance of these three cameras will be nearly identical, and all are capable

of taking high quality images. So why choose the 60D over the T2i (550D) or the 7D?

-Exterior buttons and controls: Greater ease and control of changing camera settings as you work vs. the

T2i. The 60D has nearly every control one needs on the exterior of the camera and it has the rear dial and

top LCD display screen that are not on the T2i. Any other controls can be easily accessed with the Q button

and menu or in the other menus on the rear LCD monitor. The top buttons of the 60D set only one setting

each, so this is less complicated than the multiple-setting buttons of the 7D. Canon has removed the WB

button that the 7D and 50D have, but that isn't a big deal - use the Q Menu. Another change is that the

Multi-controller has been moved from the thumb joystick like the 7D and 50D and placed in the middle of

the rear Quick-control dial. This doesn't change how it functions, and should just be a matter of getting

used to the difference.

-Menus and custom functions: Greater control over customizing how the camera functions vs. the T2i. The

60D has many more Menu and Custom Function settings than the T2i and nearly as many as the 7D. These

settings allow you to customize the operation, function, and controls of the 60D to work how you want

them to, including things like exposure increments, peripheral illuminations correction for lenses (fixes dark

corners) and customizing which button does what.

-Auto focus systems: The 60D shares a similar autofocus system to the T2i and the previous 50D, with 9

focus points and three auto focusing modes. However the 9 AF points of the 60D are more sensitive than

those of the T2i: all are cross-type in the 60D, only the center is cross-type in the T2i. The 60D autofocus

system is much less complex than the sophisticated AF system of the 7D with its 19 AF point system and its

additional Zone, Spot, and Expansion focus modes - not to mention the custom settings of the 7D which

will allow one to customize how the AF system works. However, if you are not an avid sports photographer,

a wildlife shooter, or someone who understands, needs, and will use the elaborate features of the 7D AF

system, then this shouldn't dissuade you from the 60D.

-Exposure Metering: The three cameras all share the latest 63-zone exposure metering system and 4

metering modes. That means they will all determine the exposure virtually identically and enable you to

take properly exposed photos in most every situation, including difficult back-lit scenes. The size of the

areas metered for Partial and Spot metering vary slightly between the cameras, but that isn't anything

critical.

-ISO: Since the 60D shares a very similar sensor with the other two cameras, its ISO sensitivity and

performance at high ISO settings is virtually the same. But don't take my word for it, don't be swayed by

pixel peepers on forums, instead check out the camera sensor tests at dxomark to verify this.

-Continuous Shooting Speed: While the 60D can't shoot a blazing 8 frames per second like the 7D, it can

shoot a respectable 5.3 fps which is generally a more useful rate, and is a higher rate than the T2i rate of 3

fps.

-Size and Weight: The 60D is larger and heavier than the T2i but smaller and lighter than the 7D. It is a very

nice size, weight, feel, and design that should be comfortable for most users.

-Construction: The 60 has relatively strong construction of aluminum and polycarbonate. It is better built

than the T2i but not as strong as the 7D's magnesium alloy frame. The 60D also has some amount of

weather sealing - more than the T2i, less than the 7D. But for most users, including even those using the

camera daily or in travel situations, the construction of the 60D is far more than good enough, strong

enough, durable enough, and weather resistant enough.

-Articulating Rear LCD Screen: The 60D is the only current Canon dSLR with this handy feature. This may

prove useful for videographers, as well as for setting up compositions while the camera is on a tripod, for

macro use, or for using it from unusually low or high vantage points. There is also an electronic level, visible

in the viewfinder, rear LCD, or top LCD.

-Viewfinder: The 60D has a large, bright viewfinder with 96% coverage of the actual resulting image, a tiny

bit better than the T2i but not quite as nice as the nearly 100% view of the 7D.

-Wireless Flash: Like the 7D, the 60D incorporates wireless flash triggering. It allows you to trigger multiple

off camera flashes at different output levels. The T2i does not have this feature.

-Battery: The 60D has a larger batter vs. the T2i, thus allowing longer periods of shooting before having to

recharge. The 60D uses the LP-E6 battery like the 7D, which is a nice feature as this battery can often last

through a full day of shooting.

-Processor: The 60D shares the same Digic 4 processor as the T2i. The 7D has dual Digic 4 processors.

However, for most general or even demanding photography needs, the single processor is more than

sufficient.

-Memory Card: The 60D uses the SD memory card like the T2i, not the CF card of the 7D. This doesn't affect

anything except perhaps your collection of CF cards.

-Additional processing features: The 60D has added features such as the creative filters (toy camera,

miniature tilt-shift effect) and internal file processing capabilities (RAW image processing, image resizing)

that the other two cameras do not have. This is not critical as these operations can typically be more easily

done in batches on a computer.

-Lack of AF Microadjustment: Many are disappointed that the 60D does not include the ability to micro-

adjust the focus so that each lens is completely accurate. However, if you have a focus issue, send your

camera and/ or lenses to Canon while under warranty and ask them to calibrate them. The 7D has this

feature, the T2i does not.

-Locking Mode Dial: This is a new feature for a Canon dSLR that keeps the Mode dial from accidentally

rotating. A nice touch only on the 60D.

-Full HD Video: And of course the 60D has full HD video, just like the other two cameras.

-A Note to Strobists: The 60D does not have a PC sync flash socket to plug in PC sync cords. The 7D has this,

the T2i does not.

-Ease of operation: While beginners may find all the buttons, controls, and menus of any dSLR difficult and

confusing at first, the controls and menus of the 60D are all quite intelligently designed and straightforward

for the advanced user. If you'd like to get up and running with the 60D quickly and competently be sure to

check out a PDF eBook I put together called Your World 60D on the "Picturing Change" blog or the Kindle

version here: Your World 60D - The Photographer's Guide to Operation and Image Creation with the Canon

60D. It describes how to set up the Menu settings and Custom Function settings, and explains how, when,

and why to use the settings, controls, and features of the 60D in everyday still photography use, including

aperture priority and shutter priority modes. Plus it has information on exposure, composition, using depth

of field, and basic video settings. It should help you get the most out of the 60D.

The 60D is an excellent camera for those wanting to upgrade from the Rebel line, for the advanced dSLR user who

wishes to take advantage of all the features and customizations options of the 60D, and for the first-time dSLR

buyer who is knowledgeable of camera controls or eager to learn. Its size, durability, and features will suit those

who wish to use it for both general use and for travel, and its image quality and performance is exceptional for a

camera at this price.

Thanks for reading this buying guide containing compilation of

Digital Cameras with Optical Viewfinder Using Full Frame Sensor.