Digital Diversity

With the rebel line receiving a recent upgrade (550D/T2i) and the introduction of the 7D, the 60D has been little more than a rumour for a while now. It was a mystery what exactly they would do to follow the 50D, if anything, seeing as the 7D seemed to not only replace this camera but exceed it in many areas.

For this reason alone it should be no surprise that they have taken the XXD range in a slightly new direction. It keeps many things that the XXD range are known for, such as the all cross type focus points, faster FPS, larger size and different button layout. All considered standard upgrades from the rebel line.

However they have changed a few things that the XXD line was known for. The body is now plastic just like the rebels rather than magnesium. It uses SD cards rather than CF cards. The FPS is slower, albeit only slightly than the previous versions. One change that has caused a few grumbles is the removal of Micro focus adjustments (MF adjustments). This allows you to correct front and back focusing in lenses. If you shoot a lot of very shallow depth of field work then this can be a great feature if you find you get a lens with this problem. It saves you the hassle of sending it in to be calibrated.

Saying this, there seem to be a number of improvements as well. The most noticeable being the articulated screen. This is the first of Canon’s DSLR’s to include it and I think its a welcome feature. This will allow you to take very high and low angle shots without having to put your head to the floor or just guess the composition. It will help a lot for tripod work as well such as landscapes and macro.

Other improvements include the new sensor that has been put in. Its 18MP just like that in the 550D and 7D. This new sensor is known for having a slight improvement in noise levels meaning your high ISO shots (such as 3200 and 6400) should be a little easier to work with.

Is this an upgrade from the 50D? Yes and no. It depends whats important to you. If you like CF cards and things like the magnesium body and you find yourself using MF adjustments a lot then no its not. You will more than likely miss such features and should look towards the 7D. If you are like me and arn’t really that bothered by such things then it looks like a fairly decent camera upgrade from the rebel line.

I have no intention of upgrading any time soon but if I was on the look out for a new camera body then this would definitely catch my eye.

You may be a member of several forums or subscribe to a magazine or two. The general consensus in a lot of these places is that if you upgrade to a more pro grade line of camera then you get a tougher, more durable body.

This of course is true. They tend to be made of stronger materials and have weather proofing of some form. However, this can often give the impression that the entry level bodies will just fall apart in your hands or if your drop them they will have had it.

Well this isn’t really true at all. You may get some scuffs and body damage from dropping your camera but that is the same risk you get from dropping any camera body. The more tough bodies will have less chance of receiving damage that needs repair but the entry level bodies can still take a good kicking.

Here is an amusing video of someone testing just this. I found the oops I spilt my coffee test the most interesting one. Granted it doesn’t actually show resulting pictures being taken with the camera after each test but you can hear the shutter still working. It gave me a few laughs but also helped me to trust the strength of my Rebel class camera body as well.

Hope you enjoy

I previously wrote an article on basic exposure blending. This was a basic guide on how to create multiple exposures using either exposure bracketing or a single RAW file and then blending them together. This tutorial is a more advanced version of this technique where you take one RAW shot that is exposed correctly for the land and then sky is recovered afterwards and saved as a second file. These 2 files can then be blended together using masks. To finish off, this tutorial will show you how to use photo filters to alter the light in your image.

For this tutorial it will help if you already now the following:
• Layers and Masks
• Photo Filters

This shot was taken from the top of the Scottish history museum. Its just a throw away shot really, not sharp and not that interesting but will be a good example to show off this technique.

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