Canon 60D vs Nikon D7000 vs Canon 7D - Which One is the Best?

Today I saw a video in DigitalRev YouTube channel that compared the Nikon D7000 vs Canon 60D. A few days ago I did a comparison between the Nikon D7000 vs. Canon 7D. In my opinion, the Nikon D7000 can be easily compared with the 7D in terms of features and built quality. From what I can see, people just don't know where to categorize this camera. I still don't know if the Canon 60D is an upgrade from the 50D or the 550D. I can understand why DigitalRev did a D7000 vs 7D comparison and not because both of them have the number 7 in their model number.

Before the Nikon D7000 announced, I was quite sure that Canon has the edge when it comes to video. Now that Nikon has improved the video on the D7000, I think that it is no longer a very hard decision choosing between the two. The 60D has an articulating screen, and for video I think that it's very useful. Both the Nikon D7000 and the Canon EOS 60D has been reviewed on several websites. The Nikon D7000 has gotten really good reviews and it seems that in terms of performance, features and image quality, the D7000 is a great choice for advanced photographers.

The problem starts when you already have the 550D or the 50D and want to upgrade. I actually don't see a real reason why people should upgrade to the 60D. The Canon 7D, though it costs more than the 60D, seems like the right upgrading path. I've checked the street prices of the Canon EOS 60D, Nikon D7000 and Canon EOS 7D. The 60D costs around $830, Nikon D7000 street price is around $1700 (also I found it for $1200 somewhere) and the Canon 7D price is around $1400. As you can see, there is a difference between the 60D and the D7000. The Nikon D7000 is prices over the Canon 7D. It looks like the D7000 wasn't meant to compete against future 50D replacement, but directly compete against Canon's successful DSLR, the 7D.

When the D7000 came out, I though that it supposed to replace the Nikon D90. From what I've read on photography websites, the Nikon d7000 is a new addition to Nikon's DSLR lineup and wasn't supposed to replace the D90. This is exactly what Canon did with the EOS 7D. The 7D is a new addition to Canon's EOS lineup and is not supposed to replace the 50D. So the 60D is actually a replacement to the 50D. Honestly, I am not 100% percent sure whether the 60D replace the 50D and if the D7000 is or not a replacement for the D90. If you don know, please comment.

If the 60D is a replacement for the 50D, why Canon has decided to use a plastic body instead of the same Magnesium-alloy body found on the 50D? I didn't fund any answer for that, but it's really weird don't you think. Furthermore, if the D7000 doesn't replace the D90, we probably should see a new DSLR that does replace it.
D7000, 7D and the 60D, all have 1080p HD movie recording. The Nikon D7000 support ISO 25600 while the Canon's only goes up to ISO 6400. The resolution difference between the Nikon D7000 (16.2MP) vs Canon 60d (18.0MP) is not significant at all. If you debate between the Canon 60D vs Nikon D7000, you should first look at the price tag. The Canon 60D is much cheaper, almost two times cheaper than the D7000!
Usually reviewers don't compare cameras with such a huge price margin difference.

Let's see a short feature comparison:

	Canon 60D	Nikon D7000	Canon EOS 7D
Resolution	18.0 MP	16.2 MP	18.0 MP
Sensor size	22.3 x 14.9 mm (1.6x crop factor)	23.1 x 15.4 mm (1.5x crop factor)	22.3 x 14.9 mm (1.6x crop factor)
Pixel density	5.4 MP/cm²	4.6 MP/cm²	5.4 MP/cm²
ISO	100-12800	100-25600	100-12800
HD Video (max)	1080p  @ 30/25/24 fps	1080p @ 24 fps	1080p @ 30/25/24 fps
Screen resolution	1,040,000 dots	921,000 dots	920,000 dots
Weight	755 g	780 g	860 g
Burst mode	5.3 fps	6 fps	8 fps
Viewfinder	96% coverage, 0.95x magnification	100% coverage, 0.94x magnification	100% coverage, 1.0x magnification
AF points	9 focus points	39 focus points	19 focus points
Body construction	Plastic	Partial Magnesium alloy with weather sealing	Magnesium alloy with weather sealing

By going through the specs above, we can see that the Nikon D7000 has the lead when it comes to pixel density, ISO levels and AF system. Both the Canon 7D and the 60D have more video frame rate selection, while the D7000 only shoots 1080p at 24 frames per second. The 60D also employs a higher pixel count LCD screen with 1,040,000 dots, but the difference in real use is not huge. The Canon 7D sports higher continuous shooting with eight fps and gives 100% coverage with 1.0x magnification.

So in favor of the Canon EOS 60D are a large selection of frame rates in video recording and a larger LCD resolution. If we ignore the slight edge of the LCD resolution, the 60D has a slight edge in pixel count and more flexible movie recording functionality. So for videos, the Canon 60D has the edge if you want to shoot movie clips other than 24 fps. Considering that the 60D has a plastic body compared to the partial D7000 magnesium-alloy body, the 60D is probably less advanced camera then the D7000 for still photography.

One more thing that I want to add regarding the video. The 60D also offers 50 and 60fps in 720p, while the Nikon D7000 supports 24/25/30fps in 720p.
So let's sum things up...

Resolution

In terms of resolution, their isn't any huge difference between them. Both the 7D and the 60D has the same 18MP resolution, while the D7000 has 16.2MP. Here is a maximum pixel resolution comparison:

• Canon EOS 60D - 5184 x 3456
• Nikon D7000 - 4928 x 3264
• Canon EOS 7D - 5184 x 3456

The D7000 width is shorter by 256 pixels from the 60D and the 7D and 192 pixels shorter in height. In real life, you won't see a huge difference, even when printing the image. I actually a favor of lower resolution DSLRs. Lower resolution also means that the pixels are larger (if you compare the same sensor size). Bigger pixels mean higher sensitivity and in many cases, low noise in high ISO levels. If you take this into consideration, this might be a positive thing not negative.

Body Construction & Ergonomics

This is where there are real differences.  The Canon 60D is built upon a plastic chassis. The Canon 7D has a full magnesium alloy body construction The Nikon D7000 is partially magnesium-alloy. I didn't have a change to hold all of them in my hands, but according to what I've read on reviews and hands-on previews, the Canon 7D feel much better and durable in the hands, the D7000 second and the 60D feels plasticy. By saying plasticy I don't mean cheap. The 60D feels also good in the hands and it is well built, but not at the same standards as the D7000 or the 7D.

Many 50D owners will be very disappointed when they realized that the Canon EOS 60D construction is made of plastic. The 50D was constructed with magnesium alloy body, so this is actually a downgrade in this respect. If you want to best weather sealed and durable body, the 7D is probably the best pick.

Regarding the ergonomics, you will probably need to judge it yourself. Go to the camera store and hold all of them in your hands, or at least the ones that you intend to buy. Again, from what I've read on the hands-on reviews, both the Nikon D7000 and the Canon EOS 7D are very comfortable, while the 60D at the second place.

ISO Performance

We probably still need to wait for more reviews to get to a final conclusion. For now, it seems that the Nikon D7000 has the edge. I've seen amazing low-noise images taken with the D7000 at ISO 3200 and 6400.  I've checked dpreview Canon 60D review, and on the noise tests page 11, you can see that in RAW ACR NR Off, the Canon 60D noise is more subtle, though tend to suffer from more chroma noise. Overall, I was very impressed to see the noise results from the 60D, very impressive indeed. When it comes to ISO performance, you just can't go wrong with either. Furthermore, 50D owners might upgrade to the 60D if they want better low-noise performance. Don't forget that the Nikon can climb up to ISO 25600, while the 7D and the 60D "only" offers 12800 ISO maximum sensitivity. I've also checked come high ISO 7D sample images and the D7000 and the 7D are equally good.

Dpreview has an excellent tool called "Studio comparison widget". This widget is embedded in every article. Using this tool you can easily compare the JPEG image quality between different cameras. I used this tool to compare the image quality between the Canon 60D vs Nikon D7000 vs Canon 7D.  In ISO 1600, all of them are equally good. It seems that the image is a bit sharper on the Canon's compare to the Nikon. At ISO 3200 you can see where the Nikon D7000 shines. The D7000 has produce a slightly cleaner image compares to the Canon's.  At ISO 6400, the Nikon shows a cleaner image BUT you can see blue and purple chrome noise patterns in several areas of the image. I can't really point on a winner here, but the D7000 noise performance is excellent.

Only when you compare those three cameras against the Nikon D3S (full frame), you can see that the Nikon D3S produce a MUCH cleaner image, absolutely jaw dropping image quality at 128000, just WOW!

Burst Mode

Fast continuous shooting is very important for sports photography. In this section , the Canon EOS 7D has the edge with 8 frames per second continuous shooting speed. The Canon 60D and the Nikon D7000 both offer a fast burst rate, but the D7000 leads with a 0.7 fps advantage (5.3fps vs. 6fps). Maybe in filled testing they might perform the same. Even so, that speed can be good enough for some fast action photographers. To enjoy the maximum burst speed, make sure you get a fast memory card. If you want the fastest digital SLR from the three, the Canon 7D will satisfy even the most enthusiast sports photographer.If your are a hobbyist photographer with a tight budget, the 60D is an very good choice for fast action shooting as well.

HD Movie Clips

I don't know why Nikon not opted to a larger selection of frame rate speeds in 1080p like Canon. The good think is that with the new Nikon D7000 DSLR you can shoot videos in 1080p, compared to 720p on the Nikon D90. 24 fps is a very popular frame rate among cinematographers, and if you usually shoot videos in 24p, it shouldn't bother you. Nikon can also come up with a firmware upgrade that will let D7000 owners to shoot in 30 and 25 too. I don't know if Nikon will release a firmware that will do that, because if it wanted to, it would have done it when it released the camera to the market. Canon has done it before with the Canon 5D Mark II, so maybe Nikon will do it too. D7000 (video samples here, and more D7000 videos here ), 60D and the 7D, all supports 1080p and 720p movie clips recording. If you shoot many HD videos, you might find the 720p 50/60fps option quite attractive.

Nikon D7000 vs Canon EOS 60D Comparison video:

Canon EOS 60D vs 7D Comparison video:

AF System

Nikon D7000 sports 39 focus points, while the 7D 19 focus points and the 60D has only 9 focus points (cross type). In theory, the Nikon suppose to top the 7D and the 60D without blinking. After watching some video reviews and reading a little bit, the 7D AF performance is excellent, as good as the D7000 from what I've read.

Conclusion

Taking all the above into consideration, I think that the 60D is a good upgrade over the 50D and the 550D.  The Nikon D7000 is a better camera to the 60D when it comes to body construction, AF system (Nikon used a brand new AF system with the D7000), image quality, speed and functionality.  The Nikon D7000 is a straight competitor with the Canon EOS 7D. Both are amazing mid-range DSLRs that can produce amazing images, even at high ISO levels.  It is really tempting not to jump to the Canon 5D Mark II on the Canon or to the Nikon D700 full frame cameras. If I had to choose between the three, I would probably be debating between the 7D vs D7000, not the 60D. I hope this article help you get a more detailed view of the pros and cons for each camera and how they compare one against each other.

To purchase the Canon 60D from Amazon click here.

If you are searching to buy a full frame camera, don't forget to read my comparison article about Sony A850 vs Canon 5D Mark II vs Nikon D700. If you have a tight budget, you should also consider the Nikon D3100 and see how it compares to the D7000.  The Sony A55 is also an excellent camera and even features 10fps. Check my Sony A55 vs Sigma SD1 vs Nikon D7000 for further information.