Introduction

Canon took a daring step when it re-slotted the replacement for its EOS 50D as a smaller model aimed squarely at those who wanted something more advanced than the entry-level models in the Rebel line, but weren’t quite ready for the semi-pro EOS 7D. The result is a refreshed, revamped Canon EOS 60D. The company has packaged up most of the most alluring features of its advanced digital SLRs (such as the wireless flash capabilities first introduced in the 7D), and stuffed them into a more compact, highly affordable body. Your new 18-megapixel camera is loaded with capabilities that few would have expected to find in a dSLR in the $1,000 price range. Indeed, the 60D retains the ease of use that smoothes the transition for those new to digital photography. For those just dipping their toes into the digital pond, the experience is warm and inviting.

Nor will you easily outgrow this camera. It’s got resolution that’s more than 85 percent of what you get with the 21-megapixel Canon EOS 5D Mark II “pro” camera, improved autofocus, and lots of customization options. Its wireless flash capabilities, which allow the camera’s built-in electronic flash to control off-camera flash units remotely is a most welcome addition. Canon must love serious photographers, because it seems to work extra hard to give them incredible value for their money.

But once you’ve confirmed that you made a wise purchase decision, the question comes up, how do I use this thing? All those cool features can be mind-numbing to learn, if all you have as a guide is the manual furnished with the camera. Help is on the way. I sincerely believe that this book is your best bet for learning how to use your new camera, and for learning how to use it well.

If you’re a Canon EOS 60D owner who’s looking to learn more about how to use this great camera, you’ve probably already explored your options. There are DVDs and online tutorials—but who can learn how to use a camera by sitting in front of a television or computer screen? Do you want to watch a movie or click on HTML links, or do you want to go out and take photos with your camera? Videos are fun, but not the best answer.

There’s always the manual furnished with the 60D. It’s compact and filled with information, but there’s really very little about why you should use particular settings or features, and its organization may make it difficult to find what you need. Multiple cross-references may send you flipping back and forth between two or three sections of the book to find what you want to know. The basic manual is also hobbled by black-and-white line drawings and tiny monochrome pictures that aren’t very good examples of what you can do.

Also available are third-party guides to the 60D, like this one. I haven’t been happy with some of these guidebooks, which is why I wrote this one. The existing books range from skimpy and illustrated by black-and-white photos to lushly illustrated in full color but too generic to do much good. Photography instruction is useful, but it needs to be related directly to the Canon EOS 60D as much as possible.

I’ve tried to make David Busch’s Canon EOS 60D Guide to Digital SLR Photography different from your other 60D learn-up options. The roadmap sections use larger, color pictures to show you where all the buttons and dials are, and the explanations of what they do are longer and more comprehensive. I’ve tried to avoid overly general advice, including the two-page checklists on how to take a “sports picture” or a “portrait picture” or a “travel picture.” Instead, you’ll find tips and techniques for using all the features of your Canon EOS 60D to take any kind of picture you want. If you want to know where you should stand to take a picture of a quarterback dropping back to unleash a pass, there are plenty of books that will tell you that. This one concentrates on teaching you how to select the best autofocus mode, shutter speed, f/stop, or flash capability to take, say, a great sports picture under any conditions.

David Busch’s Canon EOS 60D Guide to Digital SLR Photography is aimed at both Canon and dSLR veterans as well as newcomers to digital photography and digital SLRs. Both groups can be overwhelmed by the options the 60D offers, while underwhelmed by the explanations they receive in their user’s manual. The manuals are great if you already know what you don’t know, and you can find an answer somewhere in a booklet arranged by menu listings and written by a camera vendor employee who last threw together instructions on how to operate a camcorder.

Of course, once you’ve read this book and are ready to learn more, you might want to pick up one of my other guides to digital SLR photography. I’m listing them here not to hawk my other books, but because a large percentage of the e-mails I get are from readers who want to know if I’ve got a book on this topic or that. In the chapters that follow, I also may mention another one of my books that covers a particular subject in more depth than is possible in a camera-specific guide. Again, that’s only for the benefit of those who want to delve more deeply into a topic. Most of what you need to know to use and enjoy your 60D is contained right here in this book. My other guides offered by Course PTR include:

Quick Snap Guide to Digital SLR Photography

Consider this a prequel to the book you’re holding in your hands. It might make a good gift for a spouse or friend who may be using your 60D, but who lacks even basic knowledge about digital photography, digital SLR photography, and Canon EOS photography. It serves as an introduction that summarizes the basic features of digital SLR cameras in general (not just the 60D), and what settings to use and when, such as continuous autofocus/single autofocus, aperture/shutter priority, EV settings, and so forth. The guide also includes recipes for shooting the most common kinds of pictures, with step-by-step instructions for capturing effective sports photos, portraits, landscapes, and other types of images.

David Busch’s Quick Snap Guide to Using Digital SLR Lenses

A bit overwhelmed by the features and controls of digital SLR lenses, and not quite sure when to use each type? This book explains lenses, their use, and lens technology in easy-to-access two- and four-page spreads, each devoted to a different topic, such as depth-of-field, lens aberrations, or using zoom lenses.

David Busch’s Quick Snap Guide to Lighting

This book tells you everything you need to know about using light to create the kind of images you’ll be proud of. It’s not Canon-specific, and doesn’t include any details on using any of the Canon-dedicated flash units, but the information you’ll find applies to any digital SLR photography.

Mastering Digital SLR Photography, Third Edition

This book is an introduction to digital SLR photography, with nuts-and-bolts explanations of the technology, more in-depth coverage of settings, and whole chapters on the most common types of photography. While not specific to the 60D, this book can show you how to get more from its capabilities. I’ve added six brand new chapters and the latest technology secrets in this new version.

Digital SLR Pro Secrets

This is my more advanced guide to dSLR photography with greater depth and detail about the topics you’re most interested in. If you’ve already mastered the basics in Mastering Digital SLR Photography, this book will take you to the next level.

Why the Canon EOS 60D Needs Special Coverage

There are many general digital photography books on the market. Why do I concentrate on books about specific digital SLRs like the 60D? One reason is that I feel dSLRs are the wave of the future for serious photographers, and those who join the ranks of digital photographers with single lens reflex cameras deserve books tailored to their equipment.

When I started writing digital photography books in 1995, digital SLRs cost $30,000 and few people other than certain professionals could justify them. Most of my readers a dozen years ago were stuck using the point-and-shoot, low-resolution digital cameras of the time—even if they were advanced photographers. I myself took countless digital pictures with an Epson digital camera with 1024 × 768 (less than 1 megapixel!) resolution, and which cost $500.

As recently as 2003 (before the original Digital Rebel was introduced), the lowest-cost dSLRs were priced at $3,000 or more. Today, anyone with around $600 can afford one of those basic cameras, and not much more than $1,100 buys you a sophisticated model like the Canon EOS 60D (with lens). The digital SLR is no longer the exclusive baili-wick of the professional, the wealthy, or the serious photography addict willing to scrimp and save to acquire a dream camera. Digital SLRs have become the favored camera for anyone who wants to go beyond point-and-shoot capabilities. And Canon cameras have enjoyed a dominating position among digital SLRs because of Canon’s innovation in introducing affordable cameras with interesting features and outstanding performance (particularly in the area of high ISO image quality). It doesn’t hurt that Canon also provides both full-frame and smaller format digital cameras and a clear migration path between them (if you stick to the Canon EF lenses that are compatible with both).

You’ve selected your camera of choice, and you belong in the Canon camp if you fall into one of the following categories:

• Individuals who want to get better pictures, or perhaps transform their growing interest in photography into a full-fledged hobby or artistic outlet with a Canon 60D and advanced techniques.

• Those who want to produce more professional-looking images for their personal or business website, and feel that the 60D will give them more control and capabilities.

• Small business owners with more advanced graphics capabilities who want to use the 60D to document or promote their business.

• Corporate workers who may or may not have photographic skills in their job descriptions, but who work regularly with graphics and need to learn how to use digital images taken with a Canon EOS 60D for reports, presentations, or other applications.

• Professional webmasters with strong skills in programming (including Java, JavaScript, HTML, Perl, etc.) but little background in photography, but who realize that the 60D can be used for sophisticated photography.

• Graphic artists and others who already may be adept in image editing with Photoshop or another program, and who may already be using a film SLR (Canon or otherwise), but who need to learn more about digital photography and the special capabilities of the 60D dSLR.

Who Am I?

After spending years as the world’s most successful unknown author, I’ve become slightly less obscure in the past few years, thanks to a horde of camera guidebooks and other photographically oriented tomes. You may have seen my photography articles in Popular Photography Imaging magazine. I’ve also written about 2,000 articles for magazines like Petersen’s PhotoGraphic (which is now defunct through no fault of my own), plus The Rangefinder, Professional Photographer, and dozens of other photographic publications. But, first, and foremost, I’m a photojournalist and made my living in the field until I began devoting most of my time to writing books.

Although I love writing, I’m happiest when I’m out taking pictures, which is why I invariably spend several days each week photographing landscapes, people, close-up subjects, and other things. I spend a month or two each year traveling to events, such as Native American “powwows,” Civil War re-enactments, county fairs, ballet, and sports (baseball, basketball, football, and soccer are favorites). A few months ago, I took 14 days for a solo visit to Europe, strictly to shoot photographs of the people, landscapes, and monuments that I’ve grown to love. I can offer you my personal advice on how to take photos under a variety of conditions because I’ve had to meet those challenges myself on an ongoing basis.

Like all my digital photography books, this one was written by someone with an incurable photography bug. My first Canon SLR was a now-obscure model called the Pellix back in the 1960s, and I’ve used a variety of newer models since then. I’ve worked as a sports photographer for an Ohio newspaper and for an upstate New York college. I’ve operated my own commercial studio and photo lab, cranking out product shots on demand and then printing a few hundred glossy 8 × 10s on a tight deadline for a press kit. I’ve served as a photo-posing instructor for a modeling agency. People have actually paid me to shoot their weddings and immortalize them with portraits. I even prepared press kits and articles on photography as a PR consultant for a large Rochester, N.Y., company, which shall remain nameless. My trials and travails with imaging and computer technology have made their way into print in book form an alarming number of times, including a few dozen on scanners and photography.

Like you, I love photography for its own merits, and I view technology as just another tool to help me get the images I see in my mind’s eye. But, also like you, I had to master this technology before I could apply it to my work. This book is the result of what I’ve learned, and I hope it will help you master your 60D digital SLR, too.

As I write this, I’m currently in the throes of upgrading my website, which you can find at www.dslrguides.com/blog, adding tutorials and information about my other books. There’s a lot of information about several Canon models right now, but I’ll be adding more tips and recommendations (including a list of equipment and accessories that I can’t live without) in the next few months. I’ve also set up a wish list of Canon cameras, lenses, and accessories on Amazon.com for those who want to begin shopping now. If you happen to spot a typo or two in this book, I’d love to fix them for the next printing, and add the goofs that you spot to my errata page at my blog. If you like, you can register there and contact me directly with your comments and questions.