First Impressions: Canon 60D + 35mm f/2 in Malaysia

Bar in a Thai Restaurant, Malaysia - 1/30s, f/2.2, ISO 1600 - Click to see a 1600px version

In a follow up to my previous post where I mentioned that I will be getting a Canon 60D to replace my trusty 550D, here's a quick first impressions post on how I found the 60D to be like. Hit the jump for more.

Having been using the 550D for 8 months now, my first reaction when I took hold of the 60D for the first time was "Woah, that viewfinder is large!". The 60D has pentaprism viewfinder as opposed to the pentamirror viewfinder in the 550D, and while the coverage is not really different (96% vs 95%), the 60D's viewfinder is noticeably larger and brighter.

The 60D is HEAVY compared to the 550D, and with the EF-S 15-85 lens it becomes much more heavier, but it is steady and well balanced. I will be doing a hands-on review on the 60D when I have used it for a while more.

I went today to a fancy Thai restaurant in Malaysia armed with the 60D and the 35mm f/2 lens only, I became quite familiar with this combo that I can effectively shoot the unstabilized 35mm f/2 hand held at speeds down to 1/10 sec. The lighting inside the restaurant was very dim (ISO 3200, 1/10s, f/2 dim), I took lots of pictures at ISO 3200 which is a first for me since I usually avoid getting above ISO 1600 but I was surprised at how good the pictures came out, please have a look at the pictures below, you can also click on any picture to see a 1600px version of it.

All the pictures were shoot in RAW and processed in ACR, the first two pictures below are shot at ISO 3200 and have ZERO sharpening and ZERO noise reduction applied, I intentionally did this so you can see how good the results straight from the RAW file are.

Chap - 1/10s, f/2, ISO 3200 - Click to see a 1600px version

Twin Chairs - 1/15s, f/2, ISO 3200 - Click to see a 1600px version

Candles - 1/250s, f/2.2, ISO 1600 - Click to see a 1600px version

Mats - 1/25s, f/2.8, ISO 1600 - Click to see a 1600px version

I really wish I could show you more, but it's 3:25 am here now and I have to rise early for work tomorrow. Here's a list of the items that I'm planning to review or post about in the coming weeks:

• Canon 60D
• Canon EF 35mm f/2
• Lowepro Toploader 45AW and 55AW
• Lumiquest Softbox III
• Canon Speedlite 580EX II vs 580 EX vs 430EX
• Using side focus points instead of focus and recompose (top bar picture taken using this method)

I promise you will enjoy these articles, keep an eye for updates and have a good night everyone (or is it night here only?).