Canon EOS D60Canon updates their D30 Semi Pro SLR with a 6 megapixel sensor and other improvements, and sets a new low-price point in the process!<<Image Storage & Interface :(Previous) | (Next): Test Results & Conclusion>> Page 11:Video, Power, SoftwareReview First Posted: 2/22/2002 |
Video Out
An NTSC video cable comes packaged with US models of the D60 (presumably PAL
for European ones), allowing you to connect the camera to your television set
for image playback. The video signal can be switched between NTSC and PAL via
a menu preference. All menus, etc. appear on the external video monitor, but
do note that it won't work as a viewfinder for the same reason that the rear-panel
LCD won't. (The SLR optics mean that the sensor is only exposed to light when
the shutter is open.)
Power
The
EOS D60 uses the same battery form factor first seen on the D30, and now appearing
as a standard design in many of Canon's camera and camcorder lines. These batteries
are a bit larger than a 2CR5 lithium cell, and look like two of the smaller
LiIon batteries, now becoming popular in compact digicams, glued together. Canon
calls the new cell a BP-511 battery pack, and it provides 1100 mAh at 7.4 volts
for a fairly hefty wallop of 8.1 watt-hours. A separate charger comes in the
box with the D60, as well as one of Canon's standard "dummy battery"
pigtails to let the charger power the camera in the studio or when connected
to the computer for long periods. Just as with the D30 before it, it looks like
the CMOS sensor does indeed translate into lower power consumption, as you can
see in the table below:
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(@ 8.0 v) |
(With 8.14 watt NP-511 battery) |
| Capture Mode, w/LCD |
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| Capture Mode, no LCD |
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| Half-pressed shutter w/LCD |
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| Half-pressed w/o LCD |
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| Memory Write (transient) |
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| Flash Recharge (transient) |
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| Image Playback |
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Particularly notable here is how low the power consumption is
when the D60 is in capture mode but not actively capturing a picture. At only
101 mA, one of the BP-511 cells could keep the D60 powered-up all day (10+
hours, to be precise). When you press the shutter, the camera grabs a gulp
of power, but still only about the same amount as a prosumer digicam running
with the display off. The LCD panel seems fairly parsimonious in its power
usage as well, at only 398 mA in playback mode. These results matched my personal
sense of the camera, that it had very good battery life over a couple days
of fairly heavy usage in the studio. Overall, it looks like the D60 consumes
slightly more power than the earlier D30, but only by a relatively small percentage:
Battery life is really excellent.
Included Software
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The D60 will ship with a pretty complete complement of software on both Mac and Windows platforms, including Canon's signature ZoomBrowser application on the PC and ImageBrowser on the Mac. (For a look at the most recent ZoomBrowser software package, see my review of the Canon PowerShot G2.) The table below shows the software that's included for both platforms.
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Adobe Photoshop 5.0 LE
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ZoomBrowser EX
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PhotoRecord
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RemoteCapture
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TWAIN Driver 4.1
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WIA Driver 4.1
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RAW Image Converter 2.0
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(Image Capture Driver for OS X provided by Apple.)
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