This camera is stacked with features and takes fantastic pictures
How describe the camera?
Like many people I spent nearly three months trying to determine which camera to purchase. I looked at the Nikon D90 and D7000; as well as, the Canon T2i. In the end I felt the best value was the Canon 60D. I could go on and on about the camera but most importantly I can say I'm very happy with my decision. This camera is stacked with features and takes fantastic pictures. I honestly don't think you can go wrong with any of the cameras but for me it came down to pixels, pentaprism, autofocus, LCD, and price. I have always been a Canon guy (A1, two Rebels) but this was my first digital and I was open to either company. In the end my view was that Canon is a better value at the lower end and Nikon is a better product at the high end.In terms of my decision to go with the 60D over the T2i I just felt that the extra features were going to get me better pictures and ultimately make me happier in the long term. These cameras are big so while the Rebel is smaller it is still a substantial camera with the lens on it. You have to be committed to carrying around a camera of this size. From a price perspective, the 60D was an additional $200. That gets you a better view finder and better focusing. These two things can make a huge difference between getting the best possible picture.Having used a high end film camera since I was 15 I find the controls to be very intuitive. There is a lot there so it will still take me some time to learn all the features but I'm able to get off and running very quickly. When you look at the reviews most of the issues are overstated. The majority of pictures with this camera will be taken in one of the standard shooting modes. The rest of the settings are nice to have but are hard to fiddle with when you are just concentrating on getting pictures taken of a brithday or a sporting event. There's one rule that seems to stand the test of time - the 80-20 rule. 80% of the people will use 20% of the functionality of this camera. The other 20% may use 80% but it will be less than 20% of the time.Lastly, I wouldn't get too caught up with the lenses either. This is a good all around lens if you can have only one lens. Again, 80% of the people will rarely change a lens. There are better lenses but most of us just won't notice the difference. I do believe that image stabilization is a must. In my mind it is the single biggest benefit to the average user. Sure some lenses focus faster or are better in low light but most of us can just hold down the shutter and use a flash.Get the camera and have some fun. There will be plenty of time to upgrade lenses, flashes, etc. You'll never be able to get back the pictures you miss. 