The newly announced Canon 80D replaces the 70D and introduces some big improvements to Canon’s mid-range DSLRs.
For those who have shot with the 70D, the new 80D will feel familiar in your hands. While the physical body remains mostly unchanged (a polycarbonate exterior that is both water & dust resistance) from the 70D, there are a few notable changes:
But perhaps the biggest physical change, is the addition of a mirror vibration control system similar to those found on the pro level full-frame EOS 5DS & EOS 7D Mark II cameras.
The impressive Dual Pixel CMOS AF employs a new Canon CMOS sensor with which all of the effective pixels are able to perform both still imaging and phase-detection AF simultaneously providing dramatically improved AF performance during Live View and video shooting.
The Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology also features enhanced tracking sensitivity and is fully compatible with all of Canon’s EF Series lenses, including Canon’s newest standard zoom lenses the EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM.
The new 45-point all cross-type viewfinder AF system (compared to 19-points in the 70D), improves focusing ability (both horizontally and vertically) making compositions with off-center subjects much easier.
Low light AF performance has been improved all the way down to EV-3 at the center point allowing for razor sharp results even in extreme low-light situations.
The AI (Artificial Intelligence) Servo AF II autofocusing system now utilizes colour tracking with a 7,560-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor which can automatically detect skin tone and colours to enhance tracking sensitivity. This feature comes in very handy when shooting moving subjects that rapidly changing pace or direction.
The new Intelligent Viewfinder features an approximate 100% viewfinder coverage which should help to prevent you from missing unwanted objects that sometimes hide in the corners of the scene, thus reducing the need to crop images after the shoot.
Movie Servo AF custom settings allow users to speed up or slow down focusing speeds, and for added flexibility, it also features a built-in headphone jack, built-in stereo microphone with manual audio level adjustment, and an additional stereo microphone jack.
The improved EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens also provides up to four stops of optical image stabilization, and a new lens hood, the EW-73D, which will be included with the new lens.