As leaked in Internet (see our "gossip" news on Tuesday), the successor of Canon DSLR 70D (the first with Dual Pixel AutoFocus sensor) has been announced yesterday: the EOS 80D.
It is not a revolution from 70D but it brings many interesting update and additions. Let's see them all.
- new AF system when using the optical viewfinder with a lot of enhancements (as said in other articles on this site, now the competition is much focused on AutoFocus figures)
- 45 AF points (19 in 70D) all cross-type (sensitive to both horizontal and vertical lines);
- central point sensitive down to just -3 EV (almost dark - -3 EV focusing this is becoming a must-have feature on middle/high range cameras) and with double precision.
- 27 points out of the 45 can focus with lenses with maximum aperture of f8 (aganst f5.6 of 70D) - this opens up possibility of autofocus with extenders that increase the focal reach but reduce the maximum aperture of the lens).
- Continuous focus also when shooting stills in Live View, using the great Dual Pixel technology (in 70D continuous focus was reserved to movie recording).
- 100% view coverage in the optical viewfinder (it was 98% in 70D);
- new 24 megapixel sensor, here I am less happy, since it means problems with diffraction starting from around f/6, bigger files, you will need very sharp lenses.
- New DIGIC 6 image processor that enables ISO up to 16000 (from 12800 of 70D).
- addition of NFC transmitter for easy communication for example with close Android smartphone (currently Apple smartphones do not support that).
- updated metering system with 7560 pixel RGB+InfraRed sensor that was introduced in the Rebel T6s/T6i (EOS 750D/760D), up from 63 zones of 70D. The new system also features an...
- anti-flicker shooting when the scene is illuminated with flickering lights (like the vapor lamps in sport arenas), seen so far in advanced cameras, a nice addition - basically the camera slightly delays the shot when the light of the scene is on/near its maximum, clever!
- enlarged buffer for burst shooting up to 110 JPEG / 25 RAW (UHS-I card) vs 65 JPEG / 16 RAW (UHS-I) in 70D;
- reduced shutter lag (from when you press the shoot button to when the camera actualy takes the shot) to 60ms from 65ms in 70D;
- movie shooting at 60 fps in full-HD (up from 30 fps), but this requires coding of standard quality and not maximum quality (intra-frame compression).
- Enhanced video features
- HDR video shooting, very interesting to cope with highly contrasty scenes (and lower dynamic of Canon sensor with respect to Sony ones, employed also in Nikon cameras);
- time-lapse recording, as available since years in Canon and all other vendors compact cameras;
- a headphone socket - finally! In 70D it was impossible to check audio during recording, and a socket is very cheap.
- Weight: 730 grams, 25 grams less than 70D (always appreciated).
Not changed: burst shoot at 7 fps, similar body, weather sealing, great fully articulated and touch-enabled LCD with 1 megapixel resolution, WiFi connectivity.
What's missing: 4K recording, HDMI output during movie recording, GPS (few medium segment DSLR models have a GPS thought currently).
Price: $ 1200 / 1300 € (body-only).
Some interesting technology insights of this camera are provided by Canon at the following links: