360Photography

Announcing the Canon EOS 80D

Canon has announced the EOS 80D, the successor to very capable EOS 70D that, notably, introduced Dual Pixel autofocus. The 80D brings some marked improvements to Canon’s mid-market, enthusiast line, including a new 45-point AF module and updated Dual Pixel AF.

Body-wise, the 80D remains very similar to the 70D, which means a polycarbonate exterior with water and dust resistance. A few things have changed: the Q and Playback buttons on the back have shrunk, a headphone socket has been added, the remote port has been moved downward, and the stereo microphones have been relocated from the top of the camera (near the hot shoe) to the front, with wider separation (note the four small holes just left of the EOS 80D logo). Furthermore, the 80D now has a mirror vibration control system similar to the 5DS and 7D Mark II.

Dual Pixel AF

Possibly the most noteworthy improvement is that it’s the first time Canon has delivered continuous autofocus (AI Servo) in still live view shooting from a Dual Pixel AF camera, and only the second time Canon offers continuous AF in live view for stills at all. Last time we saw it was in the the Rebel T6s (EOS 760D), which offers continuous AF in both stills and movie mode from its ‘Hybrid CMOS III’ sensor. However, its implementation is far from ideal, with significant hunting from Hybrid AF’s reliance on contrast-detect AF in addition to phase-detect AF. (Only some of the imaging pixels on the T6s are masked for phase detection, rather than having split PDAF-capable pixels across the entire sensor.)

Our brief time with the 80D, on the other hand, left us very impressed. You can select your subject by tapping on it, and then as long as you keep the shutter half-depressed, the camera will quickly track your subject in all three dimensions to keep it in focus – no matter where it moves to within the frame. This means your subject tends to already be in focus when you’re ready to take your shot and depress the shutter button. The camera even continues to focus in continuous drive at 5 fps.

Oddly, the much higher-end Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, skimps on this feature, only offering single AF in Live View. Previous iterations of Dual Pixel AF in the 70D and 7D Mark II also did not offer continuous AF.

Metering sensor

The 80D gains the same 7560 pixel RGB+IR metering sensor that we first saw in the Rebel T6s and T6i (EOS 760D and 750D). It’s essentially a low resolution image sensor: a marked improvement over the 63-zone dual layer sensor in the 70D, promising more accurate metering through scene analysis.

In addition to metering, this sensor is also used to give the camera a degree of human subject awareness. Skin tones can be detected – and then tracked (in continuous AF mode) – to aid the AF system in finding and focusing on a human subject. Our initial, informal testing leads us to believe this isn’t nearly as reliable as ‘proper’ face detection – which the 1DX II, and the 80D itself in Live View, offer.

The camera doesn’t offer Canon’s ‘Intelligent Tracking and Recognition’ (iTR) system, that uses the metering sensor as well as distance information to track subjects around the frame. For reliable continuous AF, you’ll want to stick to a single point and try to manually follow your subject.

The metering sensor brings another important benefit: it monitors the characteristics of the scene illumination, not only trying to interpret an appropriate white balance for the scene but also checking for flickering in the light source. If flicker is detected, the camera can delay its shooting during continuous drive such that it always shoots at the brightest point during the light’s flicker cycle; helping to give more consistent results.

New 45-point AF module

The 80D has received a new autofocus module. It’s a big step up from the EOS 70D, now offering 45 AF points – a considerable upgrade from the 19 AF points on the older model. All of these are cross-type, sensitive to both horizontal and vertical detail, giving all points the ability to focus in challenging, low light and low contrast (including backlit) situations. 27 points remain cross-type even when using a lens/teleconverter combination that has a F8 maximum aperture (ideal for birding and wildlife). Impressive.

The central AF point is rated as working down as far as -3EV in Single AF (One-Shot), which should mean the camera remains usable in extremely dark situations. It’s also a dual cross-type, high precision sensor with F2.8 and faster lenses, which brings enhanced accuracy to focus – particularly important when dealing with the shallow depth-of-field associated with fast primes.

Wi-Fi/NFC/GPS

The EOS 70D already included Wi-Fi but the 80D extends the capability by adding NFC (near-field communication). This simplifies the pairing process for Android devices and also provides compatibility with Canon’s Connect Station storage/viewing unit.

The 80D also gains built-in GPS, which adds the ability to capture location data at the point of capture. This can be hugely useful when it comes to managing your files afterwards, as you have an additional, meaningful data point associated with your images, without the need to manually tag or keyword the files.

Video improvements

The EOS 80D gains some significant upgrades when it comes to movie shooting. The most obvious change is the addition of 1080/60p video (and 50p for PAL shooters). In addition, the camera gains a headphone socket for audio monitoring while recording. Importantly, the mic and headphone sockets are angled for good reason: you can swing the articulating LCD and angle it upward or downward without it running into connected audio components. This allows videographers to make full use of the articulating screen while filming.

Add to this little changes like the movement of the built-in mics to the front of the body, rather than the haunches of the hot shoe, and the 80D shows signs that a lot of thought has been put into video.

Sadly there’s no C-Log gamma option (a very flat tone curve useful for color grading), no focus peaking or zebra warnings and no ‘clean’ HDMI output for external recording, making clear this isn’t intended for video professionals. However, the maximum ISO setting has received a boost and, much like the 1D X II, the combination of touchscreen and Dual Pixel AF should make it easier for non-pros to get good results.

New kit zoom with Nano USM

Alongside the EOS 80D, Canon has announced a new version of its 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 lens. The EF-S 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS USM makes use of a new type of focus motor that Canon is branding ‘Nano USM.’ The company declined to give any further detail about the technology behind the actuator but said that it’s able to offer the speed of a ring-type USM motor but is as quiet and smooth as the existing STM (stepper motor) designs.

Canon says the latest version will be 2.5x faster to focus than the existing STM version at the wide-angle end of the range and 4.3x faster at the long end of the zoom. We were very impressed in our own informal tests: the lens is able to ‘snap’ into focus almost instantaneously, even from extreme defocus. The Nano USM design is likely to be used on other lenses in future but can only be applied on lenses with single, light focus elements.

The lens’ stabilization is rated a 4 stops by CIPA standards.

PZ-E1 Power Zoom Adapter

Furthering the video capabilities of the 80D+18-135mm USM combination is the PZ-E1 zoom motor. It’s a clip-on unit that allows the 18-135mm to be zoomed in a controlled manner for video shooting. The PZ-E1 offers two zoom speed modes (high and low), both of which then offer variable zoom speed.

In fast mode the drive can take between 2.4 and 14 seconds to zoom from one extreme of the lens to the other, or 9.5-14 seconds in slow mode. This zoom can be controlled via Wi-Fi app or the desktop-based Smart Utility, as well as the on-body controls.

We really like Canon’s approach in offering the PZ-E1 as a separate unit. It means that stills-only shooters don’t end up having to buy a heavier, more expensive lens for a feature they don’t want but, at a list price of $ 150, videographers don’t have to spend too much to gain smooth zooming.

Canon says other lenses will be made compatible with the drive unit in future.

DM-E1 shotgun mic

Canon has also announced a hot-shoe-mounted shotgun microphone. It’s compatible with pretty much any camera that has a 3.5mm (1/8″) socket. There’s nothing camera or brand-specific about it, but it’s interesting that Canon has decided to start offering video-specific accessories. The DM-E1 will set you back around $ 250.

Summary

Canon’s ‘##D’ series cameras have generally been fairly subtle and progressive evolutions, compared to the previous models (with the exception of the lower-priced 60D, but that appears to have been a temporary blip), and the 80D follows this pattern. Almost every aspect of the latest camera has been upgraded, most of which try to make image-taking faster and more consistent. The AF module has significantly advanced from the 70D, particularly for wildlife photographers that will appreciate expansive F8 focusing. Dual Pixel AF has been upgraded to allow continuous live view AF in still shooting that is competitive with some of the best mirrorless cameras. In fact, face detection and subject tracking are so good in live view that those looking for an easy way to shoot human subjects might even opt to shoot in live view rather than through the viewfinder.

We suspect, though, that the biggest impact might be felt by those users who want to shoot video. The bump-up to offering 1080/60p is useful, either for capturing fast motion or giving a bit of a slow-mo option, but it’s the addition of a headphone socket and the optional power zoom adapter that should make it easier-than-ever to shoot in-camera footage (at the expense of some tools more experienced videographers might expect). And Dual Pixel AF remains one of the most compelling video AF solutions to date.

Combine all this with the advantages of an optical viewfinder and thoughtful ergonomics, and you have a solid addition to the ‘##D’ line.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)