The Canon EOS 80D is one of the most recent Canon cameras releases in 2016, it was announced on 18th February 2016, grabbing some attention and limelight from the photography community. The Canon EOS 80D is now available in the market and I had the chance to have a short hands on experience to do a review of the EOS 80D. Since I only had it for a short period of five days, I couldn’t do a much more thorough review of the Canon EOS 80D and I have to wait for another opportunity in the near future to continue with the part 2 of my EOS 80D review.
Source: Canon Singapore
In this part 1 of my Canon EOS 80D review within a short period of 5 days, I tried my best to cover a few different areas with the EOS 80D, with emphasis on the following areas for my part 1 review –
1) AF Speed and 45 cross-type AF points
One of the key improvements in the Canon EOS 80D is the 45 cross-type AF points and the AF speed. The AF is significantly faster than the EOS 70D, the predecessor to the EOS 80D. Along with the 45 cross-type AF points, it makes the job of the photographer a lot easier and faster to track, lock focus and capture the moment. This would be very ideal and useful for events photography.
For my part 2 review, I hope to test out EOS 80D capability on Dual cross-type focusing at f/2.8 with center AF point.(AF group: When Group A lenses are used)
2) 4 types of AF area selection mode
Inside the Canon EOS 80D, there is a new AF area selection mode, the large zone AF beside the other three AF areas selection mode that are present in the current/newer Canon EOS DSLRs line up.
Source: Canon USA
I like the large zone AF, selected this AF area selection mode with AI servo AF on moving objects, coupled with the AF speed, I had mixed experiences with this, large moving objects had no issue and it was locked focused pretty fast. However, for small objects such as a small bird and at a far distance away, it was a challenge and sometimes it couldn’t lock focus properly on the small bird. For this aspect, I hope to explore this area in more details during my part 2 review, applying in evetns/sports/fast moving and on birding photography (big and small birds).
3) 24.2MP CMOS sensor with Digic 6 imaging processor
The beauty of the Digic 6 imaging processor and the 24.2MP CMOS sensor, clean, sharp, colours and details.
4) Noise level @ ISO 16,000
I took the EOS 80D out on night photo walks, testing out at ISO 16,000. The noise level is visible yet it is not too noisy in my personal humble opinion. I did a comparison with the EOS 70D, predecessor to the EOS 80D, the noise level performance is a lot better than at EOS 70D ISO 12,800. Photos at ISO 16,000 shot with the Canon EOS 80D can be seen in my 500px and Flickr photography collection.
5) Interactive and informative LCD screen
The LCD screen of the Canon EOS 80D gets much clearer, sharper, easier to navigate (touch screen) and use for the photographer. There is also a good amount of information on the LCD screen display that you can scroll up and down when viewing the photos that you took.
6) EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, the bokeh, sharpness and softness at 135mm @ f/5.6 wide open
The EF-S family of lenses had improved a lot since I first used the EF-S lens 18-55mm lens on the Canon EOS 300D. The EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens is a pretty good and affordable lens for travel and events usage, not too big and heavy too. The IS capability is good when taking photographs in low light situation with a slow shutter speed (in the absence of a tripod). I hope to a produce a short video clip using this lens, showcasing how it would perform in videography/movie making mode.
During the cherry blossom event inside Flower Dome at Gardens By The Bay, I brought it there for a night sakura flowers shoot, the Canon EOS 80D with EF-S 18-135mm lens. Shooting at full open f/5.6 and focal length 135mm, this combination produced some nice photos of the sakura flowers. The bokeh is pretty smooth (not at the top end “bokehlicious” level that some photographers would define it) and the photos are quite sharp (not tack sharp though, some signs of softness).
You can view some of my photography works on 500px and Flickr that I shot with the Canon EOS 80D review unit and the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. I am looking to continue with part 2 of the Canon EOS 80D review at a later date when I am able to have the EOS 80D for a longer period of time for review.
During my short 5 days stint with the Canon EOS 80D, I managed to get a grasp of some of the capabilities, pros and cons of this DSLR camera. If you are currently using an entry level DSLR and wish to upgrade to the next level, the Canon EOS 80D is highly recommended.
I would like to thank Canon Singapore for this review opportunity and Ogilvy Public Relations for the review opportunity arrangement.
The Canon EOS 80D is now available at all authorised Canon dealers at the following prices –
| Equipment | Price |
| EOS 80D kit III (EF S18-200 IS) | $2,299.00 |
| EOS 80D kit II (EF S18-135 IS USM) | $2,249.00 |
| EOS 80D kit (EF S18-55 IS STM) | $1,849.00 |
| EOS 80D body | $1,649.00 |
| EF S18-135 f3.5-5.6 IS USM | $899.00 |
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