26Feb Canon 80d, the Camera you wanted 3 years ago.
It’s been over 6 years since the Canon t2i was released. With the help of Magic Lantern, the t2i brought us headphone monitoring, focus peaking, audio level meters, in camera gain control and some other very impressive features. There have been 8 or so camera bodies released since then, but none of them have provided the value offered by the Canon t2i in terms of video features.
After all of this time waiting for Canon to make a video-centric DSLR camera, we are finally getting the Canon 80d. With this new interaction, Canon is finally including a lot of the video features that have been missing from the APS-C lineup, but is it too little too late?
What we get in the Canon 80d is a headphone jack, dual pixel AF, touch focus, and a flip out screen. However, what we are missing in this modern age is internal 4k recording, focus peaking, zebra patterns, no clean hdmi output, and a number of features that Magic lantern was able to provide in the late but great Canon t2i.
At a list price of $1200, the Canon 80d has some stiff competition. On the used side of things, you can buy the Canon 5d mark III body used for $1800. That’s only $600 more than the 80d and you get everything but dual pixel AF, plus the bonus of clean hdmi output. In that same $2000 price category we have used Canon c100 bodies that are selling for right at $2000.
In the same price range, we have the original Sony a7s which will set you back around $1500. You’ll get a full frame body, better low light performance, and the option to have a full fledge XLR audio adapter with the XLR-K1M upgrade. On top of that you’ll be able to adapt to just about any lens on the market thanks to the mirrorless body.
At $1000, we the Panasonic GH4. Pretty much everything you’d get out of a Canon 80d minus the sensor size, plus you have the option to shoot at 4k video internally and much more affordable lens options.
To top of the competition, we have the Sony a6300. At $998, we have an APS-C camera that is capable of shooting 4k video, has a suspiciously similar 24mp sensor and most of the features seen in the much more expensive a7 line.
With this kind of competition does the Canon 80d really make any sense? We now have so many options to choose from and all of them make the Canon 80d look a little lame. On top of that, many of us already own older Canon cameras that offer most of the features seen in the 80d. IS a headphone jack and dual pixel AF worth the upgrade?
February 27th, 2016 at 8:45 am
It’s ridiculous. I understand it. Canon is just hoping people are so invested in their lenses that they just keep riding the Canon train. But the problem is, I sold my 60d years ago, with all my lenses and jumped on the Sony train. Canon is not paying attention to the market. Yes, they added new features and all. But to price is that high? It’s literally bad business. Why even bother making the camera? Promote your old cameras and your cinema line. Why…even…bother?
February 28th, 2016 at 3:21 am
AGREED ! Too little innovation and too late for this price! However, I am keeping my babarian “conan” lenses because they work still pretty good on my Sony A6000. (Current body-price: 499 US$) Every single spec.as good as or better than Conan 80D. If the upcoming 5D Mk4 does not sway me, I will be gone forever for “Conan”. The 7d Mk2 was an EPIC FLOP. The neBut CONAN is just too “high-nosed” to learn from their mistakes. They are already on the “Samsung-Alley-of-no-return”… Suizidal…. More price for NO SALE is still NOTHING.
February 27th, 2016 at 8:56 pm
a6300 is on pre-order. Canon is going to see crushingly low sales figure on the 80D.
Makes one think they will focus on the rebel and cinema lines eventually, as their X (5D, 6D, 7D) and XX (60D, 70D, 80D) lines are getting crushed.
April 30th, 2016 at 2:33 am
I’m purely interested in these for video, but from my perspective the absence of a headphone jack on the A6300 is a big mistake. That instantly makes it my b-cam. You have to be able to check your audio on camera and listen during recording interviews etc. I’ve also heard the AF on the A6300 described as “like someone who’s had 10 cups of coffee”. I guess I’m after that smooth transition look for focus pulling. Would I like 4K (yes if only to oversample and output HD in the final edit for a clearer picture)? 120fps? (yes absolutely for slow mo shots)…… but for a mid range camera that’s going to be your main bit of kit. For me the Canon still wins, just. If you already have a main camera with headphone jack and this is a b-cam, then I’d go A6300 because then you can play with all the cool features.
April 30th, 2016 at 8:14 am
Don’t forget the A6300 also gets really hot and will overheat and shut down on long shoots (over 45 min).
April 30th, 2016 at 8:45 am
creativelondon, that’s a shame that you were told that. I own the A6300, and the person that told you that wasn’t intentionally lying, but apparently had no idea how to use the camera to it’s full extent. I have used the predecessor, the a6000, for weddings and the focus pulling is VERY smooth. In fact, you can dial in how fast you want the focus pull to be. Yes, there are a lot of reports about the overheating, but that goes way back to the Nex5N days. It’s just a byproduct of the design. Oh, and monitoring? If you have an H1 hanging around….audio into that and headphone out of it. To be fair, I havent tested that yet. But I will. I’m not trying to be argumentative. I am just saying dont trust everything you hear 🙂
April 30th, 2016 at 10:14 am
I was able to play around with the a6300 at NAB for about an hour. It was hot to the touch after about 8-10 min of 4k recording and I talked to a couple of shooters on the show floor that were having shut down issues. AF seemed fine, but the overheating is what made me decide to stick with the GH4 and my b-cam.
April 30th, 2016 at 10:24 am
I hear ya Deejay. I’m actually considering the GH4 for a second cam. I never jumped on it initially because I wanted 4k with a aps-c sensor, not the smaller micro 4/3rds. Samsung was the only one in recent times that offered that in my price range (the Blackmagic one had their own issues).
For the stuff that I do, the A7S2 would be ideal for me. Not even just the clean high iso performance, but that 5 axis in body stablization too. But that price tag…
I might even entertain an A7 with the same features, minus the 4k. But anyway, I’m getting sidetracked. Even with the new features, I’m still not compelled to go Canon.
April 30th, 2016 at 11:08 am
In-body image stabilization is fantastic on the a7sII and it is also pretty impressive on the new Panasonic GX85. I’ll probably trade up for GH5 when the are released just for the image Stabilization. I shoot handheld regularly and the IS allows for a lot more freedom of movement.