Canon EOS 80D DxOMarked, best performing Canon APS-C sensor, still behind competitors

Canon EOS 80D: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Canon EOS 80D at a glance:

• 24.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor with ISO 100-16,000 (H: 25,600) sensitivity
• 7fps full resolution continuous shooting rate with 3fps silent continuous mode with reduced vibration
• Swift and accurate full time continuous focus in Live View and Full HD movies with Dual Pixel CMOS AF, which can be fine-tuned for tracking sensitivity and speed for movies
• 45-point wide area all cross-type AF system with 27 f/8 compatible AF points
• DIGIC 6 processor with 14-bit processing for high quality images
• Large 7.7cm (3.0”) capacitive touch panel Vari-Angle LCD, 1040k dot, 3:2 ratio
• Intelligent viewfinder with approx. 100% frame coverage
• 7,560-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor with Flicker Detection
• Full HD movies with 60p
• Timelapse, HDR and Creative filters in Movie
• Built-in Wi-Fi and NFC for instant connection, sharing and remote control
• Creative Filters and Special Scene Modes plus Fine Detail Picture Style
• In-camera Multiple exposure, Interval timer and Bulb timer
• Electronic level for straight horizons when shooting landscapes
• Integrated Speedlite Transmitter

DxOMark posted their lab results for the Canon EOS 80D. I am not a big fan of such measures since I think the say very little about a camera’s performance in real world settings.

The Canon EOS 80D features Canon’s best performing APS-C sensor, with a score of 79. To compare: the EOS 7D Mark II scores 70, and the EOS 70D scores 68. Never the less, the score is still behind competitors. The Sony A6300 scores 85, and Nikon’s D7200 scores 87.

Writes DxOMark:

While the results from the 80D on DR should appeal to landscape photographers who routinely adopt the base ISO setting, it’s worthwhile to remember that Canon probably had other priorities in mind when developing this sensor. While there may have been some trade-offs in DR at high ISOs, noise levels aren’t far behind the class leaders, and the Dual Pixel AF mode in live view and video looks promising for video and certain still applications. Lowering the noise floor at base while increasing pixel count remains an impressive feat, and ultimately the Canon EOS 80D sensor offers a pretty decent performance overall. Read the review…