Last Updated on 12/22/2016 by Chris Gampat
We had to wait to get our 5D Mark IV review finished before we could release this one, which is why this is so far behind the Sony, Fujifilm, Micro Four Thirds, and Nikon editions of this post. Canon is the top dog in the camera industry, they have a long history of producing some of the best, most capable, and user friendly cameras on the market. If you are looking into picking up a Canon DSLR, here is our breakdown and where we feel like you should go depending on your needs.
Ready? Great, lets begin.
The Canon 80D
Canon 80D Highlights
- Fantastic ergonomics
- Fast autofocus in Live View
- Phenomenal focus tracking, the best I’ve seen
- Pretty simple to use
- Tilty-swingy screen of awesomeness
- Touch screen is very nice
- Canon proves itself to have the simplest menu system available on the market right now with a camera aimed at the semi-professional
What we thought in our review: “The Canon 80D is a pretty great camera in the hands of a skilled photo editor. At the same time, it can be a great camera for the enthusiast that wants to shoot in JPEG with the Live View screen. On top of fantastic ergonomics, the camera also has a lot of features that help make it a great choice for the person looking to get into sports for example.” Read the full review
Who should get one?
For anyone looking to get more than your basic Canon Rebel, the 80D is squarely in that enthusiast/semi-pro realm offering great features for portrait photographers, videographers, and even hobbyist sports photographers. More advanced shooters may want something more like the 7D Mark II, but the 80D is a formidable camera on its own and would make a great centerpiece to any kit. Those interested can pick up an 80D from Amazon, here.
The Canon 7D Mark II
Canon 7D Mark II Highlights
- Excellent autofocus system
- Dual card slots
- Fast FPS shooting at 10 frames at second
- Weather sealing
- Phenomenal battery life
- Tracking focusing is excellent
- Pretty decent high ISO results
What we thought in our review: “The Canon 7D Mk II is a camera that should have been here years ago. While there isn’t anything majorly wrong with it, it just shows Canon’s need to be conservative and careful about any and all moves that they make. But at the same time, it isn’t at all a terrible camera. In fact, it’s a damned good one.” Read the full review
Who should get one?
If you are looking for a top class sports camera with excellent image quality and a rugged build that can stand up to the elements than the 7D Mark II is the camera that you should be considering. This offers much of the same sports and action oriented features in Canon’s top class full frame sports cameras but in a smaller APS-C package. Those interested can get their hands on the 7D Mark II over on Amazon, here.
The Canon 5D Mark IV
Canon 5D Mark IV Highlights
- Great image quality
- Fantastic autofocus
- Touchscreen, finally
- Quiet shutter is nice
- Weather sealing
What we thought in our review: “By all means, the Canon 5D Mk IV is a fantastic workhorse of a camera but in some ways it’s a jack of all trades and master of none. There are cameras out there with better high ISO results, better detail rendition, and better dynamic range capabilities. But for the most part, the Canon 5D Mk IV takes almost every mirrorless camera on the market and wipes the floor with it.” Read the full review
Who should get one?
There were a lot of Canon photographers watching and waiting for the Canon 5D Mark IV to see if Canon could catch up in whatever features were most important to them and their style. In many cases the 5D Mark IV delivered on all fronts, if you are a professional of basically any still photography niche; be it weddings, portraits, boudoir, sports, etc, this is a camera that will give you great images and perform well across the board. The only niche that should maybe consider another option is the hybrid still/video shoots out there, the 5D’s video is not bad, but there are certainly better options out there for the hybrid shooter. Those interested can get their hands on the 5D Mark IV over on Amazon, here.