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Old But Gold: 9 Older Digital Canon Cameras That Still Rock

Brett Day
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05/11/2020
5 Mins read
affordable full frame cameras

These Canon cameras may be a bit long in the tooth now, but they can still do a great job in the hands of photographers.

You don’t have to blow large amounts of money on the latest and great cameras to be able to produce excellent results. A lot of older digital cameras, both Mirrorless and DSLR, are more than capable and have tons of features that make them a worthwhile buy even if they are a few years old. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at older cameras that are still good enough to use today. Forget all the marketing hype about 8K and 12 billion Megapixels: you simply don’t need it. The Canon cameras we have listed after the break are feature-packed, and they can deliver greatness in the right hands. Come and check out which older digital Canon cameras you can get at bargain prices.

Captured with the Canon EOS M6

Older cameras are, in many ways, like older cars: they don’t become worse because a newer model has been released. In fact, a lot of older cars become sought-after classics, and we are seeing some of this happening in the camera market too. The digital Canon cameras we have listed below were all at the top of their game when they were released, and honestly, they all still hold up to cameras that get released today. Cameras like the Canon 6D and the 5D III are workhorses that can now be picked up for little money and guess what; they are still capable of producing wonderful images. If you are looking for a camera that will last, and allow your creative visions to come true while being easy on the wallet, these are the older digital Canon cameras worth a look.

Canon G1X Mk II

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Great, portable size that makes you feel as if you have a true companion camera
  • Slightly larger than 4/3rds size sensor in a fairly compact camera body
  • Sharp lens
  • Great colors
  • Not bad high ISO results
  • Nice controls

Cons

  • We wish autofocus were a bit faster
  • Using the Wifi transmission feature is a bit difficult

Buy now: $649

Canon 7D Mk II

canon aps-c cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Excellent autofocus system
  • Big, beautiful viewfinder
  • Dual card slots enable you to shoot with some images transferring over Wifi if you use an EyeFi Card
  • Fast FPS shooting at 10 frames at second
  • Better ETTL transmission with Canon products
  • Versatile RAW files
  • Weather sealing
  • Phenomenal battery life
  • Tracking focusing is excellent
  • Prett decent high ISO results

Cons

  • Autofocus with Sigma glass can be messy and inaccurate. This is a Canon problem, not Sigma’s.
  • Atrocious TTL transmission with Phottix products. Again, this is a Canon problem.

Buy now: $1,300

Canon 70D

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Fastest autofocus in Live View of any camera we’ve seen or tested when it comes to its exemplary tracking abilities. Otherwise, it’s only a bit slower than Sony
  • Fairly nice build for the customer base with a nice feel in the hand
  • WiFi connectivity is a nice touch and fun to use
  • Versatile raw files
  • Pretty light
  • Canon decided to put micro-adjustment back into the camera, which is nice
  • Low light focusing is like the camera naturally can see in the dark

Cons

  • We feel Canon purposely crippled the sensor. It’s worse than the 7D’s and 5D Mk II’s (yes, the Mk II)
  • Really wish the back dial was beefier
  • The implementation of direct autofocus point selection vs having to press a button first would’ve made this one heck of a sweet camera
  • We wish the autofocus could be fine-tuned a bit more to a very exact spot like the 7D

Buy now: $699.99

Canon 80D

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Fantastic ergonomics
  • Fast autofocus in Live View
  • Phenomenal focus tracking – the best we’ve seen
  • Pretty simple to use
  • Tilty-swingy screen of awesomeness
  • Touch screen is very nice
  • Canon proves it has the simplest menu system available on the market right now with a camera aimed at the semi-professional

Cons

  • The directional pad in the middle of the back control wheel isn’t an appropriate replacement for their multi-directional controller
  • Phase detection AF through the viewfinder is crap in low light conditions, though significantly better in Live View
  • Image quality starts to fall apart easily with just a bit of editing
  • More image noise than we’re used to seeing at ISO 1600 and above. We haven’t seen this since the Leica M9
  • AF points can be tough to spot in the viewfinder

Buy now: $899

senior portrait photography
Captured with the Canon 6D and a Tamron 70-200mm f2.8

Pro Tip: The Canon cameras we have listed here were built to be used and abused, and their workhorse-like nature means they will be around for a while longer, but in order to maximize their lifespan, you need to take care of them. Simple cleaning maintenance can make your camera last years longer. Make sure you clean the contacts and the sensor, and eliminate dust as often as possible, and you’ll find that these cameras will just keep going. You don’t need to spend a fortune on a cleaning kit either. This one will do just fine.

Canon 6D

Canon Digital Cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Comfortable size and weight in-hand
  • Great high-ISO image quality
  • Silent shutter!

Cons

  • 1/4000 top shutter speed & 1/180 max sync speed

Buy now: $811.18

Canon 5D Mark III

Canon Digital Cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Larger LCD than the 5D II and also more vibrant
  • A dedicated rate button which allows you to rate your images before you import them to your camera
  • Quiet shutter mode
  • A new 100% viewfinder
  • Amazing autofocus
  • Excellent image quality

Cons

  • Some questionable ergonomic changes over the 5D II

Buy used from: $800

Canon 5Ds

Canon Digital Cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Solid build quality, though heavy
  • Lots of resolution for those who need it
  • Beautiful viewfinder
  • Very deep color versatility
  • Weather resistance
  • Some of the best autofocusing capabilities we’ve seen with a Canon DSLR

Cons

  • Odd menu changes if you’re a veteran Canon user. Micro adjustment isn’t in the same spot anymore
  • Lack of Wifi, but can use EyeFi cards
  • Still can only do second curtain flash with Canon flashes
  • We expected much more highlight recovery
  • Not a lot of lenses can resolve 50MP very well

Buy now: $1,273.97

Canon EOS M5

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Nice feeling in the hand
  • Nice, small lenses
  • High resolution screen and viewfinder that look really nice
  • Simple to use
  • WiFi
  • Good low ISO image quality
  • Very good battery life
  • Nice colors

Cons

  • Pretty bad high ISO output in this day and age. (Only applies to Adobe Lightroom. Capture One does a great job with the RAW files)
  • Slow autofocus, though not terrible
  • Great video output

Buy now: $475.34

Canon EOS M6

Canon Digital Cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • This kit lens is pretty fantastic
  • Nice colors, though Canon’s skin tones may be a bit too warm for you if you’re adhering to shooting in the golden hour with Daylight white balance
  • Big screen
  • The best battery life I’ve ever seen in a mirrorless camera
  • WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity
  • Touch screen
  • Small size
  • Those dials feel absolutely stellar
  • 5-axis IS is a nice addition

Cons

  • Not the most versatile RAW files
  • Canon desperately needs to consider bundling pancake prime lenses with this camera
  • Could have benefited from a built-in viewfinder

Buy now: $599