Canon 80D vs Canon 7D Mark II

Introduction

The Canon 80D and 7D Mark II are enthusiast-centric DSLR cameras that have been available on the market for a couple of years, but throughout their existence, they have established themselves among the most popular DSLR cameras thanks to their modern look and included features.

In addition, the Canon 80D is a direct successor to the 70D which at that time was being widely used by the photographs and gained respectable popularity. Although Canon 80D looks nearly identical in terms of the design to its predecessor, thanks to the numerous controls, connectivities, and processor, it became even more reliable and by default this means that photographs are going to have a huge freedom when it comes to video recording or photo shooting.

On the other side, 7D Mark II replaces Canon EOS 7D and extends the borders of what does an enthusiast-level DSLR camera means in practice! By this, I think of the redesigned microlenses that do an amazing job in enhancing the image quality at higher ISO, the overall design and more!

Moreover, the most notable features of Canon 80D is the 24.2 Megapixel (APS-C) CMOS sensor, its impressive 45-point all cross-type AF system and the continuous shooting capability of up to 7.0 fps. The Canon 7D Mark II does not differ at all in terms of the quality. Hence, it is armed with 65 all cross-type sensor, 20 Megapixel Dual-Pixel AF CMOS sensor and is capable enough to provide a continuous shooting rate of up to 10 fps.

Which is the best? Well, it is too early to have the final decision, so let’s make an in-depth review regarding both products, because this is the only thing that can help you make the final decision!

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Head To Head Comparison

Canon 80D

First of all, let’s start with the Canon 80D’s body that measures 4.1 x 5.5 x 3.1″(HWD), weighs approximately 1.6 pounds without a lens, and as you can see, it is lightweight enough to offer you a stable grip and prevent you from feeling fatigued even if you’ve been shooting for a considerably long period of time.

If you view from the rear, you will instantly notice a plethora of controls that stretch up to the right-hand side, while on the top plate, there is a strategically-positioned status display which will help you manage the main camera settings.

Aside from this, what I really find cool and useful is the presence of a Vari-angle touchscreen display that sits to the right side of the viewfinder. Well, the display offers a clear sight and it is very crisp due to the fact that Canon managed to include 1,040k-dots of resolution into a 3″ frame.

I would like you to know that Canon 80D’s body is weather-sealed, hence, you can use it outdoors under different weather conditions without any problem, and this comes absolutely handy for enthusiasts who simply love shooting wherever they go!

For your information, Canon 80D has a built-in Wi-Fi support, and it can easily connect to Android and iOS devices through the Canon Camera Connect App, and has a single memory card slot that supports SDHC, SD, and SDXC memory cards. Other connections include mini USB, mini HDMI, microphone input, headphone output, and remote control, which can be found on the left side panel.

Canon 80D Sample Images:

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Canon 7D Mark II

The  7D Mark II measures 4.4 x 5.9 x 3.1″ (HWD), weighs around 2 pounds which makes it larger and heavier than Canon 80D, but the reason behind is that Canon has incorporated magnesium alloy to its construction and have sealed its body with the intention to make it withstand dust and water! The end result? Well, a truly durable body that feels soft in the hand and does not look or feel cheap, although it was designed to accommodate the needs of enthusiast photographers!

Furthermore, its body is intuitively made as well since there is a sufficient number of controls including a sprung selection lever placed around the joystick control, a button that activates the built-in pop-up flash, a depth-of-field preview button, standard mode dial on the top, while on the top-right side, you can find a monochrome display and buttons which controls the backlight and more. Unfortunately, the rear display is fixed and if we compare it with Canon 80D, I think Canon wins the race here.

In terms of the performance, Canon 80D is equipped with a 45-point autofocus system that is fast enough to lock onto targets in less than 0-1 seconds under bright light conditions and about 0.8-second in dim light.

In addition, the 24-megapixel APS-C image sensor allows you to capture detailed photographs with refined individual pixels which is awesome if you ask me, mainly because of the fact that you will be able to achieve high ISO speeds of up to 16000 for still photographs and 12800 for movies!

If we compare this with 7D Mark II that is powered by a 20.2 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor and Dual DIGIC 6 Image Processors, which aid the responsiveness of the camera itself and makes you able to control the noise throughout its native sensitivity range. In fact, the ISO range stretches from 100-16000. Also, 7D Mark II proves itself as a better performer in terms of the cross-type AF system which consists of 65 points.

Speaking of the continuous rate, 80D can deliver continuous shooting of 7 fps, while 7D Mark II is better, with up to 10fps, so, 7D Mark II can capture moving objects faster than the 80D!

Moving on, where both of them lack is the 4K video capability, because both of them can record videos at up to 1080p60 quality, and so far, users of these two cameras are pretty satisfied with the quality of the videos recorded.

After all, if you ask me, I think that 80D is highly suitable for shooting natural landscapes, while 7D Mark II offers better performance for sports photography thanks to its 65-point autofocus system.

Last but not least, connectivities play a huge role in photography, since they allow users to transfer their contents quickly and easily, and of course, offer the freedom of attaching external devices.

But, 7D Mark II isn’t different at all, since it features stereo microphone port, SD card slot, mini-HDMI port, headphone jack for real-time audio monitoring. Unfortunately, it lacks built-in Wi-Fi, so, you would have to additionally invest in a Wi-Fi Adapter W-E1 in order to transfer photos. Here, Canon 80D is better, no doubt.

Canon 7D Mark II Sample Images:

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Canon 80d vs Canon 7d Mark II Feature Comparison

	Canon 80d	7d Mark ii
Camera Type	DSLR	DSLR
Megapixels	20.2	24.2
ISO Range	100-12800	100-16000
Flip-Out Screen	Yes	No
Microphone	YES	YES
Viewfinder	Yes	Yes
Touchscreen	Yes	Yes
Video Recording	Yes	Yes
Sensor Size	APS-C	APS-C

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Conclusion

Even though the quality of both cameras is uncompromised since Canon is known for producing quality cameras that can output a truly outstanding performance, Canon 80D and 7D Mark II, like every other product, have their pros and cons.

For instance, Canon 80D’s vari-angle screen is more convenient than 7D Mark II whose screen is fixed, however, 7D Mark II has a better continuous shooting rate of 10 fps, whereas, 80D has 7fps. Hence, the latter camera is more suitable for shooting moving-objects, while the first, is great for natural landscapes.

In addition, both of them have a weather-sealed body which will definitely play a huge role during your photo sessions, since the weather will not stop you from creating beautiful photos on a variety of different terrains. Dust and rain are known for contributing malfunctions to cameras that lack this capability, but hey, you shouldn’t worry at all!

Speaking of the ISO range and connectivity, 7D Mark II has a better ISO range of 100-16000, while 80D’s ISO stretch from 100-12800, while if we take into consideration the fact that 80D has built-in Wi-Fi and 7D Mark II lacks this feature because you would additionally invest in an adapter, the first, aforementioned camera is a bit better.

When it comes to the video capabilities, here, both of them lack 4K, because both of them shoot Full HD 60p videos, however, I’ve seen numerous vloggers that use 80D as a primary camera for recording videos, although this is only a matter of taste because there are people who record weddings with 7D Mark II as well.

Finally, the price is yet another thing that makes them differ a bit, and this is fairly normal though, due to the fact that one of them may offer the user something that the other lacks, and vice-versa. In general, the price isn’t huge at all, so, everything depends on the amount of money you’re ready to spend.

If we make a head to head comparison, I think that both of them are similar to each other, and depending on your shooting style, you can choose the one that suits you more. If you prefer shooting sports then go for 7D Mark II, while if you love shooting photos of nature then 80D should be great for your purpose.

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