80D - Canon APS-C technology catches up to 2013

Introduction

On Feb 18th, Canon announced their new prosumer APS-C camera, the 80D. This is the next generation of a long product line that started way back in 2003 with the 10D. Each of Canon's two digit 'D' cameras has an Eos Rebel with the same basic specs and similar feature sets. This time the 80D has two Eos Rebel sister models, the Canon-T6i and T6s. The 80D has a newly designed twenty four megapixel sensor and added features for capturing video. Canon also announced two new video related accessories: a power zoom ($150) and a shotgun microphone ($250). The power zoom has different speeds, can be controlled by a smartphone, and attaches to the bottom of the lens. The camera inherits mirror vibration control from the 7D mark 2 which is a nice touch. The camera goes on sale in March for $1199. The 80D uses Canon's Dual Pixel technology for continuous phase detect autofocus during live view. This is a nice feature, but obviously any mirrorless camera with phase detect does this as well. This model adds HD (1080p) video recording at 60 frames per second. A headphone jack has been added for monitoring the audio, and the locations of the audio ports have been moved so they don't interfere with the swiveling LCD screen.

Where's the excitement?

Canon was late to the 24 megapixel party when in June of 2015 it announced the T6i and T6s. By then the Nikon D3200 had already been on the market for three years. Nikon has since refreshed its product lines multiple times--with the latest models being the D3300, D5500 and D7200. Sony has also released four 24 megapixel aps-c cameras with the latest being the A6300. The point is that Canon is just now releasing its first high end model at this resolution, where the other manufacturers have been making and refining their cameras for years. So it's no surprise that the announcement of the new sensor was greeted by a collective yawn by the press. And why pay $1200 for a camera that has the same specs as an $800 Nikon D7100 that was released three years ago?

But what about that video?

With this camera, Canon made a point of touting the enhancements to video, and even announced two video accessories for the camera. So the exciting thing about the 80D is amazing video! But here is the problem. It can only record "high definition" 1080p. Now, any new video-capable camera records in 4K ultra high def. Every Panasonic since the GH-4 records in 4K, as do all the new Sony's including the *tiny* RX-100IV point-and-shoot. Nikon has at least four cameras that shoot 4K. Even an iPhone shoots in 4K. High resolution video is useful. Even if you don't intend the final output to be that large, the extra resolution can be used for zooming and panning or down-sampled for wonderful image quality.

Imagine buying the full 80D video setup with the mic and zoom, for a grand total of $1600. You're happily recording and controlling the power zoom remotely with your iPhone. The irony here is that you'd be better off not using the 80D at all and use the iPhone to record video at four times the resolution! Maybe the iPhone doesn't take perfect 4K video, but there are plenty of cameras that do. And those cameras have essential video features the Canon doesn't, like zebras for over/under exposure, focus peaking, in-body stabilization, real-time histograms and C-log recording just to name a few. We know Canons can do focus peaking because Magic Lantern (community created firmware) has offered this feature since 2009. Want a camera with 24 megapixels that can also shoot 4K? There's the Sony A6300 that has all the features the 80D is missing, and it's also two hundred dollars less.

Creeping incrementalism

To be fair, the 80D like it's predecessors, will be a capable camera that takes beautiful, hi-resolution photos. If you have a large collection of crop sensor glass, and your 70D is accidentally dropped off cliff--these things happen in landscape photography--then you should probably buy the 80D as a replacement. But Canon doesn't exist in a vacuum, and it's competitors are offering cameras with genuinely useful features. No photographer that also wants to shoot video would buy this camera because the 1080p video resolution is now obsolete.

The pace of innovation in the APS-C space from Canon is simply too slow to keep up with the market. As Jim Harmer (ImprovePhotography.com) pointed out, the T2i, T3i, T4i, 60D and 7D cameras all used more or less the same sensor. Where is all the research and development money going? Canon has the largest worldwide market share of all the camera manufacturers. But it's hard to imagine that will be the case if Canon continues to underwhelm it's customers.