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Canon EOS 7D Mark II vs 80D - Body only

yoda1489
Apprentice

I have a very old XTi and the cost to fix it is almost the cost of a new camera. I am trying to decide between the 7D Mark II or the 80D. I have a TON of lenses that have followed me over the years, inculding infrared, macro, and telephoto. Have the cables for manual shutter release and connecting camera to computer (MacBook Air). Also, multiple hoods, flashes, diffusers, etc. I am also looking at buying the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens.

 

I shoot mainly landscape, macro, and night sky

 

I take photo's for business. I go to locations that are hard to get to (I use 4x4) and mark the GPS location for the photo's. I then print it on the photo's I sell. I like that the 80D has a built in GPS and the screen comes out.

 

Anyone have any opions on one or the other? I have the budget for either body.

 

Thanks!

 

Anjuli

21 REPLIES 21


@ebiggs1 wrote:

B from B,

The fact is any modern DSLR makes darn good photos.  It is rather fool hearty to nit-pick them apart.  But, I guess, that is the fun of it.

In the professional world, my world, it is far different.  Gear is bought on a, will it make me more money, basis. Not the fact one has a 20MP sensor and the other has a 24MP sensor.

 

I helped a local, major newspaper, photographer do a story on musical instrument repair, she was still using a 40D !  I asked if she would like to use my Mk IV and she declined.


As she very well should have. Never go into an important photo shoot with an unfamiliar camera, a lesson I learned the hard way.

 

I got my first 7D, together with a Canon 17-55mm f/2.8, from B&H the night before some of our people were to receive an award at one of the local universities. So I clicked the lens into the camera and toddled off to photograph the ceremony. What I didn't know, until I tried to edit the resulting pictures, was that that camera/lens combination required +9 points of autofocus microadjustment. Fortunately, I almost always use two cameras at events, and pictures taken with my 50D and Sigma 50-150 came out OK, saving me a great deal of embarrassment. I've done some stupid things since, but I've never repeated that particular mistake.

Bob
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

"As she very well should have."

 

Perhaps, B from B.  But you must realize these people are pros. A camera is a camera to them.  Probably the biggest difference between advanced amateurs and a real deal, I make my living with a camera, pro.  All the shots were set-ups.  Nothing fast or quick.    And it may have been the fact it was taking me quite a long while to wipe all the drool of my Mk4 !

 

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Hi Yoda,

 

What lenses do you have?  

 

I am still not convinced the 7d2, however good or "professional" it is, matches any of your stated uses better than the 80d does.

 

The savings could be pocketed, or, more interestingly, it could be invested in/towards any lens upgrade that might benefit you. 

Scott

Canon 5d mk 4, Canon 6D, EF 70-200mm L f/2.8 IS mk2; EF 16-35 f/2.8 L mk. III; Sigma 35mm f/1.4 "Art" EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro; EF 85mm f/1.8; EF 1.4x extender mk. 3; EF 24-105 f/4 L; EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS; 3x Phottix Mitros+ speedlites

Why do so many people say "FER-tographer"? Do they take "fertographs"?

TTMartin
Authority
Authority

@yoda1489 wrote:

I have a very old XTi and the cost to fix it is almost the cost of a new camera. I am trying to decide between the 7D Mark II or the 80D. I have a TON of lenses that have followed me over the years, inculding infrared, macro, and telephoto. Have the cables for manual shutter release and connecting camera to computer (MacBook Air). Also, multiple hoods, flashes, diffusers, etc. I am also looking at buying the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens.

 

I shoot mainly landscape, macro, and night sky

 

I take photo's for business. I go to locations that are hard to get to (I use 4x4) and mark the GPS location for the photo's. I then print it on the photo's I sell. I like that the 80D has a built in GPS and the screen comes out.

 

Anyone have any opions on one or the other? I have the budget for either body.

 

Thanks!

 

Anjuli


The 7D Mk II has the built in GPS, the 80D does NOT.

 

The tilt-swivel touch screen of the 80D is a big plus for macro photography.

 

You could save a ton of money and get the 70D, and be perfectly happy too.

 

Any of those 3 cameras will serve your needs, with the 7D Mk II and 80D being overkill.

 

 


@TTMartin wrote:

@yoda1489 wrote:

I have a very old XTi and the cost to fix it is almost the cost of a new camera. I am trying to decide between the 7D Mark II or the 80D. ......   .....

 

Thanks!

 

Anjuli


The 7D Mk II has the built in GPS, the 80D does NOT.

 

The tilt-swivel touch screen of the 80D is a big plus for macro photography.

 

You could save a ton of money and get the 70D, and be perfectly happy too.

 

Any of those 3 cameras will serve your needs, with the 7D Mk II and 80D being overkill.

 

 


 

 

He's got a point.  If you're upgrading from an XTi, the IQ improvement will be equally impressive with any of those three: 70D, 80D, or 7D Mark II.  Regardless of which one you buy, you're not going to miss the small IQ differences between them.

 

The 7DII has built-in GPS, while the 80D has built-in Wi-Fi, and the 70D has neither.  Neither built-in GPS or built-in Wi-Fi is something to write home about. I have a 6D with both GPS and Wi-Fi built into it, and hardly use either feature.  The GPS is a serious drain on battery life, even when the camera is turned off.  The Wi-Fi capability is not as flexible as a networkable laptop.  I think using the term Wi-Fi misleads many people.  Perhaps, NFC is better, but the camera can do more than what that protocol can do.

 

GPS data can be added to your photos in postprocesing with some commercial software applications.  The Canon GPS software allows you to copy it from one photo to another photo(s).  An iPhone records GPS data in image files.  But, you need a Canon GPS to get the GPS software.  Last I checked, it is still not available for download.

 

Be aware that the built-in GPS is not as good as many people expect.  The 6D only reports location, lattitude and longitude.  No altitude..  But, I believe the 7DII also logs a direction, but it is not at all precise in that regard.  An iPhone does just as good a job of it as a 6D. 

 

I recommend adding GPS data by hand, anyway.  The built-in unit is not precise.  I can stand in one place, run off a dozen shots, and the camera can come up with different locations for every shot.  It only seems to be accurate to about a dozen feet, or so.  My vehicle GPS is far more accurate.  Ditto, for an iPhone.

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."


@Waddizzle wrote:

He's got a point.  If you're upgrading from an XTi, the IQ improvement will be equally impressive with any of those three: 70D, 80D, or 7D Mark II.  Regardless of which one you buy, you're not going to miss the small IQ differences between them.

The 7DII has built-in GPS, while the 80D has built-in Wi-Fi, and the 70D has neither.

 

 


70D also has built-in WiFi.

"70D also has built-in WiFi." 

 

SOLD!  Didn't check it out, but I could have sworn that it did not.  I must have been thinking 60D or 7D.

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."


@Waddizzle wrote:

@TTMartin wrote:

@yoda1489 wrote:

I have a very old XTi and the cost to fix it is almost the cost of a new camera. I am trying to decide between the 7D Mark II or the 80D. ......   .....

 


The 7D Mk II has the built in GPS, the 80D does NOT.

 

 

 

 


 

The 7DII has built-in GPS, while the 80D has built-in Wi-Fi, and the 70D has neither.  Neither built-in GPS or built-in Wi-Fi is something to write home about. I have a 6D with both GPS and Wi-Fi built into it, and hardly use either feature.  The GPS is a serious drain on battery life, even when the camera is turned off. 

 

 

...

 

I recommend adding GPS data by hand, anyway.  The built-in unit is not precise.  I can stand in one place, run off a dozen shots, and the camera can come up with different locations for every shot.  It only seems to be accurate to about a dozen feet, or so.  My vehicle GPS is far more accurate.  Ditto, for an iPhone.


Interestingly the OP stated the 80D has GPS so I made the assumption that it did...I only have the 7D2 and not the 80D.  One data point for me is always verify :).

 

Waddizzle...different people have different needs... :).  For me the GPS is one of the features I truly love on the 7DII...I just like GPS...one of the first users of GPS, done Geocaching and everything else and I'm very up to speed on the GPS solutions you mentioned...There are two camps...you either want GPS tagging on your photos or you don't.  If you belong to the camp that does...built-in GPS is a godsend....just enable GPS and you forget about it.

 

I've done GPS data by hand and it's a royal pain.. As much as I like GPS, I only need GPS tagging when I go on a field trip or vacation.  My phone batteries often go dead before my cameras ever would...I need to remember activate the phone app and synchronize the time between the app and the camera, then I have to download the file, run a program to synch the two... .I did it a couple times just to say I've done it but no...not part of my workflow...just not worth it.  The only thing I hate about the 7DII GPS is that you have to disable it after use otherwise the stupid thing keeps trying to acquire satellites and runs the battery down to zero....all Canon has to do is to give users a choice to either keep the gps running or not when you switch the camera off.

 

Even though I recommend to the OP the 80D, I must agree with ebiggs that having higher end cameras are not highly functional but also nice...I've handled the 70D many times helping a friend who has it and it always feels wrong in my hands...too light and flimsy having got used to the 5DIII and the 7DII.  Imagine using the 1D...not sure I want to get the 80D, just for the feel alone...(this is just me, of course - others obviously do not feel the same).

 

Back to the OP, he appears to be the type who does not upgrade often so between the 70D and 80D, I'd get the 80D which will last another 5 years or so.  The 70D is getting old already...

================================================
Diverhank's photos on Flickr


@diverhank wrote:

 

Interestingly the OP stated the 80D has GPS so I made the assumption that it did...I only have the 7D2 and not the 80D.  One data point for me is always verify :).

 

Waddizzle...different people have different needs... :).  For me the GPS is one of the features I truly love on the 7DII...I just like GPS...one of the first users of GPS, done Geocaching and everything else and I'm very up to speed on the GPS solutions you mentioned...There are two camps...you either want GPS tagging on your photos or you don't.  If you belong to the camp that does...built-in GPS is a godsend....just enable GPS and you forget about it.  I've done GPS data by hand and it's a royal pain...I did it a couple times just to say I've done it but no...not part of my workflow...just not worth it.  The only thing I hate about the 7DII GPS is that you have to disable it after use otherwise the stupid thing keeps trying to acquire satellites and runs the battery down to zero....all Canon has to do is to give users a choice to either keep the gps running or not when you switch the camera off.

Even though I recommend to the OP the 80D, I must agree with ebiggs that having higher end cameras are not highly functional but also nice...I've handled the 70D many times helping a friend who has it and it always feels wrong in my hands...too light and flimsy having got used to the 5DIII and the 7DII.  Imagine using the 1D...not sure I want to get the 80D, just for the feel alone...(this is just me, of course - others obviously do not feel the same).

Back to the OP, he appears to be the type who does not upgrade often so between the 70D and 80D, I'd get the 80D which will last another 5 years or so.  The 70D is getting old already...


Moving from the XTi (which is small compared to current Rebels) to the 70D or 80D the cameras will feel large and well made. The 7D Mk II will feel like a heavy beast.

 

The upgrades in the 80D over the 70D in my opinion wont significantly benefit the OP. 

 

As far as I know the increase in 'dynamic range' on the 80D comes from Canon tweaking the RAW files so they performed better on DXO tests. Past Canon cameras have always had way more dynamic range than DXO showed, it just required the right post processing to get it out. In my opinion Canon just baked in some processing to the RAW files like the other manufactures have always done (i.e. black point settings), and wow, more dynamic range on DXO tests.

 

The 70D is a significant upgrade over the XTi, and more than enough camera for the OPs needs. In my opinion spending more on the 80D or 7D Mk II is just an unnecessary expense. 

 

 

 

It happens to be the anniversary of Canon posting this on their Facebook page.

 

Introducing the Next Game Changer: The Canon EOS 70D Digital SLR

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