I know that more people will support Canon since this is a Canon Forum. I shoot both systems. From my personal point of view, Canon is lag behind Nikon when comparing 80D with Nikon D500. Both cameras have plenty of new things added in. 4K video and auto AF microadjustment are something which I appreciate more in Nikon D500. Maybe they are not directly comparable. Nikon D500 is more close to 7D series. However we don't have a new 7D III at the moment. If you have money available and have dual system lenses in hand which one would you buy? I will put my money in Nikon D500.
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Canon 80D vs Nikon D500
- Thread starter lynnG
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Astrophotographer 10
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I have had both Canon and Nikon cameras in the past and own neither at present except for a smallish Canon P and S.
The D5 specs do seem more impressive on paper. I like the dual pixel AF on all pixels. Using a Sony A7R2 I know how good PDAF type AF systems can be and it seems to me to likely be the long term future of AF systems. So Canon is ahead there. No micro adjustment needed when its on Sensor PDAF as it is already focusing exactly to the sensor. This should translate to more accurate AF results. Not sure how that worked out on the 70D.
No 4K is a bit behind the times though. Although Nikon's 4K implementation is not the best either.
4K probably has issues that have yet to be resolved. With Sony it was heat issues that eventually got solved.
Touch screen sounds nice. I'd like that.
Apart from that it will boil down to sensor performance. 24mp on APSc is now crowded territory with a number of cameras offering that - Fuji XPro 2, Sony A6000/A6300, Nikon D7200.
Another competitor here would be the Sony A6300. You can still use your Canon lenses with a Metabones adapter, probably similar AF (be an interesting comparison) price is about the same and get 4K video if video is your thing.
Greg.
The D5 specs do seem more impressive on paper. I like the dual pixel AF on all pixels. Using a Sony A7R2 I know how good PDAF type AF systems can be and it seems to me to likely be the long term future of AF systems. So Canon is ahead there. No micro adjustment needed when its on Sensor PDAF as it is already focusing exactly to the sensor. This should translate to more accurate AF results. Not sure how that worked out on the 70D.
No 4K is a bit behind the times though. Although Nikon's 4K implementation is not the best either.
4K probably has issues that have yet to be resolved. With Sony it was heat issues that eventually got solved.
Touch screen sounds nice. I'd like that.
Apart from that it will boil down to sensor performance. 24mp on APSc is now crowded territory with a number of cameras offering that - Fuji XPro 2, Sony A6000/A6300, Nikon D7200.
Another competitor here would be the Sony A6300. You can still use your Canon lenses with a Metabones adapter, probably similar AF (be an interesting comparison) price is about the same and get 4K video if video is your thing.
Greg.
ImageAmateur
Veteran Member
Not a straight comparison, as you say. USD2,000 vs USD1,200.
For many the 80D or D7200 will be more than enough.
For those requiring really fast, the D500.
But, if you do not need it yet, I cannot see the 7D not being updated shortly with the new sensor fab that Canon is now using.
And the 7DIII will be cheaper than the D500 by a few hundred, if current prices continue to the update.
But, for now, the D500 seems a heck of a camera.
If I was considering a D500 level camera, I'd get the 7DM2 because I own Canon glass and don't wish to replace it. The 4k video would not even factor into it.
If I didn't own any glass, then yeah, I'd consider the D500, especially if I had never shot canon before (I have and I think I prefer the ergonomics of them). The auto AF micro adjust is a nice feature to be in a camera, so doubt. Of course, with my Canon bodies and glass, I haven't found a real need to MFA.
Why put the 80D up against a D500? It best compares to the D7200.
Wrong, this is the complaints department for Canon.
The 80D looks like a swell camera, now with really nice video options, if no 4k yet. As a system it's very appealing, and with the new nano USB lenses you know they're serious about it, Nikon users seem to still be waiting for better DX lenses, Canon has delivered in spades.
The whole tech specs discussion is not very useful as there are very few people who have outgrown the basics of their camera.
The best comparison is against the D7200, the 500D goes against the 7DII. The thing is the 500D is still an unknown quantity, I would wait for the serious reviews to come in and then at least a year for the almost inevitable oil spots / AF failures... And then consider if you're ok with a camera upgrade every 10 years or whatever it was from the D300s.
The 80D looks like a swell camera, now with really nice video options, if no 4k yet. As a system it's very appealing, and with the new nano USB lenses you know they're serious about it, Nikon users seem to still be waiting for better DX lenses, Canon has delivered in spades.
The whole tech specs discussion is not very useful as there are very few people who have outgrown the basics of their camera.
I currently have a broken T1i, a Canon 50mm f1.8 and a 580EX and 420 (auto only, old model) flash, and a couple of old lenses I expect not to use if I buy a new 80D.
So there's not really much of a previous investment to keep me tied to Canon.
So if I get serious aoubt replacing the broken camera with another D-SLR, I'll take a good look at the Nikon.
And I'll pay particular attention to video.
BAK
So there's not really much of a previous investment to keep me tied to Canon.
So if I get serious aoubt replacing the broken camera with another D-SLR, I'll take a good look at the Nikon.
And I'll pay particular attention to video.
BAK
KariP
Veteran Member
D500 is in the pro class (especially the price tag) - 80D is not
Anyway, if the sensor quality (DR and other things) is this time on the same level with Nikon and Sony, this will be a great camera.
People who have Canon lenses that would be good news. Interesting to see the tests ...
Luckily i did not upgrade to 7DII - 80D has many things i missed
KariP
Veteran Member
Steve Balcombe
Forum Pro
Of course it is - in fact it's slightly more expensive than the 7D2, comparing UK launch prices. It makes little sense to compare the D500 and the 80D - though Canon should be flattered that you want to.
Well, yes that's true, but you can't penalise the 7D2 for being launched 18 months before the D500, while huge numbers of Nikon owners were getting more and more frustrated by the lack of a high-end crop body. At last you have 10 fps, which I've had since October 2014! Actually you don't have it yet, do you? Only a promise of it in late April, if it doesn't get postponed again.
Ok.
Kokopelli_Rocks
Senior Member
I think this would be a good comparison if the cameras were in the same price point but there is a major price difference between the two cameras. Years ago the Nikon Dxxx cameras were in the same class as the Canon xxD. Over the years Canon has moved the xxD to a lower class of camera.
I don't see any point in trying to compare these cameras.
I don't see any point in trying to compare these cameras.
Alastair Norcross
Forum Pro
Having no interest in video, I'd choose the 7DII. I'm also told by others (I haven't shot video on my 7DII in over fifteen months of owning it) that video on the 7DII is pretty good. It doesn't have a touchscreen, but videographers managed for many years without one, and I'm told (again, no personal experience) that selecting the focus point with the joystick is pretty easy. No 4K, of course, but I have a hard time seeing why 4K is necessary for home video. It seems like a waste of space and processing power to me, but I don't even own a 4K TV, and see no need to get one. As for still shooting, the 7DII is simply amazing. The AF system is top notch, and it shoots at 10fps. It has 65 selectable AF points, all cross-type. The D500 has 55 points, only 35 of which are cross-type (the other "points" are marketing speak--Canon has those too, just doesn't count them). For all I know, the D500 AF system will be as good as, or even a bit better than, the 7DII. No-one knows yet. The sensor may be slightly better too in the D500. It might even be better enough that you can tell the difference, if you look at your image at 100% on a screen from one or two feet away. For regular, and sane, display sizes and viewing distances, no-one will be able to tell the difference. If I had no investment in either system, I might be tempted to wait until the 80D and D500 were available, and then choose between the 80D, 7DII, D500, and D7200. Given that I've used Canon for many years and have a lot of lenses, I think it would be sheer insanity to switch systems in the hope (probably vain) of vanishingly small perceptible differences in results.
4K video does look a lot better than 1080p. If you're serious about video, I think 4K is the way to go, because it is what clients will want in the future. Of course, if you aren't serious about video, it doesn't matter.
When I bought my 60D one of the attractions was to always have a means of taking high quality videos quickly and without more equipment. Exactly what it turned out to be useless at. Fortunately it is a great camera and why I still have it.
For my holidays to Thailand, India and Australia I have carried the brilliant Panasonic HC-VX870 camcorder. It's 4K images are stunning, it has a great lens, absolutely amazing stabilisation plus a reasonably wide angle. It is so small I can usually have my hand through the strap while shooting with the 60D. The Sydney new year fireworks handheld is far better than anything I have ever seen on TV.
I am keen to upgrade the 60D but, for different reasons, don't see either of these cameras as an attractive proposition for my video needs. The crop 4K on the D500 seems especially stupid but I could be wrong.
The great thing today, especially with APS-C DSLRs is that entry level lenses are very, very good. I don't therefore have a huge investment in lenses and could happily switch from Canon to Nikon.
For my holidays to Thailand, India and Australia I have carried the brilliant Panasonic HC-VX870 camcorder. It's 4K images are stunning, it has a great lens, absolutely amazing stabilisation plus a reasonably wide angle. It is so small I can usually have my hand through the strap while shooting with the 60D. The Sydney new year fireworks handheld is far better than anything I have ever seen on TV.
I am keen to upgrade the 60D but, for different reasons, don't see either of these cameras as an attractive proposition for my video needs. The crop 4K on the D500 seems especially stupid but I could be wrong.
The great thing today, especially with APS-C DSLRs is that entry level lenses are very, very good. I don't therefore have a huge investment in lenses and could happily switch from Canon to Nikon.
Yxa
Senior Member
No the D5/500 has 99 cross type ( discrete points by nature) , Canon doesn't have that, why are you fabulating?
Alastair Norcross
Forum Pro
Higgins2002
Senior Member
4k video is great for getting extra zoom and lot of editing choices.
4k video can be away to get the picture you couldn't .....
By 30 fps and 8mp stills extracted from 4k movie you have more chance to get the exact moment..
* Of course you have to set proper shutter speed for not getting motion blur etc.
* The AF system got to be up for it.
This is what I think the Canons Dual pixel AF could have shined to bad they didn't include 4k video.
When 8k video is coming I think it will change the way "how to get THE picture".
Steve Balcombe
Forum Pro
That's certainly what the Nikon literature says, but I'd be very interested to know more about it. If the in-between points are not actual physical AF points on the sensor, how can Nikon get away with claiming 153 points? On the other hand if they are actual AF points, what possible advantage is there in making them not selectable? <scratches head>
Yxa
Senior Member
Well you are wrong
An AF cross point is where there is a cross between two orthogonal sections of the
ccd-array where there is a discrete potential= point
Nikon choose not to make all those point selectable and Canon won't either when they have a AF system with that many discrete points
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