Canon EOS 50D vs Canon EOS 80D

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS 50D and the Canon EOS 80D, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Canon EOS 50D was introduced in October 2008 and Canon EOS 80D was introduced in February 2016. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS 50D over Canon EOS 80D.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS 80D over Canon EOS 50D.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Canon EOS 50D and Canon EOS 80D have 3.0" screens with 920k dot and 1,040k dot resolutions respectively. Canon EOS 50D has a Fixed screen Canon EOS 80D has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Canon EOS 80D also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Canon EOS 80D) allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Cameras have built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinders. Canon EOS 50D has 95% coverage with 0.95x (0.59x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Canon EOS 80D has 100% coverage with 0.95x (0.59x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Canon EOS 50D features a 15.1 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 22.3 x 14.9 mm and a total area of 332.3 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 3,200 and expands to 100 - 12,800 in boosted mode. Canon EOS 80D features a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 22.5 x 15 mm and a total area of 225 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 16,000 and expands to 100 - 25,600 in boosted mode.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Canon EOS 50D is equipped with DIGIC 4 processor and can take pictures up to 4752 x 3168 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3456 x 2304, 2353 x 1568 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Canon EOS 80D is equipped with DIGIC 6 processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution.

Lens Mount

Cameras have Canon EF/EF-S lens mount. Due to their APS-C sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is equal to 1.6x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.6.

No Image Stabilization

The cameras do not have image stabilization. On Canon EOS 50D it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Canon EOS 80D nothing can be done. On Canon EOS 80D it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Canon EOS 50D nothing can be done.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Canon EOS 80D

Canon EOS 80D has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

NFC on Canon EOS 80D

Canon EOS 80D has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Canon EOS 50D has a Mini HDMI and Canon EOS 80D has a Mini HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS 50D comes with BP-511A battery pack with battery life of 800 shots and Canon EOS 80D comes with LP-E6N battery pack with battery life of 960 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS 50D has a single CompactFlash (Type I/II, UDMA 7) card slot. Canon EOS 80D has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Canon EOS 50D has Electronically Controlled Vertical-travel Mechanical Focal-plane shutter. Canon EOS 80D has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS 50D, and up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS 80D. Canon EOS 50D can shoot continuously up to 6.3 fps. Canon EOS 80D can shoot continuously up to 7.0 fps.

Focusing

Both cameras have Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with Canon EOS 50D having 9 focusing points and with Canon EOS 80D having 45 (45 cross-type) focusing points and from -3 to +18 EV detection range. and Canon EOS 80D having from -3 to +18 EV detection range.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS 50D and Canon EOS 80D range from 0.5 to +18 EV and +1 to +20 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±2 EV range on Canon EOS 50D and ±5 EV range on Canon EOS 80D. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS 50D and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS 80D.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 13.00 m at ISO 100 on Canon EOS 50D and 12.00 m at ISO 100 on Canon EOS 80D. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Canon EOS 50D and via Hot Shoe to Canon EOS 80D. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on both cameras.

Canon EOS 50D body has dimensions of 146 x 108 x 74 mm (5.75 x 4.25 x 2.91") and Canon EOS 80D body has dimensions of 139 x 105 x 79 mm (5.47 x 4.13 x 3.11"). Canon EOS 50D weighs 822 g (1.81 lb / 29.00 oz) and Canon EOS 80D weighs 730 g (1.61 lb / 25.75 oz).

Canon EOS 50D

Canon EOS 80D

146 mm

108 mm

139 mm

105 mm

108 mm

105 mm

74 mm

79 mm