Canon EOS 70D vs Canon EOS 20D

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS 70D and the Canon EOS 20D, 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 70D was introduced in October 2013 and Canon EOS 20D was introduced in November 2004. 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 70D over Canon EOS 20D.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS 20D over Canon EOS 70D.

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 70D has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 1,040k dot resolution and Canon EOS 20D has a 1.8" Fixed screen with 118k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Canon EOS 70D selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Canon EOS 70D also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality 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 70D has 98% coverage with 0.95x (0.59x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Canon EOS 20D has 95% coverage with 0.90x (0.56x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Canon EOS 70D features a 20.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 22.5 x 15 mm and a total area of 337.5 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 12,800 and expands to 100 - 25,600 in boosted mode. Canon EOS 20D features a 8 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 - 1,600 and expands to 100 - 3,200 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 70D is equipped with DIGIC 5+ processor and can take pictures up to 5472 x 3648 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3468x2432, 2736x1824, 1920x1280, 720x480, 4864x3648, 3248x2432, 2432x1824, 1696x1280, 640x480,5472x3072, 3468x2048, 2736x1536, 1920x1080, 720x408, 3648x3648, 2432x2432, 1824x1824, 1280x1280, 480x480 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Canon EOS 20D can take pictures up to 3504 x 2336 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 2544 x 1696, 1728 x 1152 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

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 70D it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Canon EOS 20D nothing can be done. On Canon EOS 20D it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Canon EOS 70D nothing can be done.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Canon EOS 70D

Canon EOS 70D has a built-in Wi-Fi 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.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS 70D comes with LP-E6 battery pack with battery life of 920 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS 70D has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Canon EOS 20D has a single CompactFlash (Type I/II) card slot.

Shutter

Canon EOS 20D has Electronically Controlled Vertical-travel Mechanical Focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS 70D, and up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS 20D. Canon EOS 70D can shoot continuously up to 7.0 fps. Canon EOS 20D can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS 70D has Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 19 (19 cross-type) focusing points and Canon EOS 20D has 9 focusing points. Canon EOS 70D has detection range from -0.5 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS 20D ranges from +1 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Canon EOS 70D and ±2 EV range on Canon EOS 20D. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS 70D and exposure lock and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS 20D.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m on Canon EOS 70D and 12.00 m at ISO 100 on Canon EOS 20D. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe to Canon EOS 70D. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Canon EOS 70D.

Canon EOS 70D body has dimensions of 139 x 104 x 79 mm (5.47 x 4.11 x 3.09") and Canon EOS 20D body has dimensions of 144 x 106 x 72 mm (5.67 x 4.17 x 2.83"). Canon EOS 70D weighs 755 g (1.66 lb / 26.63 oz) and Canon EOS 20D weighs 770 g (1.70 lb / 27.16 oz).

Canon EOS 70D

Canon EOS 20D

139 mm

104 mm

144 mm

106 mm

104 mm

106 mm

79 mm

72 mm