Canon EOS 70D vs Nikon D5200

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS 70D and the Nikon D5200, 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 Nikon D5200 was introduced in May 2013. 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 Nikon D5200.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon D5200 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 and Nikon D5200 have 3.0" Fully Articulated screens with 1,040k dot and 921k dot resolutions respectively. Fully articulated screen makes cameras 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

Canon EOS 70D has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderNikon D5200 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. Canon EOS 70D has 98% coverage with 0.95x (0.59x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Nikon D5200 has 95% coverage with 0.78x (0.52x 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. Nikon D5200 features a 24.1 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 243.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400 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 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. Nikon D5200 is equipped with EXPEED 3 processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4496 x 3000, 2992 x 2000 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS 70D has Canon EF/EF-S lens mount and Nikon D5200 has Nikon F lens mount. They both have APS-C sensor but because of a small size difference their crop factors (also called lens multiplier) differ from each other. Canon EOS 70D has the crop factor of 1.6x which means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.6. Nikon D5200 has the crop factor of 1.5x which means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

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 Nikon D5200 nothing can be done. On Nikon D5200 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. Canon EOS 70D has a Mini HDMI and Nikon D5200 has a Mini Type C HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS 70D comes with LP-E6 battery pack with battery life of 920 shots and Nikon D5200 comes with EN-EL14 battery pack with battery life of 500 shots.

External Storage Slots

Cameras have a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Nikon D5200 has Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS 70D, and up to 1/4000 sec on Nikon D5200. Canon EOS 70D can shoot continuously up to 7.0 fps. Nikon D5200 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 Nikon D5200 has 39 (9 cross-type) focusing points. Canon EOS 70D has detection range from -0.5 to +18 EV and Nikon D5200 has detection range from -1 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon D5200 ranges from 0 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS 70D and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon D5200.

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 Nikon D5200. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Canon EOS 70D and 1/200 sec on Nikon D5200.

Canon EOS 70D body has dimensions of 139 x 104 x 79 mm (5.47 x 4.11 x 3.09") and Nikon D5200 body has dimensions of 129 x 98 x 78 mm (5.08 x 3.86 x 3.07"). Canon EOS 70D weighs 755 g (1.66 lb / 26.63 oz) and Nikon D5200 weighs 555 g (1.22 lb / 19.58 oz).

Canon EOS 70D

Nikon D5200

139 mm

104 mm

129 mm

98 mm

104 mm

98 mm

79 mm

78 mm