Canon 80D Review – Any good for Vlogging?

One of the latest released DSLR’s from Canon in their mid-range models is the Canon 80D which is my personal vlogging camera of choice. There’s a number of reasons that this is a fantastic camera for vlogging and is trusted by some of the biggest youtubers including Casey Neistat.

First Impressions

Coming from the older model the Canon 60D, it’s easy to see the similarities between the two. In fact looking at them, they are almost identical. The build quality of the 80D is pretty solid with a polycarbonate exterior and magnesium alloy chassis that are weather and dust proofed so you can be confident when shooting outdoors that you’re not going to destroy your camera should a bit of light rain start.

The major difference in this camera for me is the flip screen which is actually a touchscreen allowing you to control all aspects of the camera on screen rather than playing with buttons, right down to where you want the camera to focus by simply tapping on a point on the screen. This makes it incredibly handy when filming and you want to change the focus point or perform a smooth focus pull.

The focus on this camera is so much better than previous devices through the addition of 45 point hybrid focus system with all of those points being cross type. This allows a much more accurate autofocus system and a greater likelihood that your subject will be in focus.

Video capabilities

Being a relatively new camera you would expect this to have the ability to shoot in 4K, but unfortunately, that isn’t the case with the 80D only able to shoot up to 1080p/60fps. This isn’t a major issue but could be offputting if you are looking for a higher resolution available on the market.

The 80D is a DSLR with an external microphone port but also has the added audio out of a 3.5mm headphone port which will allow you to plug in a normal pair of headphones and monitor the audio being recorded to make sure that you’re getting the clearest possible audio from your external or internal microphone.

 

Battery Life

You can expect some fantastic battery life from the Canon 80D as it uses the highest available battery in the Canon range that you also see being used on some of their top models reserved for filmmakers. With a 960 shot per charge, you’ll be safe to shoot with this all day on a single charge without being too worried about running out of power. I would always recommend that you carry a back up fully charged battery in case of any emergencies, as you don’t want to miss out on important filming moments.

 

Wi-Fi and NFC

The Canon 80D also has built-in wi-fi and NFC capabilities meaning that you can quickly connect to your phone and transfer video and photo files over to your mobile and post them to social media. Another great feature of the built-in wi-fi is the ability to control the camera completely with your mobile phone and use it as a second screen when recording.

 

Time Lapse

For those of you who want some slightly more artistic B-roll to edit into your vlogs, the Canon 80D features a built-in time-lapse mode where you can set the intervals and length of time that you want to record your time lapse for. Set the camera up, set your recording intervals and leave the camera to do the rest. Just make sure that you have enough memory card space and battery life to last the length of the time lapse.

 

Storage

The Canon 80D like most other DSLR’s use SD cards with SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) formats all capable of being used regardless of size. I’ve only ever used up to a 64GB SDHC Class 10 UHS-1 card, but if they do say in the manual that they can accept any of the above cards regardless of size, then that potentially means you could use an SD card with 2TB of storage. Now I’m not sure if that is possible, but if you have a spare 2TB card sitting about and fancy trying it in a Canon 80D, then let me know how you get on.

So would I consider this a great Canon Vlogging Camera? I would certainly say so, the Canon 80D has all the makings of a great vlogging camera both for vlogging on the move, or even filming in your bedroom set up on a tripod.

Having been trusted by some of the biggest youtubers and you know that you’re in good hands buying a Canon, the 80D is a great investment and when paired with some of the high-quality lenses available for Canon APS-C cameras, you can build the perfect vlogging camera setup to keep you going for years.

Looking for something else? Perhaps check out our list of the best cameras for vlogging in 2018.

 

Last update on 2020-01-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API