Hands-on with the Canon EOS 90D Canon has officially unveiled the EOS 90D, an upgrade to the EOS 80D and their latest midrange APS-C DSLR. The camera sits alongside the mirrorless EOS M6 Mark II - also just announced - and shares many of the same specifications.
The 90D sits above the EOS 77D in the brand's DSLR lineup and just below the oh-so-long-in-the-tooth, EOS 7D Mark II.
Improvements include both under-the-hood advancements and ergonomic upgrades. A new sensor, processor and metering sensor open up the camera's potential for stills, video and autofocus. Additionally, the addition of a dedicated AF joystick and an improved shutter release give the 90D a more pro-like feel.
The EOS 90D will be available in late September, 2019 for a body-only price of $1199. It will also be sold alongside the EF-S 18-55mm F3. 5-5. 6 IS STM lens for $1349, as well as with the EF-S 18-135mm F3. 5-5. 6 IS USM for $1599.
New 32. 5 Megapixel sensor
The 90D sports a newly designed 32. 5MP APS-C sensor with Canon's Dual Pixel autofocus, a nice bump in resolution over the 80D's 24MP chip. It's the same sensor found on the EOS M6 II, and also the highest resolution APS-C sensor currently on the market. The native ISO range is 100-25,600, which expands upward to 51,200. First impressions of image quality are positive, but we'll hold off making any quantitative statements until we get it in the test lab, but we fully expect those Canon colors to shine.
The sensor is supported by Canon's latest Digic 8 processor, which adds a host of benefits, including the ability to shoot 4K video, plus faster burst shooting with continuous AF. It also brings about some new features like the use of Canon's newer CR3 Raw format, including the compressed C-Raw option.
Autofocus and metering
When shooting through the viewfinder, the 90D still offers a somewhat limited 45-point spread (all cross-type), similar to that of the 80D - when shooting at apertures of F8 or smaller, 27 of the points remain active (of which 9 are cross-type).
But despite the modest number of points, the 90D gains some serious AF improvements: A new 220,000-pixel metering sensor, used for both metering and image recognition, brings about the ability to use face detect when shooting through the viewfinder. Face Detect is on by default when using the camera's 'Intelligent Tracking and Recognition Auto Focus' (iTR AF). The 80D, by comparison doesn't offer face detection through the finder, but then again its metering sensor is only 7,560 pixels.
The 90D's live view autofocus also sees improvements. Dual Pixels cover nearly 100% of the vertical frame and 88% of the horizontal with over 5000 points to manual chose from, or 143 areas if you let the camera do it in the auto area mode.
The camera also gains eye detection in live view - as first seen on the Canon EOS RP - which can be switched on and off when using the Face+Tracking live view AF mode. It doesn't appear to be best-in-class, but first impressions suggest it is reasonably reliable and also easy to use - a simple tap of the touch screen or nudge of the AF joystick allows you to jump between detected subjects.
Minor body changes
The body of the of the 90D looks a lot like that of its predecessor, and in fact, their dimensions and shape are nearly identical. But the 90D is somehow 29 grams (1 ounce) lighter than the 80D. Both cameras use the same 3. 0", 1. 04M-dot fully articulating LCD and 0. 59X equiv. magnification optical finder with 100% coverage. A couple of the buttons have moved around, but most pre-existing controls remain unchanged.
What has changed is the addition of an 8-way AF joystick on back, something we found well-placed and responsive. However, Canon's made it a requirement that the AF joystick and the 8-way controller below it mirror each other's functions, something we feel needlessly limits customization.
The 90D also gains a new shutter release mechanism with more 'travel, giving it the feel of Canon's higher-end DSLRs. Another upgrade is the inclusion of a USB Type-C connector, which can be used for charging* and transferring images. Unfortunately it's only rated for USB 2. 0, so don't expect super-fast transfer speeds.
* The camera is fussy about what type of USB charger is used. Phone chargers generally won't work, but those for tables and laptops will.
Performance
The 90D sees several performance bumps including to its overall burst rate. Users can now shoot up to 10 fps through the viewfinder with continuous autofocus, up from 7 fps on the 80D. And in live view, the max burst speed with AF-C is 7 fps (11 fps in AF-S), up from 3. 6 fps on the 80D. In both cases these burst speeds should be suitable for a wide range of moving subjects. However, we do have concerns about the camera's buffer, which tops out at about 25 frames when shooting C-Raw + JPEG.
Other performance improvements include a substantial 30% boost in battery life: CIPA-rated 1300 shots per charge compared to 960 shots per charge on the 80D, despite using the same LP-E6N lithium-ion battery. And for more battery life (and a better grip), the 90D can be used with the same BG-E14 grip as the 80D and 70D.
4K video
The 90D also sees a nice bump in its video spec, offering 4K/30p capture using the full-width of its sensor, compared to a top video spec of 1080/60p on the 80D. Unfortunately for those who prefer more cinematic-looking footage, the 90D has no 4K/24p option. But the camera does offer 1020/120p for slow motion capture, though without autofocus.
Another nice video improvement is the addition of Eye AF during 4K video capture. Just like in stills, eye detection can be toggled on and off when using the Tracking+Face live view AF mode. In terms of hand-held shooting there's no in-body stabilization, but using IS-capable lenses should provide a some shake reduction. And like its predecessor, the 90D offers both microphone and headphone ports.
The wrap
The 80D was a hugely popular camera and we fully expect the 90D to find its way into a lot of users' hands. Taken individually, each update may not seem like much, but we suspect the full combination of refined ergonomics, faster operation, an upgraded sensor, higher-quality video and improved AF performance will all add up to a more enjoyable and capable package, even if there are some limitations.
Will this package be enough to tempt 7D Mark II users holding out for an upgrade or 80D users looking to move up? Possibly. But more testing is needed to say so for sure.
. dpreview.com2019-8-28 07:00