Canon 80D Image Quality

Here we compare the Canon 80D's default "Standard" Picture Style on the left, to the new "Fine Detail" Picture Style on the right, at base ISO. As you can see in the mosaic and fabric crops, Fine Detail does improve the rendering of fine detail, and it also generates less obvious sharpening halos along high-contrast edges. However, luminance noise is more visible in flatter areas, and contrast and exposure are a little lower, making the Fine Detail image appear to have less "pop" overall. There also appear to be minor differences in color, even though Color Tone, Saturation and Contrast settings are identical between these two Picture Styles presets. However, given the flexibility in the 80D's Picture Style settings (there are separate Sharpness Strength, Fineness and Threshold settings in addition to the previously mentioned settings for Color Tone, Saturation and Contrast), you may be able to find a better combination of settings than the defaults we're comparing here.

The 24-megapixel 80D does resolve a bit more detail than the 20-megapixel 70D, but the difference is pretty minor (we're only talking about a ~10% increase in theoretical linear resolution). Noise levels from the 80D appear slightly lower than the 70D here at base ISO, which is a nice bonus considering the smaller pixels, but the 70D does a better job with our tricky red-leaf swatch. Otherwise, image quality is very similar from these two siblings at ISO 100.

The image from the Nikon D7200 is sharper, crisper and slightly more detailed than the 80D's at base ISO, thanks to the D7200's lack of an AA filter (confirmed by comparing unsharpened RAW files), as well as more aggressive processing. We do see higher luminance noise from the Nikon, though, and both cameras generate obvious sharpening halos. Aliasing artifacts are more visible from the Nikon, however it did a pretty good job at avoiding the moiré patterns we usually see in our notorious red-leaf swatch, while still resolving more of the fine thread pattern.

Here we decided to compare the Canon 80D to the Olympus PEN-F because the PEN-F currently represents the best that Micro Four Thirds cameras have to offer in terms of image quality. The 20-megapixel PEN-F is actually fairly closely matched in terms of resolution here, because its 4/3" sensor has only 112 fewer pixels than the 3:2 aspect ratio 80D on the vertical axis, and we frame this shot vertically. Still, its smaller pixels and higher base ISO puts it at a slight disadvantage in terms of noise, and the 80D does do better with our tricky red-leaf swatch. The PEN-F's lack of an AA filter along with more aggressive default processing produces a sharper, crisper image overall, though. Sharpening halos are visible from both cameras, but the PEN-F's are narrower, if a little brighter.

Here we compare the Canon 80D to another 24-megapixel APS-C DSLR without an AA filter, the Pentax K-3 II, and again, we can see that 80D's image is not as sharp and detailed. We do however see more aliasing artifacts from the K-3 II, such as the obvious moiré patterns in the red-leaf swatch. The Canon image is however cleaner, with more accurate color, especially in the pink fabric.

In this comparison, we pit the Canon 80D against Sony's latest 24-megapixel APS-C mirrorless, the A6300. It has either a very weak or no AA filter which helps maximize sharpness and detail, and Sony's default processing produces crisp images without the obvious and unsightly sharpening halos produced by the Canon. But once again, we do see stronger aliasing artifacts from the A6300, especially in the red-leaf fabric. Color is however noticeably better from the Canon, without the yellow to green shift seen from the Sony.

At ISO 1600, the 80D still manages to resolve a bit more detail that its predecessor, while at the same time producing very similar levels of noise. However, the 70D continues to deliver better contrast in our red-leaf swatch.

The Nikon D7200 still manages to produce a sharper, crisper image with better detail in most areas at ISO 1600, however the Canon 80D does much better with our tricky red-leaf fabric. Noise levels are similar, however the Nikon's more aggressive sharpening makes luminance noise somewhat more conspicuous.

The Olympus PEN-F actually produced a cleaner image here at ISO 1600, but more aggressive noise reduction has blurred away some fine detail that the Canon 80D managed to hold on to. And the PEN-F really struggled to produce any subtle detail in our red-leaf fabric.

The Pentax K-3 II continues to deliver better fine detail in our mosaic crop with fewer noise reduction artifacts, however luminance noise is a little higher in flat areas, and the Pentax smudges away almost all detail in our tricky red-leaf swatch. Overall color from the Canon remains more pleasing and accurate.

Like we saw at base ISO, the Sony A6300 delivers a sharper image with better detail at ISO 1600, though aliasing artifacts are more visible. Noise levels are comparable, however the noise "grain" from the Canon is more consistent and film-like, while the Sony's noise reduction processing produces some darker pixels and other artifacts which give flatter areas a less natural look.

Here at ISO 3200, the 80D still manages to captures slightly better detail than the 70D in our mosaic crop, and noise levels appear very similar between the two siblings, but interestingly, the 70D does much better with our difficult red-leaf swatch.

Once again, the Nikon D7200 delivers a sharper, more detailed image than the 80D at ISO 3200. Overall noise levels appear just a bit lower from the Nikon, but its more aggressive processing means the grain pattern isn't quite as uniform as the Canon's. The Nikon actually renders a bit more fine detail in the red-leaf fabric, but some of it is distorted and false, and contrast is a little better from the Canon.

The Olympus PEN-F continues to produce a cleaner, crisper image with a finer "grain" pattern at ISO 3200, however aggressive anti-noise processing has flattened fine detail to the point where the mosaic crop is starting to look more like a painting of the label rather than a photo. Both cameras struggle with reproducing detail in our red-leaf swatch, but the Canon does a little better.

Similar to what we saw at ISO 1600, the Pentax K-3 II's image at ISO 3200 contains more detail, but luminance noise is also more visible and not as uniform as the Canon's. Almost all detail is lost by the Pentax in our red-leaf swatch, while the Canon still manages to produce a reasonable facsimile. Color also remains much better from the Canon.

The Sony A6300 continues to produce a crisper, more detailed image than the 80D at ISO 3200, however its area-specific noise reduction generates more artifacts in flatter areas and along edges than Canon's more traditional approach to noise reduction. The 80D blurs our tricky red-leaf fabric quite a bit at ISO 3200, but much of the Sony's apparent detail in that fabric is false.