Taking you beyond the basics
Canon EOS 77D
The EOS 77D slots in between the prosumer 80D and the entry-level 800D as a new option from Canon for beginners looking to move up to a more advanced camera from their point-and-shoot or mobile phone camera. All three use the same 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor, but the EOS 77D gains Canon’s latest Digic 7 image processor which helps both with Live View shooting and subject tracking performance.
Like the EOS 80D, the EOS 77D sports a 45-point all-cross-type phase detect system. And it also uses Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF system, thus ensuring speedy focus no matter if you’re shooting via Live View or viewfinder. The EOS 77D also maintains the excellent rear LCD with
A compact but powerful step up from an entry-level system camera.
swivel and touch, allowing you to go through the menus and various settings of the camera by touch like you would a smartphone.
Combine that with the Q menu interface, and you have a recipe that lets you quickly and easily access all of your most used features on the camera. You can review images taken with the EOS 77D just as you would on a smartphone, with pinch zoom and the ability to swipe from one image to the next. And go through the extensive menus in the same way, rather than having to use the four-way directional pad.
In terms of overall layout, the EOS 77D shares more in common with the EOS 800D than with the EOS 80D, with the sole di erence being the LCD info display in place of the mode dial, which has been moved to the left of the camera. The light weight and small size of the EOS 77D also makes it easy to grip with one hand, thus allowing you to better balance the weight when using longer lenses.
We found the EOS 77D to be fast and responsive for an entry-level camera, with focusing in both Live View and Video modes being quick and accurate, even in lower light levels. Images had a good amount of detail, and colors were quite true to life overall. High ISO performance was also fairly good for an entry-level camera. Detail loss started from ISO 3200 onwards, but color noise was well controlled throughout the ISO range with just hints of it starting to show from ISO 6400. We’d recommend staying below ISO 12,800 unless absolutely necessary though, as the detail loss from noise reduction is quite evident.
Overall, we’d say the Canon EOS 77D produces pleasant images with good sharpness and colors in all of the various situations we put the cameras in. It’s fast to focus and more crucially, picks good AF points when placed in Zone focus mode, thus giving good placement of depth-of-ield, ensuring that your image looks sharp overall.
The kit set with EF-S 18-55 IS STM might be $200 more expensive than the 800D’s equivalent kit (which retails for $1,249), but if you consider that the larger spread of controls will probably make for a smoother transition to a to a more advanced model later on, you’ll probably agree that the price differential is worth it. After all, the best way to learn is to jump straight in, and the EOS 77D will let you do just that.