Canon 80D Unveiled: A 24.2MP DSLR with a New 45-Point All-Cross-Type AF System

Canon today announced the new 80D, a mid-range crop sensor successor to the 70D.

Inside the camera is a newly designed 45-point autofocus system that uses all cross-type points for better focus accuracy than the 19 cross-type points in the 70D. What’s more, the autofocus points are spread out wider in both horizontal and vertical directions to help photographers compose shots with off-center subjects. The low-light performance of the center AF point has been improved to -3EV.

The Dual Pixel CMOS AF on the sensor means all the pixels can do both still photography and phase-detection autofocus, allowing for “dramatically improved AF performance during Live View and video shooting,” Canon says.

At the core of the camera is a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with an ISO range of 100 to 16000 (expandable to 25600) and a DIGIC 6 Image Processor that allows for continuous shooting of up to 7fps.

On the back of the camera is a 3-inch 1.04-million-dot swiveling touchscreen.

Other features and specs of the camera include HDR mode, Time-lapse creation, Anti-Flickr shooting (for fixing flickering light sources), ~100% viewfinder coverage, built-in Wi-Fi and NFC wireless connectivity, 1080/60p Full HD video recording, a built-in headphone jack, and two built-in stereo microphone jacks.

Here’s a Canon video that introduces the new 80D:

The Canon 80D will hit store shelves in March 2016 with a price tag of $1,199 for the body only and $1,799 when bundled with a new Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM kit lens.