Canon 77D Review: Rebel in disguise?

The Canon 77D is available body-only, bundled with the new EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens, or bundled with the new EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. Canon included the latter lens with our test sample, however optically it is identical to the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM, so please see our full technical review of that lens here.

Below are our Canon 77D viewfinder accuracy test results.

Viewfinder Test Results

Accuracy
Poor accuracy from the optical viewfinder, though very good accuracy from the LCD in Live View mode.

70mm, Optical Viewfinder	70mm, LCD Live View

We measured the Canon 77D’s optical viewfinder’s coverage at only about 93%, well short of Canon’s 95% spec, and it was shifted vertically with respect to the sensor as well. Live View mode using the LCD in record mode was much more accurate, resulting in just over 99% coverage.

The images above were taken from our standardized test shots. For a
collection of more pictorial photos, see our
Canon EOS 77D Photo Gallery
.

Color

Saturation & Hue Accuracy
Slightly below average saturation levels but very good hue accuracy.

ISO Sensitivity
100	200	400
800	1600	3200
6400	12800	25600
51200
In the diagram above, the squares show the original color, and the circles show the color that the camera captured. More saturated colors are located toward the periphery of the graph. Hue changes as you travel around the center. Thus, hue-accurate, highly saturated colors appear as lines radiating from the center. Mouse over the links above to compare ISOs, and click to load a larger version.

Saturation. The Canon 77D produces images with mean saturation levels that are a little below average these days. Dark reds are boosted the most, with dark orange, dark greens and dark blues pushed just a little, while cyan, yellow and light green are slightly muted. The mean saturation of 108.5% (8.5% oversaturated) at base ISO is a bit lower than the ~110% average we typically see, but colors are still quite pleasing to the eye, and saturation levels are fairly stable across the ISO range, with a minimum mean of 104.9% at ISO 51,200. Most consumer digital cameras
produce color that’s more highly saturated (more intense) than found in
the original subjects. This is simply because most people like their color
a bit brighter than life.

Skin tones. The Canon 77D produced pleasing, natural-looking Caucasian skin tones in our tests when using Manual white balance (Auto white balance was very similar). Darker skin tones show a small nudge toward orange, but lighter tones are more pinkish. Very good results. Where oversaturation is most
problematic is on Caucasian skin tones, as it’s very easy for these “memory
colors” to be seen as too bright, too pink, too yellow, etc.

Hue. As we’ve come to expect from Canon, the 77D’s hue accuracy is much better than average when Manual white balance is used (as it always is for these results). There are the usual shifts in cyan toward blue (though actually quite small), red toward orange, orange toward yellow, and yellow toward green, but all are fairly minor. Average “delta-C” color error at base ISO is only 3.93 (lower is better) which is very good. Delta-C color error varies slightly with sensitivity, but remains better than average even at the highest ISOs. Hue is “what color” the
color is.

See full set of test images with explanations See thumbnails of all test and gallery images

Sensor

Exposure and White Balance

Indoors, incandescent lighting
Auto and Incandescent white balance settings both struggled with household incandescent lighting, though Manual worked well. Average exposure compensation required.

Auto White Balance +0.3 EV	Auto WB (White Priority) +0.3 EV
Incandescent White Balance +0.3 EV	Manual White Balance +0.3 EV

Indoors, under incandescent lighting, the Canon 77D’s default Auto and Incandescent white balance settings struggled, producing very reddish or orange/yellow color casts. Like other recent Canon EOS models, the 77D has a “White Priority” Auto white balance mode, which worked better, but it produced a magenta cast. The Manual setting produced the most accurate results that were just slightly cool. The Canon 77D required +0.3 EV exposure compensation for this shot, which is about average among the cameras we’ve tested. (Our test lighting for this shot is a mixture of 60 and 100 watt household incandescent bulbs, a pretty yellow light source, but a very common one in typical home settings here in the U.S.)

Outdoors, daylight
Very good color, though a tendency towards slightly cool color balance with somewhat high contrast under harsh lighting. Slightly above average exposure accuracy.

Manual White Balance, +0.3 EV	Auto White Balance, 0 EV

Outdoors, the Canon 77D produced pleasing skin tones with both Auto and Manual white balance, and overall color was generally very good. The Canon 77D required only +0.3 EV exposure compensation to keep the mannequin’s face bright, a little lower than average for our “Sunlit” portrait shot (above left). The Canon 77D’s default contrast is a little high, producing some washed-out highlights and dark shadows under the deliberately harsh lighting of the shot above left, though the camera’s Auto Lighting Optimizer and Highlight Tone Priority settings help with high contrast scenes like these. See below for examples of this. The Far-field shot (above right) is a bit cool, but default exposure is good, and the camera avoided blowing most highlights except for some specular highlights. There are some deep shadows which are a little noisy and discolored, but have good detail.

See full set of test images with explanations
See thumbnails of all test and gallery images

Resolution
~2,800 lines of strong detail from JPEGs, about the same from RAW.

Strong detail to ~2,800 lines horizontal In-Camera JPEG	Strong detail to ~2,800 lines vertical In-Camera JPEG
Strong detail to ~2,800 lines horizontal ACR Converted RAW	Strong detail to ~2,800 lines vertical ACR Converted RAW

Our resolution chart showed sharp, distinct line patterns up to just over 2,800 lines per picture height horizontally and to just over 2,800 lines vertically. Some may argue for higher numbers, but lines begin to merge at this resolution, and some aliasing artifacts in the form of moiré patterns can be seen at lower resolutions. Extinction of the pattern occurred between 3,400 and 3,600 lines. An Adobe Camera Raw converted .CR2 file produces about the same resolution as the in-camera JPEG, though complete extinction of the pattern was extended a bit. While ACR was able to extract more detail, it also produced more false colors. Use these numbers to compare with other cameras of similar resolution, or use them to see just what higher resolution can mean in terms of potential detail.

See full set of test images with explanations
See thumbnails of all test and gallery images

Sharpness & Detail
Somewhat soft images at default sharpening, but with noticeable sharpening artifacts. Minor to moderate detail loss due to noise reduction processing even at low ISOs.

Using default sharpening settings, the Canon 77D’s JPEG files are slightly soft, yet with some noticeable sharpening artifacts.	Subtle detail: Hair Noise suppression blurs detail in areas of subtle contrast, as in the darker parts of the model’s hair here.

Sharpness. The Canon 77D’s 24-megapixel sensor captures very good image detail when coupled with a good lens, though its JPEG images are a bit soft at default settings. Yet the 77D’s default sharpening setting generates visible edge-enhancement artifacts in the form of obvious sharpening halos around high-contrast edges, as shown in the crop above left. (Keep in mind Canon has decided to keep an optical low-pass filter in the 77D to reduce aliasing artifacts at the cost of slightly reduced sharpness, unlike some competing models which have gone the other way. However much of the softness is just due to unsophisticated default processing.) Edge enhancement creates the illusion of sharpness by enhancing colors and tones right at the edge of a rapid transition in color or tone.

Detail. The crop above right shows some detail loss due to noise suppression in darker areas and in areas with low contrast, perhaps just a little more than we’re accustomed to seeing from an APS-C sensor at base ISO. Still, a decent performance for a 24-megapixel consumer model. Noise-suppression systems in
digital cameras tend to flatten-out detail in areas of subtle contrast.
The effects can often be seen in shots of human hair, where the individual
strands are lost and an almost “watercolor” look appears.

In-Camera JPEGs: Standard vs Fine Detail Picture Style setting
The 77D offers Canon’s Fine Detail Picture Style first seen on the Canon 5DS R and 5DS DSLRs. Below is a comparison with the default Standard Picture Style.

Base ISO (100)
Camera JPEG, defaults	Camera JPEG, Fine Detail

In the table above, we compare the Canon 77D’s default Standard Picture Style setting (left) to its Fine Detail preset at base ISO. Like the 5DS/R, the Canon 77D offers users much more flexibility in sharpening than older EOS models, allowing you to adjust not only the “Strength” (from 0 to 7) but also the “Fineness” (1 to 5) and “Threshold” (1 to 5) operators. We believe these parameters correlate to unsharp mask options for strength, radius and threshold available in photo editing software such as Photoshop, although we don’t know what the equivalent units might be.

The Fine Detail Picture Style preset boosts the Sharpness Strength operator one notch (to 4 out of 7) while dialing down the Fineness (1/5) and Threshold (1/5) operators to their minimum compared to Standard which defaults to Sharpness: 3/7, Fineness: 4/5 and Threshold: 4/5. The result is improved, more natural-looking rendering of fine detail along with less obvious sharpening halos than the default Standard setting. However, noise is more visible in flatter areas, and contrast is lower, making the Fine Detail image appear to have less “pop”. 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. Given the flexibility in settings, though, you may be able to find a better combination than the defaults compared above.

RAW vs In-Camera JPEGs
As noted above the Canon 77D produces JPEG images with very good detail, but that are somewhat soft yet have visible sharpening halos when viewed on-screen at 100%. With a good RAW converter, additional detail can often be extracted with fewer sharpening artifacts. See below:

Base ISO (100)
Camera JPEG, defaults	RAW via Adobe Camera Raw

In the table above, we compare a best quality in-camera JPEG taken at base ISO using default noise reduction and sharpening (on the left) to the matching RAW file converted with Adobe Camera Raw 9.1 via DNG Converter 10.2 using default noise reduction with some strong but tight unsharp masking applied in Photoshop (300%, radius of 0.3 pixels, and a threshold of 0).

Looking closely at the images, we can see ACR extracts additional detail that isn’t present in the default JPEG from the camera, particularly in the red-leaf and pink swatches where the fine thread pattern is likely treated as noise by the JPEG engine. Fine detail in the mosaic crop is also improved, but as is often the case, the conversion isn’t nearly as clean and smooth looking, with more noise as easily seen in the flatter areas of the bottle crop. You can of course apply stronger noise reduction (default ACR NR used here) to arrive at your ideal noise versus detail tradeoff. And, as expected, sharpening halos aren’t nearly as strong as the default camera output. Bottom line: As is usually the case with Canons, you can do noticeably better by shooting in RAW mode and using a good RAW converter than the camera’s default JPEG processing.

ISO & Noise Performance
Decent high ISO performance for a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor.

Default High ISO Noise Reduction
ISO 100	ISO 200	ISO 400
ISO 800	ISO 1600	ISO 3200
ISO 6400	ISO 12,800	ISO 25,600
ISO 51,200

Images are quite clean at ISOs 100 and 200, with just a tiny amount of luminance noise seen in the darker areas, and very little chroma noise. Some blurring of fine low-contrast detail is already visible at base ISO, though, as mentioned previously. Noise “grain” is slightly more evident at ISO 400, but detail remains very strong despite some minor blurring due to noise reduction. ISO 800 is of course a little noisier, but fine detail is still very good with a noise grain that’s quite fine while chroma noise remains low. At ISO 1600 blurring becomes noticeably stronger resulting in a more evident drop in image quality, though a fair amount of fine detail is still left. ISO 3200 is quite a bit softer and grainier with minor chroma blotching, but there is still some fine detail left. ISO 6400 is quite soft and grainy, but the grain is still fairly tight and not too obtrusive. Noise and the effects of noise reduction working hard to keep it under control really become apparent at ISOs 12,800 and 25,600, with heavier luminance noise, stronger blurring and more obvious chroma blotching.

Overall, decent high ISO performance for a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor, though not quite as good as most rivals. See the Print Quality section below (when available) for our evaluation of maximum print sizes at each ISO setting.

A note about focus for this shot: We used to shoot this image at f/4, however depth of field became so shallow with larger, high-resolution sensors that it was difficult to keep important areas of this shot in focus, so we have since started shooting at f/8, the best compromise between depth of field and sharpness.

Extremes: Sunlit, dynamic range and low light tests
Somewhat high default contrast and unremarkable dynamic range. HTP and ALO options do a great job of dealing with harsh lighting. Good low-light performance.

Default	+0.3 EV	+0.7 EV

The Canon 77D produces images with moderately high contrast with some washed-out highlights and deep shadows under the deliberately harsh lighting of the test above. The mannequin’s face is too dim at the default exposure and +0.7 EV has far too many blown highlights, so we preferred the image with +0.3 EV exposure compensation. This still resulted in some clipped highlights in the shirt and flowers, a bit more than we’re used to seeing from an APS-C sensor lately, indicating mediocre dynamic range compared to the best of recent competitors. Shadow detail is however pretty good, though very deep shadows are a bit noisy and discolored. Bottom line: while dynamic range in JPEGs isn’t bad, the Canon 77D didn’t do as well with this difficult shot compared to some recent state-of-the-art peers. Almost all highlights and shadows were however recoverable from the +0.3 EV CR2 file, indicating much better dynamic range is possible from the 77D’s base ISO RAW files.

Because digital cameras are more like slide film than negative film (in that they tend to have a more limited tonal range), we test them in the harshest situations to see how they handle scenes with bright highlights and dark shadows, as well as what kind of sensitivity they have in low light. The shot above is designed to mimic the very harsh, contrasty effect of direct noonday sunlight, a very tough challenge for most digital cameras. (You can read details of this test here. In actual shooting conditions, be sure to use fill flash in situations like the one shown here; it’s better to shoot in open shade whenever possible.)

Face Detection
Just like most point & shoot cameras these days, the Canon 77D has the ability to detect faces, and adjust exposure and focus accordingly.

Face Detection
Aperture Priority Face Detect: Off 0 EV	Aperture Priority Face Detect: On 0 EV	Auto Mode 0 EV

As you can see in the examples above, the center image with face detection enabled is slightly better exposed for the face compared to the left image where face detection was not employed, as using it dropped the shutter speed from 1/30s to 1/25s. Oddly, full Auto mode (right) is actually a little dimmer in the face. It selected a much wider aperture of f/3.2, a faster shutter speed of 1/320s, and used the standard Auto Lighting Optimizer setting for lower contrast.

Highlight Tone Priority
The Canon 77D’s Highlight Tone Priority (HTP) option did a good job of preserving highlight detail as shown below. (Mouse over the Off and On links below to load the corresponding thumbnail and histogram, and click on the links to access full resolution images.)

Highlight Tone Priority
HTP Setting: Off On

Both shots above were captured at the same exposure, the only difference being that HTP was enabled for the second shot which required ISO to be increased to 200; part of how HTP works. As you can see, the thumbnails and histograms clearly show a reduction in highlights while mid-tones and shadows remained roughly the same with HTP enabled. If you look closely at shadows, you’ll notice an increase in noise is the price you pay when ISO is boosted from 100 to 200, although noise is still pretty low in the shadows at ISO 200.

Automatic Lighting Optimization
Like previous Canon EOS models, the 77D offers three selectable levels of Automatic Lighting Optimization (ALO), plus Off. In fully automatic (Scene Intelligent Auto) ALO is automatically enabled and it’s available in P, Tv and Av exposure modes. (Mouse over the links below to load the associated thumbnail and histogram, and click on the links to access full resolution images.)

Automatic Lighting Optimization
ALO Setting: Off Low Standard (default) High

As you can see above, ALO has the effect of shifting shadows and mid-tones in the histograms to the right, brightening shadows and indeed most of the image while attempting to keep highlights the same. ISO does not need to be boosted for ALO so increased noise is not an issue, though it may be slightly more visible in shadows that have been boosted significantly.

HDR Backlight Control
The Canon 77D includes a couple of High Dynamic Range modes, which takes a burst of three shots at different exposures and merges them together to create an image with wider tonal range than would be possible with a single exposure. There’s an HDR Backlight Control scene mode, plus included in Image Effects (Creative Filters), there is an HDR mode that offers four Artistic effects: Art Standard, Art Vivid, Art Bold and Art Embossed, as well as a Natural setting.

HDR Backlight Control
HDR Backlight Control: Off On

Because it is a scene mode, HDR Backlight Control does not offer any control over aperture, shutter speed or ISO. In this case, the camera chose ISO 250, f/2.8 and 1/400s with HDR Backlight Control selected. As you can see above, it produced an image with much higher dynamic range, much better shadow and midtone detail, and fewer blown highlights, however it does look a little flat as HDR images often do. Because it takes multiple images and merges them together, it is not recommended for portraits as any motion between frames would result in ghosting or double images. Also notice how the HDR image is noticeably “cropped” and then enlarged during the alignment and compositing process.

We did not test the Creative Filter modes in the lab, however there are some examples in our Gallery shots.

Dynamic Range Analysis (RAW mode)
While we once performed our own dynamic range measurements based on in-camera JPEGs as well as converted RAW images (when the camera was supported by Adobe Camera Raw), we’ve switched to using DxO Labs’ results from their DxOMark website. As technology advanced, the dynamic range of modern high-end cameras in some cases exceeded the range of the Stouffer T4110 density scale that we used for our own measurements. DxO’s approach based on RAW data before demosaicing is also more revealing, because it measures the fundamental dynamic range of the sensor, irrespective of whatever processing is applied to JPEGs, or to RAW data by off-the-shelf conversion software.

In the following, we use DxO’s “Print” dynamic range results, which are scaled based on camera resolution. As the name suggests, this scaling corresponds to the situation in which you print at a given size, regardless of how many megapixels the camera might have. (In other words, if you’ve decided to make a 13×19 inch print, that’s the size you’re printing, whether the camera’s resolution is 16 or 300 megapixels.) Also note that DxO Labs uses a signal-to-noise (SNR) threshold of 1 when defining the lower boundary of acceptable luminance noise in their dynamic range measurements, which corresponds to the “Low Quality” threshold of the Imatest software we used to use for this measurement.

Above, we compare the tested dynamic range of the 77D (in orange) to its predecessor’s, the T6s (or 760D, in yellow), and to the Nikon D5600 (red), a close competitor which also uses a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor.

As you can see from the above graph (click for a larger version), the Canon 77D’s dynamic range significantly improved over the T6s’ at low ISOs, but it drops below the T6s’ at ISOs above 400. The 77D’s peak dynamic range at base ISO tested at 13.3 EV versus just under 12 EV for the T6s, which is a significant 1.3 EV advantage. At ISOs above 400, the T6s’ advantage is less than about 0.5 EV which would be a little difficult to see in real-world images, so we think this is a worthwhile tradeoff.

The Nikon D5600 however performed better across the board, with a peak dynamic range of just over 14 EV at base ISO, which is about a 0.7 EV advantage over the 77D, and the Nikon manages to keep a sizeable lead up to about ISO 6400, where its lead narrows.

Bottom line, while dynamic range has improved significantly over its predecessor at low ISOs, the 77D still lags behind leading APS-C rivals. Click here to visit the DxOMark page for the Canon 77D for more of their test results.

	1 fc 11 lux	1/16 fc 0.67 lux	1/16 fc No NR
ISO 100	2s, f2.8	30s, f2.8	30s, f2.8
ISO 3200	1/15s, f2.8	1s, f2.8	1s, f2.8
ISO 25600	1/125s, f2.8	1/8s, f2.8	1/8s, f2.8

Low Light. The Canon 77D performed well in our low-light tests for an APS-C camera, capturing bright images at the lowest light level (1/16 foot-candle), even with the lowest sensitivity setting (ISO 100). As expected, noise increases as ISO goes up and light levels go down, but luminance noise remains fairly low and fine-grained at ISO 3200. Some chroma noise in the form of subtle color blotching in the shadows and dark areas is visible at lower light levels, though it’s effectively suppressed by default noise reduction. As you’d expect, noise is quite high at the maximum native ISO of 25,600, particularly when noise reduction is minimized (rightmost column in the table above).

Color balance was very good with the Canon 77D’s Auto white balance setting, just a touch cool even at 1/16 foot-candle.

We didn’t see any significant issues with hot pixels or heat blooming, and banding (fixed pattern noise) appears to be very low in the shadows.

LL AF: The Canon 77D’s dedicated optical viewfinder autofocus system was able to focus on our legacy low-contrast AF target down to about -1.2 EV unassisted with an f/2.8 lens, which is fair, but it was able to focus on our newer high-contrast AF target down to -5.0 EV, which is excellent. When using Dual Pixel AF in Live View mode, the 77D was about to focus down to -1.5 and -3.8 EV respectively, which is quite good. The Canon 77D has an AF assist feature which strobes its built-in flash while focusing and is thus able to focus in complete darkness with it enabled, though it only works when using the optical viewfinder.

As always, keep in mind that the longer shutter speeds here demand the use of a tripod to prevent any blurring from camera movement. (A useful trick is to just prop the camera on a convenient surface, and use its self-timer to release the shutter. This avoids any jiggling from your finger pressing the shutter button, and can work quite well when you don’t have a tripod handy.)

How bright is this? The one foot-candle light level that this test begins at roughly corresponds to the brightness of typical city street-lighting at night. Cameras performing well at that level should be able to snap good-looking photos of street-lit scenes.

NOTE: This low light test is conducted with a stationary subject, and the camera mounted on a sturdy tripod. Most digital cameras will fail miserably when faced with a moving subject in dim lighting. (For example, a child’s ballet recital or a holiday pageant in a gymnasium.) Large sensored cameras like the Canon 77D do much better than point & shoots, but you still shouldn’t expect a quick autofocus lock with moving subjects.

Output Quality

Print Quality
Very nice 30 x 40 inch prints at ISO 100/200/400; a good 16 x 20 inch print at ISO 1600; and a usable 4 x 6 at ISO 25,600.

ISO 100 and 200 images look practically identical with tons of fine detail and vibrant colors that make excellent, large prints up to 30 x 40 inches. At this size, we’re pushing the resolving power the 77D’s 24MP APS-C sensor. At very close inspection, we can see the faintest hint of pixelation due to the large print size, but from a normal viewing distance for a print this big, the image quality looks great.

ISO 400 prints look very similar to the previous two ISOs. Comparing side-by-side, the ISO 400 image shows just a hint of softening due to a slight increase in noise compared to base ISO. However, the effect is so minimal that it doesn’t impact print sizes, and we’re happy with 30 x 40 inch prints at this ISO, as well.

ISO 800 images begin to show some visible noise and subsequent softening of fine detail. The overall image quality is still very good, allowing this ISO to make pleasing, high quality prints at up to 20 x 30 inches. A 24 x 36 inch print looks quite good, too, but the noise might be a bit too strong for the most critical applications, so we’ll play it safe by calling it at the next size down.

ISO 1600 prints follow a similar pattern to the previous ISO; noise is stronger now, and while a 20 x 30 inch print might work with careful processing, we’re putting the check-mark next to 16 x 20 inches. At this size, noise is well-controlled and detail looks crisp, whereas things looks a bit too noisy and soft at the larger size.

ISO 3200 images begin to display rather strong noise, especially in the shadows, and the detail loss from noise and NR processing is noticeable at larger print sizes. At this ISO an 11 x 14 inch print looks nice, although for less critical applications a 13 x 19 might work.

ISO 6400 prints top-out at 8 x 10 inches, which is rather impressive for an intermediate-level APS-C camera. Noise is quite problematic, though, if you attempt larger prints, with noticeable detail loss/softening and visible noise grain. Colors have also taken on a subtle blandness compared to the vibrancy of lower ISOs.

ISO 12,800 images are fairly noisy, but they still allow for a decent 5 x 7 inch print. There is adequate fine detail and okay color remaining at this ISO to most assuredly call it usable.

ISO 25,600 prints are usable at 4 x 6 inches; any larger and the images are very noisy and lacking in fine detail.

ISO 51,200 images, using the 77D’s expanded ISO setting, are much too noisy and soft to be useful for printmaking. This ISO is best avoided if at all possible if you plan on printing your photos.

Sporting Canon’s DIGIC 7 image processor and a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor, the step-up DSLR beyond the entry-level Rebel series offers similar yet pleasing performance in the print quality department. Following other Canon 24MP APS-C models, the Canon 77D is capable of large, wall-sized prints (at least up to 30 x 40 inches) all the way until ISO 400. Visible ISO noise starts to creep in fairly early in the ISO range, but nevertheless, the 77D is capable of large prints as the ISO rises. For instance, you can easily get a great 16 x 20 inch print at ISO 1600 or even a pleasing 8 x 10 at ISO 6400. At the upper ends of the ISO range, prints get rather noisy and color vibrancy drops off slightly, yet it still managed a usable 4 x 6 at the camera’s highest native ISO of 25,600. The expanded ISO 51,200 is not recommended for prints, however.

The images above were taken from our standardized test shots. For a
collection of more pictorial photos, see our
Canon EOS 77D Photo Gallery
.

Not sure which camera to buy? Let your eyes be the ultimate judge!
Visit our Comparometer(tm)
to compare images from the Canon EOS 77D with those from other
cameras you may be considering. The proof is in the pictures, so let
your own eyes decide which you like best!

Below are crops from our laboratory Still Life target comparing the Canon 77D’s image quality to its predecessor’s, the T6s, as well as against several competing APS-C models — and one full-frame camera for good measure — which all sit at similar price points or product categories: the Nikon D5600, Pentax K-3 II, Sony A6300 and Sony A7. (You may be wondering why we included higher-end models like the Pentax K-3 II and full-frame Sony A7 in the mix; the reason is at the time of writing they are priced very similarly to the 77D.)

NOTE: These images are from best quality JPEGs straight out of the camera, at default settings including noise reduction and using the camera’s actual base ISO (not extended ISO settings). All cameras in this comparison were shot with our very sharp reference lenses. Clicking any crop will take you to a carrier page where you can click once again to access the full resolution image as delivered straight from the camera. For those interested in working with the RAW files involved: click these links to visit each camera’s respective sample image thumbnail page: Canon 77D, Canon T6s, Nikon D5600, Pentax K-3 II, Sony A6300 and Sony A7 — links to the RAW files appear beneath those for the JPEG images, wherever we have them. And remember, you can always go to our world-renowned Comparometer to compare the Canon 77D to any camera we’ve ever tested!

Canon 77D vs Canon T6s at Base ISO

Canon 77D at ISO 100	Canon T6s at ISO 100
Here, we compare the 77D to its true predecessor, the T6s. Both use a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor with optical low-pass filter, although the 77D’s sensor appears to be tweaked. The 77D uses a newer processor as well, the DIGIC 7 versus DIGIC 6 for the T6s. As you can see above, image quality at base ISO has changed little, with just slight differences in color and contrast. The T6s appears to do a bit better with our tricky red-leaf fabric, though.

Canon 77D vs Nikon D5600 at Base ISO

Canon 77D at ISO 100	Nikon D5600 at ISO 100
While both cameras here feature 24-megapixel APS-C sensors, the Nikon D5600’s sensor lacks an optical low-pass filter, unlike the 77D’s. This, along with different approaches to default sharpening and noise reduction, allow the D5600 to produce a much crisper image than the 77D here in this base ISO comparison. Sharpening halos are obvious from both cameras, but the Nikon uses a slightly smaller radius with higher contrast. Noise in flatter areas is a bit higher from the Nikon as well.

Canon 77D vs Pentax K-3 II at Base ISO

Canon 77D at ISO 100	Pentax K-3 II at ISO 100
Above we compare the 77D to another 24-megapixel APS-C DSLR, the Pentax K-3 II. The K-3 II is in a higher class, however it is currently selling for not much more than the 77D, so we decided to include it. The Pentax features an on-demand anti-aliasing filter, which has been turned off for maximum sharpness in these shots. As you can see, like the Nikon, the Pentax produces a sharper, more detailed image with fewer sharpening artifacts, however noise is a little higher, contrast is a little lower, and colors are less accurate than the Canon.

Canon 77D vs Sony A6300 at Base ISO

Canon 77D at ISO 100	Sony A6300 at ISO 100
Although we believe the Sony A6300’s 24-megapixel APS-C sensor has an optical low-pass filter, it must be a fairly weak one. Again, the big difference is in processing, as the Sony’s default sharpening is so much better than the Canon’s, producing a crisper, more detailed image with almost no sharpening artifacts and lower noise. We still prefer the color from the Canon better, though, as it has much less of a yellow to green shift, and is generally more vibrant as well.

Canon 77D vs Sony A7 at Base ISO

Canon 77D at ISO 100	Sony A7 at ISO 100
Some may think a comparison to a full-frame camera really isn’t fair, but the 24-megapixel Sony A7 is selling for the exact same price at the time of writing, so we decided to include it anyway. As you can see, the Sony A7 already outperforms the 77D here at base ISO, with better sharpness, more detail, lower noise and fewer artifacts, and the difference will become even more apparent as ISO rises. Moiré patterns in the red-leaf swatch are however more visible from the A7, but that will vary with distance, lens, focus and subject matter so we won’t hold that against the Sony here as it has an optical low-pass filter as well.

Canon 77D vs Canon T6s at ISO 1600

Canon 77D at ISO 1600	Canon T6s at ISO 1600
Generally very similar image quality here at ISO 1600 from the two siblings, with just slight improvements to color, contrast and noise from the 77D, however the T6s holds on to noticeably more detail in our tricky red-leaf fabric.

Canon 77D vs Nikon D5600 at ISO 1600

Canon 77D at ISO 1600	Nikon D5600 at ISO 1600
The D5600 continues to deliver a much crisper image with better fine detail and similar noise levels in flatter areas here at ISO 1600, however the 77D does noticeably better in our troublesome red-leaf swatch.

Canon 77D vs Pentax K-3 II at ISO 1600

Canon 77D at ISO 1600	Pentax K-3 II at ISO 1600
Here at ISO 1600, the K-3 II delivers a slightly sharper image with better detail (except in our read-leaf swatch), along with fewer noise reduction artifacts, however noise is a bit higher, particularly in dark areas. Color and contrast continue to be more pleasing from the Canon.

Canon 77D vs Sony A6300 at ISO 1600

Canon 77D at ISO 1600	Sony A6300 at ISO 1600
Apart from color, the A6300 easily comes out ahead here, with a much sharper, crisper image with better detail. Noise is lower as well, though the Sony’s noise “grain” isn’t quite as regular and film-like as the Canon’s.

Canon 77D vs Sony A7 at ISO 1600

Canon 77D at ISO 1600	Sony A7 at ISO 1600
As expected, there’s no contest here at ISO 1600 between the APS-C 77D and full-frame A7, though artifacts from the A7’s noise reduction do look a bit unnatural in flatter areas.

Canon 77D vs Canon T6s at ISO 3200

Canon 77D at ISO 3200	Canon T6s at ISO 3200
Again, just minor improvements in noise handling, contrast and color here at ISO 3200 over its predecessor.

Canon 77D vs Nikon D5600 at ISO 3200

Canon 77D at ISO 3200	Nikon D5600 at ISO 3200
The D5600 continues to deliver a sharper, crisper image with slightly better detail and contrast in most areas here at ISO 3200 , however sharpening halos are much more visible.

Canon 77D vs Pentax K-3 II at ISO 3200

Canon 77D at ISO 3200	Pentax K-3 II at ISO 3200
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 much 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 77D manages to produce a more reasonable facsimile. Color also remains much better from the Canon.

Canon 77D vs Sony A6300 at ISO 3200

Canon 77D at ISO 3200	Sony A6300 at ISO 3200
The Sony A6300 continues to produce a crisper, more detailed image than the 77D 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 77D 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.

Canon 77D vs Sony A7 at ISO 3200

Canon 77D at ISO 3200	Sony A7 at ISO 3200
Unsurprisingly, still no contest here, with the full-frame A7 producing a much cleaner, crisper, much more detailed image but with a more processed look to flatter areas.

Canon 77D vs. Canon T6s, Nikon D5600, Pentax K-3 II, Sony A6300, Sony A7

Canon 77D ISO 100 ISO 3200 ISO 6400	Canon T6s ISO 100 ISO 3200 ISO 6400	Nikon D5600 ISO 100 ISO 3200 ISO 6400	Pentax K-3 II ISO 100 ISO 3200 ISO 6400	Sony A6300 ISO 100 ISO 3200 ISO 6400	Sony A7 ISO 100 ISO 3200 ISO 6400
Detail comparison. High-contrast detail is also important, pushing the camera in different ways, so we like to look at it separately here. As you can see, the 77D starts out with higher contrast than the T6s, but more importantly image quality doesn’t drop off as much as the T6s’ as ISO climbs. The D5600 is very crisp and detailed across all three ISOs, however sharpening halos are the most intrusive of the bunch. The Pentax K-3 II lags in contrast at base ISO but detail is very good, however image quality does fall off more than most of the others as ISO climbs. The Sony A6300 does very well, offering excellent detail and contrast with few sharpening halos and little drop-off in quality as sensitivity is increased. The full-frame Sony A7 is of course the winner here, offering the best detail and contrast across all three ISOs.

Canon 77D Print Quality Analysis

Very nice 30 x 40 inch prints at ISO 100/200/400; a good 16 x 20 inch print at ISO 1600; and a usable 4 x 6 at ISO 25,600.

ISO 100 and 200 images look practically identical with tons of fine detail and vibrant colors that make excellent, large prints up to 30 x 40 inches. At this size, we’re pushing the resolving power the 77D’s 24MP APS-C sensor. At very close inspection, we can see the faintest hint of pixelation due to the large print size, but from a normal viewing distance for a print this big, the image quality looks great.

ISO 400 prints look very similar to the previous two ISOs. Comparing side-by-side, the ISO 400 image shows just a hint of softening due to a slight increase in noise compared to base ISO. However, the effect is so minimal that it doesn’t impact print sizes, and we’re happy with 30 x 40 inch prints at this ISO, as well.

ISO 800 images begin to show some visible noise and subsequent softening of fine detail. The overall image quality is still very good, allowing this ISO to make pleasing, high quality prints at up to 20 x 30 inches. A 24 x 36 inch print looks quite good, too, but the noise might be a bit too strong for the most critical applications, so we’ll play it safe by calling it at the next size down.

ISO 1600 prints follow a similar pattern to the previous ISO; noise is stronger now, and while a 20 x 30 inch print might work with careful processing, we’re putting the check-mark next to 16 x 20 inches. At this size, noise is well-controlled and detail looks crisp, whereas things looks a bit too noisy and soft at the larger size.

ISO 3200 images begin to display rather strong noise, especially in the shadows, and the detail loss from noise and NR processing is noticeable at larger print sizes. At this ISO an 11 x 14 inch print looks nice, although for less critical applications a 13 x 19 might work.

ISO 6400 prints top-out at 8 x 10 inches, which is rather impressive for an intermediate-level APS-C camera. Noise is quite problematic, though, if you attempt larger prints, with noticeable detail loss/softening and visible noise grain. Colors have also taken on a subtle blandness compared to the vibrancy of lower ISOs.

ISO 12,800 images are fairly noisy, but they still allow for a decent 5 x 7 inch print. There is adequate fine detail and okay color remaining at this ISO to most assuredly call it usable.

ISO 25,600 prints are usable at 4 x 6 inches; any larger and the images are very noisy and lacking in fine detail.

ISO 51,200 images, using the 77D’s expanded ISO setting, are much too noisy and soft to be useful for printmaking. This ISO is best avoided if at all possible if you plan on printing your photos.

Sporting Canon’s DIGIC 7 image processor and a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor, the step-up DSLR beyond the entry-level Rebel series offers similar yet pleasing performance in the print quality department. Following other Canon 24MP APS-C models, the Canon 77D is capable of large, wall-sized prints (at least up to 30 x 40 inches) all the way until ISO 400. Visible ISO noise starts to creep in fairly early in the ISO range, but nevertheless, the 77D is capable of large prints as the ISO rises. For instance, you can easily get a great 16 x 20 inch print at ISO 1600 or even a pleasing 8 x 10 at ISO 6400. At the upper ends of the ISO range, prints get rather noisy and color vibrancy drops off slightly, yet it still managed a usable 4 x 6 at the camera’s highest native ISO of 25,600. The expanded ISO 51,200 is not recommended for prints, however.

Rebel in Disguise

by Jaron Schneider | Posted 05/16/2017

The 77D was announced alongside the T7i, and these cameras share a lot in common including the DIGIC 7 image processor, 45-point all cross-type phase-detect autofocus, and the same 24.2 megapixel sensor. In fact, the two cameras share so much in common on paper that it might be confusing to consumers what the differences are, and what makes the 77D worth the additional $150.

Sigma 20mm F1.4 DG HSM Art (31mm eq.), f/3.5, 1/640s, ISO 200. Click for full-res image.

Canon 77D Body and Ergonomics

The 77D has the exact same body size and general exterior design as the Rebel T7i, save for a few minor tweaks, the addition of a top-panel status LCD and the addition of a rear dial. Aside from the relocation of a few rear buttons to make room for the lock switch for that aforementioned dial (which is a necessary add-on and common on all Canon cameras that feature a fully rotating dial in that position), the only other major difference between the two cameras is the relocation of the mode dial from the right side of the camera to the left (as viewed from the left) to make room for that LCD.

Basically, from a physical standpoint, the 77D body adds a scant few features and controls (which are expounded on in detail below) that make it look more like the higher-end DSLRs in Canon’s lineup. It is otherwise largely identical, weighing in at only 8 grams more than the T7i.

As mentioned, the mode dial is located on the left of the camera (when viewed from the back), with the power switch accessible just below it and technically on the backside of the 77D. This allows you to access the switch quickly with your left thumb even if you are shooting, as opposed to the location on the top of the camera like on the T7i.

The option to switch between still and video mode is on that same switch, with OFF, ON, and VIDEO. This isn’t the most desirable button arrangement, in my opinion. It is very easy to switch into video mode by accident, as pushing the switch from “off” all the way over to the next farthest option is normally how you switch the power “on” with any other camera or electronic device with a physical trigger.

The mode dial has the same knurled outer rim that all modern Canon DSLRs have and is easy to turn, despite being locked in place by a center button which must be pressed to rotate the dial. Some users will find the auto-locked dial to their liking (as it prevents accidentally changing the shooting mode) while others will find it to be a nuisance or inconvenience (since adjusting the mode takes a noticeable effort and finger dexterity). Since mid to pro-level Canon cameras all have this auto-lock dial, it is likely viewed as an advantage over the Rebel series (the T7i’s mode dial does not have the auto-lock feature).

On the right side of the top panel of the camera you will find the status LCD screen, which is common on all higher-end DSLRs and is the first major visual difference you will see between this and the T7i. The screen allows you to quickly see shooting settings like aperture, shutter speed and ISO as well as battery level, shots remaining on the card (estimation) and whether the Wi-Fi is on or off (the T7i has a dedicated Wi-Fi LED on the left top deck). As a note, once a photographer has a camera with one of these status LCDs, it’s hard to go back to not having it. Seeing it on the 77D is then, therefore, quite welcome.

The other buttons available on the top of the camera are the autofocus area mode, ISO adjustment and LCD backlight illumination. The ISO button specifically has a raised bump, which is helpful in identifying it from the shooting position or in the dark. Speaking of the dark, the LCD backlight illumination button is of course handy when shooting where ambient light is minimal. The button can be pressed again to turn off the illumination, or it will shut itself off automatically after five seconds.

The 77D also has two command dials, one located on the top of the camera just behind the shutter button, and one accessible by thumb in the lower right corner of the back of the camera. Depending on your shooting setting, each dial does something different. While in manual mode, the top command dial adjusts shutter speed while the back dial adjusts aperture. While in program, aperture priority or shutter priority, the top dial controls the priority option while the back dial can be used to adjust exposure compensation. These controls are identical to how the pro-level bodies handle, and are a perfect step for beginner/intermediate photographers to attain a grasp of how a larger and higher-end camera will operate.

Differentiating itself a bit from the T7i, the 77D adds the AF-ON button, which by default in any camera mode will activate continuous autofocus for as long as the button is held. It can also be customized for the camera’s autofocus activation (rather than or in addition to a half-press on the shutter button), a feature that many seasoned shooters swear by (using back-button autofocus assures that a given focus point will not change when using the shutter button, which is ideal for some landscapes and architecture photography).

The 77D has the extremely handy and bright flip-out articulating screen, a style of rear screen that I find to be superior to the simple tilt-only LCDs common with other camera manufacturers. The tilt/swivel nature of the screen allows it to be viewed from more angles, and Canon’s design here is easy to control and feels solid and secure.

This flip-out LCD also has a touch sensitive overlay. You can use the typical “Menu” and “Set” buttons to navigate the menu, or you can simply tap anywhere on the screen to get to where you want to go. It is without a doubt faster to navigate with the touch screen, and it is both very responsive and very accurate.

Using the touch screen is even more beneficial in live view photo and video mode. While in live-view photo mode, you can tap an option in the lower right hand corner of the screen that will allow you to use “tap to shoot.” In this mode, you can tap anywhere on the screen and the camera will immediately focus there and capture a frame. The speed at which it does this is quite impressive, even in lower-light environments: it is less than a second between tapping a location and the frame being captured in focus.

If you instead opt to not use “tap to shoot,” when that mode is not selected, tapping the screen will focus the camera to the tapped point. As was the case with “tap to shoot,” the speed and accuracy of this feature was extremely quick and nearly always accurate. I did however find it may not always be as specific as you want and may require multiple attempts to get exactly what you were wanting in focus. This is likely due to the size of the somewhat large focus area box or perhaps the size of my finger tip relative to the screen size.

The pentamirror viewfinder offers a claimed 95% coverage with an approximate 0.51x magnification (35mm equivalent) and a 19mm eyepoint; the same as the T7i. It’s small and doesn’t offer full frame coverage which is typical in the entry-level class, but it’s the smallest optical viewfinder in an EOS XXD series. What you see is almost what you get with this camera, with just a bit more actually appearing in photos than what you could see in the viewfinder.

Overall, the 77D is light in weight but not on features and options. After handing it to a friend of mine who is just getting into photography, she commented on how good it felt to hold and thought that its light weight was a huge advantage. She also appreciated how it was laid out pretty much the same as my 5D cameras that I had given her a few days before to try out.

The 77D also adds an eye sensor over the viewfinder, something the Rebel T7i does not have. To set the stage on what this feature does, firstly you have to know how the 77D reacts when the rear screen is visible. When visible, the 77D’s rear screen defaults to showing camera settings in more detail than the small status LCD gives. You can see everything from shutter speed and aperture all the way through your metering and image size/quality. You can directly access any of these features with the touch screen by pushing the “Q” button directly to the screen’s right on the back of the camera (if you try and adjust any settings by going straight to the touch screen, the camera will prompt you to push that Q button). I imagine the “Q” button step was deemed necessary to avoid accidental settings changes thanks to the very sensitive touch screen.

The only thing the eye sensor does is it turns off the rear screen when your eye moves to the viewfinder, and this only works when the camera is in standby mode and it will not automatically close you out of the menu or image playback (if you tap the shutter button, that does remove you from any menu and therefore puts the camera back into standby, where the screen will then darken if your eye is near the viewfinder). In live view or video mode, the sensor does nothing.

On cameras with electronic viewfinders, this sensor tells the camera where to display the preview, in the EVF or on the rear screen. On a camera like the 77D with an optical viewfinder, such a sensor finds itself with much less to do. It is almost superfluous, but I can appreciate the screen going dark eliminating glare when I’m trying to shoot, especially if I’m trying to capture night scenes. It probably also saves some battery life. Speaking of battery life, the 77D’s has been amazing during my time with the camera. I have not ever recharged it and through all my testing and use the battery level didn’t even gone down one bar.

Sigma 20mm F1.4 DG HSM Art (31mm eq.), f/3.5, 1/1600s, ISO 200. Click for full-res image.

Canon 77D Shooting Features and Experience

Shooting with the 77D felt pretty good, especially considering its place in the hierarchy of cameras Canon offers. Like we found in the T7i, the 77D does apply a heavy dose of contrast in camera to images taken in JPEG, but I don’t find it to be off-putting. For landscapes, the colors became more vibrant and the differences between highlights and shadows more defined. For portraits, skin tone pops stronger with red/orange tones and colors in general feel more “realistic.” Overall, the argument on if Canon’s choice in JPEG rendering is good or bad is rather moot, as it can be adjusted in camera to your liking, and most who will shoot with the 77D will be looking to adjust the RAW files in post rather than fiddling with the JPEGs.

Speaking of color rendition, I was particularly impressed with how the 77D captured colors across the spectrum, more so than I generally have been with Canon cameras in the past. Though greens and blues are not as vibrant as perhaps you will find on a Sony camera, the nuances in color and contrasts between them are well represented. Reds and oranges in particular look spectacular, which is not surprising given the Canon sensor, but they work extremely well when cast against blue, green or dark surroundings. Sunset colors against crisp clear blue skies look beautiful, skin tones are excellent and overall colors feel more pronounced than I expected.

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at 69mm (107mm eq.), f/5.0, 1/250s, ISO 100. Click for full-res image.

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at 50mm (78mm eq.), f/5.0, 1/320s, ISO 100. Click for full-res image.

ISO performance is about par for the course when it comes to modern cameras in this segment. Below you can see a 100% crop from a photo taken at each ISO increment starting at 100 and going all the way up to the expanded 51,200. You can view and download each file in either JPEG or RAW in the Gallery here.

Canon 77D ISO Comparison 100% crops from Fine JPEG images with default settings. (Click for full-size images.)
ISO 100 Full Scene
ISO 100	ISO 200
ISO 400	ISO 800
ISO 1600	ISO 3200
ISO 6400	ISO 12,800
ISO 25,600	ISO 51,200

In my opinion, the image is relatively clean all the way through ISO 800. ISO 1600 starts to introduce some noise, but it’s very minor and the image is still quite usable. After that though, we start to see some noise appear across the frame and serious sharpness degradation occur. The default maximum of ISO 25,600 is not particularly good, and I wouldn’t recommend going that high. Needless to say therefore, it’s pretty unnecessary to even activate, let alone shoot at, the expanded ISO 51,200.

The actual shooting experience is pretty great with the 77D, thanks largely in part to that DIGIC 7 processor. Though it might not write the images to cards super quickly if you’re shooting in both JPEG and RAW, it will stack a decent buffer so that it doesn’t interfere with your shooting rhythm. Canon specs claim that the 77D can fire unlimited frames at 6 frames per second in JPEG format when using a fast UHS-I card, and up to 27 frames in RAW format. If you are shooting in JPEG+RAW, they say you can expect 23 shots before the buffer slows you down. In our lab testing we confirmed the burst rate of 6 frames per second no matter the file type, however we found somewhat shallower buffer depths: 167 JPEGs vs unlimited, 23 frames in RAW vs the claimed 27, and 21 frames in RAW+JPEG vs the claimed 23 when using one of the fastest UHS-I cards on the market. (See our Canon 77D Performance page for details.) The target we use for testing burst mode in the lab was designed to be difficult to compress, though, so typical real-world scenes should result in buffer depths that agree with Canon’s numbers.

EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at 62mm (96mm eq.), f/5.0, 1/500s, ISO 200. Click for full-res image.

One technical cap worth noting is that the 77D does limit your maximum shutter speed to 1/4000 of a second, which is what is expected of the Rebel series cameras (and is what the T7i is capped at, and every other Rebel in my recent memory). The next step up, the Canon 80D, is capable of 1/8000 of a second. Flash x-sync speed is also lower at 1/200 versus 1/250 for the 80D. So although the 77D is designed to look like a step up from the Rebel, that step up is mainly in body design and additional buttons/options like the top-panel LCD and does not extend to most shooting functions. The 77D does however include interval timer and bulb timer functions that the T7i does not.

Strong Autofocus Performance

The 77D uses a 45-point, all-cross-type autofocus system that does a pretty good job at tracking and keeping subjects in focus even in dim lighting environments. Canon states that the 77D’s autofocus system using a central AF point (as opposed to face tracking or zone AF) is capable of focusing down to -3.0 EV, which is impressive. There aren’t many configurations for the autofocus points in live view, just the three mentioned above (central, face tracking/tap area and zone). There also aren’t many choices for general AF configurations either, with just single AF point selection, zone AF with nine zones, large zone AF mode with three groupings, and a fully automatic mode. There may not be a lot of options, but for the target market of the 77D, these should suffice.

EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at 135mm (210mm eq.), f/5.6, 1/400s, ISO 200. Click for full-res image.

Using the viewfinder, the autofocus on the 77D is more than adequate, reacting quickly and snapping with high accuracy to focus. I tested it in low and harshly varied lighting conditions (with strong shadows or backlit images) and did not find it to particularly struggle to focus in any condition I threw at it, though it would occasionally miss a frame or focus on the foreground instead of the subject. Only in very dim settings trying to focus on the reflective objects therein did it fight me a little, but this is to be expected.

I was able to follow a bounding jackrabbit as it made its way across the dunes in front of me, and most of those 30 shots are in focus. It’s not the best autofocus on the market, but for its price tier, it does a very good job.

In live view shooting mode, the camera switches to rely on the Dual Pixel AF image sensor, and the focusing doesn’t seem to give up much in return. Though ever so slightly slower than focusing through the viewfinder, the Dual Pixel AF was incredibly reliable in any of the three aforementioned modes. Of course, the darker the environment the more the camera has a chance to struggle, but this is to be expected. Even in those dim environments, however, I thought the camera performed quite admirably.

EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at 135mm (210mm eq.), f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO 200. Click for full-res image.

As a note, the Dual Pixel AF is great, but only as good as your optics. I tested on the Canon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM and it performed very well. I imagine that any STM lens would be even better, and most modern quick-focusing lenses will likely also do just fine.

Canon 77D Shooting Modes

The 77D offers nine shooting modes in what the company calls the “Basic Zone” on the mode dial, plus the usual program (P), aperture-priority (Av), shutter-priority (Tv) and manual (M) shooting modes you’d expect on a DSLR in the “Creative Zone.” The Basic Zone contains positions for Scene Intelligent Auto, Flash Off, Creative Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Special Scene and Creative Filters.

The Creative Auto mode offers the ability to shoot images with a “specific ambiance” like vivid, soft or black and white. The options within simply change how the camera saves the JPEG. The other settings, like the “background blur” slider, simplify what the photographer might want to happen instead of relying on their knowledge of how f-stops work. It’s actually a pretty nice way to present the idea of what photo someone might want to take, and having the camera do as much as possible to achieve that without getting too confusing to newcomers.

The Special Scene mode lets you choose among a set of possible scenarios and aligns the camera settings for the highest chance to succeed with them. The built-in options are Group Photo, Kids (specifically when they are in motion), Food, Candlelight, Night Portrait, Handheld Night Scene and HDR Backlight Control (which takes three shots and combines them to better preserve highlights and shadows in high contrast scenes).

What I like about the Special Scene mode and Creative Auto mode is that when you navigate to them, the camera doesn’t just explain in words what each setting is good for, it provides example images of what a scene might look like that you are trying to capture. For any new shooter, this is incredibly helpful. You may not know what settings your camera is using, but the 77D can do all the calculations internally so that you don’t miss the shot. These modes won’t teach you why they work, but they will assure that you don’t miss what you wanted to capture. In the end, that’s all many people will care about.

Additionally, the 77D also offers multiple Creative Filter modes that apply select filters on images you take. There are ten here, and they are:

• Grainy black and white
• Soft focus
• Fish-eye effect
• Water painting effect
• Toy camera effect
• Miniature effect
• HDR art standard
• HDR art vivid
• HDR art bold
• HDR art embossed

Water Painting Effect: Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at 115mm (179mm eq.), f/7.1, 1/400s, ISO 200. Click for full-res image.

Each of these modes produces images that are, in my opinion, pretty heavy handed. The aforementioned contrast that the 77D adds to JPEGs is ramped up yet another notch, especially in the miniature effect. The modes with low contrast like the water paint effect and soft focus are also rather strong, and I can’t seem to think of a use for the water paint look.

Miniature Effect: EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at 85mm (132mm eq.), f/6.3, 1/400s, ISO 200. Click for full-res image.

Bear in mind that shooting with these modes will prevent you from recording a RAW file. For those who actually like these kinds of effects, it may be smarter to do this in post in something like Photoshop than to rely on the camera, as there are many downsides to doing so.

These are generally “fun” ways to shoot, and the HDR modes will actually take multiple exposures to create one finished image in camera. Anyone without experience with Photoshop might find these useful, but those who are more advanced will likely shy away from them.

Wireless Features

The 77D features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity, and is strikingly easy to operate from my iPhone 7+ running the latest OS (10.2.1). The Canon Connect app does a very good job at walking you through steps to connect your device, with Bluetooth being the easiest and quickest, and Wi-Fi taking a bit more time (at least on Apples since they don’t support NFC for automated pairing), but offering more functionality.

Speaking of that “more functionality” bit, though Canon says that images can be accessed and transferred to a mobile device via Bluetooth, I was unable to do so. It also didn’t allow me to do any camera control without sending me a Wi-Fi connect prompt. The only function that I was able to operate with Bluetooth was “location services,” which I assume will allow the camera to embed location into the EXIF data of images. When I tried to get to images or camera control however, I was instructed to connect to the camera via Wi-Fi. I was able to quickly and easily do this, but therefore found the addition of Bluetooth to the 77D underwhelming. It doesn’t really expand much on what you could do with Wi-Fi, and is in most cases pretty useless unless you really care about embedding geotagging in images (which you can also do via Wi-Fi).

That said, using Wi-Fi, the wireless control is really handy for setting up a camera in a hard to reach location, or even holding it above your head in a crowd to get a higher-angled shot. The speed and refresh rate of the app is really pretty amazing, and there is very little lag between where you move the camera and what is shown on the app.

You can also use Wi-Fi to send photos from the camera to your smartphone, and it does this remarkably fast. It takes only a few seconds to send a high resolution image directly from the camera to your smartphone for social sharing. This feature was expressed to me to be high on the list of “wants” from friends who this camera is specifically designed to cater, so the fact that it does so rather quickly and painlessly is a huge plus.

As a final note on wireless features, I found the app, connecting and interacting with the 77D to be overall, painless. I have no complaints about the app itself, despite the very much “hand holding” nature of the prompts that regularly come up, and would trust it often to transfer images or take remote control of the camera.

Canon 77D Video Features

Click here to read our Canon 77D Video Features, Specs & Analysis

Canon 77D Field Test Summary

What I like:

• Very light and easy to handle
• Omni-directional screen is always welcome, and the brightness and clarity of that screen very good, enough to use even in bright sunlight.
• Autofocus performance is good
• Live-view shooting in video and photo is excellent thanks to the Dual Pixel CMOS AF
• Shooting and operating the camera feels snappy thanks to that DIGIC 7 processor
• Quality of images is pretty impressive for such a small DSLR
• Top-panel status LCD

What I dislike:

• I wish the ISO performance was better, as starting to see image quality degradation as low as ISO 1600 is lackluster.
• No headphone jack

EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at 56mm (87mm eq.), f/5.0, 1/500s, ISO 100. Click for full-res image.

The 77D is a very slight step up from the Canon T7i, but offers a few improvements and “prosumer” features that make it stand out for some users. As mentioned, the biggest differentiators between the 77D and the Rebel T7i are the top-panel LCD, a second command dial, button additions, and an eye sensor, with most every other feature looking to be a carbon copy of the Rebel T7i. This is not a problem as the 77D is only a $150 upgrade over the T7i, but those who pick up the 77D might feel like it’s not quite as powerful as they had hoped. As such, it doesn’t give you what its bigger brother the 80D does such as a more robust body with weather sealing, a larger 100% pentaprism viewfinder, faster burst rate, more physical controls, headphone jack, increased battery life, optional battery grip, AF microadjustment, etc. But with nearly identical image quality and very good all-around performance, the 77D stands as a good go-between for those looking to get out of the Rebel line even if only in name, without breaking the $1,000 mark.

I would still absolutely qualify the 77D as an entry-level DSLR, but meant for those who might have more faith that their photography hobby will blossom into more than just capturing snapshots of the family.

by Jaron Schneider | Posted 09/18/2017

The 77D and T7i share a lot in common, especially their sensor and the performance of it. In that same vein, the 77D video performance and feature sets are pretty identical to that of the T7i.

Canon 77D Video Recording Options & Quality

There is no 4K, but you can shoot in 1080p at 60 frames per second (technically 59.94 but you get the idea), but it’s at a relatively low bit rate of 60 Mbps. That means that though you can get good video, you’ll want to nail the exposure in camera, as the dynamic range is going to be very limiting if you try and adjust scenes in post.

There are two types of 30p recording options offered, one is the standard 30 Mbps, the other a very light 12 Mbps. You can record for a bit longer with the lower data rate, but you’ll also notice that any ability to adjust scenes in post, which was already limited, becomes next to impossible. The light recording setting I would reserve for emergencies (like when you’re running out of SD cards) or for families who don’t particularly care about compression quality, but instead just want to get everything on camera.

Canon 77D Video Speed & Feeds

• 1920 x 1080p at 59.94, 50.00 fps (60 Mbps MP4 via H.264)
• 1920 x 1080p at 29.97, 25.00, 23.98 fps (30 Mbps MP4 via H.264)
• 1920 x 1080p at 29.97, 25.00 fps (12 Mbps MP4 via H.264)
• 1280 x 720p at 59.94, 50.00 fps (26 Mbps MP4 via H.264)
• 1280 x 720p at 29.97, 25.00 fps (4 Mbps MP4 via H.264)
• 640 x 480p at 29.97, 25.00 fps (9 Mbps MP4 via H.264)
• 640 x 480p at 29.97, 25.00 fps (3 Mbps MP4 via H.264)

The 77D, like the T7i, can record in an HDR mode. This mode records video at 1920 x 1080 in 60p (50p for PAL), but merges every two frames together into a single frame and exports that to 30p (25p). The idea is that it can gather more light data that way and provide a scene that is more balanced with shadows and highlights, but the end result lacks quite the noticeably that such a feature offers in photo mode.

The 77D comes with a built-in intervalometer for both stills and in-camera time-lapse movies. The time-lapse movie mode allows you to select the intervals between frames as well as the number of video frames in the finished video. You can also tell it to use automatic exposure to meter for each frame, or lock exposure to your choice. The final recording time can be as short as one second to as long as 99 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds. Time-lapse movies are 1920 x 1080 and are played back at 30p (25p) with a bit rate of about 90 MBps.

Though there is an HDMI out port, it’s the fragile “mini-HDMI” (Type-C)Â connector, and there is no clean HDMI feed for higher quality recording to an external device. In fact, recording with an external device is not possible. Its design looks to be more for streaming to a television than it is for professional recording, which is probably fine given the target audience for the camera.

Though the 77D does have a microphone jack and the aforementioned mini-HDMI port, it lacks a headphone jack for audio monitoring. This rather severely limits the usability of recording in-camera for those who take recording video even somewhat seriously, which is a shame considering the power of Dual Pixel CMOS AF for autofocus and the very handy omni-directional screen, two features that young filmmakers and vloggers would enjoy.

Canon 77D Video Autofocus

Speaking of that Dual Pixel CMOS AF, the speed and accuracy of using autofocus was a great experience. Tapping to focus worked pretty much every time, and the camera never “hunted” around for the subject. It doesn’t look as natural as manually rack focusing (which is important in video), but it’s much better than things used to be not just a couple years ago. The tracking accuracy I tested was also spot on.

The 77D offers three types of autofocus tracking, depending on use:

Face Detect + Tracking

Focus takes place over a broad area of the video image, with face detection active. If human faces are detected, the camera will concentrate focus on the most prominent face in the scene. In scenes without faces, it will automatically focus on the nearest detailed subject in the scene. With the touchscreen interface, just tap the screen to put sharpest focus elsewhere, even on the background if you want. This detection is pretty reliable, and a face will have to go behind a foreground element for a few seconds for the camera to lose track of it and start to hunt.

Smooth Zone AF

A smaller zone of AF sensors starts at the center of the image area, but you’re free to move it by just tapping or dragging the larger rectangle where you want over most of the total picture area. Focus takes place within the zone, again usually on the nearest detailed subject that’s within the big white on-screen icon.

Live 1-point AF

This uses a single focus point on the LCD monitor for focus. With the touchscreen interface, this can be re-positioned anywhere within an area roughly 80% of the horizontal width and vertical height of the total video image area, by just tapping or dragging the small AF icon. This is the best mode to use when trying to direct the camera to focus on what you want it to, and rack between subjects. It’s extremely reliable, especially for those in the 77D’s target market.

Canon included a digital image stabilizer that doesn’t use hardware at all, but software. The stabilization is performed electronically at the image at the CMOS imaging sensor. The sensor itself doesn’t move, but the image is electronically moved on the sensor in direct reaction to movement detected by in-camera sensors.

This digital stabilization is combined with the stabilization in lenses, combining two forms of stabilization during video recording, if the lens has IS. If using a lens without built-in optical IS, Movie Digital IS is performed independently, and can be activated or disabled in the shooting menu screen.

Canon 77D Video Features Summary

Overall, I would say that the 77D records video, but it’s not what I would call a video camera. It’s fine, but it doesn’t particularly excel in any area, opting instead to offer just enough features to coast to an “ok” overall. The ease of use is certainly a high point for the 77D, but anyone looking for even slightly more depth when it comes to options and recording features will be disappointed. This is a great camera for an absolute beginner, and is highly recommended as a starting DSLR.

Pros:

• Easy-to-use
• Offers 1080p60 for slow motion video
• On-sensor software stabilization that combines with lens image stabilization
• Excellent autofocus options and accuracy with Canon’s Dual Pixel sensor
• Includes a microphone jack for using external microphone
• Built-in intervalometer

Cons:

• Lacks 4K
• Time code is not provided when recording
• Recording to external recorders via HDMI is not possible
• There is no headphone jack for monitoring incoming sound
• The ALL-I video compression method is only possible during time-lapse movie recording. Video files are otherwise always recorded in the more highly-compressed IPB file type which causes a noticeable dip in visual clarity.

Lab images from Canon’s new sub-$1000 intermediate-level DSLR

by William Brawley

Simultaneously announced alongside the T7i last month ahead of CP+, the new Canon 77D features an altogether similar imaging pipeline as its Rebel-series sibling, housing a high-res 24-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor and the latest-generation DIGIC 7 image processor. Where the 77D differs from the T7i is mostly down to body design and ergonomics, with the 77D featuring more enthusiast-level DSLR styling such as a top-deck LCD and locking mode dial.

We’ll get into all the details about the 77D’s handling and performance once it hits the road for a Field Test, but for now, we have the camera undergoing its initial lab testing and our Canon 77D First Shots series of lab images are now fresh for pixel-peeping. Like the T7i, the 77D has bit more range across the ISO scale compared to earlier models, like the T6s, offering a native ISO range of 100-25,600, with an expanded high ISO sensitivity of 51,200.

Given the similarity to the T7i, we could also compare images from the T6s and Nikon D5600 against the Canon 77D, but we felt it might make more sense to offer some quick side-by-sides against a couple of higher-end models that are priced just a bit higher than the 77D’s MSRP. Below, we have base ISO (100) and ISO 3200 comparisons of the 77D against the Canon 80D and the Nikon D7200. Of course, we welcome you to compare our lab images from the 77D against any other camera we’ve tested so far by using our trusty Comparometer.

Canon 77D vs. Canon 80D

Base ISO (100): Canon 77D (left) vs. Canon 80D (right)

ISO 3200: Canon 77D (left) vs. Canon 80D (right)

Canon 77D vs. Nikon D7200

Base ISO (100): Canon 77D (left) vs. Nikon D7200 (right)

ISO 3200: Canon 77D (left) vs. Nikon D7200 (right)

Stay tuned as we continue with our Canon 77D review!

Canon 77D First Shots

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by William Brawley | Posted 03/16/2018

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at 62mm (96mm eq.), f/5.0, 1/500s, ISO 200. Click for full-res image.

The Canon 77D is an interesting model for the EOS family, sitting in between the entry-level Rebel series and more advanced consumer models like the 70D and 80D. It seems Canon introduced a little model name confusion back in 2015 with the introduction of both the Rebel T6i and Rebel T6s cameras. For the most part, these two DSLRs were strikingly similar, with the same sensor, processor, performance and image quality. The T6s was aimed at intermediate photographers, though, and featured design changes like a top-deck status LCD and upgraded rear controls more akin to higher-end EOS models. This time around, we get the follow-up to the T6i in the Rebel T7i, and yet the Rebel T6s successor receives a nomenclature change, to 77D.

Despite the plan to separate and perhaps elevate the 77D from more entry-level Rebel models, the change is mostly in name, as the 77D looks, feels and has (or lacks) features more akin to its Rebel siblings than the 80D, for example. Nevertheless, the 77D hits a nice sweet spot for those step-up users who want a more advanced APS-C DSLR at a sub-$1000 price point.

Image Quality

When it comes to image quality, the 77D uses a newer 24.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor similar to a number of other current Canon APS-C cameras. In addition, the 77D gains an upgrade to its image processor, going from a DIGIC 6 chip in the T6s (and 80D, in fact) to a faster DIGIC 7 processor. The result of this new imaging pipeline is slightly higher-quality photos. We see an improvement in dynamic range at lower ISOs, and also a slight improvement in high ISO performance compared to the T6s. However, the 77D’s dynamic range and high ISO capabilities are still not quite as good as competing cameras from some other manufacturers.

The 77D’s 24MP sensor is capable of capturing detail-rich images when you pair the camera with a sharp lens. However, straight-from-camera JPEGs appear slightly soft, which is due in part to the optical low-pass filter that’s used to reduce moiré and other aliasing artifacts. By default, the 77D uses a somewhat unsophisticated sharpening algorithm which is another reason JPEG images appear a little soft when viewed at 100%, while producing obvious sharpening halos along high-contrast edges. However, thanks to the upgraded processor, the 77D supports Canon’s more advanced ‘Fine Detail’ Picture Style. This gives you more control over in-camera sharpening, offering better fine detail reproduction with fewer artifacts if you don’t fancy editing RAW files. For maximum image quality, though, processing the 77D’s CR2 files via a good RAW converter still gives you more flexibility and superior results, especially at higher ISOs.

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at 69mm (107mm eq.), f/5.0, 1/250s, ISO 100. Click for full-res image.

Performance

Thanks to the new DIGIC 7 processor, the 77D gains some nice performance improvements and new features compared to its predecessor, for both photos and video. For starters, the burst rate gets a moderate increase, from a tested 4.8fps to 6fps, which isn’t super-quick, but good for this class of camera. More noticeably, though, we saw a big improvement in buffer depth for RAW files. JPEG buffer depth was pretty much unlimited for both the T6s and 77D with a fast UHS-I card, however RAW buffer depth went from a paltry six shots to a very healthy 23 shots in our tests, despite the faster burst rate.

For video, the newer processor now gives the 77D the ability to shoot Full HD video up to 60fps, which is nice, but the camera still lacks 4K capabilities. The inclusion of Dual Pixel CMOS AF provides excellent, fast autofocus and subject tracking for video as well as live-view stills shooting; a great upgrade over the T6s’ less capable Hybrid CMOS AF III autofocus system. The 77D’s conventional through-the-viewfinder autofocus system is fast and generally works very well. Here, too, the 77D offers a noticeable upgrade to a 45-point AF system from a 19-point system in the T6s.

Although significantly improved compared to the T6s, the 77D’s battery life is still pretty underwhelming for a DSLR at just around 600 shots per charge (with the OVF). It still uses a smaller LP-E17 battery pack like the T6s and most of Canon’s mirrorless models.

Miniature Effect: Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at 85mm (132mm eq.), f/6.3, 1/400s, ISO 200. Click for full-res image.

Summary

As mentioned, the design of the 77D is very similar to the T6s. It’s an overall compact design, much like the Rebel T7i, but with the notable addition of a top status LCD, more physical controls and a few extra features. Despite the naming, the 77D still shares more in common with the Rebel line than it does with higher-end models like the 80D. Battery life is noticeably worse than Canon’s higher-end DSLRs, the 77D’s pentamirror viewfinder is small and not very accurate, the maximum shutter speed tops-out at 1/4000s, there’s no AF fine tuning, and the body lacks weather-sealing, just to name a few of the more Rebel-like attributes.

That said, for a consumer-level DSLR, the Canon 77D ticks a lot of boxes, making it a well-rounded, versatile camera. It may not have all the bells and whistles nor the most cutting-edge features and technology, but the 77D is a quality DSLR with the expansive EOS ecosystem behind it and comes at a reasonable price point. For those with a Rebel-series camera from the last couple of years or so, especially the T6s, the 77D may not offer enough new features or performance improvements to warrant an upgrade. But for those with an older Rebel series model, or anyone wanting to advance their skills beyond what a smartphone or compact camera can provide, the 77D makes a great choice.

The T6s earned a Dave’s Pick in 2015, and with the improvements made to this model, the Canon 77D gets the nod from us once again.

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