Canon 77D vs. a Canon T7i

[stevet1]

Anyone have any hands-on experience with these that you can share?
I'm trying to decide between the two.

Steve Thomas

 

[TWX]

Anyone have any hands-on experience with these that you can share?
I'm trying to decide between the two.

Steve Thomas

I have a 77D, been using it for a year or so after upgrading from the Rebel XS.

I went with the 77D because of the top display and extra dial in the d-pad on the back similar to the 70D/80D, and I went with it over the older but same resolution T6s because of the dual-pixel autofocus in live-view and video modes. Since the vast majority of the camera features and the camera body are the same as the T7i, I've been just fine looking at T7i tutorials for using it. I also had went with it because it's very similar size and weight to that Rebel XS I'd been using, so it wasn't going to require rethinking handling and storage.

So some negatives. With the top screen on the right, the power switch moved to the left along with the primary control dial. This is more annoying than I realized it would be, I can't as easily turn on the camera one-handed. This is most annoying if I happen to have the camera on the passenger's seat and see something I want to quickly take a picture of, which I know I'm probably not supposed to do anyway, but there it is. Additionally while the camera body isn't as small as the SL-series (I'd considered the SL2 as well) it's still small enough that using those 70D/80D type controls is more difficult because your face makes it hard to reach some of those controls, especially if you started out as a left-eye shooter like me. I've been slowly retraining to shoot with my right eye, and that has made it easier to reach the back button autofocus and the lower jog wheel for aperture when shooting in manual, but it's still a little awkward. I didn't really shoot manually with the Rebel XS, so this part hadn't occurred to me.

Those negatives aside, I've been primarily shooting full-manual or mostly-manual with auto-ISO because with the index-finger wheel and with the thumb-wheel I can easily control both shutter speed and aperture without having to resort to on-screen menus, and if I am remembering right, in shutter-priority and aperture-priority modes, the thumb-wheel controls exposure compensation. Since the T7i lacks the thumb wheel, I assume one has to use a menu in order to do that, which means taking the camera away from one's face to navigate, possibly missing the shot.

When I bought mine I went grey-market. Canon USA's warranty is only one year anyway, so I went with a $599 amazon seller with seemingly a good reputation for a body-only camera, I already had an 18-55mm IS II so I didn't want another 18-55mm kit lens and certainly didn't want to pay for one. In hindsight if I'd found a good price on body plus 18-135mm nano-USM that would have been a good buy too, I subsequently picked one up used and that latest 18-135mm is a really nice general purpose lens.

Using the 77D has given me a greater appreciation for the capabilities that the less rebel-ish XXD line. At some point down the road when prices come down perhaps I'll pick up a 90D with its larger body, higher resolution, and 4K capability, but for now I have a lot of additional learning to do with the camera I have, and so far I appear to be the limiting factor in my results, rather than the camera holding me back, especially when it's easy enough to control.

 

[photoflyer]

I have a T7i and several other bodies that have the 77D layout. I believe feature wise they are nearly the same. The 77D may be a tad larger. It is a bit more expensive. I believe neither is water sealed.

I prefer the layout of the 77D. But, I got the T7i as a small (ish) travel DSLR.

 

[TWX]

So T7i versus 77D:

Marketing photos, so I don't think there should be licensing problems with fair-use for a comparison.


Annotated differences:

Orange - relocated main dial and power switch.
Red - Dedicated A/V button on T7i, not present on 77D.
Green - Eyecup Sensor, AV-ON, thumb-dial, and lock switch on 77D, not present on T7i.
Purple, Cyan, Magenta, buttons for Q-menu, Playback/preview, and Delete on both cameras, layout changed.

Also, to be pedantic, the strap-hook on the left side points sideways on the 77D, while pointing upwards like the right side on the T7i. Not pictured, the top-screen on the 77D, occupying the right side of the top. The three buttons across the right side top are present on both models.

There's some kind of wireless communications indicator LED on the top left of the T7i that is absent on the 77D. I don't think the 77D has this LED anywhere, but its absence has never bothered me.