EOS 90D - Hands on review

[AlanF]

Alan. I have never used DxO PL but your regular comments about its noise suppression capabilities has me thinking I should give it a go. Is it a decent subsitute for LR editing? Not particularly worried about the organization capabilities but just the editing.

Here is an interesting blog:

DXO PhotoLab 2 Vs Photo Ninja - Andy Bell Photography

DXO Photo Lab V2 has been released. What's new? Is it worth the upgrade? How does it compare with Photo Ninja? Read my review to find out.

www.andybellphotography.com

 

[Aussie shooter]

Here is an interesting blog:

DXO PhotoLab 2 Vs Photo Ninja - Andy Bell Photography

DXO Photo Lab V2 has been released. What's new? Is it worth the upgrade? How does it compare with Photo Ninja? Read my review to find out.

www.andybellphotography.com

Cheers mate

 

[clbayley]

AlanF - I am curious about your finding of the Nik Denoise plugin. I don't know if I have ever seen you mention it. How does it compare to DXO? I like it because you can move the control points around and aggressively denoise the background while being gentle on the subject...

 

[AlanF]

AlanF - I am curious about your finding of the Nik Denoise plugin. I don't know if I have ever seen you mention it. How does it compare to DXO? I like it because you can move the control points around and aggressively denoise the background while being gentle on the subject...

I had used it in the past when it was a free plug in for PS. It's now marketed by DxO. It seemed to be good at removing noise but it lost detail relative to DxO PRIME and now Photo Ninja. I am no expert on the different RAW converters and software packages but from what I have read and used myself, it does seem that DxO and Ninja have the edge on the rest. I recommend the Andy Bell reviews.

 

[AlanF]

For interest, here the Migrant Hawker dragonfly with minimal processing from PS directly to jpeg (above) and PS to DNG and then PhotoNinja (below). (The one I showed earlier was a jpeg smoothed by PhotoNinja from a screenshot.) PhotoNinja tones down the highlights and brings out the colours more as well as much better noise reduction and retention of detail. This shot was at iso640 with a very dark background that shows noise.

 

[Graphic.Artifacts]

Looks promising. That sensor certainly seems like a solid performer. Any chance for an "executive summary" after you've had a chance to sort through the details? Build quality/operability, AF and IQ would probably be the headline items for most of us. Thanks.

 

[AlanF]

Looks promising. That sensor certainly seems like a solid performer. Any chance for an "executive summary" after you've had a chance to sort through the details? Build quality/operability, AF and IQ would probably be the headline items for most of us. Thanks.

Will do so soon. I am happy with my purchase alongside my other gear.

 

[Graphic.Artifacts]

Thanks Alan. From what I've been able to gather this is appears to be Canon's least ISO variant sensor to date. Great news for those of us who often shoot backlit subjects.

 

[scyrene]

I'm definitely hoping to get this camera, everything is sounding good. I've hardly used the 5DS for some time as I was hoping to sell, and as I only wanted it for the cropping ability mostly on small birds, the 90D seems a better bet for me now. I take the point about it being harder to track small subjects with a narrower FOV, but I'll get used to it hopefully. The only problem is my old copy of Lightroom won't be able to handle the files, so I'll have to convert from raw some other way. But a price worth paying.

 

[Drcampbellicu]

the dpreview article on the 90d was interesting
Especially at the end when they compare it with the m6
I’m not sure what canons strategy and positioning is

do you have a sense on what the 90d is supposed to be going forward for canons lineup?

The Sigma pairs with it well. One good thing about the 90D vs M6 II is that it has a nice deep grip for handling the long lenses.

 

[AlanF]

Initial Summary
I am primarily a bird photographer, and that is my perspective for these comments.

Build
Flimsier than a 5DIV but still reasonably robust and the ports and doors have seals. Good grip and Canon ergonomics. Easy to hold with a 100-400mm II. Menu is very similar to 5D/7D series.

AF
The centre point is excellent: fast and accurate, with the added bonus of point focus. Just right for pinpointing a bird hidden in foliage or a big slow one in flight.

The centre 9 point zone is not as fast for locking on but still good. I have used it for a dragonfly flying, tracking a heron flying against a background, and it’s very good for finding and tracking birds in flight against the sky.

All 45 points can be very slow for focussing against a background unless the object is clear in the foreground. It will lock on to birds flying against the sky and all the points work.

The focussing is slower with a Sigma 150-600mm C.

Image quality
The quality is excellent. It doesn’t reach its full potential because of its AA-filter. But, it outresolves my 5DSR by about 10-20% with the same lens and clearly outresolves my 5DIV by a factor of 1.5-1.6. In other words, the 90D + telephoto has somewhat better resolution than a 5DIV or EOS R + telephoto + 1.4xTC. It also pairs well with a Sigma 150-600mm C. You get some extra reach adding a 1.4xTC to a 100-400mm II, and definitely gives excellent resolution with a 1.4xTC on a 400mm DO II at f/5.6. In fact, the 90D + 400mm DO II + 1.4xTC seriously outresolves the 5DIV + 400mm DO II + 2xTC.

For normal use, I would restrict the f-number to 5.6 or less and have the 90D as my walk around camera with a 100-400mm II.
For distant birds in good light, I might add a 1.4xTC, which may give some better images but the 400mm DO II + 1.4xTC would be a killer.

Frame rate
I get a burst of 32 RAW shots in about 3s in AI Servo, and then the buffer takes time to clear as I have been using a slow card. I’ll buy a UHS-II.

For me
I am a happy purchaser and recommend the 90D. Until now, my wife and I have travelled for birding trips sharing a 5DIV and 5DSR. But, the 5DSR has generally had the edge on producing good images. From now on, we will be sharing the 5DSR and 90D. The FF of the 5DSR compensates somewhat for the faster frame rate and slightly higher resolution of the 90D. The smaller files of the 90D are appreciated. I would like to see in the future a Canon high density FF with a RAW crop mode.

 

[tron]

So Alan do you suggest the 90D over the 5DsR and 7D2 (OK I know your answer about 7D2!!). I am thinking 400 and 500mm f/4 combinations preferably without tc.
Of course 5DsR has advantage in BIF in attempts to keep the bird inside the frame. I have a feeling though that 7DII is better at BIF than 5DsR.

How 90D fits in all these?

P.S I got my 5DsR (and now a second one) due to your very good impression and - you were right! - I liked it a lot. So if you make me get a 90D I will have to send you the bill!!

 

[tron]

By the way how does it behave noisewise in shady conditions?

 

[AlanF]

So Alan do you suggest the 90D over the 5DsR and 7D2 (OK I know your answer about 7D2!!). I am thinking 400 and 500mm f/4 combinations preferably without tc.
Of course 5DsR has advantage in BIF in attempts to keep the bird inside the frame. I have a feeling though that 7DII is better at BIF than 5DsR.

How 90D fits in all these?

P.S I got my 5DsR (and now a second one) due to your very good impression and - you were right! - I liked it a lot. So if you make me get a 90D I will have to send you the bill!!

The 5DSR and 90D are both excellent and different. As long as you stick either to the centre point or the 9 points, the 5DSR is very good for BIF, and the bird is often in focus if it escapes from them and still in frame. So, I prefer the full frame for locating the bird and keeping it in frame. The 90D is at least as good with those sets of points. The 90D does outresolve the 5DSR but you definitely need the best lenses and wider apertures to take full advantage of the smaller pixels. My 100-400mm II is a really good copy and very sharp edge-to-edge but the 400mm DO II has now pulled in front of it, and the TCs are showing their limitations. The smaller file size of the 90D is a real plus, and in CRAW mode a further 40% smaller - so faster processing and less storage required. At the same size output in cms, the noise is the same. But, at a single pixel level at higher iso, the 90D is slightly noisier.
We need two high resolution cameras for when we travel together. And even though I really like the 5DIV it is simply not as good as good for high resolution to get the best out of bird photography and so you need longer lenses. I would have been equally happy with a second 5DSR at current prices. What the 90D now does is to allow you to travel with just one telephoto for bird photography, in my opinion the 100-400mm II, and give you enough reach, equivalent in terms of both reach and IQ, of a 640mm lens on a 5DIV, without faffing around with extenders and be able to zoom out as well. You can do nearly as well with the 5DSR, but 1.4xTC does help more with that.

 

[dpc]

Hi, Alan! Thanks for your efforts in reviewing this camera. I've been thinking of switching off my 7DMII for the 90D, primarily for the somewhat smaller form factor and the enhanced ability to crop since I do take a lot of bird pictures. I note that you find the Sigma 150-600mm C to be slower focusing on this camera. How much does this impede your ability to capture BIF? I see some reviewers of the 90D (ie: Gordon Lang) find the autofocus through the viewfinder to be problematic. Thanks.

 

[AlanF]

Hi, Alan! Thanks for your efforts in reviewing this camera. I've been thinking of switching off my 7DMII for the 90D, primarily for the somewhat smaller form factor and the enhanced ability to crop since I do take a lot of bird pictures. I note that you find the Sigma 150-600mm C to be slower focusing on this camera. How much does this impede your ability to capture BIF? I see some reviewers of the 90D (ie: Gordon Lang) find the autofocus through the viewfinder to be problematic. Thanks.

The AF with the 100-400mm II for birds is really good using, as I wrote the centre point or the centre 9 points.
I began testing the the Sigma 150-600mm C for BIF a couple of days ago and still working on it but birds are difficult to find here at this time. At 400mm, it's quite reasonable though you might want to use the longer MFD setting. At 600mm, it's slow. For large slow moving birds in the distance, it will work. I will test more when I can.

 

[AlanF]

Here are some shots taken yesterday of a gull, the full reduced to fit here. Two groups of consecutive shots at 400mm with the Sigma 150-600mm C. The gull is in sharp focus, picked out by the 9 centre points.

 

[tron]

Many thanks Alan for your detailed responses about 90D.

 

[dpc]

I have a 7DMII which I am quite happy with. However, I am intrigued by the 90D and am considering getting rid of the 7DMII in its favour. I'm primarily interested in two things with respect to changing cameras: 1. The weight and size advantage of the 90D and crucially 2. The image quality and possibilities for better cropping latitude. There's a big increase in megapixels in the 90D. I know it's early but does anyone have any experience which permits judgement with respect to image quality?

 

[AlanF]

I have a 7DMII which I am quite happy with. However, I am intrigued by the 90D and am considering getting rid of the 7DMII in its favour. I'm primarily interested in two things with respect to changing cameras: 1. The weight and size advantage of the 90D and crucially 2. The image quality and possibilities for better cropping latitude. There's a big increase in megapixels in the 90D. I know it's early but does anyone have any experience which permits judgement with respect to image quality?

As far as IQ is concerned, my first-hand experience is that the 5DSR is better than the 7DII, and the 90D outresolves the 5DSR and has excellent image quality. The 90D is significantly better than the 7DII for cropping. I found the 7DII to be excellent at BIF, and my memory is not good enough to rate the 90D against it. You tend to post images perched or swimming birds so I think the 90D might be an upgrade for you if you want more cropping. Best to try it before getting rid of your trusty 7DII, or better still keep both for a while.