Quick Verdict
The Canon EOS 90D lands on the photography scene with an all-new 32mp APS-C CMOS sensor, giving additional choice in the DSLR market. The camera also offers 4K and FullHD video using the full width of the sensor, so could be a great choice for videographers. The Canon EOS 90D delivers both high-resolution images, as well as 10fps continuous shooting, making it a compelling option for those looking for a DSLR. The impressive battery life is also another positive, however, you'll need to make sure the lenses you use with the camera are up to the job.
The Canon EOS 90D is Canon's latest APS-C DSLR, and features an all-new 32mp APS-C CMOS sensor, which is shared with the new Canon EOS M6 Mark II. The use of a 32mp sensor means that the 90D is the highest resolution APS-C DSLR camera available. It also offers high-speed continuous shooting, with up to 11fps continuous shooting, there's 4K video recording, built-in Wi-Fi, and a vari-angle touch-screen.
Canon EOS 90D Features
The Canon EOS 90D updates the 80D with a new 32.5mp APS-C CMOS sensor, with a 1.6x crop. The new sensor has more megapixels than previous Canon APS-C cameras but also offers a wide ISO range of up to ISO25600 (Photo), which then expands to ISO51200. You can use up to ISO12800 (for video), and this expands to ISO25600.
The use of a 32.5mp sensor means that the 90D is the highest resolution APS-C DSLR camera available.
The sensor features Canon's "Dual Pixel CMOS AF" which is active when using live view, and focus is sensitive down to -5 EV. Face and Eye Detection AF is available, in live view. This gives 100x88% coverage of the sensor and a choice of up to 5,481 AF positions. This will also help with focus during video recording. There are 45 AF points when using the optical viewfinder, and these are all cross-type, with sensitivity down to -3 EV.
The camera used the Canon EF / EF-S lens mount, and we've tested the camera with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM kit lens, and the camera is available with this as a kit.
A first for a DSLR is face detection when using the optical viewfinder. The optical viewfinder gives a 100% view with 0.95x magnification.
iTR face detection with OVF: "The iTR AF focusing system uses colour and face information to recognise and track moving subjects."
iTR AF stands for intelligent Tracking and Recognition Auto Focus. By using the 220,000-pixel RGB metering sensor the camera uses this to read colour information as well as recognise human faces so that the camera can focus on human faces. This can, of course, be switched off if you want your focus to be less face-focused. (pun intended?) More information can be found on Canon's website.
The camera has P, A, S, M shooting modes, giving you full manual controls, along with a B (Bulb) mode, and 2 custom modes (C1, and C2), there's also A+ (Scene Intelligent Auto), Scene modes, and Creative filters. All of these are accessible using the top (left) mode dial, which has a locking button in the middle which you need to press before you can turn the dial.
You can shoot at speeds up to 10fps with continuous AF/AE tracking via OVF. 11fps in LiveView and Fixed AF. There's also flicker detection, and focus stacking available. The camera uses a DIGIC 8 image processor, with Digital lens optimizer, diffraction correction, distortion correction, and peripheral illumination correction (for vignetting).
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built-in letting you transfer images, and remotely control the camera, using Canon's Camera Connect app, available for iOS and Android devices. You can also use this to add location information to your photos.
Video recording - 4K and FullHD video is recorded using the full width of the sensor, with the only crop being from the change of aspect ratio from 3:2 to 16:9. Microphone and headphone sockets can be found on the side, along with HDMI out, and MicroUSB connection. It's worth noting that Canon have decided not to include a MicroUSB cable in the box. The camera is weather-sealed, and features a built-in pop-up flash.
Key Features
- 32.5mp APS-C CMOS sensor
- DIGIC 8 image processor
- Optical viewfinder (100% coverage, 0.95x magnification), with face detection
- 3inch, vari-angle touch-screen, 1040K dots
- Eye-detection AF (Servo AF, during live-view)
- Dual Pixel CMOS AF
- 45 all-cross type AF points
- 220K dot RGB+IR metering
- 11/10fps continuous shooting, live-view / viewfinder
- Focus stacking
- ISO100 to ISO51200 (Hi)
- 4K 30/25p video
- FullHD 120/100p
- Rear joystick
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
- Weather-sealed body (dust and water-resistant)
Canon EOS 90D Handling
The Canon EOS 90D is slightly lighter than the 80D it replaces, but remains substantial, with a good level of grip, and a large handgrip. In terms of handling, there's plenty of rubber grip provided both where you would expect it, on the handgrip, as well as on the rear for your thumb. On the left (from the back), you'll find more rubber grip, as well as the sockets and ports for a microphone, headphone, USB, and HDMI out. These are covered with soft rubber covers that provide weather protection.
The camera feels well constructed, with an aluminium alloy and polycarbonate resin with glass fiber body. The camera is weather-sealed, so can be used in less than ideal conditions, with weather sealing visible around various parts, including the battery compartment. There are numerous rounded edges which make the camera more comfortable to hold. If you're used to Canon EOS DSLRs, then this camera should feel "right at home" so to speak.
The camera gives quick access to commonly changed settings, with dedicated buttons on top for AF (Auto-Focus), Drive, ISO, Metering, with another button to adjust the AF area. Behind the shutter release button, you'll find the top command dial, and along with the rear dial, you can quickly adjust settings such as aperture, shutter speed, etc (when in the relevant mode). Both dials have been improved with a new grippier texture, giving a better feel, as well as an updated and more modern look.
The rear joystick is completely new on the 90D, letting you quickly adjust the AF point, for example, while holding the camera up to your eye. This is neatly placed where your thumb naturally lands when holding the camera, making it easy to find and adjust, and comfortable to use. There is a lock button provided on the back of the camera, that lets you lock out the controls to avoid accidentally changing settings.
When using the optical viewfinder (OVF), 45 Auto Focus (AF) points cover a fairly wide area of the scene, however, this doesn't offer as much coverage as live-view focus. When photographing people, you can see how the camera will give priority to people and their faces, which is a clever, and useful feature (this can be switched off if needed). The OVF shows where the camera is focusing with grey/black squares.
Live view focus, using the rear screen, gives you 100x88% coverage of the frame, as well as a choice of up to 5,481 AF positions. Face and eye detection works well and can result in a higher success rate when photographing people.
The optical viewfinder (OVF) has a soft rubber eyecup making it comfortable to use. There's dioptre correction, and the OVF gives a good view of the scene, working well in a variety of conditions. You can even use the OVF with the camera off, unlike mirrorless cameras.
The menus follow Canon's familiar design, are clearly laid out, and you can use the touch-screen to navigate through the options and change settings.
There are advanced focus options, however, these are slightly hidden, in that you'll find them in the custom function menus, rather than being more accessible. On cameras like the 5D Mark IV, you'll find all the AF options within an AF section. I guess Canon see the 90D as more of an enthusiasts camera, or perhaps they're simply making it look easier to use for people who might be intimidated by too many options. For those that want to adjust these settings, it makes it more difficult to find the options, and we'd prefer the more visually pleasing design of the AF menus on other Canon cameras.
The 3inch touch-screen looks good and being able to tilt the screen out, and towards the front gives added versatility. Colour reproduction is good, and visibility outdoors is also quite good. Being able to adjust the angle of the screen also helps with using the camera in different angles, as well as letting you move it for the best view.
Battery life - Battery life is rated at 1300 shots according to Canon / CIPA test results, which is excellent and can be further extended with the optional battery grip. The camera has an SD card slot on the side and supports high-speed UHS-II SD cards.
Canon EOS 90D Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
Speed - We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.
| Shutter Response | <0.05secs (live-view*) |
| Wide - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.1secs / 0.3secs live-view |
| Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.15secs / 0.35secs live-view |
| Switch on Time to Taking a Photo | 1.25secs |
| Shot to Shot without Flash | 0.13secs |
| Shot to Shot with Flash | 0.9secs |
| Continuous Shooting - JPEG (shots before slow down) |
10fps - 35 shots before slowdown 11fps - 33 shots, live-view |
| Continuous Shooting - Flash | 0.4secs between shots |
| Continuous Shooting - RAW | 10fps (20 shots, raw) |
* Same results for OVF / Live view use, for shutter response.
We couldn't quite match the same number of shots as Canon before the camera slowed down when shooting continuously, however, we were testing using the JPEG, High-quality setting, and better results may be possible using a lower quality setting. Canon also says that you'll be able to shoot more raw images using the cRAW option (we used RAW).
Canon EOS 90D Sample Photos
Sample Photos - The Canon EOS 90D gives bright, pleasing colour in good light, with good levels of saturation, and dynamic range recorded in images is reasonable. ALO (Auto Lighting Optimization) helps to capture more dynamic range in an image, although the results can be quite subtle at times. For more challenging situations, then you may want to process the raw file.
Exposure is reliable, although you may want to set the exposure compensation -1/3rd depending on your preferences, as the camera has a tendency to give brighter images, which could result in images looking over-exposed at times. We used the in-camera raw processing to adjust an image showing bright orange benches and tables, and using the camera to edit the raw file was quick and easy, with good results.
In our portrait shoot, and using auto white balance, the images were a little cool, and we preferred the results from processing the raw images, adding a little warmth, to give the portraits a more flattering look.
Digital Filters - In normal shooting modes there are a number of "Picture styles" available and can be customised, with options to adjust Sharpness (strength, fineness, threshold), Contrast, Saturation and Colour Tone. The presets include Auto, Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Fine Detail, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, and User-Defined (x3).
In Auto+ mode (Scene Intelligent Auto) you can use the "Creative Assist" button, and there are a number of different colour options, such as Vivid, Soft, Warm, Cool, Green, etc. In the scene modes you'll find handheld night scene, HDR as well as Portrait and Food, to name a few.
In the "Creative filters" mode you'll find effects like grainy black and white, soft focus, fish-eye effect, water painting effect, toy camera effect, miniature, plus the HDR Art modes of standard, vivid, bold, and embossed. There is no built-in automatic panoramic mode.
Canon EOS 90D Lens test images
Lens Performance - There's a wide range of Canon EF/EF-S lenses available, both from Canon, and Third Parties, and this is likely one of the reasons why there's a big number of Canon shooters who stick with Canon time and again.
The 18-55mm kit lens gives reasonable to good performance, however, it's quite clear when viewing images at 100% that a better lens will help get better results, and if you're looking for better background blur, then you'll want to look at a prime lens. You'll also have better results in low-light conditions, as the aperture on the kit lens is quite limiting at times. The lens is quite resistant to flare, although if you're shooting with a bright light source in the frame, such as the sun, then flare and other artefacts can be seen. Autofocus (AF) wasn't always where we wanted it to be, when left on auto AF settings, however, the success rate was generally good.
Distortion can be seen at times, but can easily be corrected in-camera with the digital lens optimisation options.
Using a bright prime lens such as the 50mm f/1.4 or even the wallet-friendly 50mm f/1.8 lens will give you pleasing background blur (or bokeh) that looks natural and will give good subject separation. Something smartphones still struggle with, even with all the "bokeh" modes.
Canon EOS 90D ISO test images
ISO Noise Performance - The Canon EOS 90D offers excellent noise performance up to and including ISO800, with a slight increase in noise at ISO1600. Detail remains good with fine detail still visible at ISO1600. Noise increases at ISO3200 and detail drops off further at ISO6400, as noise reduction is quite strong. ISO12800 may still provide usable results, and even ISO25600 may be usable depending on your needs - for example using the image resized on the web.
Noise compared to the competition...
There's a clear increase in detail captured when compared to the Canon EOS 80D, however, despite the additional pixels on the sensor, and therefore smaller pixels, the noise performance of both cameras is quite similar, however, the 90D offers an extended ISO of ISO51200. The Canon EOS 90D shows slightly more noise in images when compared to the 26mp Fujifilm X-T3.
Canon EOS 90D White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - Auto white balance (AWB) gives slightly warm results under tungsten lighting, with the "White" priority option giving a more neutral result. The default for AWB is "Ambience" priority, and there's a "White" priority option, these options are designed to work under Tungsten lighting. The Tungsten preset gives a warm result. AWB gives a warm result under mixed lighting, but does a good job under fluorescent lighting, with little need for the fluorescent preset.
Video - The Canon EOS 90D offers 4K UHD video recording, at 25fps, with 24fps coming with a firmware update. There's also a 4K cropping function that crops into the frame (slightly), although there's a warning about the camera becoming hot if used for too long. FullHD video can be recorded at, 50 and 25fps, however, there is no HDR mode available. High-speed FullHD is also available at 100fps. There are microphone and headphone sockets on the side.
Results are good, with high levels of detail, and excellent colour reproduction. The camera performs well even in low-light conditions. You can use up to ISO12800 (for video), or expands this to ISO25600.
Electronic image stabilisation options include "On / enabled" and "Enhanced". These can be applied to both 4K and FullHD video, with each setting cropping more into the frame. However, as the camera uses the full width of the sensor for both 4K and FullHD video, this isn't as much of an issue as it has been on previous Canon cameras.
You can watch additional videos on the ePHOTOzine YouTube channel.
Value For Money
The Canon EOS 90D is available for £1209 body only, or £1299 with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM kit lens. Alternatives include the following cameras:
Canon EOS 80D - the predecessor, 24mp, 7fps, FullHD video, £948 with lens
Canon EOS 7D Mark II - 20mp, 10fps, FullHD video, £1349 (body only)
Nikon D500 - 20mp, 10fps, 4K video, £1499 body only
Nikon D7500 - 20mp, 8fps, 4K video, £949 body only
Sony Alpha A77-II - 24mp (SLT), 12fps, FullHD video, £899 body only
Pentax K-3 II - 24mp, 8.3fps, FullHD video, assuming it is still available.
An alternative might be the Canon EOS M6 II, which also features the same 32mp APS-C CMOS sensor, or the Fujifilm X-T3, with a 26mp sensor.
Have a look at more options in our roundup of APS-C DSLRs, or have a look at the Top 20 Best Premium Mirrorless Cameras (with EVF). You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
Canon EOS 90D Verdict
If you're looking for a Digital SLR, then the Canon EOS 90D gives a range of compelling features, that make it a great choice. As a DSLR, rather than a mirrorless camera, it also offers exceptional battery life, with 1300 shots possible before the battery is depleted. The ability to focus on a subjects face, while using the optical viewfinder, is incredibly useful for portraits. In-camera raw editing is easy to use and can produce some great results.
In fact, it's difficult to find many faults with the camera, however, there are a few: we struggled to take as many shots as Canon suggests is possible, when shooting continuously, and for those needing it, the Canon EOS 7D Mark II still offers more in this area. Another area that could be improved, is in the menus, as customising the focus options would definitely be easier if they were presented in the same as some other Canon DSLRs.
From the outside the EOS 90D may look just like every other Canon DSLR, with a conservative design, but inside is where the most of the differences can be found. Canon has developed a new 32mp APS-C CMOS sensor, yet don't seem to have been massively hit by increased noise, when compared to other Canon DSLRs. It offers a higher resolution sensor than others, and the 4K video using the full width of the sensor will be a massive positive for many.
Of course, the camera requires the best lenses, to get the best out of the new higher resolution sensor, and the 18-55mm kit lens is beginning to show it's weaknesses. Therefore it would definitely be advisable to avoid the kit lenses with this camera and look at some high-quality prime lenses instead.
The Canon EOS 90D offers a range of features and specifications that give the consumer added choice when it comes to buying a DSLR, you can now choose between 20mp, 24mp, and 32mp APS-C DSLRs, and the Canon EOS 90D is one of the most well-thought-out DSLRs to date.
| The Canon EOS 90D shows there's still a lot of benefits to shooting with a DSLR, including high image quality and excellent battery life. |