An ode to the Canon EOS 77D: a little DSLR that still kicks a lot of ass
I've always had a soft spot for the Canon EOS 77D, though it always felt lost in the shuffle of Canon's cluttered late-2010s product lineup.
Whatever else it may have done, the EOS R system did a wonderful job of abolishing Canon's incredibly confused and overlapping catalog of DSLR bodies. Still, it was this slightly schizophrenic catalog that led to me picking up the Canon EOS 77D for the first time.
A little bit Rebel T7i / EOS 800D, a little bit EOS 80D, it was symptomatic of Canon releasing cameras almost for the sake of doing so, rather than to fill an actual need, producing an alphabet soup of lookalike products. That being the case, overwhelmed in a camera shop in 2018 and picking up a random Canon, I found myself holding and really quite liking the Canon EOS 77D.
It had a fully articulating screen – always an instant win in my book, as I tend to put a camera straight back down if it doesn't have one. It also boasted one of Canon's capable 24.2MP APS-C sensors; at the time (and still now, to be fair) I didn't know exactly which 20-something sensor was in exactly which camera, but it didn't matter because Canon long ago mastered the art of the midrange megapixel.
The FullHD video at 60p and with 6fps continuous shooting were very respectable, though the 45 focus points were rather paltry compared to the 800 on the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II that I was primarily using at the time – but Canon's Dual Pixel AF, never anything short of amazing, squeezed impossibly good performance out of them.
And the files! The Canon EOS 77D really did produce lovely files – again, the company really is good at these APS-C sensors, but I dare say that the images out of this camera are every bit as impressive today. Sure, you have to be more wary of your ISO than you do on a modern mirrorless, but put pictures side-by-side with an entry-level APS-C from 2024 and you'd do well to tell them apart.
This was, and remains, such a lovely little camera. I get a pang of nostalgia looking at the menus, too, and the helpful graphics illustrating how changing exposure settings affects your images.
I can't really recommend going out and buying a 77D today, given how good the modern equivalents are. Then again, here in the UK, second-hand bodies are only about £350 – making this an absolute bargain for anyone learning photography or just starting out.
So, let's pour a little beer on the curb for the Canon EOS 77D. A confused little camera that will always be an old favorite.
Take a look at the best DSLRs you can still buy today, which includes some of the best Canon cameras.
