wayne barnett Loc: Grants Pass, Oregon

I am considering an upgrade to a Canon 80D From an XTi. The research I have done indicated that the difference between what I have now and the 80D may not be as much as what I have been told as far as the improvement in detail capture. A camera store person told me that the added detail is about 2.5 times the detail that I capture now with a 10.1 mp camera. When I looked up the X and Y lines difference and the pixel pitch values the added detail should be about 1.5 times. Yes I realize that the 80D has many more bells and such.

If anyone has any practical experience I would be grateful if you could share it with me, either PM or general posting.

Thanks

haroldross Loc: Walthill, Nebraska

The difference between the two is like night and day. Besides the difference in resolution, you will see a tremendous improvement in the low light performance. The auto focus system is lightyears ahead in the 80D. It would be a great upgrade.

PaulR01 Loc: West Texas

Would seriously look at the 6D markii with it's improvements in it's focus system over Version 1.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

The Canon Rebel XTi (aka Canon EOS 400D) is twelve years old. It is not even listed on camera comparisons. The Canon EOS 80D was released a couple of years ago. Between the two, technology spun forward a lot. The 80D is not Canin’s latest model, but it will be a heck of a lot better than the XTi.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

I have a T3i, which is a much better camera than the XTi. I also upgraded to a refurb 80D, and the 80D is vastly superior. If you can't see the difference, I could recommend an optician!

Seriously, I would strongly recommend the 80D.

Joe Blow

I've gone from an XT, to a T5, to a 50D. There is no comparison in focusing, the color resolution, as well as the bells and whistles.

In comparison, it is like going from a 1956 Ford to a 2016 Ford. It'll cost more but you'll use a fraction the gas and it will last much longer all the while being safer and more comfortable.

BebuLamar

In linear dimension 1.5x is a lot.

wayne barnett Loc: Grants Pass, Oregon

Thanks everyone for your input, greatly appreciated.

jdub82 Loc: Northern California

[quote=Joe Blow]I've gone from an XT, to a T5, to a 50D.

Joe, Did you mean an 80D?

roxiemarty Loc: Florida

Have a Rebel xt, then went up to 50D, and just went up to 70D refurbished. Great cameras, all. The 50D, and on up are also more rugged and sealed better.

Brent Rowlett Loc: Atlanta, GA

I purchased the 80D for its superb video capture qualities and auto focus capabilities. I have always been a Canon 1D and 5D user, but the tap screen focus feature and the lightweight 2.3 pounds as compared with 7 pounds with my 1DX with battery grip, placing this little camera on a Glidecam is a breeze. With 60 fps capability it will shoot slow motion. I don't use it for stills because of the crop censor, but I hear the ability to tap focus for wildlife is a game changer. Video quality is excellent.

I purchased mine refurbished direct from the Canon factory with the 18-35 lens for $799-one year warranty and not a smudge on the camera. Everything and I mean everything was brand new with 20 exposures on the censor. I picked up a pristine 10mm lens on Ebay for $200 so that I could use it for real estate. It is a crop censor camera with a 1.6 factor so the 10mm lens is the equivalent to the 16-35 full frame censor camera lens.

Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

Having a GAS attack 6 months ago, on a whim I got the 80D from B&H and couldn't be happier with each and every aspect of this body. Since it's arrival my 7D MKII hasn't seen much use. Go for it, you won't be disappointed, and as one poster said it's light years ahead of your XTI.

wegriffin8642 Loc: Houston, Tx

Don't overlook the Canon 77D.

bweber Loc: Newton, MA

The 6DII is a full frame camera. It will undoubtedly give you better images. However, you may have to replace your lenses if you are using "S" lenses. The jump to full frame is a big deal in that regard. The suggestions for higher quality crop sensor lenses are the way to go, unless you want to make the big switch.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

A ten year newer 80D (2016) would be a HUGE upgrade from XTi (2006) in MANY ways.

24MP CMOS vs 10MP CMOS
14-bit vs 12-bit (640X larger color palette)
13 stop dynamic range vs 11 stop (more detail in shadow and highlights)
Digic 6 vs Digic II processor (four generations newer)
100 to 16000 ISO (expands to 25600) vs 100 to 1600
1/8000 top shutter speed vs 1/4000
1/250 flash sync vs 1/200
Shutter durability rating 100,000 cycles vs 50,000 cycles.
7 frame per second continuous shooting vs 3 frames per sec.
Pentaprism & 100% viewfinder w/active matrix focus screen vs penta-mirror & 95% viewfinder w/fixed focus screen
45-point AF (all cross type) vs 9-point AF (1 cross type at center)
-3 EV vs -0.5 EV, able to focus in much lower light
Up to 27 "f/8 capable" AF points vs none, f/5.6 limited (allows use of teleconverters w/more lenses)
Articulated 3", 1 million pixel, rear LCD Touch Screen vs fixed 2.5", 230K pixel rear LCD screen.
WiFi connectivity vs none
HD video vs none
SD memory cards vs Compact Flash memory cards
Some environmental sealing vs none

As to image detail (which is what you asked about).... It depends. It would depend upon the conditions when capturing the image and what you do with it. Two images made with each camera might look very similar if they were shot under ideal lighting conditions and used to produce relatively small prints or low resolution JPEGs for website display or online haring. But you'll find the old camera's images start to fall apart if printed much larger than 12x18" (or cropped the equivalent), while the newer camera's images might be printed 16x24" or possibly even larger and still have plenty of fine detail. The newer camera also will handle more challenging lighting conditions much better, thanks to it's wider dynamic range. The 80D also is able to shoot in MUCH lower lighting conditions.... has FAR higher usable ISO.

I've used Canon DSLRs since 2004. Models I've used a lot: first a 6MP 10D, then 8MP 30D, 15MP 50D, 21MP 5D Mark II (full frame), 18MP 7D and now 20MP 7D Mark II. While I never used XTi, I have done a little shooting with 40D which use a similar 10MP size sensor (but was one of the first 14 bit models... while XTi/400D are only 12 bit). Each generation of camera improved considerably upon the previous.... ESPECIALLY in the early days of digital and DSLRs. I basically upgraded every other generation. Yours is the 3rd digital Rebel and there have been eight subsequent Rebel models introduced since it was discontinued. Current is the T7i (800D) using a Digic 7 processor and essentially the same 24MP sensor as the 80D. (Note: Just in the last few weeks Canon has announced the first camera using a new Digic 8 processor... the M50 "mirrorless".)

XTI also is one of the last Canon DSLRs that produced 12-bit files. All current ones produce 14-bit. This sounds like a minor thing... after all 12-bit files have 4095 tonalities per color channel, which means a total of more than 68 billion possible colors! (Three channel RGB color: 4095 x 4095 x 4095.) HOWEVER, 14-bit offers 4X more colors per channel: 16,383. That makes for a total of 4.39 trillion possibilities! (16,383 x 16,383 x 16,383) That's almost 6400 times more color possibilities! This larger color palette has potential to make for more accurate color rendition in images. It also may offer more flexibility for adjustments, if needed.

There are many factors that go into "image quality". "Detail" is just one of them.

The upshot of all this is, YES, you can expect to see significant difference in your images if you upgrade from XTi to 80D. It may be little or only subtle in some cases, where situations are ideal and don't exceed the XTi's limitations. But, the 80D will be able to handle much more extreme situations far better than the XTi ever could.

You also will enjoy a much higher performance auto focus system. Even Dual Pixel AF in Live view is a big improvement.

There are other features you didn't know you were missing, that the 80D has... such as a self-cleaning sensor... or Anti-Flicker to make more accurate exposures under fluorescent and similar lighting.... and more!

Below is an image I made many years ago with my 6MP, 12-bit Canon 10D. It prints very well to 8x10.



But that was shot under ideal lighting conditions with a limited dynamic range and cooperative subject that gave me time to make an accurate exposure and work close enough that there wasn't much crop necessary... In other words, that shot didn't challenge the camera's limitations. It turned out pretty well, so long as I don't try to make too large a print from it. Your XTi from a couple years later offered some improvements over that 10D. But today's 80D has a ton of improvements over your XTi.