You’ll get the naysayers that always go to the IQ. True you probably won’t get better IQ from upgrading, but there are many other reasons that are very valid for upgrading, especially going from DSLR to mirrorless. Not a huge difference with landscapes, although features like IBIS and better tools for manual focus are nice. For birds things like faster frame rates and better AF tracking can be game changers. I’ve never upgraded to get better IQ. It’s always been for features that make those cameras more enjoyable to use. All that being said, I don’t shoot Canon, but if you intend to use your existing lenses the R7 makes the most sense. If you really want to go full frame I’d dump the crop lenses and go all in on FF, keeping in mind that you’ll need longer lenses to get the same look or get a high enough MP count for more cropping.

The Canon R10 (under $1000 US) would be a solid upgrade, while the Canon R7 ($1500 US) would be even better (pricing is "body only", per B&H Photo and other authorized Canon USA dealers).

Both of those are APS-C cameras, much like your 80D. Therefore they will work well with the crop-specific lenses you have now (all but the 50mm, from your description). While you CAN adapt those lenses to the full frame R-series cameras too, it doesn't make a lot of sense to do so because in most cases you will end up with lower resolution than the 24MP you have now with your 80D. It makes much more sense to use your crop design lenses on crop sensor mirrorless cameras.

You will need at least one EF to RF mount adapter to use those lenses on the R-series cameras. Many feel that EF and EF-S lenses perform as well or even better adapted for use on the Canon R-series mirrorless. The native RF lenses may perform even better still... faster AF, more effective IS, etc.... being optimized for use on the cameras.

The R10 and R7 share the same autofocus system, which is quite similar to the top-of-the-line R3's ($6000). This is considered to be one of the best AF systems anyone has made to date and is very probably the single biggest upgrade you'll see from your 80D DSLR. Mirrorless AF systems simply bring a whole lot of new capabilities, versus what has been available in DSLRs.

Your 80D has 45 AF points, which is pretty good by DSLR standards, and they]re arranged to cover roughly half the image area (also pretty good for a DSLR). The R10 and R7 each have over 600 AF points that cover virtually the entire image area. The two mirrorless cameras can identify and track animal and human faces and even eyes, as well as various vehicles and other moving subjects. Your 80D can't do that (you have to point it more precisely where you want it to focus).

Both those mirrorless can shoot at 15 frames per second with their mechanical shutter, more than twice as many shots as your 7 fps 80D is capable of shooting in continuous bursts. Further, with their electronic shutters both the mirrorless can shoot even faster: 23 fps with the R10 and 30 fps with the R7 (look up "rolling shutter effect", which is a possible problem with moving subjects and/or moving cameras when using electronic shutters... this can occur with both these cameras, but can be mitigated simply by using the mechanical shutter instead).

The electronic shutter can shoot silently. Some users feel the mechanical shutters of these cameras are a bit loud.

Your 80D has shutter speed range from 30 seconds to 1/8000. The R10's range is 30 sec to 1/4000. The R7's range is 30 sec to 1/8000 with its mechanical shutter, but can be as fast as 1/16000 with its e-shutter.

The R10 has a single SD memory card slot, same as your 80D. The R7 has dual SD memory card slots.

The R10 has a 24MP sensor, same as your 80D. The R7 has a 32.5MP sensor (same as the 90D).

Both the mirrorless cameras can shoot 4K video, where your 80D maxes out with HD.

The R7 has in-body image stabilization (IBIS) which helps with lenses that don't have IS while also working with lenses that do have it to make for even more effective stabilization. The R7 also can automatically level your shots, using this same technology.

The R7 comes with an LP-E6NH battery, which is a new, higher capacity version of the LP-E6N your 80D uses. They are cross compatible. However, the R7 gets somewhat fewer shots per charge, approx. 1/3 less (typical of mirrorless, which use an electronic viewfinder that has a heavier, more constant power draw... sort of like using your 80D's Live View all the time). The R10 uses a smaller LP-E17 battery and gets about half as many shots per charge as your 80D. So, depending upon how much you shoot, you may want additional batteries with either of the mirrorless cameras.

Neither of the mirrorless cameras has option to fit a battery grip, like the Canon BG-E14 that's available for your 80D (doubling battery capacity and providing vertical grip and secondary controls).

The R10 has a built-in flash, much like your 80D. The R7 does not. Both the mirrorless cameras use the new Canon enhanced hot shoe designed to support other accessories, such as microphones. It still provides dedicated flash functionality backward compatible with Canon EX flashes (and 3rd party clones), but there are some new features in the latest Canon EL flashes. The R10 has 1/250 flash sync, much like your 80D. The R7 can sync flash up to 1/320.

Note the redesigned control layouts, especially the R7's. Some like it. Some don't. While both the mirrorless cameras use control layouts that differ in a number of ways from your 80D's, the R10 seems more "traditional", while the R7 is "trying some new things". The main complaints about the R7's controls are that the off/on/video switch is too easy to accidentally switch to video and that the joystick in the middle of the exposure compensation dial can make both a bit tricky to use, easy to accidentally change. Some have also found the mode dial too easy to accidentally change because it doesn't have the locking button like the 80D (and other DSLRs). However, the mode dial has been moved to the right shoulder of the camera, where it's less likely to get bumped and changed accidentally.

Neither of the mirrorless have an LCD display on top, like your 80D does. This means more reliance on the rear LCD for all the basic camera settings. Like your 80D's, that rear LCD is a Touchscreen. The rear LCDs also are articulated on both cameras. The R10's rear screen has the same resolution as your 80D's. The R7 uses approx. 50% higher resolution rear screen.

So far there are only two Canon RF-S lenses specifically for the crop sensor cameras: an 18-45mm and an 18-150mm. Essentially two kit lenses... one more compact and more entry-level, the other with a wider focal length range, a bit of a step-up model. Canon has not said if and when we can expect more RF-S lenses, but of course all full frame capable RF lenses can be used. The most notable absence is a truly ultrawide option for the APS-C cameras, such as 10mm or 11mm. Canon is heavy handedly discouraging 3rd party lens makers from offering autofocus-capable lenses for their new system, so don't expect any relief from Sigma, Tamron, etc.

There's more. You might find the following comparisons and reviews useful:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/compare/Canon_80D_vs_Canon_R10_vs_Canon_R7/BHitems/1225876-REG_1708097-REG_1708099-REG

https://cameradecision.com/compare/Canon-EOS-80D-vs-Canon-EOS-R10

https://cameradecision.com/compare/Canon-EOS-80D-vs-Canon-EOS-R7

https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-R10.aspx

https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-R7.aspx

I encourage you to search widely for additional information. There has been a lot of discussion of these cameras, many YouTube videos of them in use and much more that can help you decide if either of them make sense for you.

There are some other excellent mirrorless systems out there, which might be worth consideration. Sony has the most advanced and comprehensive, can be used with Canon EF/EF-S lenses via an adapter (but autofocus performance takes a big hit). I am not wild about their a6000-series design... which are Sony's APS-C. They're quite compact and simply don't balance very well with larger lenses like I use. But maybe that's no problem with your kit.

Fujifilm also has an excellent system, all APS-C (except for some medium format... no "full frame"). I prefer the more traditional design used for most of their camera bodies (versus Sony's). I don't know about adaptability, so that is something you would need to look into if you want to continue using your current lens kit.

Nikon also is developing a very nice mirrorless system. They launched their Z-mount cameras and lenses just a couple months before Canon rolled out their R-series in 2018. So both are in the process of building their respective systems, where Sony and Fuji have been building up theirs many years longer. The Nikon AF system has lagged a bit compared to Sony and Canon. The latest top-of-the-line Nikon Z9 has caught up. But the rest of the Nikon offerings are somewhat older and less advanced... including their limited number of APS-C models (Z50, Zfc, and their newest Z30). Again, I don't know about adaptability with your current lenses.

Mirrorless MIGHT be lighter...

R10 weighs about 10 ounces less than 80D. The R7 weighs about 4 ounces lens than 80D.

In order to use EF/EF-S lenses, an adapter will be needed and that will add 4 oz. or more (depending upon the type of adapter used).

No change in lens weight, if you continue to use the same as you did on your 80D.

So with R10 you'd save about 6 oz. With R7 there will be no weight savings.

BUT, if you "upgrade" to full frame, all the above goes out the window.

The lightest full frame Canon R-series camera is the RP. It's about 8.5 ounces lighter than your 80D. To accomplish that light weight, the RP uses a small battery that means it gets about 1/3 or less shots per charge, as your 80D does. So you might end up carrying more spare batteries, adding back some of the weight saved. Of course, if you use a lens adapter you are also going to be adding back some 4 oz. of weight. All the other full frame R-series cameras are close to the same weight or heavier than your 80D.

You would be able to adapt your crop sensor lenses to use on the full frame RF mount RP. HOWEVER, it makes little sense to do so because with those adapted crop lenses that 26MP full frame camera will turn into a 10 or 11MP APS-C camera... less than half the resolution of your 80D! Note that the full frame, 26MP Canon RP is affordable at $1000, but is also one of their oldest models, doesn't have the advanced autofocus found on the latest models and is rather slow shooting at 5 frames/sec (your 80D can do 7 fps).

WORST OF ALL... you also will need much longer, more powerful, bigger, heavier, full frame capable telephoto lenses!

To get the same range and reach as you have now using an 18-400mm on an APS-C camera, you will need at least two lenses and an adapter, or two lenses and a teleconverter.

Tamron 18-400mm............ 1.5 lb.

Option #1
Canon RF 24-105mm STM... 1 lb.
EF to RF adapter................. .25 lb.
Tamron 150-600mm (EF)..... 4.5 lb.
Total.... 5.75 lb.
Increase of... 4.25 lb.


Option #2
Canon RF 24-105mm STM...... 1 lb.
Canon RF 100-500mm........... 3 lb.
Canon RF 1.4X teleconverter... .5 lb.
Total... 4.5 lb.
Increase of... 3 lb.

With Canon RP camera body:

- Option #1: net weight gain 3.75 lb., cost approx. $2700.

- Option #2: net weight gain 2.5 lb., cost approx. $4700.

Those are the two lightest and most affordable full frame options that would give you similar to what you get by now using 18-400mm on APS-C.

For "birding", unless you have a big budget and are willing to haul around bigger, heavier lenses, you'll be better served sticking with an APS-C camera like R10 or R7.

Those are the two lightest and most affordable full frame options that would give you similar to what you get by now using 18-400mm on APS-C.

For "birding", unless you have a big budget and are willing to haul around bigger, heavier lenses, you'll be better served sticking with an APS-C camera like R10 or R7.

If you go to a full frame, your 18-400 and kit lens from the 80D won't work the way you want. They are crop frame lenses (EF-S) and won't fill a full frame sensor, there would be vignetting if the camera didn't go into crop mode. If it does go into crop mode, it will crop out the contribution of more than 1/2 the pixels in its sensor. With either a full or crop frame camera, you would need an adapter to use EF (Canon DSLR) or EF-S lenses on an R (Canon mirrorless) body.

The recently announced R7 (and basic R10) are Canon's crop frame R series (mirrorless) cameras. I have both the R7 and an 80D. There isn't that much of a difference in size. When I add the adapter, the R7 with my EF-S zoom lens and adapter weigh about the same as the 80D and lens. There are only 2 R-S (R crop) lenses available, so one would likely use the DSLR lenses with the adapter for other focal ranges.

You probably want to remember to use <quote reply> so directed responses have context. You give up a lot when giving up a 1.6x crop factor. This doesn't matter so much in general photography where you can fill the frame whether with a full-frame or crop, but when you get into wildlife, this loss of the crop factor can be significant. The longer lenses get quite expensive to overcome that loss of crop factor.

Holding an actual camera will help dispel the idea of lighter. The mirrorless bodies are physically smaller, but tend not to be appreciably lighter in weight. The full-frame lenses are almost never lighter.