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Canon 5D vs Canon 70D

Portability
55
Imaging
55
Features
41
Overall
49
Canon EOS 5D front
 
Canon EOS 70D front
Portability
59
Imaging
63
Features
84
Overall
71

Canon 5D vs Canon 70D Key Specs

Canon 5D
(Full Review)
  • 13MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • No Video
  • Canon EF Mount
  • 895g - 152 x 113 x 75mm
  • Revealed November 2005
  • Replacement is Canon 5D MII
Canon 70D
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Increase to 25600)
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Canon EF/EF-S Mount
  • 755g - 139 x 104 x 79mm
  • Launched October 2013
  • Replaced the Canon 60D
  • Refreshed by Canon 80D
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Canon 5D vs Canon 70D Overview

Below is a complete review of the Canon 5D and Canon 70D, both Advanced DSLR digital cameras and they are both sold by Canon. There is a large difference between the resolutions of the 5D (13MP) and 70D (20MP) and the 5D (Full frame) and 70D (APS-C) use different sensor dimensions.

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The 5D was announced 9 years before the 70D and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras come with the identical body type (Mid-size SLR).

Before going straight into a thorough comparison, below is a brief synopsis of how the 5D scores vs the 70D when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Canon 5D over the Canon 70D

 5D 70D 

Reasons to pick Canon 70D over the Canon 5D

 70D 5D 
LaunchedOctober 2013November 2005More recent by 97 months
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen dimension3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution1040k230kCrisper screen (+810k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Canon 5D and Canon 70D

 5D 70D 
Focus manually More accurate focus

Canon 5D vs Canon 70D Physical Comparison

If you are going to lug around your camera often, you should consider its weight and proportions. The Canon 5D has outside measurements of 152mm x 113mm x 75mm (6.0" x 4.4" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs) whilst the Canon 70D has measurements of 139mm x 104mm x 79mm (5.5" x 4.1" x 3.1") accompanied by a weight of 755 grams (1.66 lbs).

Check the Canon 5D and Canon 70D in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are using at the time. Here is the front view scale comparison of the 5D and the 70D.

Canon 5D vs Canon 70D size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability score of the 5D and 70D is 55 and 59 respectively.

Canon 5D vs Canon 70D top view buttons comparison

Canon 5D vs Canon 70D Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it is difficult to picture the difference between sensor measurements just by reviewing specs. The graphic here will help offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the 5D and 70D.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The 5D having a bigger sensor is going to make achieving bokeh simpler and the Canon 70D will deliver greater detail with its extra 7 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop shots much more aggressively. The older 5D is going to be behind in sensor tech.

Canon 5D vs Canon 70D sensor size comparison

Canon 5D vs Canon 70D Screen and ViewFinder

Canon 5D vs Canon 70D Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Canon 5D
Portrait photography with Canon 70D
65
focusing manually
decent MP (13MP)
big sensor size (Full frame)
supports RAW files
does not have liveview
77
has manual focus
decent megapixels (20MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
supports face detection focusing
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Canon 5D Street photography information
Canon 70D Street photography information
56
big sensor size (Full frame)
supports RAW files
weather sealing
fixed screen
lack of image stabilization
68
screen articulates
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
has touch to focus
weather proofing
does not have image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Canon 5D
Sports photography with Canon 70D
55
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
decent MP (13 megapixels)
big sensor size (Full frame)
weather sealing
has phase detect auto focus
does not have liveview
painfully slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames/s)
lack of image stabilization
not so great battery pack (800 CIPA)
74
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000s)
decent megapixels (20MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
supports tracking autofocus
weather proofing
has phase detect AF
does not have image stabilization
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Travel Comparison

Canon 5D Travel photography features
Canon 70D Travel photography features
49
weather sealing
decent MP (13MP)
missing Time Lapse mode
not so great battery pack (800 CIPA)
screen isn't selfie friendly
69
weather proofing
has touch to focus
decent megapixels (20MP)
flash built-in
display is selfie friendly
lack of Time Lapse mode
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Canon 5D
Landscape photography with Canon 70D
54
focusing manually
change lenses (Canon EF mount)
decent MP (13MP)
big sensor size (Full frame)
supports RAW files
weather sealing
small screen (2.5 inches)
does not have liveview
lack of image stabilization
not so great battery pack (800 per charge)
missing Time Lapse mode
69
has manual focus
swap lenses (Canon EF/EF-S mount)
nice screen size (3 inches)
decent megapixels (20MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
weather proofing
does not have image stabilization
lack of Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Canon 5D as a Vlogging camera
Canon 70D as a Vlogging camera
9
can't record video
69
display is selfie friendly
screen is touchscreen
supports face detection focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
has external mic jack
does not have image stabilization
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Canon 5D vs Canon 70D Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Canon 5D and Canon 70D
 Canon EOS 5DCanon EOS 70D
General Information
Brand Canon Canon
Model type Canon EOS 5D Canon EOS 70D
Category Advanced DSLR Advanced DSLR
Revealed 2005-11-12 2013-10-31
Body design Mid-size SLR Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Chip Digic II Digic 5+
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Full frame APS-C
Sensor dimensions 36 x 24mm 22.5 x 15mm
Sensor surface area 864.0mm² 337.5mm²
Sensor resolution 13 megapixels 20 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4368 x 2912 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 3200 12800
Highest boosted ISO - 25600
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 9 19
Cross type focus points - 19
Lens
Lens support Canon EF Canon EF/EF-S
Amount of lenses 250 326
Crop factor 1 1.6
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen size 2.5 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 230k dot 1,040k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Screen technology TFT liquid-crystal color LCD Clear View II TFT color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage 96 percent 98 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.71x 0.6x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30 seconds 30 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/8000 seconds 1/8000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 3.0 frames/s 7.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 12.00 m
Flash modes External Auto, On, Off, Red-eye
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/200 seconds 1/250 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (29.97, 25, 23.976 fps), 1280 x 720 (59.94, 50 fps), 640 x 480 (59.94, 50 fps)
Highest video resolution None 1920x1080
Video format - H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 895g (1.97 lb) 755g (1.66 lb)
Dimensions 152 x 113 x 75mm (6.0" x 4.4" x 3.0") 139 x 104 x 79mm (5.5" x 4.1" x 3.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 71 68
DXO Color Depth rating 22.9 22.5
DXO Dynamic range rating 11.1 11.6
DXO Low light rating 1368 926
Other
Battery life 800 pictures 920 pictures
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BP-511A LP-E6
Self timer Yes (10 sec (2 sec with mirror lock-up)) Yes (2 or 10 sec, remote)
Time lapse recording
Storage media Compact Flash (Type I or II) SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots 1 1
Price at launch $2,780 $758