The EOS 850D was introduced by Canon in February 2020. It belongs to the Amateur DSLRs category.

Canon is well-known and shouldn't require further introduction, please see our manufacturer's page for more digital cameras by Canon.

The EOS 850D features a CMOS sensor in APS-C size that has an area of approximately 22 x 15 mm² (0.88" x 0.59").

This infographic compares the EOS 850D's sensor to other common formats:

(The 1-Euro coin used for scale has a diameter of 23.25mm, slightly smaller than a US quarter.)

The EOS 850D's image sensor has an effective resolution of around 24 megapixel. The resolution is above average and will be sufficient for the foreseeable future. Photos with this resolution can easily be printed in A2 size or larger, even if unwanted parts of the photo have to be cropped.

The Canon supports taking images in RAW. RAW images are stored as they come from the sensor, without any in-camera processing or sharpening. Converting to JPEG or other formats takes place on the computer, using software like Adobe Lightroom or Canon's RAW converter. This involves one extra processing step but almost always results in superior image quality. Some filters, like converting to monochrome (black and white) will only yield decent results when used with RAW images.

The EOS 850D features a mechanism for automatic sensor cleaning.

All compatible EF, EF-S lenses can be mounted to the EOS 850D.

Currently, approximately more than 220 EF, EF-S lenses are available, not counting lenses by third-party manufacturers. Further lenses can be connected via suitable adapters.

The EOS 850D uses an optical viewfinder with a penta mirror. Viewfinders with a penta mirror are typical for entry level cameras. The viewfinder covers 95% of the field of view and has a magnification of 0.52x, an average value for a viewfinder like this.

The infographic illustrates the viewfinder magnification of the EOS 850D. The black area represents a magnification of 1x, corresponding to natural size. The red frame indicates the largest viewfinder magnification in any digital camera on the market today (0.85x).

Tip: If the viewfinder image of the EOS 850D is fuzzy, us the little wheel next to the viewfinder to adjust the sharpness.

The EOS 850D's shutter speeds range from 1/4000s to 30s.

The EOS 850D's sensitivity goes from 100 ISO und 25600 ISO, a very useful and practical range.

Additionally, the Canon's sensitivity can be boosted to 51200. However, ISO boosting will almost always lead to an increase in noise.

The EOS 850D supports all common metering modes.

The Canon will also allow spot metering, a must for challenging motives.

The EOS 850D's auto focus processor uses 45 AF points (or sensors). A basic rule of thumb says that the more AF points you have, the better. More AF points mean a better chance to have a point at the location of interest in a scene, a big plus in challenging situations (e.g. when doing macross).

Manual focus is also possible with the Canon, a plus in tricky situations or for some creative freedom.

The EOS 850D features a built-in flash with a range of up to 12m (40 ft.). That range will work for most situations.

A flash or a trigger for remote flashes can be attached to the Canon's hotshoe. Very useful for indirect flashes or for trigggering remote flashes.

The EOS 850D features a monitor with a diagonal of 76.00mm (3.0 in.) and a resolution of c. 1.04 megapixel. That's about average.

The camera's display is articulated, a plus for selfies and other challenging situations.

The EOS 850D's monitor can work as a touch screen, just like a smartphone. That can be very useful, for example to pick AF points, but keep in mind that touch screens usually don't work when wearing gloves.

Display characteristics at a glance:

When recording videos with the EOS 850D, the highest supported resolution is 3840 x 2160 pixel, in other words 4K Video.

The camera features a connector for an external microphone, a neccessity for good video sound. A built-in mike will record everything in front and to the sides of the camera which is mostly not desired. Internal microphones also tend to record camera sounds like focus beeps.

Videos with the Canon EOS 850D at a glance:

The EOS 850D has Wifi connectivity already built-in. Use Wifi to transfer images to a smartphone or computer and to remote control the camera.

Another option to transfer images to the smartphone is Bluetooth (Note: Bluetooth connections will not always transmit images or videos with full resolution.)

In situations where wireless won't work reliably, a wired connection can be used.

The Canon connects to your PC over USB 2.0.

The Canon's connectivity at a glance:

What memory cards can be used with the Canon EOS 850D?

The camera will accept all common SD HC and SD XC cards.

With an average image size of 12 megabytes (JPEG, fine) a 32 GByte memory card would hold up to 2670 images.

Supported memory cards at a glance:

Let's have a look at some other features of the Canon EOS 850D:

The EOS 850D doesn't have a built-in GPS receiver. If you want to add coordinates to your photos, you'll have to do so in 3rd party software like Adobe Lightroom. However, with Wifi built-in, location data can also be added via a connected smartphone.

The EOS 850D doesn't have a built-in stabilizer. That would have been a plus when using legacy zooms or tele lenses without stabilizer. When buying a kit with lens, make sure that the lens is stabilized.

A nice addition is the Canon's electronic level. The camera displays an indicator on the monitor that makes it super-easy to level the camera horizontally, very useful when doing architectural photography.

The camera can create HDRs automatically. That saves you from manually creating sequences of images with variying exposure values.

The EOS 850D is not environmentally sealed against dust and moisture; keep that in mind in the rain and on the beach.

The Canon's features in a handy table:

The Canon EOS 850D works with a LP-E17 LiIon battery. The battery lifetime is a generous 800 shots. Usually enough for a full day or more.

The battery can not be charged while in camera. Instead you have to take it out of the camera and put it into the supplied dedicated charger.

The EOS 850D's battery at a glance:

The Canon EOS 850D's dimensions are 131 x 100 x 76mm³. (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0"). That's the body only, without lens. The camera's weight is a reasonable 515 grams (16.6 oz.). Add to this the weight of the lens.

Front and top view of the EOS 850D with dimensions:

To put the size of the camera in context, here it is next to a typical ID card (c. 86mm x 55mm, about the size of a credit card).

The EOS 850D is clearly bigger: