Canon EOS 77D vs Nikon D5600 — Which Is Better?

The Canon EOS 77D and Nikon D5600 are both APS-C DSLRs aimed at enthusiasts who want an optical viewfinder and manual control in a portable body. Canon announced the 77D in February 2017, about three months after the D5600 arrived in November 2016.

The D5600 is the lighter and smaller body for travel: it weighs 465 g against 765 g for the 77D, a 300 g difference, and it measures 124 x 97 x 70 mm versus 131 x 100 x 76 mm. Those are the measurements to check against your bag and your preferred carry setup.

The 77D is the better pick for photographing moving subjects, because it shoots at 6 fps against 5 fps for the D5600 and gives you 45 autofocus points to work with instead of 39. Those extras help you keep a running child or a dog in the frame and capture the decisive moment between strides.

Both cameras offer the same 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor resolution, so prints and heavy crops hold up identically in that respect. Their lens systems differ at the mount: the 77D uses Canon EF-S lenses and the D5600 uses Nikon F DX lenses, so your existing glass decides where you can start. On expanded settings the D5600 reaches 102400 ISO against 51200 on the 77D, while standard sensitivity tops out at the same 25600 ISO on both.

Family video looks the same on either camera, since both record Full HD at up to 60 fps and both include a built-in interval timer for timelapse work. You can capture a child's football match in smooth motion or compress a sunset into a short clip without extra gear.

File choice is the editing difference between them: the 77D records in MOV or MP4, while the D5600 records in MOV only. If your editing workflow or sharing apps prefer MP4, the Canon saves you a conversion step.

The D5600 gives you a slightly larger screen for reviewing shots and pulling focus in live view, at 3.2 inches against 3 inches on the 77D, with essentially the same sharp 1040000 dots versus 1037000 dots. Both screens are touch-enabled and articulate, so waist-level and selfie framing work on either body.

Connectivity is a match: both offer Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for transferring images to a phone, and both include a built-in flash plus a hot shoe for an external unit. Neither camera has GPS for geotagging or weather sealing, so plan on a phone for locations and care in rain.

The D5600 has the higher battery rating for days out shooting, at 970 shots per charge against 600 for the 77D, running on an EN-EL14a pack while the Canon uses an LP-E17. That rated margin favours the Nikon when a charger is out of reach.

Storage is identical between them: each takes a single SD, SDHC or SDXC card at UHS-I speed, with no second slot on either body. Neither charges over USB, so both need their dedicated chargers between sessions.