Railfan Technology > Canon 90D Issues

About a year ago my Canon 80D died (which I liked very much), and I replaced it with a 90D, thinking it would be very similar in usage and results.  I've never been able to get results as good with the 90D as I got with my 80D, using the same lenses (several L lenses).    It has occurred to me that, with the more complex 90D, maybe I'm just not understanding the whole interaction of Mode, AF, etc, and I'm interested in other 90D user experiences.    My experience is that on bright sunny days, I get great photos.  But on cloudy days the sharpness really declines fast.  I've tried different modes, different AF strategies, etc.  I'm interested in hearing how other 90D users set up their camera - what mode do you usually use, how do you have the AF set up, etc.    Or do you just do everything manually?  Thanks in advance!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/26 20:07 by dwatry.

I don't have direct experience with the 90D.  But, I've owned a succession of Canon models, starting with the Elan 7 film camera, then the 10D, 30D, 5DMark II, and more recently I've switched to renting and have rented the R6 Mark II and the R6 Mark III.  So I can relate to your experience in that the controls and features evolve over time.  

Personally - the way I've learned to manage this is twofold:
1 - I still use manual exposure, and rely on the histogram to help me tweak the exposure
2 - For auto-focus, I use single-shot mode, and I prefer to select my focus point manually.  This greatly reduces the risk of the camera "hunting" (zooming in and out, especially in low light). I will often pick a spot on the rails slightly ahead of the train, in order to keep the AF's attention away from headlights/ditchlights.

Hope this helps!
-Alex

 

Alex - thanks.  I've been doing a lot of reading on Canon Users' Groups and Reddit forums about this topic.  Apparently this is a fairly well-known phenomenon - many 90D users report focus issues.   Wish I had known this before I bought the 90D!  It is attributed to a variety of causes, but seems to be linked to the much more fine-grained sensor that Canon put into the 90D.  You would think that would make focus better, but as I understand it, somehow, the issue is that the rest of the camera is not able to keep up with the better sensor.  Go figure...

And just to fill in anyone who is interested, I have been trying out all the solutions recommended on the various user's groups in terms of mode selected, focus method, etc.  None seem to help in all situations.  My 80D still was a better camera.  So I finally sent the 80D to Canon to get repaired, so I hope to get it back in a few weeks and then I'll press it back into service.   Anyone wannna buy a 90D?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/26 18:50 by dwatry.

dwatry Wrote:
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> Anyone wannna buy a 90D?

After that review?  Don't think so.  I'll stick with my Nikon.

Is the 90D still on any factory warranty?

sf1010 - no, out of warranty, unfortunately.  

Reach out to Canon anyway.

My wife had a Canon P&S that died. Long out of production, let alone warranty, I contacted them anyway. They sent a replacement at no charge!

With customer service like that, I almost gave up on Nikons! 

Arved Grass
Fleming Island, FL

Arved - I did talk to Canon, and I'm glad I did.  Talked to the tech support guy for over 2 hours!  Turns out there are a bunch of things I can do to improve the focus, so I'm trying those now.  They include using the Back Button Focus (the AF-ON button), and using a faster Memory Card (V60).  When I checked the things he told me with the manual, they aren't in the manual.  Sounds like Canon needs to update their manual!

BBF is a great technique but has little to do with the hardware performance. In that technique the focus sensors would be used as a spot sensor, not a multi-sensor technique for example, not averaging or one of the other fancy modes. I'm also using the same concept for light reading, reduce to one sensor and not center weight or averaging etc. but kept it on the shutter release button. For hand held photos move the camera to the preferred exposure sample and half depress the shutter button to lock the exposure then move back to the composition, the BBF keeps the focus that it had been set at earlier. For tripod work use the x-y buttons next to the display to move the sensors, or other techiques.

BBF is explained on Google, it's a pretty common technique but not very obvious until it's explained. It's not a manual film camera technique.

Again agree with faster memory card, in that same sense make sure the camera is recording only one file, not multiple copies in other formats. That also plays into the ability to take multiple photos quickly, related to buffer size or speed and the memory card performance.

But the question remains the original camera appears to have had better performance. Good that they spent some time with a loyal customer.

+ Let us know how it works out. The recent cameras and scanners have a noticable step up in resolution and colors.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/26 15:42 by TCnR.

TCnR - it did occur to me - this might be a good time to go mirrorless!

Mirrorless has a lot of attractions but I don't have a handle on them. I was still thinking film cameras with a DSLR when there was a big move to Mirrorless, completely missed it.
Still working on it though.

Wow!! Reading all the issues people have with digital cameras reaffirms my decision to stick with my film Nikon F5s. Film is costly, as is processing, but not having any issues with camera function makes life a breeze. Storage and recall issues aren't an issue nor are there any issues in finding an image. Hard drive corruption is a non event also. Living in the '70s and still enjoying it!! Life is as simple as you are willing to make it. Call me old fashioned, but I'm enjoying a simple photographic life.  Baltimore 

baltimore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow!! Reading all the issues people have with
> digital cameras reaffirms my decision to stick
> with my film Nikon F5s. Film is costly, as is
> processing, but not having any issues with camera
> function makes life a breeze. Storage and recall
> issues aren't an issue nor are there any issues in
> finding an image. Hard drive corruption is a non
> event also. Living in the '70s and still enjoying
> it!! Life is as simple as you are willing to make
> it. Call me old fashioned, but I'm enjoying a
> simple photographic life.  Baltimore 

This is a thread specifically about a problem so don't be surprised if this thread is problem-focussed.

​I've had a digital Canon point and shoot and 2 Canon dslrs over the last 20 years. I had an EOS 450D and then a 70D. I haven't had a single problem or even a single missed shot. When i think back to the days of film I actually laugh at how much more convenient and frankly capable of getting 'the shot' digital cameras are than film cameras. They are almost magical in their ability to capture memories, in amaxing quality, time after time after time.

There are very good reasons virtually everyone has converted to digital. But each to their own.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/26 04:03 by exhaustED.

Arved Wrote:

>
> With customer service like that, I almost gave up
> on Nikons! 

With about 55 years of owning various film and digital Nikons, I've never needed customer service.

From the manufacturers point of view the film style camera and traditional digital cameras have a huge cost in the mirror and shutter mechanism. A whole manufacturing industry went away and replaced with the mirror-less style of always on sensor and rear display. For better or worse.

My first apprehension was all that cost reduction but the price went up, so what else improved? There's lots of added features depending on observation and comparison, also end user considerations. Old fashion 35mm slides have that baseball card collection appeal to them but have to be scanned for magazine or book use, or TO for that matter. So it remains a big hobby with lots of little avenues and niches for everybody to feel good about.

+ should add that staying with a big name brand camera provides a whole world of chat rooms and advise for sale newsletters and YT videos to search and look for specific advise. My interests lean towards Landscapes and a little bit of outdoor wildlife photography mostly for the outdoor experience. There's other branches of portraits, night photography, indoor work, urban settings or architecture that all go past me. Once again big hobby.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/26 10:32 by TCnR.