I was photographing Meadow Larks on fences out on the prairie yesterday. I missed many shots due to the R5 with the RF 100-500 lens not focusing. It would sometimes and other times it would just not focus. So disappointed. I am almost ready to sell my RF gear and go back to my Nikon DSLR system.

Fabian if you had to choose the Canon or OMS for aviation photography, which would you go with?

no interest in birds 😂

Hi Fabian, my current rig is a Nikon Z9, Nikon 500mm f/5.6PF, FTZII adapter, and a Nikon TC1.4xIII. I can handhold this rig and walk with it in the woods in hours. Do you think I should buy a 5kg heavy Nikon AFS 600mm f/4G more?

What camera system do you like the most? Canon, Nikon or Sony in wildlife photography?

Wow! In my head, I was thinking strongly how to have a solution for handling my Z9 with 500PF ergonomically as last weekend I spent 2 days wandering in the woods and swamps to photograph birds. I set up my gears on the Benro tripod and put it on my shoulder like you demonstrated in the first part of your video. Then when I was home, I thought how to find something like a hammock or pouch to hang my gears like the second part of your video but it was not yet solved out until this morning I opened YT and found your channel. What an coincidence or Google read my mind. Lol

APS-C + Speedbooster + 50mm F/1.8 lens is equivalent to like F/1.2-F/1.3 56.8mm full frame (canon) and it will perform equivalent if not better a very expensive full frame body like the R5 with the same lens in low light due to F/1.2 being so much brighter than F/1.8 and so much cheaper. MFT will have it's advantages in nice daylighth situations for wildlife due to more reach. However I find the APS-C sensor size the best all rounder in both daylight and night time with a speedbooster. It's a much cheaper setup. I have a metabones 0.71 booster and with all my lenses (Sigma 150-600 C / Canon 70-300 F/4-5.6 IS 2 Nano USM / Canon EF 50mm F/1.8) they're all sharp at wide open and there's not much chromatic abberation or distortion and autofocus speed. I find no difference what so ever with the speedbooster attached or not. So I prefer APS-C for the best price/performance. And If I some day get crazy enough for night time photography, I'd probably get a medium format camera rather than a full frame. And if I get crazy enough for more reach, I'd crop the image instead of getting a MFT. So there are little to no advantages over an MFT body in my opinion other than being cheaper and a bit lighter. But I'm super happy with my R7 so I'll probably not get a medium format or full frame body anytime soon and never a MFT body.

My current camera only has RAW but I know I'll switch to CRAW when I upgrade. Storage is expensive and burst rate buffer is important for wildlife. There is a difference if you're screwing the exposure by more than 2 stops. Other than that, for well exposed images: zero difference.

thank you for a thourghly informative review. How many turns of the zoom dial are there on the 200-800?

...you bought the 100-400mm just for this video ?...nice. Well, the 100-400mm is my favourite lens for daily use in and around the Canadian Rocky Mountains. I once rented the 100-500L and in my opinion it's not worth the extra enormous amount of money. The 100-400mm is a great and very versatile lens, which I highly recommend....

Wat abt fujifilm ?

Good video, guys. Unfortunately, I don't have deep pockets.

Thanks for the comparison. I feel that one of the most important differences is the background softness. The 600mm was softer, which really helps diffuse background distractions and just give a lovely creamy effect at F4. The 500mm was amazing, but the 600mm really struck a home-run here. Both super impressive lenses. I'm fortunate to own the 600mm and feel I made the right choice..Very good detailed comparison. Thank you.

For Sigma 60-600mm DG HSM I use cotton carrier harness. But I doubt I'd be able to use it for my 500mm f4 +TC setup. I use my biggest setup almost exclusively when I just arrive somewhere, set up for some time and wait. For changing position by up to several hundret meters I would use my monopod as a counterbalance just like you used your tripod. But for such a case of +/- stationary circumstances somewhere far from home I would just use a car. Or if you need to hike to a specific location, I would use dedicated backpack like Lowepro lens trekker 600 AW II. I don't find such a lens a viable option for walkaround shooting.

The problem is that I dont have money to buy a 600mm...and have to save to buy a 180-600. So it's 180-600 to me...with a bit of more sharpening in LR...and it's done!

I have never used camuflash coating of my lenses, and have had white lenses since the nlnties. Never have a bird or a deer been spoked! It's waving around with the lens that sceards the animals. I always mowe the lens slowly. And by the way, Fotographing small birds with camu clothes is no good. I use bright shiny yellow jacket, and mowe very slowly towards the birds. Than they have controll where I am, and can get really close to them. However, waterbirds is different. Than I use camoclotes. So I have done in 55 years, and it works!

o_O 2:22 extending or not (e.g. internal / external zoom) has nothing to do with being S-Line or not (see e.g. Z 24-120 f4 S) 5:52 ...aaaaand the Z 24-70 2,8 S and the Z105 MC 2,8 and the Z 50 1,2 S and the NOCT ...

Seems from the comments that, where some people do find it particularly relevant, it's with small, fast moving birds on erratic flight-paths. At the other end of the scale - ostrich, for example - it's probably not so useful.

Very interesting review! Wo in Spanien bist Du? Ich wohne in Andalusien und fange mit Vogelfotografie an. Werde gleich Deinen Kanal abonnieren, damit ich das Video von Spanien nicht verpasse. Un saludo👍🏼

OM1 mk2 is a true flagship in micro 4/3. There is no Panasonic that can come close.

I ordered the lens carrier after watching your video from last year. At first it seems to be a fantastic idea to carry my 600mm around. In the end my back gets quite painfull after a medium/long walk. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong with it but I went back to my trusty monopod + wimberley MH-100 head. I tried a lot of thing but for me nothing beat this setup for lightweight/long hikes. I can do 4-5 hours hikes with it without any pain or fatigue it's awesome. :) For lens cap check out Zemlin. Very good stuff! Also I was quite interested in the roland pro coat.. Until you showed how to unviel the buttons.... xD Velcro? Really guys?.. ^^'

Where did you get your large lens cap from? I’m struggling to find one for my Nikon 400 2.8e

Great comparison. Have you done a print test?

algo

Great video. Thank you!

hi Fabian If you are afraid that your camera will become dirty, switch to the Om-system camera, which can withstand wet weather conditions very well.😂🙏👏

@6:35 Can you explain how did you manage to take this photo? Gear, setting, setup. I have tonns of common swifts around where I live. I tried to shoot them with E-M1 II and OM-1 and G9II + Olympus 100-400mm, and with R5 and R7 with 800mm f11 with and without Olympus EE-1 dot sight and still most of them looks like garbage. Only few came out semi-decent. Despite shooting at golden hour where they wer basically lit from the belly up. And your image is stunning: perfect pose and perfect light.

You should have trashed this video and start all over again...the in/out focusing is distracting...to me at least. I do enjoy your content though.

Sisters phone beat yours bro. It’s clear hehe

It replaced the 500mmPF lens on my Z9. the 180-600mm is my daily workhorse, my subjects consist of birds, snakes and other wildlife. The flexibility to go from 600mm when shooting birds to 180mm when switching to rattlesnakes, that's worth the loss of "some" sharpness. I do miss the weight of the 500mmPF though. The 180-600mm is heavy with the Z9. I've regretted leaving it behind when I'm birding and find the coolest, unplanned snakes, resting and waiting for me to take my time for the photo. It never fails, when you least expect it, that's when you aren't prepared...

Благодарю!

In your test photos, the canon seems to show a reddish Color cast. Did you rely on automatic white balance?

Im in a lower budget category. I use the R7, EF 100-400 L ii, 500 F4 L is i, EF adapter, 0.71x speedbooster and 1.4x iii TC. Very happy with the performance. I use the zoom mostly because it is so versatile. The 500 is great - but it has more specific application. With the speedbooster I have a 70-300 F4 zoom and 350mm F2.8 on a CF body! And they work well with TC too. One day I’ll get RF glass, but what I have now is top quality and very versatile. I’m in no rush

Thank you for this excellent video

I have EOS RP with 100-400mm

I have the R7 and use the original EF 500F4 is and the EF100-400L ii with it. There is no difference in quality as far as I can tell. But F4 and 500mm is not possible with the zoom so I need the big lens sometimes. I also use the Metabones speedbooster 0.71x and the 1.4x iii TC with both. That gives me an effective 550mm F2.8 lens with F4 DOF and an effective 110mm-440mm F4 zoom with F5.6 DOF with the speedbooster! I find the zoom a very useful lens. Mainly wildlife and especially birds here in South Africa

Thank you, Amazing Video. I have a R6 Mark II with a sigma 150-600C and im deciding if its worth going for the rf 100-400, what do you think?

I have a question - I already have the 100 - 500 is it worth adding the 200 - 800 or is this just extravagant?

Fantastic review, thank you 😊 Now Subscribed 👍🏻

The 180-600 is good but it’s not in the same class as the 400 f4.5 or 600 pf

Hi Fabian, yes great thank you so much. Yes I live in Florida now for long time so I love to shoot the herons,cranes,ibis,egrets,any ducks,iguanas and the florida soft shell turtles. All these are are at ponds,parks and lakes here anywhere you can find. Yes Idk if i'll ever move back to where I came from Detroit🙂thanks great tips for my shots. Looking forward to next😊

The 100-500mm is a great ‘walking around lens companion to my R6mkII. The 200-800 would be too heavy and cumbersome for that and for extra reach for birds have the 800mm F/11.

So many beautiful birds! New subscriber here ✨

Thanks.

Hi Fabian, thanks for the educational video - some lovely footage/images of the shore birds from the low down perspective. Hope the gear is all ok now!

Great episode Fabian, the monkeys didn't seem to be too concerned with you getting close ! Yes, the lens condensation can be a drama, I'm not sure there's much you can do as it seems to be an environmental change thing. It happens occasionally to me in the tropics, it sometimes happens after an hour or so in the morning, so it's not a sudden change ie going from aircon to outside. It's frustrating and nothing you can do till it clears up by itself....I often wonder what damage it's doing to the lens....Safe travels !!!

I live in the Tropics and humidity and temperature gradients are always a problem. At high humidity levels even bringing a lens into the slightly hotter outside after a night in a house without AC will result in some condensation. I will sometimes put my camera and lenses in sealed plastic bags with the air squeezed out so they warm up without being in the humid warm air. It's the opposite of skiing in your country, coming into the warm interior of a hut on the slopes from minus 5 has the same effect, leave your gear in sealed off bags.. For clothes in the tropics in the humid season, get the hotel to put them in the tumble drier. Cotton especially never dries quickly. Anyway some nice shoreline images today, thanks for uploading.

Try vinegar for the mould. Apparently it kills it more effectively than bleach and you don't run the risk of discolouring your materials etc. I have used it here on my gutters many times after a mould problem in my paint. Excellent series from your trip there, informative and enjoyable content as always! Safe trip home.

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