Very impressive, Dale.
Have you used the 1.4 tc and 2x tc separately, and with which lenses? I have the 100-400 mk2 and 1.4 tc mk3 and handhold. If so, how do they compare, please? I am still hung up over 'losing' the reach of my 7D2.
Shall probably wait until we have more definite news of the rumoured R7.
Thanks
Colin
I have a feeling you will still be deliberating about the R7Mk2 Colin! You can get the R5 complete with the basic adapter, which in my opinion is all you need, for £3230 now. The difference between the 7D2 and the R5 is light years apart.
You can use both the 1.4 and the 2x TC's with the 100-400Mk2 and still have all the focus points to play with right across the screen. You can shoot in the 1.6crop mode and you still have a 24mp image.
Its high ISO performance needs careful usage, even at ISO3200 there is a fine grain showing and I found Topaz dealt with that perfectly. ISO 1600 is virtually noise free.
I moved over to the R5 with the ambition of loosing weight. I sold my 1DX2 and kept the 5D4, the latter being lighter, and sharing the same batteries and charger as the R5 which was advantageous. I regret that possibly, I should have kept the 1DX and sold the 5D although that said, I may well have not used either because I find it difficult to do without the advantages the R5 has given me.
I deliberated over the RF lens offerings...basically there are three currently in contention and after much deliberation I went for the RF 100-500 plus a 1.4TC. The lens and TC are capable of razor sharp images but I'm not 100% enthralled with the combination for three reasons.
The first is Bokeh. I still have the 100-400 and it was always an issue with that lens too but there again, I have been fortunate to work mainly with 500 and 600 f4 lenses which are of course a lot more expensive. Canon have a rumoured road map of new lenses and it will include replacements for the big white telephotos but they will possibly still be way too heavy for me want to buy one at the extortionate price they are likely to be!
The second is the fact that like the 100-400Mk2 the 100-500 has a wind out extending lens barrel. I'd much prefer an internal mechanism such as the 70-200f2.8 has. It's inevitable that this design, despite it's "L" class build quality will in due course get a certain amount of dust inside the lens. My 100-400 shows tiny amounts although it doesn't effect the image at all.
The third dislike of this lens is the fact that to use a TC on it you have to extend the lens to the 300mm mark so it can physically couple with the 1.4 TC. Once attached you then are limited to an effective 420-700mm lens with a minimum f10 aperture at the long end. It's a superb lightweight alternative to carrying my 500mmf4 Mk plus TC, the latter though would be f5.6 so we go back to reservation No 1 ...bokeh! With decent background separation the bokeh can of course be improved but that's not always possible. The other consideration is that when you have a 1.4TC to the 100-500 attached your lens combination is permanently extended by 4 inches which makes a considerable difference if you are carrying it over your shoulder on a strap or needing to stow it in a bag because conditions are not favourable to taking it apart such as a dusty safari or sea sprayed pelagic.
The 100-400 takes a TC and still extends to the full zoom at either end, albeit being 140mm-560mm with the 1.4 TC and at f8 at 560mm. The 2.0x does AF but it's slow. OK for static subjects perhaps? I'm not going to buy the RF 2x.
The other options you have are the 600 and 800mm f11 lenses that are really lightweight and from what I can gather give decent IQ considering they are less than 10% of their big white equivalents. Available light in the UK plus bokeh would be my reservations despite the tempting price however, with the Canon road map of rumoured new lens releases looking uninviting due to the likely price point and weights I might re think the 800mm if I ever get to plan a trip to sunnier climes somewhere in the distant future!!
So, in summary , yes it's always a big decision when it comes to spending the hard earned which once gone might not be replaceable but I'm pretty convinced you'd be a very happy ( Easter?) bunny ! I certainly have no regrets other than my advancing age making me make compromises on weight.
Advancing years though also makes you focus on the now because you might not have that long to enjoy these things.
Go for it.
cheers
Dave.
