Hello from a bird enthusiast

BarbH

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Barbara Henniger
Hello I am researching a new camera and my dream is an EOS R6 II but am looking for suggestion. I am really interested in bird and wildlife photography and my trusty point and shoot I’ve had for several years is limited in shooting birds and smaller animals in reduced light. I used to have a Canon AE1 years ago and took many photos and love photography but I can’t keep up with the technology now. I’m quickly realizing by the time I pay out the money for the camera and all the accessories and a longer lens that my budget is being stretched. I am an older woman with some arthritis but enjoy doing easy treks and hikeS. Where I live are lots of beautiful lakes and rivers and plenty of birds especially during migratory season. I regularly have Bighorn sheep and deer by my house as well as small mammals and would love to get some good photos. I’m looking for suggestions on other EOS R camera bodies that might fill the bill and what a good choice for a first lens and other accessories would be. I live in British Columbia Canada.
 
Hey Barb - welcome from another bird nerd!!

Reading your post you remind me a lot of anolder friend in FL (she's in her 70's) who wasn't a wildlife photographer until she moved there, and while she loves it she has issues with anything "heavy", which for her is often what I would call "light" for a bird rig. Realizing that you're coming from a point and shoot there are countless options that will work well for you while improving your photos. I came to Canon from Nikon a little less than 2 years ago, so my words come from someone who knows only the mirrorless side, but I know it fairly well. Since switching I've purchased and still own an R5, R6, and R7 (in that order), and for what you shoot I'm thinking the R6 might be the last body I'd recommend, and not because it's not a great camera.

I don't know what your budget is, but for anyone coming in from a point and shoot with your interests I would highly recommend an R7 and the 100-400mm RF. The R7's cropped sensor gives you 1.6x the focal length that you'd get from the full frame R6, so the 100-400mm on the R7 acts like a 160-640mm on the R6, and it is extremely easy on both your wallet and your shoulder/neck when compared to an R6 and 100-500mm RF. And that extra reach for birds, in particular, is a HUGE thing, believe me. Pair that with the 18-150mm RF-S lens and you have something that's super easy to carry around on a hike and shoot everything from landscapes to birds in trees. I can't think of anything other than a good bag to add to it as a starter, other than a couple good memory cards. They can be expensive, but for the R7 I highly recommend the Sony Tough cards as they have the fastest write speeds and that's something that you need to overcome one of the limitations of that camera when shooting in burst mode.

Most of my shooting is with the R5 or R7 with the 100-500mm, but I have the 100-400mm and it's an amazingly sharp lens for the price. My wife will use it with the R7 when we shoot together, and I'll use it for video when I'm carrying two cameras around. If you head to my Instagram link (left) a huge chunk of what I've shot since last July has been with the R7.
 
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Hi Barb, welcome to the forum.

Jake gave some really sound advice.
 
Hey Barb - welcome from another bird nerd!!

Reading your post you remind me a lot of anolder friend in FL (she's in her 70's) who wasn't a wildlife photographer until she moved there, and while she loves it she has issues with anything "heavy", which for her is often what I would call "light" for a bird rig. Realizing that you're coming from a point and shoot there are countless options that will work well for you while improving your photos. I came to Canon from Nikon a little less than 2 years ago, so my words come from someone who knows only the mirrorless side, but I know it fairly well. Since switching I've purchased and still own an R5, R6, and R7 (in that order), and for what you shoot I'm thinking the R6 might be the last body I'd recommend, and not because it's not a great camera.

I don't know what your budget is, but for anyone coming in from a point and shoot with your interests I would highly recommend an R7 and the 100-400mm RF. The R7's cropped sensor gives you 1.6x the focal length that you'd get from the full frame R6, so the 100-400mm on the R7 acts like a 160-640mm on the R6, and it is extremely easy on both your wallet and your shoulder/neck when compared to an R6 and 100-500mm RF. And that extra reach for birds, in particular, is a HUGE thing, believe me. Pair that with the 18-150mm RF-S lens and you have something that's super easy to carry around on a hike and shoot everything from landscapes to birds in trees. I can't think of anything other than a good bag to add to it as a starter, other than a couple good memory cards. They can be expensive, but for the R7 I highly recommend the Sony Tough cards as they have the fastest write speeds and that's something that you need to overcome one of the limitations of that camera when shooting in burst mode.

Most of my shooting is with the R5 or R7 with the 100-500mm, but I have the 100-400mm and it's an amazingly sharp lens for the price. My wife will use it with the R7 when we shoot together, and I'll use it for video when I'm carrying two cameras around. If you head to my Instagram link (left) a huge chunk of what I've shot since last July has been with the R7.
 
Oh oh I jumped the gun! Or should I say camera. I wish I had found this group a few weeks ago. Your recommendation about the R7 makes a lot of sense but last night when I saw stock for the EOS R6II disappearing in my part of the world I bought the last EOS R6II at 10 pm online and I pick it up today. I had based my decision to buy the 6 on the Birds in Flight field test results and the R7 hadn’t ranked high but I also didn’t think about the other good points you made about the R7. I was concerned I would be frustrated with too many poorly focused images so hadn’t considered anything else about the R7. I didn’t know it had a smaller sensor or was that much lighter. I’m 69 but a tall woman and hoping the weight won’t be too much. I had gone into the camera shop a couple of weeks ago and felt what the R6 predecessor felt like with a Sigma 150-600 C. The weight of the camera and lens together felt balanced and not too heavy. I didn’t try any other lenses on the camera as they had very limited stock. I haven’t ordered or paid for any other accessories. I appreciate your input and will buy the Sony tough cards. I don’t have a big budget and do I need the 128 or would 64 work for going out for an hour or two at a time? For a first lens do you have any suggestions for me? I will buy other lenses in the next year but I hope I can buy another lens without completely blowing my budget today. I had forgotten how much everything adds up! I am recovering from some health issues right now and will be taking photos from my backyard of birds at my feeders and in my trees for the next few weeks. Do you have a suggestion for what lens might be affordable and be workable? I do appreciate your input very much and so far have only purchased the camera and an extra battery for when I can travel. I don’t have anything else yet. Thank you so much in advance.
 
These things happen, Barb. I'm sure you'll do fine with the R6 and 150-600mm.

With the cards, while the Sony Toughs are great cards they are likely overkill for the R6. With the R7 the buffer is so small that clearing it quickly is a top priority. I've never run into a buffer issue with the R6 so you're probably good with anything with a write speed at 98Mbs. Save the $$ for something else. :)
 
These things happen, Barb. I'm sure you'll do fine with the R6 and 150-600mm.

With the cards, while the Sony Toughs are great cards they are likely overkill for the R6. With the R7 the buffer is so small that clearing it quickly is a top priority. I've never run into a buffer issue with the R6 so you're probably good with anything with a write speed at 98Mbs. Save the $$ for something else. :)
Thanks Jake!
Really appreciate your feedback and advice.
 
Welcome to the forums, Barb! You've gotten great advice, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you create!
 
Hi Barb,

Newcomer here myself and a new owner of the R6MII. For birds, I have it paired with the RF100-500mm and am loving it. I have an IO-DATA SD2U3-128G in slot 1 that seems to be working quite well.
 

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