I feel like doing a big spring cleaning on my gear!

[Chris Summers]

I'm a bit compulsive about acquiring new camera gear, especially lenses. It goes back to when I had my studio and needed a large assortment of gear for working projects. I had several camera systems from 35mm to 8 x 10, each having a different set of lenses for each format.

Now I only have my R and M series Canon cameras. And there are a couple of lenses I want to own but in order to keep my post retirement hobby cost neutral I feel I need to sell before I buy.

My go to RF mount lenses now are the:
RF 16mm
RF 24-105mm
RF 50mm (non L)
RF 70-200mm
RF 200-800mm

I would love to own these:
RF 100-500mm
RF 14-35mm
RF 1.4 tele extender

I am most likely not going to use the following anymore:
RF 800mm f/11
Tamron 150-600mm G2
Tamron 1.4 tele extender

And it's been 3-4 years since I used either of these lenses:
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 (Loved it for portraits but it's going on 16 years old now)
Sigma 135mm f/1.8 ART (Another super nice portrait lens)
Samyang 14mm f/2.8 EF AF (got it for Milky Way shots I did once)

I will also give up:
Tamron Tap console
Sigma lens Doc
RF 35mm f/1.8 which I hardly ever use

I will probably do a trade in with mpb.com, their prices are fare and the process is less of a hassle then eBay or FB Marketplace. I will probably buy through Canon Price Watch using their Street Price for unadvertised specials or maybe refurbished at the Canon store.

Either way, my camera gear closet will have a lot more room now.

 

[Arbarthisti]

I'm a bit compulsive about acquiring new camera gear, especially lenses. It goes back to when I had my studio and needed a large assortment of gear for working projects. I had several camera systems from 35mm to 8 x 10, each having a different set of lenses for each format.

Now I only have my R and M series Canon cameras. And there are a couple of lenses I want to own but in order to keep my post retirement hobby cost neutral I feel I need to sell before I buy.

My go to RF mount lenses now are the:
RF 16mm
RF 24-105mm
RF 50mm (non L)
RF 70-200mm
RF 200-800mm

I would love to own these:
RF 100-500mm
RF 14-35mm
RF 1.4 tele extender

I am most likely not going to use the following anymore:
RF 800mm f/11
Tamron 150-600mm G2
Tamron 1.4 tele extender

And it's been 3-4 years since I used either of these lenses:
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 (Loved it for portraits but it's going on 16 years old now)
Sigma 135mm f/1.8 ART (Another super nice portrait lens)
Samyang 14mm f/2.8 EF AF (got it for Milky Way shots I did once)

I will also give up:
Tamron Tap console
Sigma lens Doc
RF 35mm f/1.8 which I hardly ever use

I will probably do a trade in with mpb.com, their prices are fare and the process is less of a hassle then eBay or FB Marketplace. I will probably buy through Canon Price Watch using their Street Price for unadvertised specials or maybe refurbished at the Canon store.

Either way, my camera gear closet will have a lot more room now.

The 100-500 is stellar, Chris just out of interest how you finding the 16mm?

 

[Only RF]

The 100-500 is stellar, Chris just out of interest how you finding the 16mm?

I had the 16mm and for the price I found it excellent. I found I didn't use it as much as I thought. Not my focal length of choice. Tired of editing out my feet out. That was more with my old Tokina 11-16.

I just use my RF 24-105 F4 for all my walk around, landscapes, etc. If I want wide I just take a few snaps and stitch. I have also found at my age I'm tired of changing lenses and carrying the 16mm around, even if small. By best friend and shooting buddy has found the same.

These days I only have the R6II, R7, 24-105, 100-500 add 1.4 TC. This group seems to cover most of my needs. I go away for 2 months every year and I never had to try and decide what to take.

 

[Only RF]

After shooting for a few years with the 1.4 TC I have decided to not use it on my R7 and 100-500. It's OK but I find my keeper rate goes down and the image can break down quickly when cropping.

It is stellar on my R6II and was on my R5 as well so depending on what body you plan to use it on Chris that may be food for thought to save a few dollars. The 100-500 is spectacular. I did think about the 200-800 but decided to stick with eh 100-500.

Here is a shot with the R7, 100-500 and 1.4. I was in a blind and this bird came from the left. I only had seconds and was lucky to get it within the frame right away. You can see a bit of rolling shutter effect (ES mode) in the eye and I know the bill is a little elongated. I did not have to crop this very much which is rare for me.

 

[Only RF]

By the way I did the mass purge in 2019 when I sold off all my EF gear. I never looked back. I'd kill for a 500 5.6 similar to the Nikon PF. If I won a lottery I'd buy the RF 600 F4. If I was still shooting events I'd likely have the RF 24-70 and 70-200.

 

[TwoWheeler]

Now I only have my R and M series Canon cameras.

…and a Sony Mavica….

 

[Only RF]

I had to look that up.

 

[Chris Summers]

The 100-500 is stellar, Chris just out of interest how you finding the 16mm?

I like it for when I really want to go wide, in my EF days I always had a version of the 16-35mm but now with the 24-105 I felt a 16-35mm would overlap too much and I also try to go a bit lighter in my gear bag. The 16mm is sharp enough but you do need to do a lens profile correction in post as it has distortion and vignetting.

 

[Chris Summers]

After shooting for a few years with the 1.4 TC I have decided to not use it on my R7 and 100-500. It's OK but I find my keeper rate goes down and the image can break down quickly when cropping.

It is stellar on my R6II and was on my R5 as well so depending on what body you plan to use it on Chris that may be food for thought to save a few dollars. The 100-500 is spectacular. I did think about the 200-800 but decided to stick with eh 100-500.

Here is a shot with the R7, 100-500 and 1.4. I was in a blind and this bird came from the left. I only had seconds and was lucky to get it within the frame right away. You can see a bit of rolling shutter effect (ES mode) in the eye and I know the bill is a little elongated. I did not have to crop this very much which is rare for me.

View attachment 33587

Having a 70-200mm and the 200-800mm would be ok as far as a good range but everything I have heard about the 100-500mm is that it is the jewel in the crown so to say. I figure I might take into the field my R7 with the 200-800mm and then the R6 MkII with the 100-500mm with or without the 1.4 TC. I'm hopeful that Canon will eventually release an improved R7 MKII with a vertical grip and less rolling shutter and other issues.