I've finally gone to "L"

[Philnick]

When I bought my R7 last summer, it came with the kit RF-S 18-150 which I didn't really want because I already had the EF-S 18-135 with motor zoom attachment, but the waiting list for getting the camera body only was interminable. Called my camera store and changed my order to "with lens" and they shipped it the same day.

I was surprised how good the kit lens actually was, as well as tiny, so the EF-S got demoted to "if I need to shoot a video" status.

Then I sold my old EF 70-300, which didn't focus well on the R7, and replaced it with the RF 100-400. That let me get "birds in flight" shots for the first time in my life.

I picked up the RF 20-220 but was disappointed by its softness and inability to focus indoors without help.

Traded both of my RF teles in on my first professional L lens, the RF 70-200 f/4 L IS.

Wow! Sharp wide open at every focal length. Used it in 3 FPS burst mode with electronic shutter to take pix at a concert where my wife was in the chorus.

For indoor parties I use the RF 50 f/1.8. That and the RF 16 f/2.8 each fits in a pocket in a drawstring bag with the lens hood reversed! (The camera's in-body sensor stabilization makes up for their lack of optical stabilization.)

 

[Tim Mayo]

Congrats on the new lens Phil!

 

[micheric]

Congratulations on you new lens Phil, getting one is so much fun and in my case doesn’t come off the camera for weeks. Have fun with it!!!

 

[Ed Cordes]

Congrats on the new L. You are now converted and will never go back.

 

[Philnick]

Having fallen love with primes (RF 16, 24, 35, and 85) for their improved sharpness over zooms, I went looking for a 200mm prime to take the place of my RF 70-200mm f/4L IS and discovered a hidden gem: a 27 year old EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM. These old film-era lenses (it came out in 1996!) are not very expensive these days, now that everyone is expects optical image stabilization in their lenses, but after looking at the sharpness simulations at Imaging-Resource.com and The-Digital-Picture.com - and theorizing that the R7's IBIS would work for it - I sprang for one with a 30 day return privilege.

My guess was right - the R7's IBIS enables me to hand hold it, giving me a sharper and brighter lens than the more modern RF zoom for taking pictures at concerts. I had no problem hand-holding shots at 1/100 of a second (1/half of the focal length!).

With the EF to R control ring adapter I bought while waiting for my R7 last summer it's the same length as the 70-200 zoomed to 200, and only 6 1/4 ounces heavier.

Then I checked and found that the EF 1.4x III extender doesn't reduce its sharpness very much. Got one of those and found that I can successfully hand hold that 280mm f/4 combo as well - getting me a pretty good birding lens.

It's two stops faster and much sharper (as well as over two inches shorter though a pound heavier) than the RF 100-400 I traded in on the 70-200, and it's just as fast - but with more reach - than the 70-200 I had replaced that with, though it is bigger and heavier.

Sold my 70-200 back to B&H for what it cost me to get the 200 f/2.8L and extender.

Won't have flying birds to test it on until next year, but I'm taking it to a choral concert my wife is in tomorrow night.

 

[Philnick]

Here's a link to the shots from last week's concert. They're in the gallery called "Mystic Chorale November 2023."

I was quite the sight, running around changing lenses all night - I only had primes with me: RF 16/2.8, 24M1.8, 35M1.8, 50/1.8, 85M2, and EF 200/2.8L II USM. Learned my lesson - "get a sharp zoom" - so I got the EF 24-70/2.8L II USM, and sold the RF 24mm and RF 35mm on eBay to help defray the cost.

I use 3 fps when photographing performers to improve my chances of catching a nice moment - but that meant going through over two hundred 32.5 megapixel RAW files on my eleven year old laptop, that takes several seconds to load and display a RAW file with my default settings. (It still has its "Windows 7" sticker on it, though I have upgraded it to Win 10 with internal and external SSDs).

A tip for users of DxO PhotoLab with RAW files: leave the noise-reduction off until after you've cropped and done your color and other adjustments to a shot - then turn on noise reduction for that shot. Give it a smaller image to work on! With the two lower-intensity settings of the noise reduction it can write out a full quality JPEG in just a few seconds, but at the highest setting my old laptop took many minutes to export a shot! I was shooting at ISOs ranging from 500 for the performers on stage to 2000 for the musicians in the pit but only had to use the highest level of noise reduction on two pictures (one at the lower ISO but not well focused, using that setting's "machine learning" to infer more detail - "On screen! Enlarge and enhance."). On most shots the lowest levels could squelch noise in solid color backgrounds quickly and effectively. I processed all the other shots first and then, while it processed the last two shots, I watched A Grand Night In on YouTube - that's Aardman Animation's (creators of Wallace and Grommit, Creature Comforts, Chicken Run and many others) delightful one-hour film about its forty-year history.

 

[Philnick]

Doing the Canon 2-step. While the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II is a great lens for events, it's overkill for small parties with friends or casual walk-around use, so I just ordered the RF 28mm f/2.8 pancacke lens. On my R7 it'll be a 44.8mm "normal" lens. With my RF 50mm f/1.8 for portraits and my RF 16mm f/2.8 for group shots, both of which will fit in my pockets, I'll be set for casual use without looking like a paparazzi.

 

[JoeTheSnowPlowGuy]

Haha, that’s funny Phil. Generally, I feel the same way at family parties. I run a round with my R6.2 hanging an EF 16-35 on it. Makes fantastic pictures, but it is large. I’ve been looking at the R10 or a refurbished RP with a short prime on it as well.

I will add, though not a Canon RF, I have been having wonderful results from my Pentax K-50 with Pentax DA* 16-50 F2.8 SDM lens. It’s relatively small, and it produces some stellar images.

 

[Stephen]

When I bought my R7 last summer, it came with the kit RF-S 18-150 which I didn't really want because I already had the EF-S 18-135 with motor zoom attachment, but the waiting list for getting the camera body only was interminable. Called my camera store and changed my order to "with lens" and they shipped it the same day.

I was surprised how good the kit lens actually was, as well as tiny, so the EF-S got demoted to "if I need to shoot a video" status.

Then I sold my old EF 70-300, which didn't focus well on the R7, and replaced it with the RF 100-400. That let me get "birds in flight" shots for the first time in my life.

I picked up the RF 20-220 but was disappointed by its softness and inability to focus indoors without help.

Traded both of my RF teles in on my first professional L lens, the RF 70-200 f/4 L IS.

Wow! Sharp wide open at every focal length. Used it in 3 FPS burst mode with electronic shutter to take pix at a concert where my wife was in the chorus.

For indoor parties I use the RF 50 f/1.8. That and the RF 16 f/2.8 each fits in a pocket in a drawstring bag with the lens hood reversed! (The camera's in-body sensor stabilization makes up for their lack of optical stabilization.)

Congratulation! Is it 30 fps burst mode with an electronic shutter rather than 3 fps?

 

[Zombo]

Haha, that’s funny Phil. Generally, I feel the same way at family parties. I run a round with my R6.2 hanging an EF 16-35 on it. Makes fantastic pictures, but it is large. I’ve been looking at the R10 or a refurbished RP with a short prime on it as well.

I will add, though not a Canon RF, I have been having wonderful results from my Pentax K-50 with Pentax DA* 16-50 F2.8 SDM lens. It’s relatively small, and it produces some stellar images.

I just did the exact same thing. Grabbed the RP refurbished for 599.00 Throw the RF 28mm f/2.8 pancake on it and is a great small combo for family parties and the like.

 

[Philnick]

Congratulation! Is it 30 fps burst mode with an electronic shutter rather than 3 fps?

Nope. Just three frames per second. That's all I need to take pictures at choral concert - 30fps is for sports! Even at 3 fps I find myself with around three to four hundred RAW files to go through to cull out about thirty pix for the chorus.