Combo upgrade for a canon 55-250 (lightweight wildlife)

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aeronic

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Steven
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Currently I have a canon 550d, and the 55-250 IS but I would like to upgrade. I don't have many other canon lenses, so not particularly tied to EF(s)
Photographs of birds and wildlife in the UK (squirrels etc).

I'm hoping for a bump in image quality, ISO performance, AF accuracy and reach.

Budget: £2k (ish) - including body
Needs to be light weight (sub 1kg lens)

I went today to look at an 100-400 EF II which has fantastic optics, but unfortunately too heavy to hand hold.
Thinking that i might get a second hand D90 or R7 (if canon ever release an APS-C R series in the future).
However the 100-400 EF II is definitely out of contention at nearly 1.7kg.

I'd like some suggestions, looking at APS-C or micro 4/3 if it can beat my current setup.
(I don't think a super-zoom would be any better than my 55-250 but happy to be proved wrong).

Thanks!
 
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With that kind of budget I would look at something along the lines of a Canon EOS R and RF 100-400mm lens.
Super light weight combo (1.3kg) with effective 5 stops image stabilisation on the lens and excellent ISO performance from the body

It's my go to combo for wildlife
 
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Sorry, I should have said that the budget needs to include the body as well!
 
aeronic said:
Sorry, I should have said that the budget needs to include the body as well!
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You could get them both used and they would be within your budget with money left to spare unless you are wanting to buy new only of course
 
stupar said:
You could get them both used and they would be within your budget with money left to spare unless you are wanting to buy new only of course
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Thanks for this - I don't mind buying used. I hadn't even realised that the R and RP bodies existed. With all the talk of the R5 and R6, I thought my only option with the RF lenses was to wait for the upcoming APS-C (R7) whenever that gets released.

My only concern with the R would be its the same effective focal length as my crop body with a 250, but will definitely look up some reviews of this combination!
 
Have you considered changing brands , weight and price wise a used olympus rig would work a Used om1-mkii is sub £500 a 75-300 lens is on camera jungle for a couple of hundred . Body and lens weigh together around 1kg , give 150-600 effective reach 2x crop , have world beating i.b.i.s so hand holding is no problem .
I use a 100-400 and get superb results check out the olympus thread on here
 
You could consider a Sony A6600 [if you can find one] paired with the Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS Contemporary, which should come in on budget.
Or a Panasonic G9 with the Panasonic 100-400mm again should be in budget.

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I’ve got that combination 550D and 55-250 as a lightweight backup it’s an excellent lightweight combination with good image quality
It’s difficult what canon setup to suggest with more reach and that weight limit
Maybe as Jeff suggests look at Olympus
 
Hogboy said:
You could consider a Sony A6600 [if you can find one] paired with the Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS Contemporary, which should come in on budget.
Or a Panasonic G9 with the Panasonic 100-400mm again should be in budget.

​

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The Sony 70-350mm is a great lightweight little lens and would combine nicely with an A6600.
 
Another vote for the Em1 mkii and either an Olympus or Panasonic Tele for birding within your budget.

I have a 550D and an Em10 mkii, and would readily recommend the flagship Olympus over the APS-C, at least for the added reach. Stick to the Em1 though, as it has phase detect AF. Mine and the other models are contrast only.

M43 lenses are far more portable than FF and the slower aperture shouldn't be a deal breaker (unless you shoot owls at night).
 
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