R7 or FF with extenders

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Fordsabroad

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Gordon
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I currently use the R1 and R5 Mark II, along with the RF 100-500mm, and my RF 100-300mm f/2.8 is due to arrive tomorrow.

I shoot a lot of wildlife in Africa, so reach is always important. However, as I travel from the UK and I'm now in my 70s, the weight of my kit is a significant consideration, especially on long-haul flights.

I'm wondering whether adding an R7 could be a worthwhile way of extending the effective reach of these lenses. The obvious advantage is the 1.6× crop factor, giving greater subject magnification without the light loss that comes with using 1.4× or 2× extenders. On the other hand, there's the smaller APS-C sensor and its reduced low-light performance.

My understanding is that, for distant subjects, the R7 would also give me more pixels on the subject than using the R1 or R5 Mark II and cropping the image, whereas extenders cost either one or two stops of light.

I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who has real-world experience of using an R7 alongside Canon's full-frame bodies in this way. Do you find the R7 a better solution than using extenders, or would you stick with the full-frame bodies and teleconverters?

My images are purely for personal enjoyment rather than publication, but image quality is still very important to me.
 
Fordsabroad said:
I currently use the R1 and R5 Mark II, along with the RF 100-500mm, and my RF 100-300mm f/2.8 is due to arrive tomorrow.

I shoot a lot of wildlife in Africa, so reach is always important. However, as I travel from the UK and I'm now in my 70s, the weight of my kit is a significant consideration, especially on long-haul flights.

I'm wondering whether adding an R7 could be a worthwhile way of extending the effective reach of these lenses. The obvious advantage is the 1.6× crop factor, giving greater subject magnification without the light loss that comes with using 1.4× or 2× extenders. On the other hand, there's the smaller APS-C sensor and its reduced low-light performance.

My understanding is that, for distant subjects, the R7 would also give me more pixels on the subject than using the R1 or R5 Mark II and cropping the image, whereas extenders cost either one or two stops of light.

I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who has real-world experience of using an R7 alongside Canon's full-frame bodies in this way. Do you find the R7 a better solution than using extenders, or would you stick with the full-frame bodies and teleconverters?

My images are purely for personal enjoyment rather than publication, but image quality is still very important to me.
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Great question. I have R1 and R5 but not R7. I would think R7 would be a useful addition for fairly static subjects in decent light, and that R1 would still win for fast-moving subjects in poor light at dusk/dawn. I'll be watching replies with interest and also keen to hear how you get on with the 100-300.
 
TimHughes said:
Great question. I have R1 and R5 but not R7. I would think R7 would be a useful addition for fairly static subjects in decent light, and that R1 would still win for fast-moving subjects in poor light at dusk/dawn. I'll be watching replies with interest and also keen to hear how you get on with the 100-300.
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Tim. I posed the same question on the Fred Miranda forum and have had a couple of answers including a very detailed one. It may be worth taking a look. The general opinion seems to be that the current r7 does not add anything worthwhile over the r5 mkii and extender.
As for the 100-300 it is a very expensive purchase but will replace my 70-200 and 400 DO which is a considerable weight and space saving when travelling. It was considerably cheaper from Cameriz than any UK supplier. £6.5 k v £10.5k which took a little bit of the sting out of it!
 
I have a R6 mark i and a R7, so the FF camera is not in your league. Although you will get extra reach with the R7 I think you will be disappointed. I find it noisy and that it needs decent conditions to get acceptable results. Perhaps the RF 100-300mm f/2.8 will make it sparkle.

I would recommend Try The Kit before you buy a R7 and perhaps wait until the R7 mark ii is released.
 
I asked my photo guide at Pangolin Photo Safaris a similar question.....I had an R7 and and R5 at the time.

He said R5 all day, every day over the percieved extra reach you get from crop sensor camera. With the high resolution of the FF sensor, forget about the apparent lost reach when in the field, and simply crop when you get on a computer.

I experimented, and have now sold the R7 and have 2 FF bodies.
 
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@whyone do the extra megapixels help? I have R1 and the original R5, but for challenging shoots (low light / fast movement), I reach for the R1 every time.
 
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