Bird photography with EOS R7 at Jurong Bird Park

Thanks to Canon Singapore, there was another opportunity to test the EOS R7 further. We had a bird photography outing with the EOS R7 at Jurong Bird Park. I was shooting mainly with the RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM lens. 

While this RF-S 18-150mm kit lens is not a dedicated lens for birding, it’s a versatile general lens ideal for daily usage and travel photography. Overall, I managed to capture some nice shots of birds in action or birds in flight shots when I was at Jurong Bird Park using the EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM lens.

Thoughts and views from short hands on with EOS R7 at Jurong Bird Park

Since I only had a short hands on experience for a few hours with the Canon EOS R7 at Jurong Bird Park. Let me share with you my experiences, here are some of my initial thoughts and views from testing the EOS R7 at Jurong Bird Park:

A familiar feel 

From my various experiences in owning, using and testing many different Canon camera models over the years, there is a familiar feel to the EOS R7, existing current Canon users would be able to get up to speed with the EOS R7 pretty quickly.

Compact and lightweight, packed with powerful technical specifications and new technological capabilities for photography, surpassing its predecessor’s EOS 7D Mark II legacy. 

Quick control dial

This is the all-new quick control dial that combines the Multi-Controller with the Multi-Directional joystick. An interesting and useful feature, small in size placed in a good position for the right thumb to touch and control. 

I like this quick control dial, this might take a bit of getting used to since this is a new design and feature on a Canon camera body.

APS-C 1.6x 

I started my Canon interchangeable lens camera (ILC) journey with the Canon EOS 300D in 2004, an APS-C 1.6x crop DSLR camera. While I have gradually moved on Canon full-frame digital cameras over the years, the Canon APS-C 1.6x crop is something that I am familiar with. 

APS-C sensors have its pros and cons, wildlife and sports photographers would welcome it for its extended reach, landscape photographers may find the wide angle field of view not to their liking and requirements. 

For those photographers who are not too used to the APS-C 1.6x crop, give yourself time to adjust your field of view and point of view when using the EOS R7, you would be fine using this camera, in time to come.

Fast and accurate auto focus (AF) + Animal Priority 

The EOS R7 AF speed is put to the test on bird photography at Jurong Bird Park. Combining its fast and accurate AF with 30 fps and Animal Priority tracking, I was able to capture the birds in flight and birds in action. 

I mentioned earlier that I was mainly using the RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM kit lens during the photography outing at Jurong Bird Park, a versatile general lens ideal for daily usage and travel photography. With EOS R7 fast and accurate AF + Animal Priority tracking, I managed to capture some nice birds in action or birds in flight shots when I was at Jurong Bird Park using the EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM lens.

I would put this to further testing on birds and wildlife when the EOS R7 unit is available for a more thorough and in-depth review with my other Canon lenses.

In-depth and detailed review at a later time 

I am looking forward to further explore and put the Canon EOS R7 into a more in-depth and detailed review through my visual story telling adventures. 

Keep a lookout on my Instagram and Facebook Page posts when the EOS R7 is available for review and I would be sharing my stories, photos and adventures with the EOS R7 review unit, putting the EOS R7 to the test and its other capabilities. 

This also marks the start of a new short visual storytelling adventure, the Canon EOS R7 Explorer Series, a TGH Photography x Canon EOS R7 Explorer Series Production. 

The post Canon EOS R7 Test Shots at Jurong Bird Park appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

In my short hands on experience article that I published in July 2020, I confessed that I wasn’t really into lenses with focal length range of 100-500mm as my setup was geared towards the holy trinity setup and big prime lenses. During the period when I was reviewing the Canon RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens, I was enlightened, my perceptions and views of this focal length range changed.  

A favourite lens for wildlife photographers 

I have been reading and looking at Facebook groups/pages posts on wildlife photographs shot in Singapore. There is a trend on these combinations of Canon EOS R5 or EOS R6 with RF100-500mm lens. I had chats with the folks from my local camera shop that I regularly go to, this is quite a popular camera and lens combination that the photographers wanted to get.

When I had the RF100-500mm lens with the Canon EOS R5 for review, I finally understood and realise why this is such a popular combination and setup. From my adventures at Jurong Bird Park, to West Coast Park, Bukit Batok Nature Park, Pasir Ris Park and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. I photographed quite a lot of wildlife photographs.

The 100mm to 500mm range is versatile for wildlife photography, you would not be constrained by shorter focal lengths or a fixed focal length lens. The photographs quality are sharp even when shooting at its maximum aperture. 

This would not be the fastest lens since it’s not a constant aperture lens, nevertheless the AF is pretty impressive and fast when paired with the EOS R5 body (and I believe it would be just as good with the EOS R6 body too).

More than just a lens for wildlife and sports photography 

Although this lens is probably going to be more geared towards wildlife and sports photography, it’s a versatile lens that photographers can use for sports, travel and landscapes too. While I didn’t get the opportunity to photograph sports events with this lens, I was able to photograph people/machines in action from a distance away and landscapes too. 

Photographing landscapes with this 100mm to 500mm focal length range telephoto lens is probably less common, even less common in Singapore when it’s a small country by land size and honestly speaking, it doesn’t have much of a wide and vast landscapes in big countries that I visited. Using the RF100-500mm to shoot landscapes in Singapore, I managed to capture some beautiful moments that I really like and didn’t expect to come out in a way that I would expect from my travel photography trips overseas. 

Personal thoughts and views

This is a lens that change my view on long focal length range telephoto zoom lens. While I am a user and supporter of zoom lenses such as 24-70mm and 70-200mm focal range, a longer range focal length such as 70-300mm or 100-400mm didn’t attract me as much initially in my photography adventures. I was more inclined towards prime telephoto lens such as the 300mm f/2.8L for their speed and optics. During the period when I was reviewing the RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens, it changed my view and approach towards wildlife, sports and action photography. I am now more inclined towards focal length range telephoto zoom lens, keen to get this lens some time down the road.

Key factors and points that convinced and changed me after using RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens

• Lighter in weight
• More versatile than a fixed focal length prime lens 
• Easier to carry and move around with faster reaction time when photographing wildlife/sports versus a fixed prime lens on a tripod 
• The optics quality and AF speed is excellent considering that it’s not a fixed focal length prime lens
• Price is a lot lower as compared to a fixed focal length prime lens 

A versatile, portable and not too heavy telephoto zoom lens with excellent optics quality that is comparable to a prime lens. Since it’s not a constant aperture lens, the auto-focus speed may not be as fast as a prime lens. However, when paired with the Canon EOS R5 or R6, the AF speed is still pretty fast and impressive. 

This remarkable lens is very Ideal for wildlife, sports and travel, sometimes landscapes too. In the wildlife and birding community, a number of photographers have the Canon EOS R5 or Canon EOS R6 and RF100-500mm setup, a powerful, ideal, excellent and popular combination of both AF speed, AF accuracy, optics and output quality (45MP Canon EOS R5 sensor provides lot of details even when cropping in). 

The retail recommended price for the Canon RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens is SGD$4,459, compared to a cost of a big aperture prime lens, it’s not that expensive.

The Canon RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens is a versatile, portable and not too heavy telephoto zoom lens, very ideal and suitable for wildlife photographers, sports and travel. This highly capable long range telephoto zoom lens gives photographers options to choose from for their wildlife or sports photography. A value for money top quality Canon L lens that gives photographers, versatility and portability versus the more expensive prime telephoto lens. Whether it is a telephoto zoom lens or telephoto prime lens, photographers have the options available to choose from. 

More photographs shot with the RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens can be viewed here inside this Flickr photo album. Do check out my other photo albums on Flickr, Canon EOS R5, Canon EOS R6, Canon RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM and Canon RF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM and check out my articles on my recent reviews and testings of the Canon EOS R5, Canon EOS R6, Canon RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM and Canon RF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM.

* I would like to thank Canon Singapore for the opportunity to review the Canon RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens *

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