I am glad been given a chance to use the new CANON mirrorless camera R7 with RF600mm F4 for 3 days.

When I have the camera with such period, I know I can’t try everything I want to try but for another successor after R5/6/3 think most of the people will have same believe and doubt as me

1. AF should be as good as the R5/6/3

2. such high megapixel, how’s the ISO performance

3. Image Stabilizer – as think this is one good camera for bird watchers who normally shoot handheld

– should have more time to try with RF100-500, RF100-400, EF 100-400, EF400 F5.6 etc

4. video quality, overheat concern

5. buffer as only SD card supported

6. Video AF

7. Battery life

###

For me, I am concentrate on few above which I “worry” about

AF

ISO performance

Image Stabilizer (which affect the Image quality – ISO)

Battery life

Video Quality (after recent so many good video hybrid camera)

###

Here is my 3days real field experience for above mentioned concerns

update 20220618

4. Image Stabilizer

– this is one most important criteria for most of Bird Photographer as in many cases we do require to handheld to shoot with smaller lens and most of this situations when we inside forest which also having lowlight.

– if the IS efficiency is high, mean we can get higher success rate picture with lower shutter speed .

– I am using R7 with CANON RF 100-500mm which also 160-800mm (35mm equivalent) and I tested all with 500mm (800mm 35mm equivalent). without any tripod, monopod just handheld with various shutter speed and 10-50 shots (average)

– 我在测试佳能的新R7与RF100-500mm。这个测试是为了试机身+镜头防抖有多好。因为这可是我们选摄鸟器材的蛮重要的一环，因为在马来西亚很大部分时间我们都在林里拍鸟。都是不容易带脚架与蛮暗。手持摄影需要好的防抖功能让我们在较慢的速度下拍到我们要拍的鸟。

 

update 202206

– due to work nature, I am capturing still and video handheld 90%. So IS always one of my very important criteria to choose my “working birding equipment”

– another quick test how’s the IS for video with CANON R7

– 工作关系，我几乎都是手持拍摄（照片，视频)。相机+镜头防抖功能变成我主要选择我的摄鸟（工作）的其中一个主要的功能。

– 当我拿到R7，这是我要测试的其中一项。手持视频

 

case 1 : 1/15s

– shooting 1/15s total 59 shots and 20/59 is focus which giving 33% I would say it is very good

 

 

1. Battery Life

– one of the amazing battery life mirrorless camera so far

– 3 days in the row, shooting from 7am – 2-3pm without power off the camera

~1200 pictures

~10-30 video (4k)

ALL 3 days still have >50% battery remain

 

2. AF

– without any doubt or different, the AF capability to find subject eye (bird eye) simply awesome. AS GOOD AS R3, R5 and R6 for bird eye detect, I dont have enough time for flying tracking (only very quick tried)

– the best part is this camera use R3 AF method e.g. when use ZONE or single point in R5/6 the eye detect cannot be use. So most of us use method of either

a. let’s the camera find the bird eye in full screen – some of us just don’t trust the camera. So dont border of using this method but for me this is very fast and 90% trusted method

b. use one button for single point focus than AD-ON (any other button) eye detect

– this is a much slower way of AF which require single point to point to the bird than need press a button to have eye detect than follow by shutter button for picture capture !!!!!!! not only slow with so many button pressing more camera shake created

– now, we can use single button set to single point, zone, full screen as long as the point, zone or camera found the bird. The “eye” will be focus and track

###

3. ISO performance

with such high megapxiel 32.5 MP, think everyone most worry is the ISO management.

here are some pictures sharing

series of picture (full size) 800-10000 (sorry for accidentally deleted ISO400 pictures and due to environment here we seldom use anything lower than ISO800

I also make a simple Topaz Denoise (default auto) to have a look with minimum post processing result.

###

Series 1

RAW – JPEG (direct from Adobe camera RAW no noise reduction)

JPEG – denoise using Topaz Denoise AI-clear auto

100% crop at ration 16:9 (for above)

*click the picture for full size picture

i. ISO800

ii. ISO1250

 

iii. ISO1600

iv. ISO2000

v. ISO3200

 

vi. ISO4000

 

vi. ISO6400

 

vii. ISO8000

 

viii. ISO10000

 

###

My personal view, for such a high megapixel APS-C camera as expected it provided so much details and with noise when ISO increase.

Based on the simple noise reduction (one click) the picture image quality  seem well balance with details+noise at ~ISO3200. Extra post processing should able to produce more clean picture.

###

 

Let;s wait for coming sharing

Image Stabilizer efficiency

AF Tracking

 

 

 

#####

More pictures series

Series 2

RAW-JPEG direct no Noise reduction