Thoughts on telephoto lens for street photography RF 100-500

[vekete]

Hey guys,

I have always wanted a telephoto lens with a big range such as the RF 100-500, RF 100-400, or even RF 200-800 to shoot subjects far away like birds, towers, tree nests, and perhaps the moon. I live in an urban area but sometimes have a chance to travel to places like the sea.

My question is: will the RF 100-500 be suitable for street photography for me? I am interested in some night walks—will the lens image still be sharp at night? Any advice for a hobbyist like me would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[Tronhard]

Hi and welcome to the forum:

The performance of a lens also depends on the camera to which it is attached, so what camera and lenses are you currently using? 

Furthermore, street photography usually poses different demands to wildlife.  For street, one wants to be reasonably circumspect and hefting a large, white lens is not subtle.  You may also want much wider focal ranges than those for wildlife.  Most street photographers go for compact cameras with very wide-angle, fast lenses such as a 24 or 35mm f/2.8.   

So, to give you some flexibility in that respect from 24mm f/4 wide to moderate 240mm f/6.3 tele, I would suggest the RF 24-240 IS USM, that will give you a choice of focal ranges and some telephoto range, is black and has great optical performance. 

Alternatively, you could use the RF 24-70 or 24-105 of which there are multiple versions.  I don't normally shoot street but there are some sample images with this camera and the RF 24-240:
EOS R6, RF 24-240@63mm, f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO-400  EOS R6, RF 24-240@44mm, f/5.6, 1/400sec, ISO-100
EOS R6, RF 24-240@44mm, f/5.6, 1/400sec, ISO-100

For animal and moon photography, the longer the focal range the better, and in that respect I would say that an absolute minimum of 400mm is required.  I have both the RF 100-500 and 200-800 and shoot with the latter more these days because of the reach.  They both have great optical performance, although, being an L lens, the former has better weather sealing and also uniquely has dual nano-USM motors to make it exceptionally fast focusing.   I also have taken shots of the moon with the RF 200-800, so some sample images check out the links from the photo gallery on this site:  Search - Canon Community

Finally, a shot of the moon with the RF 200-800 I may not have posted:
EOS R5, RF 200-800@800mm, f/9, 1/1000sec, ISO-640

[March411]

A friend of mine photographs a lot of urban/street with the RF100-500, she say's it allows her to capture people from a distance without being noticed. To Trevor's point though she uses a skin to hide big white as much as possible. It is a big lens!

Personally I enjoy the RF24-240mm that Trevor suggested, it's subtle and easy to carry all day but can be challenged by low light or heavy shadows.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

I've having a hard time associating the term street photography with the RF 100-500.  For street, I'm more of a RF 35mm type.  The 24-240 is a great compromise with a broad FL, but may have issues at night. 

*24-240mm

f4 up to 27mm

f4.5 until 44mm

f5 up to 70mm

f5.6 up to 109mm

 f6.3 between 109 and 240mm   

[Tronhard]

Ha Rick, I was expecting someone to say that! LOL
Yes, convention tends to go with the wider angle gear, as I mentioned, but I recognize some folks don't like to get close and personal when shooting people in the public arena, so they snipe with long lenses.

As always, and I'm getting worn out saying this for every inquiry on gear, we need more data for existing gear list and budget... 🙄