New Canon R6 user

[Rbasacker]

I was shooting with a Canon 5DMK4 it got stolen so with the insurance money bought an R6 since mirrorless is the future I still a beginner just been shooting under 2 years. I have the Kit lens 24-104 L lens. What lens that's not going to break me. That I could shoot wildlife, birds, and landscape? Under $1200

[FloridaDrafter]

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@Rbasacker wrote:

I was shooting with a Canon 5DMK4 it got stolen so with the insurance money bought an R6 since mirrorless is the future I still a beginner just been shooting under 2 years. I have the Kit lens 24-104 L lens. What lens that's not going to break me. That I could shoot wildlife, birds, and landscape? Under $1200

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Sorry to hear that your camera was stolen 😞

My wife has had the "budget" RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM ($649) for over a month now for her R6 and it does a pretty good job. We shoot a lot of birds, but also flowers and insects. As you know, the R6 is a 20mp camera, so if you like to crop in tight, like on a 3 inch bird 50 feet away, it won't give the same results as your 5D mark IV. I've found that on the R6, the RF 100-400 IQ kinda maxes out at 40-50 feet with our bird shots. Obviously, larger subjects are better at longer distances. I've used it on my R5 and it does a lot better, but still not the IQ of the EF 100-400mm L II with ring adapter, but that's to be expected.

I also use a 5D mark IV with the 100-400mm L II.

Shot with the R6 and RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM at roughly 30 feet, 50% crop.

Newton

[Tronhard]

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@Rbasacker wrote:

I was shooting with a Canon 5DMK4 it got stolen so with the insurance money bought an R6 since mirrorless is the future I still a beginner just been shooting under 2 years. I have the Kit lens 24-104 L lens. What lens that's not going to break me. That I could shoot wildlife, birds, and landscape? Under $1200

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Personally if you want to shoot at the long telephoto end I would recommend the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary lens.  You should be able to get one within your budget and it offers a good compliment to your 24-105 range with only a relatively small gap in between.  You would need to get the EF-RF adapter, but rest assured that it works perfectly with the RF body.

I have a couple of R6 bodies and have been shooting with a wide range of lenses, including the Sigma 150-600.  For its focal range it is relatively light, has in-lens image stabilization and is extremely well made.

I recommend checking out reviews of this lens on the web:

150-600c with legacy camera for birds  this is a great test of the lens with a much older body but takes awesome photos

Dustin Abbott review of Sigma 150-600c 

150-600c on EOS R6 

Sample pix from You Tube of the lens 

And, for good measure, here are a few images I have taken with that combination, sadly downsized to fit on the site.

[FloridaDrafter]

Trevor, I thought about the Sigma myself for the R5 since I already have the ring adapter. Does it work with the R5/6 MF Overide features? BTW, nice shots!

Newton

[Tronhard]

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@FloridaDrafter wrote:

Trevor, I thought about the Sigma myself for the R5 since I already have the ring adapter. Does it work with the R5/6 MF Overide features? BTW, nice shots!

Newton

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To be honest I have only used the lenses with autofocus.  I set up my R5 and R6 units with single-point autofocus.  I have C1 customized to servo, animal eye tracking and high speed continuous. C2 is the same but human eye tracking and C3 is the same but no bias (3rd option in the tracking).  When I shoot out of the C settings, I have slow continuous, no tracking and no servo.  I find that works really well.

I just tried manual focus on the lens and it works fine - I did not change the camera settings, as I use back button focus and exposure and thus the shutter button does neither of those any more and just takes the shot - works perfectly and removes any issues with MF for lenses.

[FloridaDrafter]

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@Tronhard wrote:

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@FloridaDrafter wrote:

Trevor, I thought about the Sigma myself for the R5 since I already have the ring adapter. Does it work with the R5/6 MF Overide features? BTW, nice shots!

Newton

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To be honest I have only used the lenses with autofocus.  I set up my R5 and R6 units with single-point autofocus.  I have C1 customized to servo, animal eye tracking and high speed continuous. C2 is the same but human eye tracking and C3 is the same but no bias (3rd option in the tracking).  When I shoot out of the C settings, I have slow continuous, no tracking and no servo.  I find that works really well.

I just tried manual focus on the lens and it works fine - I did not change the camera settings, as I use back button focus and exposure and thus the shutter button does neither of those any more and just takes the shot - works perfectly and removes any issues with MF for lenses.

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We are always in single point AF as well, but our targets are small, generally 3-5", and almost always in brush or thick canopy. Tracking doesn't help much in those conditions, but is pretty dang good when we get to shoot BIF for larger birds. We depend on "focus by wire" to override AF without switching the lens to manual when a camera/lens has trouble, either from low light or clutter. My wife uses the magnify feature, but I don't. I can't find any info on the 150-600c to see if it has that feature (focus by wire). Also, I'm seldom further than 40 feet from my target because of the habitat, so the EF 100-400 L II works fine, especially with the higher res 5D IV and R5. I can crop in close. I also like both the EF L II and RF 100-400 because they focus to 3 feet, which almost allows them to act as macro lenses, obviously the L is much better at that due to the optics.

Thanks for the info!

Newton

[Tronhard]

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@FloridaDrafter wrote:

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@Tronhard wrote:

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@FloridaDrafter wrote:

Trevor, I thought about the Sigma myself for the R5 since I already have the ring adapter. Does it work with the R5/6 MF Overide features? BTW, nice shots!

Newton

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To be honest I have only used the lenses with autofocus.  I set up my R5 and R6 units with single-point autofocus.  I have C1 customized to servo, animal eye tracking and high speed continuous. C2 is the same but human eye tracking and C3 is the same but no bias (3rd option in the tracking).  When I shoot out of the C settings, I have slow continuous, no tracking and no servo.  I find that works really well.

I just tried manual focus on the lens and it works fine - I did not change the camera settings, as I use back button focus and exposure and thus the shutter button does neither of those any more and just takes the shot - works perfectly and removes any issues with MF for lenses.

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I can't find any info on the 150-600c to see if it has that feature (focus by wire). Also, I'm seldom further than 40 feet from my target because of the habitat, so the EF 100-400 L II works fine, especially with the higher res 5D IV and R5. I can crop in close. I also like both the EF L II and RF 100-400 because they focus to 3 feet, which almost allows them to act as macro lenses, obviously the L is much better at that due to the optics.

Thanks for the info!

Newton

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If, by 'focus by wire' you mean you can override the autofocus without having to switch to manual, yes: there is a 3-way switch on the side of the lens that gives you options for AF- MO-MF.  So, in order: full autofocus, autofocus with manual override (your FBW), Manual Focus.

HERE is a link to the user guide: you have to magnify it a fair bit to read, but it's clear enough.

[FloridaDrafter]

@Tronhard wrote:

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If, by 'focus by wire' you mean you can override the autofocus without having to switch to manual, yes: there is a 3-way switch on the side of the lens that gives you options for AF- MO-MF.  So, in order: full autofocus, autofocus with manual override (your FBW), Manual Focus.

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Thank you so much for going the extra mile with the image and explanaion.

Yes, that is what I meant. I think Canon calls it MF Override, but I read about it (a long time ago) as focus by wire when it was first introduced for STM lenses only. Since then, Canon has added it to the newer Nano USM lenses. The focus ring is not connected to the focusing mechanism in the lens, hence "by wire". But the way the R5/6 handle it adds some features when enabled, good or bad, like MF speed control for fine tuning and zoom functionality when overriding AF. I don't do a lot of manual focus, like my wife, but it's nice to just have to turn the focus ring to activate MF Override when the lens switch is set to AF. In my environment, sometimes AF just gets me close, so I have to fine tune with MF Override.

Newton

[Tronhard]

By the way I have used the Sigma 150-600c with the MkIII 1.4and 2.0 tele-extenders, and the Canon EF-RF adapter on the R5 and R6, and they work faultlessly.

[shadowsports]

Trevor,

Such beautiful pictures!!