First Shots with the RF 200-800 and the R6II

[Tronhard]

I got it the day before yesterday and went out yesterday to test it at my 'happy place'.

Here is a selection of images, shot on the Canon R6MkII, hand-held, available light, seriously downsized in PS to post, with default lens corrections and some cropping.

Red Panda@10m: R5, RF 200-800@ 600mm, f/9, 1/500sec, ISO-6400 Emu: 481mm, f/8, 1/500sec, ISO-2500 Emu: 300mm, f/7.1, 1/320sec, ISO-800 2xStick Insects: R6 RF 200-800@200mm, f/7.1, 1/160sec, ISO-6400 Stick Insect: 200mm, f/7.1, 1/40sec, ISO-6400 Gouldian Finch: 570mm, f/8, 1/250sec, ISO-6400 Cockatoo: 570mm, f/8, 1/250sec, ISO-6400  Cotton Top Tamarin: 800mm, f/9, 1/500sec, ISO-6400  Kakariki: 570mm, f/8, 1/400sec, ISO-6400
Takahe: 570mm, f/8, 1/640sec, ISO-400   Ring Tailed Lemur: 227mm, f/9, 1/250sec, ISO-2000 Brolga: 277mm, f/7.1, 1/320sec, ISO-500 
Serval: RF 200-800@800mm, f/9, 1/500sec, ISO-6400  Serval: RF 200-800@ 311mm, f/8, 1/400sec, ISO-5000 Serval: 250mm, f/8, 1/320sec, ISO-2000

I was particularly pleased to get three shots of the Serval (the cat).  It is reclusive in any case, but  because it has incredibly good hearing - it can hear a mouse underground- it is inclined to face away from humanity because we make so much noise.

Overall, I was very impressed with the performance of this lens.

[John_SD]

Excellent! Better results with that lens than I would have anticipated. 

[Tronhard]

I think there was a lot of concern about the f/9 minimum aperture, but given that a long focal length reduced DoF, having a significant increase in FL did a lot to mitigate that.

I plan to do a lot more experimentation to see how it behaves! 👁

[DarbyBo]

As a beginner, trying to figure out how this whole picture-taking thing works, posting the camera settings is a huge help.

[Tronhard]

You're welcome. 😊  That is why I post the EXIF settings: camera, lens, focal length, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO at they are the technical building blocks of the composition.  This is going to take a while to learn and it cannot be rushed.  You need to get a clear understanding of the role of each of the controls and how to turn that into a workable composition.

[Fotogrni61]

Nice photos with nice lens using f/7-f9.🙂

[Fotogrni61]

Can always learn more about details and composition.😉 Lovely photographs Tronhard.

[Tronhard]

 Thank you!

The general theme for this series was getting to know the features and limitations of the gear.  In particular, I was confirming that using single-point focus and exposure was still, for me, the best approach.  That is demonstrated in the image of the Red Panda, which was way back in a tree, with a lot of foliage between it and me.  I had to bob around to find a tiny peephole to focus on.  If it had been anything else except spot, I'm pretty sure I would have got a sharp image of a leaf or branch!

I was honestly amazed that I could take photos of the stick insects - essentially close-up images, through thick glass and still get focus.  Finally, I was testing my endurance hunting images of the elusive Serval - which is extremely reclusive by nature, but also made more so because of its acute hearing.  In a zoo environment, children demonstrate their behaviour as the the noisiest young on the planet.  Given that a serval can hear a mouse some distance underground, having a bunch of kids making a racket would be like me holding a megaphone to your ear and yelling.  This is why the creatures spend a lot of their time facing away from us, given their large ears are very directional.   Consequently to get them in more frontal poses takes some time and almost always having the fairly hefty lens and body held up ready to get that 'decisive moment'.

[Fotogrni61]

I have found that using single point focus is the best way to go with utilizing my 18-200mm camera lenses; because it's dead on the image I'm trying to shoot from afar. How better to test camera gear in every good aspect of it's use. 😉 I say: You go Tronhard!!😉😎

[Tronhard]

Thank you!  BTW, as my signature says, my name is Trevor 🙂

[stevet1]

Trevor,

It looks like your new lens is handling high ISO's pretty well.

I can see that I need to work on my spot metering.

Nice shots too. Looks like your zoo trip went well.

Steve Thomas