I have been shooting with a wide range of gear: both the new FF and APS-C MILCs, but I have not neglected my DSLRs, so I took a selection of both to my standy: the Muriwai Gannet colony on the west coast of NZ, just 35km from downtown Auckland.
The gear I took was a mixture: Canon EOS 5DMkIV, 5DsR, and R5. As far as lenses go, I took the EF 70-300 MkII IS USM, 70-300L and the RF 100-500. All shots were hand-held.
So when I first got to the site I thought I would try out the EF 70-300 MkII with the 5DsR - so this post concentrates on this combination. Some time ago I wrote a review of the range of lenses of this focal length HERE, If you are interested...
This is a view through the colony to a column that was part of the peninsula, but with wave action it has eroded until it separated. It seems to be a prime location for the birds as it seems to be colonized early.
Even massively reduced to upload to this site, it is clear that the camera and lens are capturing a huge amount of detail.
Canon EOS 5DsR, Canon EF 70-300 IS USM MkII, 70mm, f/7.1, 1/400sec, ISO-100
This is a view out from the mainland towards an islet off the coast. The guano streaks clearly indicate the degree of occupation. One often sees seals basking on the rocks
Canon EOS 5DsR, Canon EF 70-300 IS USM MkII, 188mm, f/7.1, 1/500sec, ISO-100
Up close and personal with the gannets, the same combination worked with close subjects.
Canon EOS 5DsR, Canon EF 70-300 IS USM MkII, 176mm, f/13, 1/1000sec, ISO-100
Cropping this image to 100% shows how well the lens handles the rather unforgiving the 5DsR
Catching birds in flight was more challenging - the 5DsR was never really marketed as a wildlife camera, more studio and landscape, but I gave it a go and when it worked it really worked.
Canon EOS 5DsR, Canon EF 70-300 IS USM MkII, 100mm, f/8, 1/500sec, ISO-100
