It is a superb lens and with the R7 a great combination. It is not as sharp as the RF 100-500 but still amazing value and can produce some excellent photographs and is very light and portable
Thanks for the R7-RF 100-400 combination video. That is what I'm using and sometimes with RF 1,4 x extender. Happy with quality of the RF 100-400 , not sure yet about the quality with the 1.4x extender. The F11 doesn't brother me. Considering buying the RF100-500 for the extra reach. Would you so kindly to take a photo at 600mm and one at 750mm of the same subject so I could see the difference in a future video. Thanking you in advance. Enjoy watching the videos of the photos that you and Heather take, keep up the good work.
I mean the 100-500 is really for the extra sharpness, but it'll burn a hole in your pocket. If you're looking mostly for *reach* then you could consider the 600mm and 800mm primes. They have tight apertures, but are relatively cheap (you could get both for less than a 100-500) and will be much sharper than putting a 1.4x extender onto any of these zoom lenses. Another consideration is the RF200-800mm, which seems to be getting some good buzz and is less than the 100-500 with much more reach.
That lens did a pretty decent job. My back yard has been silent. I guess most of the birds are nesting and now training their kids. Evidently my back yard is not a training ground. Every once in a while I capture a bird I dont know. I went to a park yesterday and noticed a lot of bird training of babies. Got lucky with a hummingbird in the botanical garden. Thanks again for the video.
Thank you for this video! I've been flip-flopping on the R7 because of concerns about noise (esp since I cannot afford more expensive wide aperture lenses), and this has helped me feel more secure in considering this camera for the next year (or, if we're lucky, an R7 mk ii). No matter what it'll be a huge leap from my SL1. 😅
Beautiful work Phil. Loved the shots. What a great budget combo you have there. Good for traveling too. Squirrel 🐿️ looked very cute. Thanks for sharing buddy cheers 🍻 👍🙏
Nice video Phil! You know that rf100-400mm is my favorite lens and I'm always talking it up LOL! I'm also shooting with a couple of EF primes that I can also adapt to my Sony camera. I just haven't been able to justify that $2,800 yet for the rf100-500mm. It's also really nice having that small and light lens on my shoulder strap when I'm out walking around each day. Have a great day and happy shooting!
I’m going to try to do some bird photography myself. There used to be several bird feeders behind the Nature Museum here where a variety of birds came but they took it down during the bird flu pandemic and have not put them back out yet so will have to look for a quiet street with a lot of trees in the city.
Thank you sir for yet again another wonderful gear review/birding video! The r7 paired with this lens is my favorite run and gun combo… I recently got the r10 and now that’s my favorite run and gun combo 😂
Great shots! I really was surprised when I held the R7 & 100-400. I expected the combo to be a bit heavier. Looking at the Starling pictures I couldn't help but wonder if that hanger could be vinyl wrapped or painted then wrapped with vines to camouflage it...half joking half chasing a spark of inspiration. Manmade objects are common in many birds lives. Enjoyed the video. 👍👍
Did you use any specific settings or have attached any additional device to make the pictures super colorful? I am a beginner and I don't even have the camera/lens yet but I am trying to learn everything 🙂
Great shots. Question, is the quality of these images do the lens or the R7? I have an R50 that I bought to see if I want to go Mirrorless or not. The R50 is a 24Meg DigiX. I know I can't crop as much but I am wondering about image quality. I am also looking at a used EF 100-400 Mk ll for a good price
You will be able to make beautiful images with your R50 with this lens or the used lens you’re considering. A friend of mine has both of those lenses but he uses the RF 100-400 nearly 100% of the time.
Hi Phil, Happy New YEar. I saw this in my feed as I've been searching for articles about the RF100-400 for a few weeks before Christmas, and now I have bought one. I really like your hide and you have some interesting wildlife visiting you .. lucky fella. I have a question which I hope you might have a thouight on and that is that when I finally got out with the lens on New Year's Day and into a small nature reserve, I saw a pair of Marsh Harriers but when I tried to shoot them the autofocus on the lens constantly kept getting grabbed by the sky and everything was blurred. I tried manual focus and got some shots, but Marsh Harriers are a lot quicker than me and whilst I got some images, as soon as you start to zoom in on them you can see how blurred they are. I'm using a Canon RP and haven't had the same issue with the other zoom I have (24-105) or the 50mm so wondered if it's something with the lens that I need to find a get around for. I'm a new photographer and not at all professional, but any thought on how to stop the sky or the lagoon grabbing onto the autofocus? Thanks for any thought you might have and you have a new subscriber in any case. Cheers, Mike
Telephoto lenses are a lot harder on cameras in terms of focus then shorter lenses are I recommend starting out working on birds that are perched and saving in flight until you have your skills a little more.
Thanks@@PhilThach ... I'd said to my wife that I thought I needed to do that and get used to the lens, but they Harriers were glorious and obviously didn't want to play my game 😅😅 ... I know where they are though .. ."I'll be back" ... really enjoyed a couple of your videos
Helo Phil, Thanks your for this beautiful review, I just having a limited budget, shifting from 7Dm2 so really confuse regarding R7 focus and low light performance (discussed in some reviews), What your experience on R7's focus and low light performance, what you opinion about R8, your reply will be highly appreciated, Thanks
I didn't recognize the young starling either and they are very common here in southern Sweden. Do you notice that the sharpness after 300 mm decreases?
considering buying the canon eos 90D with the sigma 150-600mm lens, do you think its a good combo for bird photography, planespotting and wildlife photography?
Unless it was an absolute steal, I would not buy outdated technology. I'd get a mirrorless camera like the R7 or even the R10 before I'd buy a DSLR like the 90d at this point.
Hi Phil, I enjoy this RF 100 400 lens, but I think there is an issue, I used a HOYA circular polarizing filter fo0r the first time on a trip to the beach, everything is out of focus!!, take it off and sharp, look through filter and clear, what's going on?
That is interesting, I’ve never heard of this problem. I’ve never tried a polarizer on the 100-400. If I remember it later today I will put one on mine and see what happens.
Great video! I’m new to photography and have had my R7 about a week. I’m wondering what kind of distances that the perches, feeders and background tree are from your photo blind? Thanks again, love all your content.
Thank you! From the blind the perches are around 8-15 feet away. When I do bird photography without the blind, the distances are often much more than that.
@@PhilThach - Thanks for your response. I have 10 forested acres up in the Sierra Nevada Mts. and we have TONS of birds. So my plan is to set up several feeders, houses and blinds in different places around the property. Thanks again. 😃👍🏼
Hey Phil! Nice video!! I was looking at your photographs and they are much sharper than mine with the same camera but with a Sigma 100-400mm. Do you think that the Sigma lens is less sharp than the RF 100-400 on a Canon R7?
Thank you! I haven't used that sigma lens so I really can't say. With some more practice, I bet you can get some nice sharp ones with it. I suggest using electronic shutter mode on the R7 because the mechanical shutter often introduces blur from shutter shock.
I purchased one of these and did not like it. My keeper rate was extremely low. Under ideal conditions it was ok birds don't always stay in ideal settings. Sent it back to B&H and purchased the 100-500 mm f4.5/7.1 L USM lens and much happier. However, much lighter in the pocketbook now.
@@PhilThach Thank you. This is how I'm doing it on my R7 too. In electronic I put the drive mode in H not H+ because I have had rolling shutter or artifacts in some shots in H+
Delightful video! I identified the R7 and 100-400 5.6-8 as my ideal starting kit for my newfound birding interest. Your perspective and photos are much appreciated!!
It is a superb lens and with the R7 a great combination. It is not as sharp as the RF 100-500 but still amazing value and can produce some excellent photographs and is very light and portable
Agreed. ✅
Thanks for the R7-RF 100-400 combination video. That is what I'm using and sometimes with RF 1,4 x extender.
Happy with quality of the RF 100-400 , not sure yet about the quality with the 1.4x extender. The F11 doesn't brother me.
Considering buying the RF100-500 for the extra reach. Would you so kindly to take a photo at 600mm and one at 750mm of the same subject so I could see the difference in a future video. Thanking you in advance.
Enjoy watching the videos of the photos that you and Heather take, keep up the good work.
I mean the 100-500 is really for the extra sharpness, but it'll burn a hole in your pocket.
If you're looking mostly for *reach* then you could consider the 600mm and 800mm primes. They have tight apertures, but are relatively cheap (you could get both for less than a 100-500) and will be much sharper than putting a 1.4x extender onto any of these zoom lenses.
Another consideration is the RF200-800mm, which seems to be getting some good buzz and is less than the 100-500 with much more reach.
That lens did a pretty decent job. My back yard has been silent. I guess most of the birds are nesting and now training their kids. Evidently my back yard is not a training ground. Every once in a while I capture a bird I dont know. I went to a park yesterday and noticed a lot of bird training of babies. Got lucky with a hummingbird in the botanical garden. Thanks again for the video.
Thank you! It's about to be macro season for me after the birding opportunities slow down.
Wonderful and great photos of birds. Very well edited. And a very well done video, thanks😊
Thank you!
OMG I absolutely LOVE these shots! Amazing! and super cute birdies!!
Thank you!
I have this setup, with the new "de-noise" in photoshop those higher ISO's are less of a worry. Some fantastic shots there Phil.
I haven’t tried Adobe new Denoise yet. I’m happy with and used to using Topaz Denoise AI. I’ll try it at some point.
Thank you for this video! I've been flip-flopping on the R7 because of concerns about noise (esp since I cannot afford more expensive wide aperture lenses), and this has helped me feel more secure in considering this camera for the next year (or, if we're lucky, an R7 mk ii). No matter what it'll be a huge leap from my SL1. 😅
Great shots Phil👏 Love the little chipmunk footage at the end of the video. 😍
Thank you, Bill! Me too. :)
I'm calling the police. I've had it
Beautiful work Phil. Loved the shots. What a great budget combo you have there. Good for traveling too. Squirrel 🐿️ looked very cute. Thanks for sharing buddy cheers 🍻 👍🙏
Thank you, Adrian!
Thanks so much Phil for another awesome video with beautiful photos 🐦👍🤗
Thank you, Miguel!
Nice video Phil! You know that rf100-400mm is my favorite lens and I'm always talking it up LOL! I'm also shooting with a couple of EF primes that I can also adapt to my Sony camera. I just haven't been able to justify that $2,800 yet for the rf100-500mm. It's also really nice having that small and light lens on my shoulder strap when I'm out walking around each day. Have a great day and happy shooting!
Thank you, Forrest! Do you still have your EF 300 f/4 or did yu sell that when you bought your 2.8?
cool video. thanks for sharing. Loved the woodpecker feeding baby.
Thank you, Jeff! :)
Great video , it looks like that lenses is going to be a pretty good little performer. Thanks for the info.
Thank you, Thomas!
Great shots! I really liked the bluebird and chipmunk the best.
Thank you, Stephen!
Thanks for this great video, I now have the same set up and like you say, it’s great for the price.
Thank you!
I've added the 100-400 to my hiking kit. Eagerly awaiting the Fall to get here.
I think you will enjoy it!
I’m going to try to do some bird photography myself. There used to be several bird feeders behind the Nature Museum here where a variety of birds came but they took it down during the bird flu pandemic and have not put them back out yet so will have to look for a quiet street with a lot of trees in the city.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, George!
@@PhilThach Kinda like going fishing. A lot of times I come home with nothing.
Thank you sir for yet again another wonderful gear review/birding video! The r7 paired with this lens is my favorite run and gun combo… I recently got the r10 and now that’s my favorite run and gun combo 😂
Thank you! I need to try an R10 sometime.
Great shots! I really was surprised when I held the R7 & 100-400. I expected the combo to be a bit heavier.
Looking at the Starling pictures I couldn't help but wonder if that hanger could be vinyl wrapped or painted then wrapped with vines to camouflage it...half joking half chasing a spark of inspiration. Manmade objects are common in many birds lives.
Enjoyed the video. 👍👍
Thank you! I love that idea!
Did you use any specific settings or have attached any additional device to make the pictures super colorful? I am a beginner and I don't even have the camera/lens yet but I am trying to learn everything 🙂
Settings are at the bottom of each picture. U edited RAW image files in Adobe Lightroom Classic but did not boost colors much if any.
Great shots. Question, is the quality of these images do the lens or the R7? I have an R50 that I bought to see if I want to go Mirrorless or not. The R50 is a 24Meg DigiX. I know I can't crop as much but I am wondering about image quality. I am also looking at a used EF 100-400 Mk ll for a good price
You will be able to make beautiful images with your R50 with this lens or the used lens you’re considering. A friend of mine has both of those lenses but he uses the RF 100-400 nearly 100% of the time.
@@PhilThach Thanks for your quick reply. That helps a great deal. Coming for the era of shooting transparencies this is all new.
Hi Phil, Happy New YEar. I saw this in my feed as I've been searching for articles about the RF100-400 for a few weeks before Christmas, and now I have bought one. I really like your hide and you have some interesting wildlife visiting you .. lucky fella. I have a question which I hope you might have a thouight on and that is that when I finally got out with the lens on New Year's Day and into a small nature reserve, I saw a pair of Marsh Harriers but when I tried to shoot them the autofocus on the lens constantly kept getting grabbed by the sky and everything was blurred. I tried manual focus and got some shots, but Marsh Harriers are a lot quicker than me and whilst I got some images, as soon as you start to zoom in on them you can see how blurred they are. I'm using a Canon RP and haven't had the same issue with the other zoom I have (24-105) or the 50mm so wondered if it's something with the lens that I need to find a get around for. I'm a new photographer and not at all professional, but any thought on how to stop the sky or the lagoon grabbing onto the autofocus?
Thanks for any thought you might have and you have a new subscriber in any case. Cheers, Mike
Telephoto lenses are a lot harder on cameras in terms of focus then shorter lenses are I recommend starting out working on birds that are perched and saving in flight until you have your skills a little more.
Thanks@@PhilThach ... I'd said to my wife that I thought I needed to do that and get used to the lens, but they Harriers were glorious and obviously didn't want to play my game 😅😅 ... I know where they are though .. ."I'll be back" ... really enjoyed a couple of your videos
thank you very nice video that I watch from France
Thank you!
Helo Phil, Thanks your for this beautiful review, I just having a limited budget, shifting from 7Dm2 so really confuse regarding R7 focus and low light performance (discussed in some reviews), What your experience on R7's focus and low light performance, what you opinion about R8, your reply will be highly appreciated, Thanks
The R8 is better in low light, and the R7 has MUCH more reach. For small birds, I'd pick the R7 every time.
Great shots Phil! I have the same combo, just wanted to know what editing software you use. And also share if you shoot in Raw or CRAW. Thanks!
Thank you! I use Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Denoise AI. I shoot in CRAW.
I didn't recognize the young starling either and they are very common here in southern Sweden.
Do you notice that the sharpness after 300 mm decreases?
Thank you! I haven’t noticed a change in sharpness but I haven’t done any scientific testing.
considering buying the canon eos 90D with the sigma 150-600mm lens, do you think its a good combo for bird photography, planespotting and wildlife photography?
Unless it was an absolute steal, I would not buy outdated technology. I'd get a mirrorless camera like the R7 or even the R10 before I'd buy a DSLR like the 90d at this point.
Hi Phil, I enjoy this RF 100 400 lens, but I think there is an issue, I used a HOYA circular polarizing filter fo0r the first time on a trip to the beach, everything is out of focus!!, take it off and sharp, look through filter and clear, what's going on?
That is interesting, I’ve never heard of this problem. I’ve never tried a polarizer on the 100-400. If I remember it later today I will put one on mine and see what happens.
I have a R7 and that lens it is great as long as you have plenty of light.....
I agree!
Great video! I’m new to photography and have had my R7 about a week. I’m wondering what kind of distances that the perches, feeders and background tree are from your photo blind? Thanks again, love all your content.
Thank you! From the blind the perches are around 8-15 feet away. When I do bird photography without the blind, the distances are often much more than that.
@@PhilThach - Thanks for your response. I have 10 forested acres up in the Sierra Nevada Mts. and we have TONS of birds. So my plan is to set up several feeders, houses and blinds in different places around the property. Thanks again. 😃👍🏼
Hey Phil! Nice video!! I was looking at your photographs and they are much sharper than mine with the same camera but with a Sigma 100-400mm. Do you think that the Sigma lens is less sharp than the RF 100-400 on a Canon R7?
Thank you! I haven't used that sigma lens so I really can't say. With some more practice, I bet you can get some nice sharp ones with it. I suggest using electronic shutter mode on the R7 because the mechanical shutter often introduces blur from shutter shock.
I purchased one of these and did not like it. My keeper rate was extremely low. Under ideal conditions it was ok birds don't always stay in ideal settings. Sent it back to B&H and purchased the 100-500 mm f4.5/7.1 L USM lens and much happier. However, much lighter in the pocketbook now.
I agree.
Do you use electronic or mechanical shutter por bird photography? Great lens for the price!
I use electronic for perched birds and mechanical for birds in flight.
@@PhilThach Thank you. This is how I'm doing it on my R7 too. In electronic I put the drive mode in H not H+ because I have had rolling shutter or artifacts in some shots in H+
Sometimes I just want to feel free instead lugging the big lens so would be a great addition.
It’s very small and light.
Phil, you’re really making that RF 100-40mm lens sing! How do you find the R7 SOOC colours compared to your Nikon Z cameras?
Thank you! I think the colors from both brands are fine.
Love it!
Thank you!
Very good 👍👍👌👌
Thank you!
Sh*t Phil, now you make me buy the R7! (already have the 100-400 and the 800) 🤣
Awesome! Use the my gear link in the description. It helps me out a little. Thank you!
@@PhilThach I live in the Netherlands, otherwise I would have certainly used your link.
im thinking of getting that lens for birds but with a r50 do you think i would be possible to get usable results with detail?
Yes!
@@PhilThach so 400mm so 640mm on apsc is enough beacuse you said about the 32 megapixels of the r7 to crop it
How far are the birds, you are photografing?
Probably right around 10-12 feet.
@@PhilThach Thank you! Nice shots and nice video.
Have a nice Day!
And my Fujifilm 150-600 is like more than 3x the price… I did get a few nice eagle pictures the other day despite a lot of user error.
I haven’t used that lens, but I bet it is great. Kudos to Fujifilm for making it.
Delightful video! I identified the R7 and 100-400 5.6-8 as my ideal starting kit for my newfound birding interest. Your perspective and photos are much appreciated!!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
7:38 почему на 400мм в Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM f/7,1 а не F/8. Фотки 👍👌.
This lens too sports a USM motor so no slouch with autofocus. Pair with an f11 prime and it’s a affordable lightweight package