Canon 100-500mm vs 200-800mm for Wildlife

Picking between two Canon telephoto zooms for wildlife comes right down to a query that sounds easy and is not: would you like extra attain or higher glass? One provides you 800mm in a bundle that is laborious to match wherever else, and the opposite provides you L-series high quality with a wider low finish.

Shooting at a lake earlier than dawn, Duade Paton units out to reply which lens to seize for birds by merely utilizing each and reporting what occurs. He runs the Canon RF 100-500mm on one physique and the Canon RF 200-8000m on one other, mounting the unique Canon R5 and the newer Canon R5 Mark II so the cameras get examined alongside the glass. The morning begins gradual, with barely a chicken in sight, and Paton is trustworthy in regards to the nerves that include ready on wildlife which will by no means present. Then swans fly into the solar, a peregrine falcon settles right into a hole, and a pied cormorant lands in opposition to darkish water.

The 100-500mm is an L-series lens, weather-sealed and sharp, weighing round 1.3 kg, which makes it straightforward to handhold for lengthy stretches. Its 100mm to 200mm hole seems to be bigger than Paton anticipated, and that huge finish opens up landscapes and birdscapes the 200-800mm merely cannot body. The tradeoff is attain: 500mm runs brief for small birds, and whereas a 1.4x teleconverter provides size, it prices you the huge finish and leaves the lens prolonged. The 200-800mm sits at f/9 and is not L-series, so the coatings, sealing, and autofocus do not match, however 800mm on this kind and worth is troublesome to seek out one other means. Add the 1.4x and also you attain 1,120mm, which pulled that distant falcon a lot bigger within the body throughout the session.

Paton additionally exhibits a shutter-speed trick price borrowing. He retains his shutter at 1/2500 s in case a chicken takes flight, then makes use of a customized button that drops it to round 1/320 s for nonetheless portraits, which lowers his ISO and cuts noise. That single press lets him swap between motion readiness and clear picture high quality with out diving into menus.

The reach-versus-quality alternative tracks a wider shift in wildlife images. High-resolution sensors and higher subject-detection autofocus have made cropping a heavy zoom much more forgiving than it was once, which is why lenses just like the 200-800mm have turn into standard regardless of the gradual aperture. Paton factors to the APS-C angle straight: on a physique just like the Canon R7, the 100-500mm delivers a 160mm to 800mm full body equal subject of view, and he suspects it might pair properly with a future R7 II. If you shoot crop-sensor our bodies and chase small, distant birds, that math adjustments which lens is sensible earlier than you even weigh value or sharpness.

His personal verdict leans on the physique. On APS-C he’d tilt towards the lighter, sharper 100-500mm, however on his full body cameras he retains reaching for the 200-800mm for the additional size. He additionally notes the R5 Mark II edges out the unique R5 within the subject, selecting up birds sooner and providing a extra lifelike viewfinder, though the older R5 holds a slight image-quality lead. Which pictures landed finest from the morning, and the way the falcon checked out every focal size, is price seeing for your self within the video above.