Which camera to get for birding?

Hi - I have a new Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens and thinking of moving away from my Canon 5D MK ii. For the Canon brand the 7D MK ii seems to be a favorite choice for bird/wildlife photography with a lot of professionals using it. I was thinking about getting the 1.4 teleconverter but I think between the two - despite the price difference - the 7D would be a more logical choice. Then I started reading about the EOS R and the 5DSR which are both really impressive although a lot more money. Given that I would probably not fork out the $$ for a 5D MK iv or a 1DX wondering if there are any thoughts on going mirrorless as opposed to the 7D MK ii. I understand the differences but just not sure whether to jump now or save up for the mirrorless - and then still need the teleconverter.

have been mulling this over myself. I shoot with the Canon 6D and the Tamron lens you mention and am, in general, pleased with it. But...a friend of mine has the Sony alpha mirrorless and gets some amazing results with that. Of course, she is a better photographer than I am with years more experience. And I am not sure what kind of adapter is involved in using the long lens with the Sony. Will be interested to see what others say.

I'd skip the EOS R for birding, and use the same amount you would have spent on the R to get a gently used 5D4.

The R is awesome, don't get me wrong, I just don't find it well suited for birding. It can be made to work, I've done it myself, but there's just some small things that put it behind the 5D4/7D2/1DX when it comes to quick, responsive tasks: slow to wake up, slow-ish FPS, no single point or Spot-AF in AI Servo, and I find the interface kind of gets in the way of shooting when you're trying to change settings quickly. The advantages of the R: completely silent shooting, and exposure preview.

We are at a mirrorless crossroads and don't really know what Canon (or other companies) are going to do in the next year or two.

As you say, the 7DII is popular for birding. It has great AF and the desired pixel density for the reach you need. I have the 7DII and love it. But it is getting to be old technology now and we are looking for the next generation of APS-C cameras.

With Canon's efforts going into mirrorless now, it seems there won't be a 7DIII this year or maybe ever.

What to do? Wait? Jump to Sony? Get the 7DII?

The 7DII is still an excellent camera. IMO it is easily more suitable for bird photography than Canon's mirrorless offerings so far. You can't go far wrong with the 7DII. I am hanging on to mine for now until something clearly better comes along.

If you want to hedge your bets, you could consider the 77D, which is much cheaper (and lighter), and has a great 24mp sensor.

Besides that, there are also the offerings of Sony and Nikon, but i think you want to stay with the Canon mount.

The 1.4X extender is useful and works great on the 7DII too for extra reach. (Edit: if you are planning on using a 1.4X, don't get the 77D because it doesn't do micro focus adjust, and that will probably be necessary with the 1.4X to get sharp shots.)

I owned a 7DII from its release until recently. I switched from Canon to Sony after spring migration last year so know nothing about Canon's R series. Though it's been a bit of a learning curve I'm loving the lighter mirrorless equipment having recently turned 65. I'm waiting for the Sony "miniA9 or a7000 or whatever they will call it. I always like having a full frame and aps-c body.

You certainly can't go wrong with the 7DII, no doubt. It is, as mentioned, older technology now.

5D MKII has worse Canon AF I have tried so far... Next to not working with * button and single AF point. With L lenses. I'm on my second 5D MKII and the same crappy AF.
Even my 500D is superior to it for BIF.
Used 7D MKII would be better for sure. I don't think EVF (R) is any good for paning, still.

I really appreciate all the responses. We talked about stopping by the local camera shop and picking up the 7DMKii today but I think it might be better to wait through April to see if there is any announcement. Here is my frustration with my current setup. You can see the focus point is on the neck/back. Shooting 1/2500 f/9.0 600 mm at ISO 800. There is no reason this shouldn't be tack sharp - but it isn't and it's noisy. Any suggestions welcome. Of course this is only one shot and I had some decent ones of some swans - and the light was poor but still I would expect better. Is it me, the camera? I've seen what this lens can do and it should be better than this.

fred_lef wrote in post #18830354
I really appreciate all the responses. We talked about stopping by the local camera shop and picking up the 7DMKii today but I think it might be better to wait through April to see if there is any announcement. Here is my frustration with my current setup. You can see the focus point is on the neck/back. Shooting 1/2500 f/9.0 600 mm at ISO 800. There is no reason this shouldn't be tack sharp - but it isn't and it's noisy. Any suggestions welcome. Of course this is only one shot and I had some decent ones of some swans - and the light was poor but still I would expect better. Is it me, the camera? I've seen what this lens can do and it should be better than this.

Hosted photo: posted by fred_lef in
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Hosted photo: posted by fred_lef in
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forum: Birds

What camera and lens? It can help to leave the EXIF intact.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind.

First of all, the actual size of the AF point is double the marked size in the viewfinder. The focus could fall on anything in that larger square. Often it will fall on the brightest and most contrasty part. At other times it seems arbitrary or can defy explanation. In your example it is possible that the camera focused on the ripple behind the duck's head.

Secondly, Canon has stated that the subject should be bigger than the AF point. I'm not sure I know exactly what this means, and I can't find it back in the manuals just now. So suffice it to say that for good focus performance, the subject should be big. In your case the subject was small. I don't know if it was too small for focus, though, but it was small.

Thirdly, I too have had AF failure, and some of those situations can't be explained. Those are baffling. Sometimes we just have to accept that the system will fail for no apparent reason.

If your gear misses focus more than you think it should, and if it does so with contrasty well-lit subjects that are not too small, I would consider sending it in for service.

Thanks for the reply - this is the 5D MK ii with the Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens. The camera just came back from service. I did not realize the focus point was double the size of what is seen.

Fred, I would encourage you to determine the size of your AF points yourself. Set the camera to a single AF point, and then try focusing on some small item placed in front of a distant background. Move the AF point over and beside the item while pressing AF-ON. See when it grabs focus on the foreground item and when it goes to the background.

Great idea - I'll give it a go! Thanks

Any thoughts about filters on this lens? For a long time I have shot without any filters but was convinced to buy a Sigma WR filter for this lens. Not sure if that is a good idea or not.

Thanks

fred_lef wrote in post #18830664
Any thoughts about filters on this lens? For a long time I have shot without any filters but was convinced to buy a Sigma WR filter for this lens. Not sure if that is a good idea or not.

Thanks

Maybe a polarizer if you need that.

fred_lef wrote in post #18830158
Hi - I have a new Tamron SP 150-600 G2 lens and thinking of moving away from my Canon 5D MK ii. For the Canon brand the 7D MK ii seems to be a favorite choice for bird/wildlife photography with a lot of professionals using it. I was thinking about getting the 1.4 teleconverter but I think between the two - despite the price difference - the 7D would be a more logical choice. Then I started reading about the EOS R and the 5DSR which are both really impressive although a lot more money. Given that I would probably not fork out the $$ for a 5D MK iv or a 1DX wondering if there are any thoughts on going mirrorless as opposed to the 7D MK ii. I understand the differences but just not sure whether to jump now or save up for the mirrorless - and then still need the teleconverter.

I'd go 7D2

I am subscribed to all the threads on the EOS R and RP here on the forum, and likewise am following it elsewhere, and I have yet to see any evidence from anyone anywhere that the EOS R is at all capable of keeping up with birds in flight.

On the flip-side, a well tuned and practiced 7D2 shooter can track flying birds easily and with very high in focus rate.

If budget allows, a used 5D4 is the only other DSLR option I'd really look at, although the 80D is no slouch either.

fred_lef wrote in post #18830354
I really appreciate all the responses. We talked about stopping by the local camera shop and picking up the 7DMKii today but I think it might be better to wait through April to see if there is any announcement. Here is my frustration with my current setup. You can see the focus point is on the neck/back. Shooting 1/2500 f/9.0 600 mm at ISO 800. There is no reason this shouldn't be tack sharp - but it isn't and it's noisy. Any suggestions welcome. Of course this is only one shot and I had some decent ones of some swans - and the light was poor but still I would expect better. Is it me, the camera? I've seen what this lens can do and it should be better than this.

Hosted photo: posted by fred_lef in
./showthread.php?p=188​30354&i=i61304500
forum: Birds

Hosted photo: posted by fred_lef in
./showthread.php?p=188​30354&i=i113814945
forum: Birds

Just FYI, even with the latest tech, this shot is tricky. The highlights in the water are like little gravity wells that suck the AF points in,. you almost always get a nice water highlight in focus.