Building a system - EOS RP

the_mac wrote:

I recently dipped my toes into more serious digital photography, and picked up:

EOS RP

RF 24-240 F4-6.3 IS USM

I want one of those, and my derelict camera guy has failed to get me one. I might try shopping online, but that's almost sacrilege for me, being a retail real estate broker.

RF 35 F1.8 IS STM MACRO

I have and love this lens. It is my only RF lens.

I'm using the 24-240 as a jack-of-all-trades lens, for family pictures when we're out hiking, or candids of the kids out playing, pictures of my wife baking, or taking as a one-lens solution on road trips and vacations.

The 35 gets used for low-light shots, indoors after hours, around the campfire, or for street walks.

So far, I've been thrilled with the system that I have, and it's lived up to my expectations. Just need to keep practicing and taking lots of shots.

You have exactly what I would buy, if I started today.

We were in Costa Rica recently and found that we loved spotting and taking pictures of wildlife, and the long end of the 24-240 still needed some big crops. I found myself wishing for an RF 100-500, but the budget isn't there for it.

I also find that I'm wishing for better lighting indoors, or for some fill flash out and about.

As a next step, I'm trying to decide between:

• Godox V860 and X2 trigger so that I can have some lighting. Worried that the V860 will feel too big when mounted on the camera and I'll never use it as a walking-around flash.

I rarely use flash. I have and need two for portraits. Using flash for candids is a real buzz killer at parties, especially at night. Your subject won't be able to see for 10 minutes. Just when their eyes start to adjust, BAM, another flash in their eyes. I am more likely to use on camera flash for candids in full sun to tone down the harsh shadows.

Crank up the ISO and play with better noise reduction software and techniques. Exposure has to be more precise at higher ISO, which is why some high ISO shots look better than others with no obvious differences in the light and settings.

• Canon RF 100-400 F5.6-8 IS USM. I'm worried that it overlaps a lot of the range of my current 24-240 and isn't really buying me that much more reach.

You have to ask yourself if it's longer enough.

• Canon RF 800 F11 IS STM. I'm worried that between the lack of close-focus and not having any zoom that I'd miss a lot of opportunities, but maybe that just means carrying the 24-240 and switching lenses as needed.

That's where I would go in your situation. Maybe, as another poster said, the 600 is a better length. I will say that I struggle to capture wildlife at 400, so I would lean toward the 800. Maybe rent both and see for yourself.

Trying to figure out where to go from here, any feedback?

Some of the shots that I've enjoyed so far:

Hummingbird, but wished for a lot more reach

A landscape that I really enjoyed

Monkey just posing for us. Wished for a little more reach

I like the framing of the monkey. Is it cropped much?

Anhinga posing on the shoreline for us, felt my framing worked out well here

If you like landscapes, maybe think about the RF 16 F2.8. That's another one that my derelict camera guy has failed to produce for me.

If I didn't already have the EF 85 F1.4, I would definitely buy the RF 85 F2. I only use a 35 and an 85 for low light events and never wish I had anything else. I consider 85 to be the perfect portrait length.