R5+100-500+1.4x or R7+100-500?

Karl_Guttag wrote:

drsnoopy wrote:

I have the R5 and 100-500, and very happy with the combination. I also have an R7 on order but now I'm wondering whether anyone has done a comparison between the R5 with the 1.4xTC (giving 700mm max FL) and the r7 with the bare lens (giving 800mm effective max FL). I do understand the issue with the TC restricting the short end of the zoom range. I've also tried crop mode on the R5 (17MP) and the results are mostly good but would like the extra sensor resolution. My feeling is that the r7 should have the edge, bearing in mind of course the differences in noise, which I am happy to deal with in RAW conversion (DXO) or in post (Topaz). However the TC would be less expensive...

Thanks for any examples or pointers towards other sources.

I think it depends somewhat on what you are shooting. My favorite subject with the RF100-500 is propeller airplanes (warbirds).

I had an R7 on backorder due to the pain it is to use theRF100-500 with TCs. I would have single sequences where I needed to start with 700mm but need less than 200mm (say a plane taking off).

But I decided that the R7 had too many compromises over the R5 unrelated to the sensor. In particular, with planes, I mostly shoot with electronic shutter, and the R7 has a notoriously bad electronics rolling shutter (the R5 is not perfect but "acceptable"). I also decided that most of my "bad" shots were a result of subject and hand motion (trying to take pictures at low shutter speeds when tracking planes) and not one of needing a little more resolution when cropping.

Then there were the issues with the different buttons and dial placement. Still, if the ONLY difference were the resolution of the crop sensor, then I would have gone ahead with the R7 purchase.

The more I thought about the differences between the R7 and R5, the more I realized that I probably could not use my RF100-500 with it when I wanted it the most. Your mileage (and shooting situation) may vary.

Losing the full zoom range with R5, RF100-500 + extenders is a real pain.   I love the RF 100-500 without extenders.

I bought the R7 and the RF 100-400 which does support the extenders and preserves the 4X zoom range.  However, it is a little darker at f8 when shooting 400mm.   Still it is a great light weight lens  and it pairs nicely with the R7 for a light package.

For me the R7 is a situational camera.  The R5 is better at many things the the deliver cropped images are sharper using the R7 than the R5 with good lenses and good daylight.  I have tested the R5 and R7 with the same lens at the same distance and the same camera settings and the R7 does generate sharper images when the cropping is large like you might use for small birds.

When cropping is not an requirement the R5 is better but heavier for an all day carry.  So is the RF 100-500.   The R7 pairs well with the RF-S 18-150 along with the RF 100-400.

I also have tested the RF800.  It is a sharp lens and works even better on the R7 than the R5.   However, it is not an action lens and requires more light.   It is also very long which makes it awkward to carry some times.  I like RF zooms more except in special situations like taking pictures of the moon.

I do not find the buttons and dial placement of the R7 limiting but it is different and need train of the muscle memories.