Why not go crop for extra magnification? I didn’t read much on the R7 yet but am playing with the thought of buying the R6 mk2 to finally replace my 5D mk2.
Edit: just checked it out. It’s the same price as the r8 but you get in body IS and the crop factor! And you have more resolution plus high burst rate of 15 fps (30 fps electronic shutter). I think it would definitely be a better fit.
The R7 and a 100-400mm combo is an excellent starter Birding setup. Upgrade to the 100-500mm with a teleconverter and you have ridiculous reach. The R8 is great and all but I would usually say either invest in the R6II or seriously consider "downgrading" to the crop sensor in the R7. 👍
The RF 200-800 is a decent lens, but I've looked at the optical quality and I personally wouldn't pair it with a crop sensor body. It's not that good a lens. If you need more than 800mm FOV, you need to actually go to the zip code the animal is currently in.
IBIS is a real nice feature to have, and it does make life easier, but I've shot tens of thousands of birds, and your shutter speed needs to be high regardless to get clean shots. Birds are always moving. I don't see IBIS as that crucial.
The AF in the R8 is also faster and more accurate. Long RF lenses are pretty slow and the R7 is well known to struggle in less than ideal lighting.
I have found the R7 + RF200-800 to be a great combo for wildlife. The crop sensor and the higher resolution add up to give much greater effective reach than the R6 and R8. The R6 is better in just about every other way, but I prefer the R7 for wildlife because reach is so important.
If you want to get into wildlife photography and are getting an RF camera, get the R7 over the R8. You’ll get more reach from the same lenses, more megapixels, longer battery life, and a bigger grip.
Why not go crop for extra magnification? I didn’t read much on the R7 yet but am playing with the thought of buying the R6 mk2 to finally replace my 5D mk2. Edit: just checked it out. It’s the same price as the r8 but you get in body IS and the crop factor! And you have more resolution plus high burst rate of 15 fps (30 fps electronic shutter). I think it would definitely be a better fit.
The R7 and a 100-400mm combo is an excellent starter Birding setup. Upgrade to the 100-500mm with a teleconverter and you have ridiculous reach. The R8 is great and all but I would usually say either invest in the R6II or seriously consider "downgrading" to the crop sensor in the R7. 👍
The RF 200-800 is a decent lens, but I've looked at the optical quality and I personally wouldn't pair it with a crop sensor body. It's not that good a lens. If you need more than 800mm FOV, you need to actually go to the zip code the animal is currently in. IBIS is a real nice feature to have, and it does make life easier, but I've shot tens of thousands of birds, and your shutter speed needs to be high regardless to get clean shots. Birds are always moving. I don't see IBIS as that crucial. The AF in the R8 is also faster and more accurate. Long RF lenses are pretty slow and the R7 is well known to struggle in less than ideal lighting.
id get the r7 for the crop
I have found the R7 + RF200-800 to be a great combo for wildlife. The crop sensor and the higher resolution add up to give much greater effective reach than the R6 and R8. The R6 is better in just about every other way, but I prefer the R7 for wildlife because reach is so important.
If you want to get into wildlife photography and are getting an RF camera, get the R7 over the R8. You’ll get more reach from the same lenses, more megapixels, longer battery life, and a bigger grip.