An interesting test of the autofocus capabilities of the Canon R-5.
1/8000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Four days ago at Bear River MBR this Black-crowned Night heron came from out of nowhere and flew parallel to me over the phrags on the other side of the canal. My instincts told me that it wasn’t worth making an attempt to photograph ‘him’ in flight because I wouldn’t have time to get him in the frame and lock focus on him before he was gone. But with my new Canon R-5 I impulsively decided to try anyway, fully expecting to fail.
Obviously, these are grab shots so I didn’t have time to adjust my camera settings.
To my surprise I locked onto him immediately and got about a dozen sharp shots before he turned away from me and was gone. And when I say ‘sharp’ I do mean sharp. Even though he was far away from me (these photos are cropped significantly) the sharpness and detail are surprisingly good, at least to me.
These eight photos are sequential without any skips. I’m not particularly fond of the plain blue sky background but many readers have been requesting feedback from me on what I think of the R-5’s AF capabilities so I’m presenting the entire series, for better or for worse, as evidence.
The photos speak for themselves so I won’t be providing any more narration until the conclusion of this post.
1/8000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
1/8000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
1/8000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
1/8000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
1/8000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
1/8000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
1/8000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Using my old camera, the Canon 7D Mark II, and with this bird so far away and small in the frame, I would have had virtually no chance to keep my active focus point(s) locked on to the heron for this many consecutive shots. But the animal/eye detection of the R-5 “found” the heron immediately, locked on, and stayed locked on – even though my unsteady hands had the bird bouncing all over in my viewfinder. The AF points work from frame edge to frame edge which really helped.
With the 45 MP file size of the R-5 the image quality of these photos held up MUCH better than a similar crop would have with the 20 MP 7DII. And since I was shooting full frame I had a much better chance of keeping the bird in the frame for this many shots than I would have with the cropped frame 7DII.
The R-5 doesn’t always work this well. There are times when I think I’ve locked on to a bird in flight, and at first the images look sharp when I’m previewing them, but when I look at them at 100% they’re just not quite sharp enough.
But when the R-5 works, it really works.
Ron
Wow, wow, wow! I’d have been happy with one this sharp. Great series. Striking bird.
I would be over the moon to get ONE shot this sharp.
An amazing series, and yes, when it is good it is very, very good. A poem my father often recited to me, though I fear more often in the ‘when she is bad she is horrid’ context.
Thank you, EC.
Darn good for spray and pray! I am surprised many readers have not seen night herons in flight. That is usually how I see most of them, flying away butt end facing me.
April, that’s how I see them most often too. But I’m sure not seeing as many of them as I used to.
I just did a quick read on eye detection. It has apparently been a camera feature for about a decade, with the AF-C (continuous focus on a moving object) added about 2019. What an amazing bit of technology as these images wonderfully illustrate. I’m betting you are tickled pink with just that feature, let alone the 45 MP and resultant huge crops that still look fantastic. Like Everett, I have never seen one in flight; only roosting in trees at Reifel bird sanctuary in B.C.
Lyle, the early iterations of eye detection weren’t useful for bird or wildlife photographers because they only really worked on humans. Canon’s animal/eye detection has been trained to recognize and focus on the eye of birds, felines and dogs. Apparently, it doesn’t work with most other animals so you’d be SOL if you specialize in… butterflies for instance.
Definitely a sharp series, Ron! Enjoying the way the light and shadow — and the variations in the “plain blue sky” — enhance each shot.
(With an R5 I might even have half a chance of getting a stationary subject in focus. Nah, probably not. 😂)
“Nah, probably not”
Marty, I’d say yes, probably.
The problem would be getting that incredibly complicated AF set up the way you want it. Once that’s done it shouldn’t be a problem to get sharp shots.
This is a really nice series, Ron. It seems your waiting for this camera was worth it. These photos are amazingly sharp, given the circumstances you describe. The only downside I can see is a nightmare of backups with 45 mp per photo. Fortunately, terabytes of backup aren’t as hard to come by as they once were. And for printing, they would be great!
Nancy, the RAW files are 45 MP but Canon allows those huge files to be compressed into cRAW files that are only 26 MP without losing any detail. That’s only a little bigger than the 20 MP files of my previous camera.
Love seeing the shadow on the wings change from frame to frame. Glad you made the investment in the R5?! You are getting really wonderful results 🙂
Thank you, Kathleen.
Very impressive. The third one and pretty much on seems to have a sharper image of the eye than the first two. Could just be my tired 84 year old eyes imaging that. I don’t know much about sophisticated cameras such as the R5, when you say locks on, it that automatic or do you hit a button that locks it on?
I really like the Night Herons and have taken many photos of them, but unfortunately I have never seen one in flight.
You always have to hit a button, Everett – with any camera. But the R-5 grabs focus, and holds it, better than any I’ve ever used.
I’m happy that your big decision to spring for this camera has proved
so very rewarding ! I think the detail in the white areas of the bird’s ventral
just remarkably nuanced and beautiful.
Kris, I’m not saying everything’s a bed of roses with the R-5 – it isn’t. But overall I’m happy with it, at least so far.
WOW! I’m impressed! A warm fuzzy for sure even if it doesn’t always work for you! Beautiful bird too! 🙂
Thanks, Judy.
OMG, Ron!! What an AWESOME series of this wonderful Heron!! It brought back memories of my 1st series of photos of a Black Crowned Night Heron,(which don’t come close to yours) I’m so happy for you that your new Canon is working so well for you. I bet you were one happy camper when you saw what you had!!
Yup, I was pretty happy Jo Ann. And a little surprised.