Ed Atts

Since 2014 I have been doing wildlife photography with a Canon 7D 2 and it has served my needs very well. I almost exclusively use a Canon 100 - 400 L lens (sometimes with the 1.4 adapter}. I shoot mainly in manual by setting the lens speed and aperture and let the ISO set itself automatically. This works well for me and I am very pleased with my enlargements.
I am considering a new body and would like a recommendation. I do not want more bells and whistles than I need but I do want to get good sharp enlargements. I am considering the new Canon R7 but also have looked at the Olympus Cameras. My photography is now my hunting and I no longer have any game to clean when I get home, then put it in the freezer, and have it become a permanent resident until my wife disposes of it when she cleans the freezer.
I do much of my photography from a solo canoe or blinds Any thoughts of a new body for my needs would be greatly appreciated.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The logical upgrade and the next model in the 7D-series of cameras is the EOS R7. Your 100-400L continues on with the mirrorless body, using the EF-R adapter. You might then consider the RF 100-500L, removing the need for the adapter and giving another 100mm focal length without an extender.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Second that.
I just got an R7 and tried it with the same lenses I use with my 7DII =100-400L mk2, 70-300L and Tamron 150-600 G2. It works well with them all.
The 18-150 kit lens is so small and light I plan to get the Canon RF 100-400 (non-L) for walking around and later maybe the RF 100-500L (too much money right now when I have those other lenses and they work well with the body.) At 76 lighter and smaller is looking better and better every day.
With the IBIS the R7 is not nearly as sensitive to motion blur as my 90D. I understand from what I read that the sensor is a new version of the 32.5MP the 90D has.

SteveInConverse Loc: South Texas

I would avoid Olympus only because your options are probably much more limited in lenses and future development of same than either Canon, Sony or Nikon. Rent the cameras you are considering and see which one works best for your type of shooting. Way cheaper than going all in on a new body.

wireloose

For what it’s worth I found that same Canon lens combo worked extremely well with my Sony A7R3, focusing was comparable to Sony lenses and better than almost any other Canon lens- this with the Sigma adapter. So Sony might be a good alternate if you don’t like the Canon option.

suntouched Loc: Sierra Vista AZ

Ed- I have the R7 camera and it performs very well except in low light situations where the R6 excels. The R7 is the perfect size and weight, nice deep grip, large enough to access all the on camera controls easily, and customizable.

I use it with the 100-500 mm lens and extender. Then it isn't so light anymore. You are getting into the " 5 pound range" with camera, lens, extender. And with that combination you will Not be able to go below 300 mm because of mechanical/physical limitations. So if that is a deal breaker for you then you can continue to use your 100-400 mm lens or look at the new R 100-400 mm lens which gets you back in the "lightweight" range.

I haven't found anything about the R7 that is a deal breaker for me. I got it as a backup to the R6 to take out when the birds are further away or I want to lighten up.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

As much as I love Micro 4/3 and see the new Olympus/OMDS OM-1 as the penultimate Micro 4/3 PHOTO camera, I would advise you to stay with Canon and get the R7. With the Canon adapter, your L-lenses will work on the R7 quite well, and as time passes, any old OR new Canon lens you buy will work on it as well.

The other reason to stick with Canon is the autofocus. It's a tad faster and more accurate than Olympus/OMDS autofocus.

Moving to full frame MILC from dSLR will NOT lighten the load of your camera bag significantly if you carry a body and three lenses, especially if you are using the longer full frame lenses. Moving to Micro 4/3 would cut it VERY significantly. That's simply because a 50-200mm on M43 is going to give you the same field of view as a 100-400mm on full frame, while roughly doubling your depth of field at the same aperture.

Olympus stabilization is the best in the world, though, so if you do a lot of still life work in low light (NOT low light action), it's a wonderful thing to have.

A final argument in favor of Olympus is the lenses. They are about half as expensive for equivalent coverage, but professional grade, and one quarter to one third the weight. There are over a hundred Micro 4/3 lenses from OMDS and Panasonic Lumix/Panasonic Leica, Meike, Voigtländer (Cosina), and others. Adapters and SpeedBoosters can adapt thousands of other lenses to Micro 4/3 bodies.

Markag

True? I understand the OM1 is capable of shutter speeds well over 1/8000?

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

1/8000 maximum MECHANICAL shutter speed (minimum exposure TIME)
1/32,000 maximum ELECTRONIC shutter speed (minimum exposure TIME)

An electronic shutter is a video frame grabber. It reads the entire sensor area for the time allotted, and saves it as a frame. Unfortunately, most cameras have to scan line-by-line from top to bottom of the image, so if something is moving rapidly through the frame, it may be recorded as "leaning". This is called "rolling shutter" effect, and is minimal in the newest cameras.

Three advantages of the electronic shutter are:

> Absolutely silent image recording (you may have to turn off a fake shutter sound enabled in the menus)
> Absolutely no camera vibrations from the shutter (great for long exposures, macro/micro work, etc.)
> Preserves the life of the mechanical shutter (the only wear parts will be in the lens!)

rcdovala

I use a Metabones adapter on my Oly cameras so that I can use my Canon EF & EF-S lenses. Works very well.

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

Question: If you are satisfied with your present setup why change? GAS attack?

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

How little you know about Olympus. They recently released the flagship OM-1 and are continually releasing new lenses. There is already a great range of excellent Olympus lenses and all the Panasonic M4/3 lenses also work. I’ve been shooting the OM-1 for a few months now and it’s a beast in a small package.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Of all the Olympus cameras, the newest OM-1 has the best AF system for active wildlife photography. It's a significant step up from all earlier Oly cameras. Reviewers who have experience with all the AF systems pretty much agree it's close to Nikon Z-series, and not far behind the latest AF systems from Canon and Sony. The OM-1 would be quite good for wildlife photography and the smaller, Micro 4/3 sensor format makes lenses "act like" they are 2X their actual focal length. Your 7DII and the R7 share the APS-C format 1.6X multiplier effect.

OM-1....
- 20MP
- IBIS (5 stop)
- 10 frames/sec mechanical shutter, 20 fps electronic shutter. 50 & 120 fps possible, w/limited buffer (~90 images).
- 60 sec to 1/8000 mech shutter, up to 1/32000 e-shutter, 1/250 flash sync.
- ISO 200 to 102400 (extends to 80)
- 100% EVF, 5.76 million pixel
- 3" monitor, 1.6 million pixel, articulated, Touchscreen
- Dual SD memory card slots
- 520 shots per charge (CIPA)
- Battery grip available ($350).
- $2800 with 12-40mm f/2.8 lens
- 599 grams, OM-1 body w/battery & media
- 382 grams, Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 lens
- $1500 Zuiko 100-400mm f/5-6.3 IS lens
- 1120 grams, Zuiko 100-400mm lens

The Canon R7 is a whole lot of camera for the money! Many reviewers have been very impressed with it. It's APS-C format sensor is a bit larger than the OM-1's M4/3.... and the R7 has much higher resolution with 32.5MP. With the R7 you might be able to delay some lens purchases because you could use an EF to RF adapter ($100 approx.) to utilize any and all EF/EF-S lenses you currently have for use on your 7DII. The R7's AF system is close to what's found in the top-of-the-line R3 ($6000) and R5 ($3800), both full frame cameras. The main complaints I've heard about the R7 have been that the AF system struggles a little in low light conditions and that the buffer fills very quickly at the highest frame rates.

R7...
- 32.5MP
- IBIS (5-stop, up to 8-stops with some IS lenses)
- 15 frames/sec mechanical shutter, 30 fps electronic shutter
- 60 to 1/8000 mech. shutter, up to 1/16000 e-shutter, 1/320 flash sync
- ISO 100 to 32000 (expands to 102400)
- 100% EVF, 2.36 million pixel
- 3" monitor, 1.6 million pixel, articulated, Touchscreen
- Dual SD memory card slots
- 660 shots per battery charge
- No battery grip available
- $1900 with RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM lens
- 612 grams, R7 body w/battery & media
- 310 grams, RF-S 18-150mm lens
- $2900 RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens
- 1365 grams, RF 100-500mm lens

I was a bit surprised by some of the similarities, as well as the differences between the R7 and the OM-1. They actually are similar in size and weight. If bought with wildlife zooms (both able to reach 800mm full frame equiv.), they actually end up costing about the same.... the R7 body costs less than the OM-1, but the RF 100-500mm costs more than the comparable Zuiko lens. The R7 has a lot more resolution and it's mechanical shutter offers a faster continuous rate, but the OM-1 has those ultra high e-shutter frame rates. The OM-1 appears to have a higher spec electronic viewfinder (EVF), while the R7's EVF may offer higher magnification (1.15X ?). The OM-1 comes with an f/2.8 kit lens, but the RF lens sold in kit with the R7 has a much wider range of focal lengths. (I assumed you would want a "walk-around" lens with either camera.)

Again, you can adapt EF and EF-S lenses, including any you might already have, for use on the R7. That can make the transition less expensive, at least initially. The basic Canon EF to RF adapter costs $100, but there are less expensive 3rd party now. There also are more expensive with additional features, such as a control ring or drop in filters. AFAIK, adapted lenses are not an option with the Olympus system. However, the Micro 4/3 mount is shared by Oly and Panasonic, so there is a lot of cross-compatibility (check though, I don't think it's 100%).

EDIT: So it is possible to adapt lenses for use on the M4/3 cameras too.... But how is AF performance? With Canon EF/EF-S adapted onto R7 you can expect the lens to perform as well or better than it did on your DSLR. It also is possible to adapt Canon EF/EF-S lenses for use on Sony cameras, but the AF performance takes a noticeable hit. That might be a problem with active wildlife.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

While I agree that there are some good reasons to stick with Canon and go with the R7, mainly that there’s no immediate need for new lenses, I also think there are several good reasons to look at Olympus, especially the OM-1. I can’t speak to the AF speed of the R7 but the quad-pixel AF of the OM-1 is incredibly fast and accurate. I often shoot from a kayak and I think the advantages of the OM-1 will also apply to a canoe. First is size and weight. What initially led me to M4/3 was that my Nikon D500 with the 200-500 was just too cumbersome to shoot from a kayak. While the R7 and OM-1 are very close in weight, that 10-400mm lens, which gets you an equivalent 160-640mm weighs 3 lbs, not including the adapter. The Olympus 40-150 f/2.8 Pro lens with the 2x TC, which will give you 160-600mm equivalent is a full pound less. There is also an excellent 100-400mm, (200-800mm equivalent), that is over half a pound less. The IBIS in the OM-1 is second to none and works in conjunction with the OIS in Olympus lenses and is very beneficial shooting from a kayak. The OM-1’s weather sealing is the best in the market. I’ve used it in pouring rain with no problems, definitely an advantage shooting from a kayak. Canon has said the R7’s weather sealing isn’t up to the level of their pro cameras. Then there are the things Olympus calls “computational photography”, like High Res mode, the ability to shoot an 80mp image from a tripod or 50mp image handheld, or Live ND, a virtual 6-stop ND filter, or Live Composite, amazing if you do light trails, Star trails or light painting. There’s more, but the feature you’ll love for wildlife is Pro Capture. When you’re waiting for that hunting heron to take a strike and catch a fish, how many times have you missed that decisive moment because your reaction wasn’t quick enough? With Pro Capture when you half press the shutter it starts buffering, then when you fully press it saves up to 70 frames from before the full shutter press at 50fps with full AF & AE, and with absolutely no screen blackout. I can understand if you want to stay with a system you’re familiar with but Olympus is worth looking into.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Sony RX10m4 - in better light scenarios.

The R10 may be enough for you.......vs the R7.
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