Zooman 1

As I have reached 80, I find my R5 and RF100-500mm, which I like very much are too heavy for me to carry, left and hold. I am thinking about Switching to Sony with the 200-600mm, not sure which camera. Any thoughts?

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Why don't you just add Sony for your long shots and keep what you have and love for everything else?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

How much investigation have you done? An EOS R5 with battery and card is 26 ounces (738 g). A 60MP Sony a7RV is 25.5 oz (723 g) with battery & card. Full-frame cameras are pretty much all the same size and weight, especially the pro-grade models with pro-grade (heavy / sturdy) materials. You probably just have a case of GAS.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I sort of thought he might be looking for an early Christmas presen y.

gwilliams6

You have to understand the UHH Canon fanboys will be quick to strike here if you even dare to suggest leaving Canon for Sony, or any other brand, but certainly not to Sony OMG, LOL

As a former longtime Canon and Nikon user that moved over to Sony, I have a different perspective than others. I suggest you look at the excellent fullframe 33mp Sony A7IV; or the even smaller and lighter fullframe 33mp Sony A7CII or fullframe 61mp Sony A7CR cameras. Either will give you great performance with the superb Sony 200-600mm lens.

As far as mirrorless-designed lenses go, the Sony E-mount is the most widely produced and used mirrorless lens mount in the world with over 200 + (and growing) choices from Sony and excellent third-party lenses from Sigma, Tamron, Samyang/Rokinon, Zeiss, Tokina, TTArtisan, Viltrox, Meike and others. No other mirrorless camera brand has as many mirrorless-designed lenses as there are for Sony E-mount.

And these E-mount lenses encompass many compact and lightweight, yet still excellent quality and affordable mirrorless-designed lens choices from Sony and all the third-party makers. Third-party makers today leaked another 13 new E-mount lenses coming before the end of the year, as well as new ones coming from Sony.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sony_E-mount_lenses

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_third-party_Sony_E-mount_lenses


If you prefer higher megapixel resolution and still want to go for Sony, by all means the 61mp A7RV or 61mp A7CR are superb and less costly than the higher frame-rate 50mp A1

1) Here 50mp Sony A1, Sony 200-600mm lens. A Snowy Egret takes off from its watery perch on the island of Sint Maarten/Sint Martin. 319mm, ISO 1600, f6.3, 1/4000 sec. handheld. Bird Eye-AF used.

2) Here a shot with my 61mp Sony A7RIV, the same 61mp sensor in the new compact Sony A7CR, or Sony A7RV. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, USA. Sigma Art 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN lens. 24mm , ISO 200, f8, 1/80 sec., handheld, late afternoon light.

Click in download to see better image quality.

Sony A7CII and A7CR Camera Review: Mark Galer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iq3Mn85LNk

Sony A7RV:
https://electronics.sony.com/imaging/interchangeable-lens-cameras/full-frame/p/ilce7rm5-b

Full disclosure: After 40+ years shooting pro Nikon, Canon, Leica, and winning National and Worldwide Photo Awards with them all, I moved over to Sony mirrorless and have never regretted it for all my professional and personal work shooting all subjects, all around the world. I have owned Sony A6500, A7RII, A7RIII, A7III, A9, A7RIV, and I currently own A7RV, A1, A7SIII. I currently have 13 E-mount lenses covering 10mm to 600mm from Sony, Sigma, Tamron, Viltrox.

And interestingly, though not perhaps for what you shoot, top Worldwide News Services have moved exclusively to Sony and Nikon mirrorless for all the staff photographers and staff videographers, worldwide. None of the top Worldwide News Services chose to move to Canon mirrorless for their staffers, none.

Associated Press, all Gannett media including USA, Canadian Press, UK's top News Service all chose to move exclusively to Sony mirrorless for all their staffers worldwide, after years of testing Sony gear in the field around the world. AFP (Agence France Presse) helped develop and test the Nikon Z9, and they use Nikon Z9 for their staffers worldwide.

https://alphauniverse.com/stories/why-the-associated-press-just-switched-to-sony/

https://petapixel.com/2021/11/17/sony-is-now-the-exclusive-camera-provider-for-gannett-and-usa-today/

https://www.dpreview.com/news/4545693607/the-uk-largest-news-agency-partners-with-sony

https://petapixel.com/2022/01/31/canadas-largest-news-organization-moves-exclusively-to-sony-cameras/#:~:text=Canada's%20Largest%20News%20Agency%20Moves%20Exclusively%20to%20Sony%20Cameras,-Jan%2031%2C%202022&text=The%20Canadian%20Press%2C%20the%20largest,provider%20for%20the%20media%20company.

https://petapixel.com/2022/06/09/how-pro-photographers-helped-make-the-z9-from-prototype-to-flagship/

Cheers and best to you, whatever you decide.

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CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Ignoring the image litter and other unnecessary nonsense, a quick look-up on the idea of dropping resolution to 33MP still gives you an a7IV body that comes in at 23.2 oz. (658g) with battery and card...

Full-frame cameras are pretty much all the same size and weight, especially the pro-grade models with pro-grade (heavy / sturdy) materials. Avoiding GAS is far, far cheaper. "Smart money" would rent the candidate model change rather than reading media and UHH hype.

gwilliams6

Check the size and weight of SONY fullframe 33mp A7CII and Sony fullframe 61mp A7CR. They are both closer in size and weight to Sony's APS-C A6700 model. Do the research, and you will find NOT all fullframe cameras are the same weight, just a fact.

Sony APS-C A6700 409 grams
Sony Fullframe 33mp A7CII 429 grams
Sony Fullframe 61mp A7CR 515 grams
Canon R5 738 grams


Cheers and best to you, whatever you decide.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

See what you can do when you stop blathering and just answer the mail?

gwilliams6

You just need to do better research, then I wouldn't have to show you all the facts , LOL

And my provided links will give Zooman more specific hands-on info to view and study on these possible Sony camera choices, along with my photos providing relevant examples of the quality possible with these sensors and the very 200-600mm lens being considered.

Cheers and best to you.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Here’s the important spec if weight saving is a goal:

Canon RF 100-500 3Lbs
Sony 200-600 4.65 Lbs

No matter which of the above Sony bodies you choose, it won’t be enough lighter to make up for the 1.65 Lbs in extra weight from the Sony lens if those are the lens choices.

Picking the closest Sony FF body saves you 223 grams, but the Sony lens you mentioned is 748 grams heavier - a net gain of over a pound in weight. Wrong answer.

If you want equivalent FL at a significant drop in weight, the answer is to go to a smaller format such as APS-C or 4/3. You already have one of the lightest lenses in this FL for FF. In APS-C, the Sigma 100-400 is 2.5 lbs and a Fuji 100-400 is 3 Ibs. You could pair that with a Fuji X-T5 or the Canon R7 or the Sony A6700 and maybe save a pound, but not a huge difference. Other options are to go to a shorter FL (such as a Fuji X-T5 and the 70-300) or a monopod or a tripod/gimbal combination unless you want to go to a 4/3 or a bridge camera.

Personally, I kept my Canon FF and added a Fuji X-T4 + a 70-300 (105-450 FF equivalent) for a total weight half that of my FF camera. I can add a Fuji 1.4 extender to get to a FF equivalent of 630 mm and still stay under 3 lbs if reach and weight is important. But if you want to stay with FF, you already have the best combination.

lreisner Loc: Union,NJ

If you are referring to switching to the Sony Rx 10 4, Twitter the 24 to 200 lens then you move makes good sense. It is a great camera and it is not heavy. Try to handle the camera in a store before you buy it
There is a learning curveto using this camera. I own. I own the iii. You maybe able to find it used.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Sony 200-600 is 79 ounces.
RF 100-500mmis 48 ounces
So you are looking for something much heavier?

gwilliams6

With tripod collar the RF 100-500mm is 54.0 oz. (1,530 g), a bit more than 48 oz. if you are being totally truthful. And yes you can remove the tripod foot on the Sony 200-600mm lens to reduce some weight .

If the OP is set on the fine 200-600mm for that extra reach (100mm more than 500mm), then he is willing to take on the weight of that lens. For wildlife and sports there is no substitute for reach when you need it.

There are longer than 500mm zoom choices in E-mount from Sigma and Tamron that also weight less than the Sony 200-600mm. Canon R users have no option to use any of these third-party Sigma and Tamron lenses in RF mount at all. Canon wont let them be made or sold in RF mount. The Canon cripple hammer strikes again.

And I agree, the OP can opt to go to APS-C or Micro 4/3rds for additional weight savings.

Or the superb stacked-sensor Sony RX10 IV with its Zeiss lens covering 24mm to 600mm, 24fps in stills, and up to 960fps in video for unmatched slowest slow-mo.
https://www.sony.com/ke/electronics/cyber-shot-compact-cameras/dsc-rx10m4

Cheers and best to you.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

The 200-600 weighs 4.66 lbs. The R5 plus 100-500 together weigh 5.13 lbs. Do the math...the 200-600 is out. Try the A6700 and 100-400 if you insist on Sony.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Maybe the OP’s original statement bears repeating: “As I have reached 80, I find my R5 and RF100-500mm, WHICH I LIKE VERY MUCH are too heavy for me to carry”. This is a weight issue, not a brand issue, and switching to the Sony that you suggest can not address the real problem, which is weight.

A 34MP stabilized R7 APS-C body plus an RF 100-400 (150-600mm ff equivalent) solves the problem by cutting the weight in half (2.6 lbs total) plus providing the 600 mm reach you mention is desirable plus providing a similar/familiar user interface.