mikey12654 Loc: Vancouver, WA

I wish there was a camera shop nearby so I could rent something before I commit to buy. Yeah I was wondering if there might be an R72 in the works too, I had read about an R52 coming but then heard production was put on hold until a later date but there's supposed to be a nice firmware update on the R5 coming. Much more research needed for the R7 at this point.

mikey12654 Loc: Vancouver, WA

Being confused by different opinions on the R7 definitely seems to be the case for me lol. Regarding the buffering, the guys in the Youtube vids said if you shoot short bursts and have a fast card you should be ok. Yeah I knew some camera's are more effected than others regarding shutter slap in mechanical shooting but I'm inclined to think it's a bigger issue for the R7. I had the 80D too and had great IQ when shooting mechanical, on my R5 I mainly use mechanical and EFCS, here's a shot of the moon done with the R5 & 800 that came out well with minimal atmospheric disturbance. As for the R7, more research is needed before I commit, thanks so much for your thoughts on the Youtube vid info I had watched!

Basil Loc: New Mexico

Places like https://www.lensprotogo.com/rent/category/cameras/ you can rent the R7 for abuot $100 for 4 days. Their shipping and turn around times are pretty good. I've used them a few times (once to rent an R6 before I bought the R5 and a couple times I've rented some lenses.).

mikey12654 Loc: Vancouver, WA

Gosh, I didn't know someone could rent a camera through the mail like that, thanks for the heads up Basil. I have an unrelated question for you, have you ever had your carry-on bag weighed at the check-in counter for a long distance flight by any chance? I ask because I'm flying to Germany on the 23rd with my camera gear in my carry-on bag that will be much heavier than what is allowed. I'm giving my friend my old 6D & EF 70-200 lens and tripod to my friend to help her get started with photography instead of relying on her cell phone for pics, though I must say that cell phone camera's are amazing how far they've come these days! Have you ever bought insurance for your camera gear when taking a trip, if so can you recommend a company to buy it from? I was thinking of putting my heaviest lenses in deep coat pockets until I reach the boarding gate then putting them in my carry-on. Thanks so much Basil!

Basil Loc: New Mexico

Yes, I have had that happen, and in fact it was when I was flying to Germany. I wasn't toting photographic gear at the time nd it was a "few" years ago. Suggest you call the airline and ask if the still weight carry ones under any conditions and, if is what the limit is.

mikey12654 Loc: Vancouver, WA

Thank you for getting back to me on this, unfortunately (for me) the carry-on weight limit is only 8kg and I'm way over that for sure. I'll have to assume they'll weigh mine and plan for it. Oh, on your flight to Germany did you happen to see any Aurora activity by any chance? Many years ago on another flight I actually got lucky and did see them, took a bunch of shots with my 50D while trying to block the cabin lighting with my coat. It was a disaster, only a very few were ok at best, do you have any recommendations on settings I should use on my R5 if I'm lucky enough to see them again? Here's a shot that turned out ok.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

No never saw any aurora activity there. In fact I spent several months in the wilderness of northern Baffin Island (doing site surveys for the North Warning system) and never saw any there either (I was hoping I would). The only time in my life I’ve seen them was in the late 70’s while stationed in Great Falls, MT.

lorvey Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

FWIW, I've flown several times with more than 20 pounds of camera gear in a carryon bag, and never had any trouble. They have never weighed my bag. So, of course, you do what you want, but I've never seen them weigh anyone's carryon bags. If they do, just take a couple cameras out of the carryon and put them around your neck until you get through security.

mikey12654 Loc: Vancouver, WA

Yeah I had never seen those lights prior to seeing them from the aircraft like that, I was in awe of what I was seeing, it was incredible! I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, I know this was a fluke encounter but I'll be checking out the solar activity for the day of my flight before getting my hope's up. Would Great Falls, MT be Malmstrom AFB where you were stationed? If so, do you know anything about the story of UFO(s) over the area that had shut down or taken off line some of the ICBM's? I think this had happened a long time ago when Atlas was being used.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

There were a couple such incidents. One I think was in 1969 (I was in Junior high), but the other was in November 1975 and I was actually on duty at NORDAD (24th NORSAD Region) when this incident happened. If memory serves, the nukes going off line was in the 1969 incident, but nuke sites were buzzed in 1975.

I was computer maintenance and I personally observed (on a scope) unidentified objects doing impossible maneuvers. Several airmen at missile sites in the region saw the objects overhead. Fighters were scrambled from the Montana NG, but when the fighters would start to get visual contact, the objects would "blink out" (go dark). It was one of the weirdest nights of my 24 year career. The Commander (2-star general) got out of bed to be there! The next day, Officers for NORAD HQ (Colorado Springs) arrived to take the "Master Operational Recording Tapes (MORT) and we were told not to talk about the incident with anyone. It was finally declassified and the Great Falls news paper wrote an article.

mikey12654 Loc: Vancouver, WA

That's amazing! I also remember reading about what took place in Suffolk, England in the Rendlesham Forest. I can only imagine how weird that night must have been for you, I wonder if NORAD thought the Russians were behind everything. Have you seen the video's taken from the USS Nimitz F/A-18's, I think they also launched an E-2C AWAC too, fascinating video's to watch, especially how the targets seemed to move in ways that defied physics. I don't think the fighters were able to lock-on and track them at all if I remember correctly. I was army and was stationed in Germany on 2 different Nike Hercules sites (ancient technology lol) I was a Acq/search radar operator on one of them....scope dopes. I remember seeing something that came almost straight down the scope and after just a few sweeps it was gone, that was back in 1975-76. Later on I asked a maint. mechanic that repaired the radars about it, if he ever heard of weird happenings like what I had seen, he said OH YEAH.

DanCSF Loc: SA Bay Area CA

Great work in comparing the lenses. But the one thing we all forget is how the lenses perform in real life. Every lens has its nuances. I mage comparisons are great starting points.

I shoot the R6 with the RF 800 F11. Its very decent lens however it has it's nuances, especially speed of focus and tracking targets. I don't doubt the RF 100-500 coupled with an R5, is tops in class when tracking and in speed of focus. On the other hand that combo is very pricey and somewhat heavy. After all you got that L lens and a great tracking/speed of focus combo that's hard to beat but a 6K price. For me my 800/R6 works and maybe when I win the lotto I move up to the RF100-500L and R5Mk2 combo.