Zooman 1 wrote:
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?
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_lenseshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_third-party_Sony_E-mount_lensesIf 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=5iq3Mn85LNkSony A7RV:
https://electronics.sony.com/imaging/interchangeable-lens-cameras/full-frame/p/ilce7rm5-bFull 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-sonyhttps://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.