Canon R100 + Canon RF 800mm f11.

Chako · **on:** June 13, 2025, 01:09:34 AM

I bought the lens used from a Canadian camera chain called Henry's. I was not sure if I would like the lens as there was a lot of unknowns with this combination of camera and lens. With that said, I paid 833 dollars compared to 1400 new. That allowed me to buy a third party lens shade as well as a 95mm UV filter, and a tripod foot, and still come under the price for new. A quick inspection showed hardly any usage, and today after work, I was able to take the lens out for a spin.

Having an 800mm lens for less than a thousand was very enticing. Pro L lenses in that range are heavy and expensive ($12000 plus). There is no cheap alternative for the older RF lens system for the DSLRs, and because I got the R100 for 200 dollars at the pawn shop, there were a few things I wasn't sure about. The R100 and one step higher R50 are said to have darker viewfinders. I was not sure how an 800mm lens would work on an APS-C sensored camera like the R100. My Sigma "Bigma" is a 50-500mm heavy beast. With a crop factor of 1.6x, that 500 turns into an 800mm. That 800mm once the crop factor is added, turns into a 1280mm monster. Would I be able to hand hold this? How dark would the viewfinder be with an f11 lens attached? How good would the focusing be?

Man, am I ever glad I got this 800mm lens. It is really light weight and easy to hand hold, and steady. Holly freaking wow. The lens is very sharp, and it worked great on the little R100 camera. There is a lot about how the R100 is not suitable for sports and wildlife photography, I would have to disagree. The proof is in the pudding, and after reviewing my shots, there were a lot of keepers in there.

Anyways, I just took a brief walk in Bellevue Park in my city. I had to get used to the lens's reach, and minimum focus distance of 20 feet. I found that f11 was no issue in not so great light, and the new mirrorless cameras such as the R100 had no issues auto focusing at f11. This was an eye opener for me compared to the older DSLRs.

Onto the images...

I tried a few flight shots but found that doing so at such magnification a bit hard. I just need practice. There was a time I did this all the time with no issues. This was my best one today.

IMG_0769A by Chako, on Flickr

Even at f11, 800mm focal length does a great job at depth of field, and flattening foreground with background.

IMG_0768A by Chako, on Flickr

I was able to get some nice mallard shots. The males are very colourful.

IMG_0754A by Chako, on Flickr

This was on a park garbage can. It was quite some distance away,

IMG_0752A by Chako, on Flickr

Creamy smooth background bokeh.

IMG_0751A by Chako, on Flickr

IMG_0748A by Chako, on Flickr

A pack of Canada Geese Goslings along with a few adults made for some good photo opportunities.

IMG_0733A by Chako, on Flickr

IMG_0725A by Chako, on Flickr

IMG_0721A by Chako, on Flickr

IMG_0720A by Chako, on Flickr

I was very impressed at the details on the black crows. It is my experience that Crows are a little harder to get definition.

IMG_0707A by Chako, on Flickr

IMG_0699A by Chako, on Flickr

I think this RF 800mm is my new favorite birding lens.

IMG_0693A by Chako, on Flickr

IMG_0689A by Chako, on Flickr

IMG_0687A by Chako, on Flickr

IMG_0685A by Chako, on Flickr

IMG_0677A by Chako, on Flickr

IMG_0669A by Chako, on Flickr

I now know that the RF 800mm f11 is very handholdable. It does have 4 stops of built in stabilization, and that helped. My Bigma has none. The plucky R100 is an amazing little camera.

Vidar · **Reply #1 on:** June 13, 2025, 04:56:22 PM

Stabilization certainly helps. Interesting that F11 works so well with mirrorless. Seems like quite a nice lens. And one you would actually carry with you at that.

Too bad I have so many other things to get that also costs money!

Chako · **Reply #2 on:** June 13, 2025, 10:42:46 PM

It was a revelation for me. I had set the camera to face tracking, and on the R100, all it has is human face tracking. I quickly found out that it will also track bird's eyes as well. If I am getting such results from the lowly R100, I cannot imagine how much better the R7 would be. The camera runs around 1800 Canadian. I am still contemplating a future purchase. With that said, I think the dimmer viewfinder on the R100 and R50 might push me to something better down the road. Time will tell. I do not need another camera. I currently have 4 digital Pentax cameras, and 5 digital Canon cameras.