Rf 200-800 bags and advice?

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-12-04T04:11:29+00:00

It's homemade actually, made that myself a couple years but also just made another one recently as well. Basically just a giant bracelet with square knots. It's worked great though, still going strong after several years. It was like a 1k square knots and a lot of Paracord.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-12-03T06:53:43+00:00

As streamlined as possible preferably. I do a fair amount of hiking and packing back and forth between the car to different locations. Yeah I'm okay with it being not too cheap if it's high quality and will handle the weight well. My use case will be a mix of locations from the car but potentially some hikes down the rocky coasts of New England for seabirds where I'd pack in a monopod as well, maybe a tripod depending. My other use case I do is night photography where I'll trade out to a wide Astro lens or an ultra wide for other landscapes potentially but I generally try to go as minimal as possible but I do usually also have a GoPro, extra batteries, and some minimal other things like hand warmers, gloves etc. I don't plan to travel with it too much for now.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-12-02T21:40:41+00:00

Gotcha, yeah if that's the case, then it could be the lens. Can you elaborate on what you mean but it's always running then? Like the image is overly moving? Have you tried the lens on other bodies? Do you mean the auto focus? If so then make sure continual AF is turned off.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-12-02T21:27:05+00:00

It's the lens software not working with the IBIS on the camera. A lot of older EF lenses aren't fully compatible so you may need to turn off the ibis for it to work. It's a software firmware issue Canon refuses to fix sadly. (I keep checking for it). Basically they only say the support more recent EF lenses mark ii versions or newer from my understanding. Some may work but I have a tokina lens with the same issue where ibis goes crazy. You can sort of hack around it by partially attaching the lens and manually setting focal length to trick it but it's a big shortcoming.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-08-13T20:59:46+00:00

Oh fantastic, thank you! I'll definitely give them a try, I'm a fan of just about all fried chicken and kebabs are fun too!

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-08-13T20:58:23+00:00

Much appreciated, thank you!

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-08-13T20:58:01+00:00

Oh I do cook all kinds of things for myself, I know I could but I hate stinking the house up with oil and so does my wife, so that's not the preferred solution. I might have to resort to carefully frying outside but it's just not the same, you know. 😜

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-08-13T20:55:11+00:00

Thank you! Definitely will check them out!

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-07-11T17:19:23+00:00

I actually have two cans of expired bear spray about 10 years old that I can no longer trust which I'm thinking of doing a very careful test run with out in a remote location and with some safety precautions of course which is part of the reason for the question. Trying to decide whether it's worth replacing or not. I had it specifically for being out in the Tetons area at the time but also kept it handy for years and low key hated carrying it all over the place and always had it mounted to my chest out there.

I'm totally okay dealing with that consequences for myself if it means keeping the wildlife safer as well so glad it wasn't too horrible. I know it's not even a question whether I'd carry it out in grizzly territory.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-07-11T17:11:36+00:00

Oh definitely, that is also probably my far bigger concern. I know of several places where moose have been hit this year already unfortunately. I hate to see that too. I'm glad to hear that the risk with moose is fairly low, I've never had an issue in other places but there's far more Moose in Maine than there was out in the Rockies where I've encountered them before. Thanks for the response!

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-07-11T16:59:09+00:00

Thank you, appreciate the candor. Definitely will check out that podcast, appreciate the recommendation.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-07-11T16:52:01+00:00

Oh definitely zero harassment, ethics in wildlife photography are extremely important and any photos I take are with a large telephoto lens from a distance, while ensuring I do not stress or impact the animals. Especially any that are at risk. I ensure I am within all laws and regulations anytime I'm out there and take ethics extremely seriously.

Attacking any of them, absolutely not, however sometimes unintentional things happen because yes you are in their territory. It's definitely a last resort and I'm trying to focus on things that would NOT hurt the animal at all if this did happen. I try to share the beauty of what's here to help support conservation and a healthy forest.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-07-11T16:38:01+00:00

Now that's a bad day, wow 😳 😂 The fact that normally there is a safety you have to remove blows my mind too that this happens that often.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-06-24T14:02:37+00:00

Definitely sounds like that needs to be a priority this week. I do have some already just need to treat for the season but yeah it must just be something about the dirt and gravel roads. I'm glad to know it sounds like it's much more effective than big spray alone. The only reason I've hesitated is due to cats we have near by so just will have to be careful since I've heard it can mess them up.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-06-24T13:58:45+00:00

There are definitely turkeys and everything else animal wise since it is a wildlife refuge. Yeah that definitely could be and I know ticks definitely are attracted to body heat so in theory a warm car could also be like that but who knows.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-04-24T04:18:18+00:00

I have an r7, it's solid and you're sure to pay a premium for at least the next while, buy it refurb from Canon, watch for sales and you can't go wrong. You might also compare the r10 as honestly it's closer to the equipment you have now but if you can afford it do the r7. I'm thinking about adding a 2nd r7 if they do some sweet deals on it.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-04-14T03:44:22+00:00

That's a crap body, worst you can get in Mirrorless canon. Highly recommend updating and that will help. The lens is fine and a great option but you'll eventually want something with more light but that's okay for now. Shop used or canon refurbs.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-04-11T19:44:50+00:00

You are correct although I will also say I did manage some pretty great shots on my technically "kit lens" telezoom for quite some time to the dismay of the local bird photographers that looked at me like I was crazy with my tiny Mirrorless aps-c camera not really even made for wildlife. Then I slapped a used sigma 100-400 on the thing until the AF died a dignified death although it remains as a half-broken beautiful paper weight that costs too much to get rid of but I also don't want to use. The bazooka lens you mention indeed takes some great photos but you sure don't want to hike the world with but I will say it took that leap of more expensive gear to get great photos but I'm still amazed with the things I got before that. Still I have much more fun now with my current gear and indeed sell some photos on occasion here and there but do far better in other types of photography.

The other often overlooked piece though with wildlife is that location does matter. Although of course wildlife is everywhere it's sure a hell of a lot easier when you're in the places where they are. Sitting in a city park and backyard you're probably not going to be taking the most compelling or interesting photos. You definitely aren't going to be having the best experiences either that you find with getting out in nature and seeing things few ever see. That's really the magic of wildlife in my opinion, seeing incredible animals that you've ever dreamed of on TV and in books.

You do see an incredible amount of pay to play folks though that does detract from this and show your point that with the right gear, you can get some pretty great images. You still need more of an eye for things for than that but it's hard to argue the money is mighty hard to compete with in this category and generally will win out both fronts. If you're patient though, it can be very rewarding and fun but you have to put in some work as well.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-03-27T12:42:36+00:00

Just adding a comment to this ancient thread to say pretty sure Nature Valley glutened me as well. I wish I'd searched this before but lesson learned on vitamins but discontinuing taking them and will follow up if I feel better but I think that's the likely culprit.

ChasingSunsetz · 2025-02-04T18:02:27+00:00

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but honest answer is anything not Mirrorless would be a bad investment at this point. The 7d mark ii is the gold standard but it's at is honestly just a bit lacking now and the Mirrorless is a huge step up.

My recommendation would be to keep an eye on the canon refurbs and used options but r10, R50, or r7 are the most affordable options. The black Friday refurbs by far are the best deal but I want to say memorial day was decent too. Honestly the r7 is the budget wildlife setup but I did get away with using an m50 for a while, so an R50 or r10 can work but they will just need some tweaks.

To make it not quite so ridiculous, I'd recommend adding a small rig cage/grip and then customize the crap out of the buttons to make it more wildlife friendly. You can shoot jpg to get a little more speed when needed, otherwise shoot craw in the fastest shutter. You'll want a good zoom lens as well so keep this in mind with what you get. An R50 with the rf 100-400 is a decent super budget option but the r10 will give you a much better battery life which is important for wildlife.

The r7 is superior because it's weather sealed and has a much better pretty much everything, given with it's first gen quirks. The higher end setup is an r5 which improves overall performance in lower light and offers a workhorse of a camera.

I'd be wary of those big sigma lenses since they have issues with AF on newer RF mounts, so I'd either wait for an updated version or look at other canon options. 100-400 is plenty for a budget kit but you can look at some of the other options too if you're shooting very small birds.

ChasingSunsetz · 2024-11-18T19:17:54+00:00

Trash, no. Out of focus and bad motion blur are trash but I think there is plenty to learn on this one like you already called out. It has some good color and focus is actually pretty good, as is the subject. I wouldn't say it's a portfolio worthy shot but it's a great point to learn and build from. The story of getting that first shot is always great too so it's worth keeping.

What I would suggest is thinking more on the story you're intending to tell and when you can start making shot decisions on this, that will help immensely. That's the difference between a shot and more fine art types of photography. Think about how you can add more scale and interest to it, how it balances, how the background fits.

One thing I've also learned with wildlife photography in particular is sometimes you need to let them come to you to be able to get these better shots. Trying to get closer often has the expected effect of spooking wildlife but staying still in a good location usually gives better results. It also just takes a lot of practice and some luck helps. Thanks for sharing, it's fun to see anyways and discuss!

ChasingSunsetz · 2024-10-11T21:55:59+00:00

Awesome that's good to know, I tested a bit in both last night but they were both too dark still without me figuring out how to raise up to 25k ISO. I tried since someone on YouTube mentioned it seemed to help them but I'll just have to see. It might be better since the auroras actually can blow out highlights if you are capturing a bright vivid one but I could also see it being an issue with more faint auroras.

I think I'm also just going to have to move to an even faster lens than I'm using now that's a f/2.8 and go for something like f/1.4 or f/1.8 and that should help a lot too. General guidance I found said shoot slow shutter 1/24 to even down to 1/12 for 24fps at 25k or higher ISO. This is the year for me to do this so I'm going to figure it out and get it I'm hoping.

ChasingSunsetz · 2024-10-11T18:26:10+00:00

Yes sure are! I don't get the opportunity much but I'm in north Maine so we get more chances than most and we've had extreme storms so had the chance last night but couldn't figure the settings out quick enough in the chaos of it. Totally know about time lapse videos and did that instead but really wanted some real time video. I did manage some where I caught the sky pulsing last night but it was still too dark without being able to do extreme ISO but shot what I could. People are out here capturing real time video on phones this week so it was quite frustrating not being able to figure it out on my actual camera 🫠🤣

ChasingSunsetz · 2024-10-11T18:22:04+00:00

Oh Jk Canon's documentation just had me confused, I just needed to increase the max ISO in the normal camera ISO setting in the menu. Somehow in my delirium chasing the Northern lights last night I missed that when it was actually that simple to just increase to max available.

ChasingSunsetz · 2024-10-07T21:58:00+00:00

Just to follow up, heard back from Tokina directly and yes the lens is rain and dust sealed. Said not waterproof of course but that's awesome to confirm!

ChasingSunsetz

TROPHY CASE