Canon R1 Wildlife Field Experience

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

txstone

txstone

Active member
Supporting Member
Marketplace
Member's gallery
A couple of good field experience pieces on the Canon R1 for wildlife: a Jan Wegener video and an article by Joshua Holko about his R1 experience in Antarctica photographing Emperor penguins. Jan discusses his experience using the R1, including AF for BIF, while Holko discusses his experience with the R1 in a harsh environment , ergonomics including with gloves, eye AF and testimony on battery use.




Joshua Holko

https://www.canonrumors.com/canon-e...arctica-a-wildlife-photographers-perspective/
 
Member's gallery
Jan’s a great reviewer and teacher, very much like Steve, very balanced and always sharing his expertise. I didn’t know Joshua but quite impressive imagery and I’m not surprised about his feedback on the R1. I’ve owned Canon series for years, and i share his views, they are the best built, most reliable workhorses you can get, and like him, I love the ergonomics (and the R1 viewfinder is something else - quite a bit better than the Sony A1 I now own).

But the rationalization on why 24mp is more than enough is just that, rationalization. The R1 is great for many jobs, but it doesn’t make it perfect for all jobs (no camera is) And Jan is a lot more balanced in that regard. I don’t see the need to belittle photographers that can’t make 24mp work for their needs. That said, Joshua’s shots prove that 24mp is enough in his hands 😁
 
Member's gallery
FB101 said:
Jan’s a great reviewer and teacher, very much like Steve, very balanced and always sharing his expertise. I didn’t know Joshua but quite impressive imagery and I’m not surprised about his feedback on the R1. I’ve owned Canon series for years, and i share his views, they are the best built, most reliable workhorses you can get, and like him, I love the ergonomics (and the R1 viewfinder is something else - quite a bit better than the Sony A1 I now own).

But the rationalization on why 24mp is more than enough is just that, rationalization. The R1 is great for many jobs, but it doesn’t make it perfect for all jobs (no camera is) And Jan is a lot more balanced in that regard. I don’t see the need to belittle photographers that can’t make 24mp work for their needs. That said, Joshua’s shots prove that 24mp is enough in his hands 😁
Click to expand...

I agree with your take on Jan. I enjoy his work and learning from his videos, as I do from Steve's books and videos.

I’m finding precious few R1 articles/videos describing wildlife field experiences. You might say, what do you expect, it’s a sports camera. I think there’s more to the story. I expect there will be wildlife shooters who want to experience the R1 AF and tracking capability that will be willing to gamble on being able to fill the frame.

I wanted to show Joshua's article as a wildlife piece but felt the need to show more about the R1’s AF capability. I think Jan's video provides a nice addition in highlighting the R1's AF capability with birds, whether picking them out of busy backgrounds or capturing rapidly moving birds.
 
Member's gallery
arbitrage said:
Whistling Wings will also get you some R1 bird content...I prefer him on 1.5x-2x speed though:
Click to expand...
Yes, he’s a very knowledgeable guy but you are right - needs to be watched ar higher speed.
he’s a little bit more energetic in real life - I went out with him a couple times and had an awesome time - not the greatest weather and light conditions unfortunately but enjoyable nonetheless.
 
In youtube if you long-hold on the right side of the screen it stays in 2x while you are holding and goes back to normal when released. Or if you double tap on the right side of the video it jumps 10 seconds, triple tap 20 seconds and so on.
 
Member's gallery
If that upscaling in camera works as Canon say; looks like they've really hit the spot here for wildlife (and action, and sports etc) But they've done it at a stage when the competion all have excellent flagships so probably wont stimulate an exodus. At the end of the day, its good to be back in an era where we see each of them pushing the boundaries and edging ahead from time to time. As such; brand bashing is futile and Photography is the winner ;)
 
Member's gallery
TonyF said:
If that upscaling in camera works as Canon say; looks like they've really hit the spot here for wildlife (and action, and sports etc) But they've done it at a stage when the competion all have excellent flagships so probably wont stimulate an exodus. At the end of the day, its good to be back in an era where we see each of them pushing the boundaries and edging ahead from time to time. As such; brand bashing is futile and Photography is the winner ;)
Click to expand...
Not sure what upscale in camera does for us versus upscaling in post.
They are not using pixel shifting or any other technique that adds true detail capture. It uses memory space and battery for something that can be done in post with more control. I can’t remember a time when I stepped out of a swamp and ran to a printer to get a 3 foot print.

I see the value for sport journalists. Having a clean upscale that allows to crop-in just right and send a tight portrait that will compete with a Sony A1 shot for a publication is very useful - but for wildlife photography? I don’t see the use.
 
Member's gallery
FB101 said:
Not sure what upscale in camera does for us versus upscaling in post.
They are not using pixel shifting or any other technique that adds true detail capture. It uses memory space and battery for something that can be done in post with more control. I can’t remember a time when I stepped out of a swamp and ran to a printer to get a 3 foot print.

I see the value for sport journalists. Having a clean upscale that allows to crop-in just right and send a tight portrait that will compete with a Sony A1 shot for a publication is very useful - but for wildlife photography? I don’t see the use.
Click to expand...
Canon Say - 'Find exquisite detail in the closest of crops. Enlarge images by up to four times in-camera, producing gallery-ready photos at up to 96-megapixels, which look sensational'
If it works as claimed; thats looking rather good for people who are able to expose an image correctly. At 24MP the image quality of the (R1) starting point is going to be rather good.
I'm just commenting on this because I find the innovation interesting. This isn't going to be the best solution for some and, for others, its a gamechanger.
 
Overall I think the R5ii is the pick for wildlife that is to be printed large. But certainly the R1 for publications of any kind not just sports but events, news, portraits, travel, nature. There are some plusses to large pixels and small files. For dynamic range the R5 is still king but by an insignificant amount.

 
Member's gallery
https://app.ssw.imaging-saas.canon/app/en/nnut.html?region=1

It looks like Canon has had a desktop neural network upscaling tool available since at least 2023. There is information online about the deep learning image processing technology and how the model was trained. This technology is presumably the basis for the R1 and R5 MkII in camera processing of JPEG and HEIF files that can also incorporate camera:lens:settings information. In camera (elective) noise processing is also available in these camera models. In a quick scan, I couldn’t find what I thought was a good illustrative review of the AI driven upscaling or noise reduction.
 
Member's gallery
This YouTube channel also has a number of posts on using the R1 Jonny Pink Youtube Channel. Light on technical details but some samples and lots of enthusiasm.

I have been using the R1 for the past month. I love the body and some of the features like the great EVF and pre-capture RAW. I am still trying to get used to using the RF400mm f2.8, it's pretty cumbersome when you are used to lighter lenses. I'm really missing the Nikon PF lenses, that might eventually drive me back to Nikon. I have not been able to get much BIF photos but I have some samples here if interested R1 Sample Album.
 
Member's gallery
bcaslis said:
I am still trying to get used to using the RF400mm f2.8, it's pretty cumbersome when you are used to lighter lenses.
Click to expand...
Brian…

Please try Canon’s superb RF 100–500 lens.

Some photographers dismiss this lens out of hand: f/7.1 at 500mm (Gotta be kidding!); telescoping zoom (Never!).

Just try it: I’m sure that you’ll not only produce images that are equal to those you’ve linked to in your Flickr account, but will come away from the experience with a smile on your face and no aching muscles.

… David
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
Thanks, I have tried the 100-500mm (and have it currently). It's a breeze to carry around by comparison but f7.1 makes high ISO necessary. Oregon at this time of year doesn't have a lot of sunshine (especially this year). I think it's a very good lens but the Nikon 600PF has no Canon equivalent. Still trying things and trying to get used to the Canon.
 
Member's gallery
TonyF said:
Canon Say - 'Find exquisite detail in the closest of crops. Enlarge images by up to four times in-camera, producing gallery-ready photos at up to 96-megapixels, which look sensational'
If it works as claimed; thats looking rather good for people who are able to expose an image correctly. At 24MP the image quality of the (R1) starting point is going to be rather good.
I'm just commenting on this because I find the innovation interesting. This isn't going to be the best solution for some and, for others, its a gamechanger.
Click to expand...
Canon is a printer company after all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top