I was thinking of buying the EF 500mm f/4L IS USM Lens (used) and using with an adaptor on the R5, I have the RF 100-500 zoom, but I find the aperture a bit limited at 500mm, what max aperture could I achieve with the adaptor please? And is anyone else using this combo? I am not great with the tech stuff at all, and it might not be worth doing. I couldn't afford the 600mm prime, so thought this the next best option.
Welcome to the forum Peter. I have that lens and used it on my R7 with adapter and it shoots very well. The images are truly the best. I also have the R5 but have not used it with the 500, I use the R5 for landscapes and architecture but I'll take it out and see how that combination does if you like.
Thank you very much for the reply, if you are willing to do that, that would be very helpful, but the fact that you find it works well with the adapter is good to know. Are there any difference or concessions to make in aperture etc?
EF- RF adapter would do nothing but adjust for the flange distance and mount ring difference. It is an empty plastic ring with pass through electronics if it is the canon one, the aperture will stay the same. The 7.1 at the long end is actually not bad at all considering it is a L grade zoom, its also only 1.5 stops slower than the f4. That prime lens probably cost about the same as your zoom but yes it gives you an f4. Anything longer usually is 5.6 if a prime, the 800 is a 5.6 and i believe $12k lens. Basically you get a stop or two of light or you get a zoom lens you cant have both. I expect the f4 to be a very nice thing to use at 500mm when you really want to blow the background out of focus... that said it can feel like a small window shooting that wide with a long lens. Definitely a tripod lens to me, but i haven't used it personally, I imagine it will perform stellar.
Thank you, the main reason, I was thinking of this lens, even though it doesn't increase my range, I like photographing birds in flight, and especially, Short eared owls, and occasionally Long eared owls, and the light often can be problematic, I don't use flash, as I like to avoid disturbance to the birds. With some Owl flight shots I get away with 1/4000 or a little lower, but I like to be able to use the higher shutter speeds, that my camera can offer.
well your concern makes a bit more sense now, I'm a little surprised you have to crack faster than 1/4000, thats a really fast shutter, but to be fair i don't have really long lenses to photograph birds/owls in flight. Panning with the flight as well as multiple fps I would think you could get some good shots at slower shutter speeds. That said, if its kinda dark you have no real light to work with, your AF prob is not at its A game, a flash would be worthless at 500mm, plus at at 1/4000 you have killed any light not directly next to the subject so flash would be double worthless here. I do see why shooting as wide as possible is what your looking for at dusk trying to capture nocturnal wildlife, f4 turns into f5.6 as the widest quickly as the widest fstop on very expensive long lenses, and a tele-converter will rob a stop or two of light so that doesn't really help your situation getting a faster lens and putting a 1.4 or 2x on it.
I went out today to our local wildlife area and got this for you to judge. I used the R5 with ring adapter and 500mm f4L IS USM lens. I resized to fit this format and no other photoshop done to it. The first image is full frame and the second is cropped.
In answer to your "concession" question, since there is no glass in the adapter (its just a hollow tube) there is none to worry about. Keep in mind that I mount lens to camera and go out shooting. I don't dwell much in the technical side of things because it is what it is, the lens and camera that is. I just go out and enjoy shooting and do the best I know how. Good luck!
Yes, although they are often out in broad daylight, it is often in crepuscular light, and their style of hunting is mostly on the wing, (on dry days anyway) I also record Hen harriers, for the Hen harrier group, and am trying to capture rings on the legs of two birds. Mostly I just want the option of using the higher shutter speeds. Although some owl shots in flight at 1000th sec, have come out well, as their wing beats are slow.
