Can’t remember whether I mentioned it the other day or not, but out of curiosity I checked the RF 100-400mm/1.4X against the RF 600mm f/11 on a known target. At 200%, any difference in IQ/sharpness and IS was so small that hand-holding the shots could have easily been the variable. Both produced critically sharp images to 1/100, the slowest speed I tested.
Obviously, “conventional wisdom says” can officially be tossed out the window now where modern optics are concerned. The small form factor and close focusing capability of the zoom/TC combo relegates the bazooka to backup status only. Its price, weight, and image quality make it one of the top five best gear buys of the last fifteen years.
After bonding with the R5 on the road, and especially after seeing photos of the controls on the R7, I will most definitely hold off acquiring one until I see what raw files from normal users look like. A couple of times past, adding a second camera to the system gummed up the works, resulting in eventually ditching both.
That said, I had barely finished looking at images from the a6400’s first outing when I started poking around to see what Sony’s current FF offerings are. Never having shot the a6400 under canopy before, I had no idea how noisy files over ISO 800 are. Second shot below was made at ISO 6400 and cleaned up in Topaz, but lost some of the finer feather detail in the process. FF for canopy shots might be a solution, especially now that I have more glass that’s exceptionally good with critters.
FF would also allow me to skip the 1.4X and go straight to a 2X for field shots as well. The only problem there is that no shop here has either TC in stock, nor do any of the international online dealers I use. No problem, this lens has nice reach on the a6400.
For the first time in a good while I have excellent options for dedicated bird-chasing, general critter-chasing where I might also see birds, and lightweight general tele-zoom that can at least record any birds and critters I might see.
Disenchantment with the Leica brand may prompt one of those to change at some point, however . . . Whatcha got coming, Sigma? ☺️
