AlanF said:

The R3 is indeed a such a remarkable camera that its 24 Mpx sensor can outresolve a 45 Mpx one and it can correct in RAW files the chromatic aberration of a lens.

Click to expand...

What we need is to pair this magical R3 with @Michael Clark’s magical EF 70-200/2.8 II. The former will have enough resolution to match the latter. The combo would be unstoppable, especially if someone comes forward with an EF-RF mount adapter filled with magical contrast-enhancing air.

I think that they will indeed release an R3m2, they can come up with distinct stuff and it seems like they want a big lineup. How they'll do it I don't know though and I hope that there will not be a push for even higher pixel count across the board.

I have created an Adobe Lightroom keyword list arranged by family to reflect the 2025 eBird avian taxonomy. It is keyed on the American English common names but includes the IOC common names as synonyms where they differ. It also includes the scientific names as well as the alpha codes.

You can download the list from https://drive.google.com/file/d/15jSCG2eUGQRwQlS9auFSDbvJ01dWWdy1/view?usp=drive_link

I would like to make this available to the wider birding community but would appreciate any feedback you might have before doing so.

Once downloaded, the list can be imported into Lightroom from the Library module via the command sequence Metadata > Import Keywords.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need any additional information.

P.S. Don't forget to update your copyright information in your cameras and image-processing software.

Bob Howland said:

Given what Sigma has given us, do we really need RF-S lenses from Canon?

Click to expand...

Yes, I believe so.
I love and respect Sigma in many ways, but...
- Sigma only has 12 APS-C lens all together, and that includes some older ones. 9 available for RF (of which only a single one is ART)
- The f/1.4 primes and the 17-40/1.8 are certainly great products, but that's it. Longest available is the 56mm (no, we are not counting the 16-300). The 50-100 is unavailable for RF. There's no tele, no macro, no tilt-shift, nothing.
- Canon has 0 APS-C L optics. Sigma has 1 ART for RF.
- Sigma AF and IS performance is often behind Canon's
- Canon's new technologies, like Z and VCM are completely unavailable for APS-C.

So even considering Sigma lenses, the APS-C format is veeeeery handicapped.

Mark flyer said:

Less chromatic aberration, more detail on distant trees, similar dynamic range. Will share files once I can get them from my laptop at home.

Click to expand...

The R3 is indeed a such a remarkable camera that its 24 Mpx sensor can outresolve a 45 Mpx one and it can correct in RAW files the chromatic aberration of a lens.

AlanF said:

What does "better" mean? There are so many variables in an image, the lenses used and subjects, and in taking and processing them so please elaborate.

Click to expand...

Less chromatic aberration, more detail on distant trees, similar dynamic range. Will share files once I can get them from my laptop at home.

AlanF said:

OK, they were pictures before sunrise at sparks lake with a particular lens. Does that extrapolate to all situations?

Click to expand...

No, that's where I was in person helping compare, me and my two uncles were working on comparing them, the onenowns both bodies, and my other uncle and I are working on helping him compare them, our end evaluation was the R3 did better overall for landscape and wildlife and macro, that doesn't cover every situation and is just our OPINION.

rbr said:

I suspect many potential buyers for a high end APS-C camera share my sentiments.

Click to expand...

I would agree with that. But the real issue is how many such buyers there are, and more importantly real ones, not just potential.

Canon launched the 7DII over a decade ago, after which they updated the 70D to the 80D then the 90D, then released the R7 that spec-wise seems more of a successor to the 90D than to the 7DII. That suggests Canon does not see sufficient market demand for a high-end APS-C camera.

Canon may be helping that become a self-fulfilling prophecy by adding relatively inexpensive lenses that deliver good IQ (100-400, 200-800, 600/11, 800/11) and allow FF bodies to achieve far ‘more reach’ than in their DSLR ecosystem.

Less chromatic aberration, more detail on distant trees, similar dynamic range.

I would like to a have high performing 7DII if and only if it would fit in with my current gear as a 3rd camera with my R5 and R5II. I don't need/want any new lenses specifically for it. I am well aware of all the compromises with the crop sensors. I do think it could be very useful more as an accessory for certain situations than a workhorse if it had the same basic layout of controls and used the batteries, cards, grips, brackets, etc. that the R5 and R6 cameras use. I suspect many potential buyers for a high end APS-C camera share my sentiments.

Mark flyer said:

Okay, they were pictures before sunrise at sparks lake, Oregon. Both were raw files without editing, the same iso, same aperture, same lense.

Click to expand...

OK, they were pictures before sunrise at sparks lake with a particular lens. Does that extrapolate to all situations?

Mark flyer said:

Comparing between r5 and r3 the r3 takes better pictures, i was reviewing on a laptop with significant zooming.

Click to expand...

What does "better" mean? There are so many variables in an image, the lenses used and subjects, and in taking and processing them so please elaborate.

Mark flyer said:

Okay, they were pictures before sunrise at sparks lake, Oregon. Both were raw files without editing, the same iso, same aperture, same lense.

Click to expand...

great.. can you share them?

Well, I'm convinced.

roby17269 said:

Without knowing anything about how the images were taken and without seeing the files, I will not believe you

Click to expand...

Okay, they were pictures before sunrise at sparks lake, Oregon. Both were raw files without editing, the same iso, same aperture, same lense.

Mark flyer said:

Comparing between r5 and r3 the r3 takes better pictures, i was reviewing on a laptop with significant zooming.

Click to expand...

Without knowing anything about how the images were taken and without seeing the files, I will not believe you

roby17269 said:

In my experience they are almost identical only if you look at them on a small-ish screen without zooming in

Click to expand...

Comparing between r5 and r3 the r3 takes better pictures, i was reviewing on a laptop with significant zooming.

ISv said:

These from today. From sunny to drizzling. Never mind: I just started the 2026 !

Click to expand...

I really like your series, ISv.

Very nice shots, Alan. I especially like the second one for the clear background.

Olli said:

I was also really thinking about looking for a 500mm F4 but when I was searching a couple weeks ago I saw that in 2029 the service for it will end. That was the point to not spend 5k Euro plus 1.4 extender for something have the risk not able to repair in 3 years. The gamble at this prices are not worth the risk. I’m pretty sure it will be the same for many other try to look for a big prime lense. Sadly no RF version of the 500 is on Horizont. I think it’s the perfect sweet spot between size and reach of the 400 and 600mm

Click to expand...

EF500 4.0L IS II USM lens hood has been unavailable for several years now, and apparently no longer produced (according to Canon UK and US). That is quite sad, as it is the most easily breaking part of the product (even if it is not part of the actual lens). I wish the support promise would also cover spare parts like that.

luka3rd said:

Obvious design flaw... Canon loves thin plastic lately.
Non L is not excuse, they charge pretty pennies for it.

Click to expand...

What news do you have on this topic 9 month later? Apparently there was no.

In that case, I can post some Palestine Sunbirds instead of hummers (R5/100-500mm).

Loswr said:

I wonder what Aaron at LensRentals has seen, and if he’ll do a teardown at some point.

Click to expand...

Obvious design flaw... Canon loves thin plastic lately.
Non L is not excuse, they charge pretty pennies for it.

foda said:

There's a recent paper presenting "A biogeographic comparison of two convergent bird families" at: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0335195 which characterizes and compares the global scale biogeography of two nectar-feeding bird families: the New World hummingbirds and the Old World sunbirds.

Click to expand...

The paper has hummingbirds going back as far as 42 million years ago. Even 30 million years ago, the old ball looked much different than it does today and the little guys wouldn't have had that much ocean to cross to get from one continent to another as Pangea was still in the breakup stage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panga...raphic_Map_of_Earth,_30_Ma_(Rupelian_Age).png And needless to say, the picture is only a scientific wild-assed guess of what the planet really looked like. Given how tiny and fragile hummers are, It is kind of surprising that any fossils have been found and not at all surprising that the fossil record is very incomplete.