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ThomasTH · Mar 30, 2026

Great photo! The light and reflections are awesome.

DocInfoSci · Mar 30, 2026

Thanks, I’ll venture a try.

candyman · Mar 30, 2026

GirlsAreBeautiful said:
STM is also noisy, at least from what I can remember when I tried it.

I don't believe that technology stands still. The STM of the present is not the STM of the past. The STM on my RF 10-20 is fast and silent.

m4ndr4ke · Mar 30, 2026

DocInfoSci said:
Yeah, my only STM lens is the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake, and I have such a mixed relationship with it: on one hand, I love the compact nature for casual walk-around — but on the other the AF drive and manual interaction really irks me. I won't say I hate it, but I will say the only reason it remains in my kit is the compactness. If that's how STM lenses in general are being done I wouldn't vote for them with my cash. It's been such a turn off I haven't even made time to try the RF editions, but I suppose I should to see if they've improved.

GirlsAreBeautiful said:
STM is also noisy, at least from what I can remember when I tried it.

This is not to say that Canon completely reinvented them, but the latest iterations of STM motors are more enjoyable to use. It really depends on the lens, though.

The EF 40mm was the first or second STM lens ever, its autofocus is pretty slow and somewhat noisy. There's still a few lenses that I'd say are about as noisy as the 40, such as the RF 50mm f/1.8 and the RF 35mm f/1.8, but some others are different.

There's not a lot of lenses with the newest STM motors yet, as far as I know it's just the RF 7-14mm L, 10-20mm f/4 L (I think), 16-28mm f/2.8, 28-70mm f/2.8 and the 45mm f/1.2, but they are provide a significantly better user experience, being quiet and smooth. Some of them are pretty fast, and that includes the 28-70mm f/2.8, which seems to be about as fast as the EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II.

Additionally, it's important to distinguish the two types of STM motors. Lenses driven by gear type STM motors tend to be a little noisier and jerky (RF 16, 28, 35, 50,...), while lead-screw tends to be quieter and smoother (RF 24, 85, 10-20, 7-14, 16-28, 28-70,...).
The 45mm uses a new gear-type STM, being an exception, that feels to me like a slow but modern USM, it's pleasant, it's smooth and quiet.

Gear type STM are the smallest motors, being the only choice to equip the smallest lenses.

candyman · Mar 30, 2026

Click said:
Beautiful shot. Well done, cadyman.

Thank you very much Click.

neuroanatomist · Mar 30, 2026

AlanF said:
One corner (decentered) or all 4 worse?

All four worse.

Mar 30, 2026

STM is also noisy, at least from what I can remember when I tried it.

AlanF · Mar 30, 2026

neuroanatomist said:
Received the 'new' (refurbished) RF 2x from Canon USA. Turns out to be not quite as good as my original copy, so it will go back to Canon.

Original on top of each pair, top pair is the center, bottom pair is the corner.

View attachment 228669

One corner (decentered) or all 4 worse?

neuroanatomist · Mar 30, 2026

DocInfoSci said:
Wow -- that's noticeably worse. I'd have expected refurbished to be even better, honestly, with an assumed review by an actual human.

That's what I was expecting, or at least not worse. I know one person who pretty much only buys refurbished based on that premise. Seems not to be the case.

DocInfoSci · Mar 30, 2026

neuroanatomist said:
Received the 'new' (refurbished) RF 2x from Canon USA. Turns out to be not quite as good as my original copy, so it will go back to Canon.

Wow -- that's noticeably worse. I'd have expected refurbished to be even better, honestly, with an assumed review by an actual human.

Click · Mar 30, 2026

Great shots, antonn.

neuroanatomist · Mar 30, 2026

eero said:
Thank you for the reply. Please let us know here if you do and what the results are.

Received the 'new' (refurbished) RF 2x from Canon USA. Turns out to be not quite as good as my original copy, so it will go back to Canon.

Original on top of each pair, top pair is the center, bottom pair is the corner.

Click · Mar 30, 2026

Beautiful shot. Well done, cadyman.

foda · Mar 30, 2026

Thank you very much. I'll be on Oahu this week and will definitely check out that area.

ISv said:
Most of the tourists know the Ford DeRussy Park in Waikiki. Across the street against that park is situated the Ainahau triangle (big grass field) and next to it is the Brothers in Valor Memorial - also a grass field, small. It's where You have to look for flock(s) of Common Waxbills. The Orange-cheeked is between them.
Look for a red rump and off course for that orange cheeks.

ISv · Mar 30, 2026

AlanF said:
Their genetics is really interesting. You are right, the US Green Teal mitochondrial DNA differs from the European Common Teal by a massive 5.9%. So, the maternal line, down which the the mitochondrial DNA passes, is very different, having diverged some 2.6 million years ago. The nuclear DNAs are much more similar, like 99.7% the same. This may be due to the females always going back to the same place to breed whereas the males travel widely to mate. Interestingly, birds are the opposite of humans for sex linked chromosomes. Whereas human men are XY and women YY, male birds are ZZ and females WZ.

The similarity of the protein coding DNA of the Humans and Mouse is about 85%. Taken the entire genome DNA (incl. non protein codding DNA) similarity is ~50%. It looks like the mouse is 85% Human

. And yes, I'm suppose to know that it's all about the regulation (aka non-protein codding DNA).

ISv · Mar 30, 2026

foda said:
Nice photos! Where in Waikiki did you see the Orange-Cheeked Waxbill?

Most of the tourists know the Ford DeRussy Park in Waikiki. Across the street against that park is situated the Ainahau triangle (big grass field) and next to it is the Brothers in Valor Memorial - also a grass field, small. It's where You have to look for flock(s) of Common Waxbills. The Orange-cheeked is between them.
Look for a red rump and off course for that orange cheeks.

neuroanatomist · Mar 30, 2026

Good idea, thanks. Renting would be <$50, I might be able to borrow a copy.

AlanF · Mar 30, 2026

Exploreshootshare said:
Great pics!

Btw: What is your experience with the R5(ii) + RF 200-800mm combo? I´d really like to know what your experience is. Maybe compared to the RF 100-500mm? thx in advance!

I tested carefully the RF 200-800mm vs 100-500mm on the R5, and since then found the AF of the RF 200-800mm is significantly improved on the R5ii so it is fast and reliable at 800mm.

https://www.canonrumors.com/forum/threads/summary-of-my-rf-200-800mm-testing.43239/

and earlier threads, linked within.

candyman · Mar 30, 2026

7 bites by the local residents ..... by Thornmill Images, on Flickr

Exploreshootshare · Mar 30, 2026

ions said:
Cottage time is coming...

Sunset on Lake Oudaze Muskoka Chair, Ontario, Canada by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr

Lake Oudaze Reflection 1 by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr

Lake Oudaze Reflection 2 by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr

Great pics, I love the sunset shot with the chair

Exploreshootshare · Mar 30, 2026

cool thread

I'll participate

First up, the Germans call it a "Klassiker": Lake Matheson in New Zealand:

P-visie · Mar 30, 2026

My R5 Mk II + EF 600mm + 1.4 III extender works as advertized (

). I hope it is not the lens. Can you borrow (or rent) another EF 1.4 TC to verify that it is not the lens?

Exploreshootshare · Mar 30, 2026

josephandrews222 said:
R5ii + 200-800 @ 800 (both)

...checking out the master bedroom (female downy woodpecker)

View attachment 228651

=====

Dark-eyed Junco testing a trampoline

View attachment 228652

Great pics!

Btw: What is your experience with the R5(ii) + RF 200-800mm combo? I´d really like to know what your experience is. Maybe compared to the RF 100-500mm?

thx in advance!

Exploreshootshare · Mar 30, 2026

Noreaster said:
Carolina Wren is my first pic. We are on the edge of their range
Some should have been in the birds in flight threadView attachment 228642 View attachment 228643 View attachment 228644 View attachment 228645

Great shots! I especially love the shot of the eagle in flight!

neuroanatomist · Mar 30, 2026

A camera body will show F00 and manual focus (MF) when it cannot communicate with a lens, which could be because there is no lens attached, because the lens is fully manual, or because there's a problem with the lens itself.

I went out birding over the weekend, mounted my usual combination of 600/4 II, 1.4xIII and the vanilla EF-EOS R Mount Adapter to my R1 and headed out. When I turned on the camera, it showed F00 and MF. I thought, "Oh, sh!t," and swapped on the 2xIII. That worked...but then it also changed to F00 and MF. So I mounted just the bare lens...and that was perfectly fine so I spent the day shooting like that.

When I got home, I cleaned all the contacts and tested various combinations again, including changing out the vanilla mount adapter for the drop-in version and my 3rd party adapter modified for an RF extender to fit behind it.

The upshot was this, and the situation is seemingly stable (through many trials over a couple of days, no changes). Happens on both the R1 and the R8, and with all three of the mount adapters.

Bare 600/4 II – functions normally
600/4 II + 1.4xIII – F00 and MF
600/4 II + 2xIII – varies between:
- Normal function
- Showing an aperture value that can be adjusted, but still only MF
- F00 and MF
- The variation is caused by physical manipulation – twisting the lens in the mount or moving the lens, e.g., lifting it from pointing down into shooting position, affects the functionality
600/4 II + RF 1.4x (with Commlite adapter) – functions normally

The fact that I see this behavior with two bodies and three adapters suggests the problem is the TCs or the lens.

I haven't used the 2xIII TC quite some time, not since Comet C:2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in October 2024. So maybe the 2xIII failed sometime over the past 18 months (while sitting mostly undisturbed in a Pelican case with a dehumidifier unit), and the 1.4xIII failed sometime in the past 3.5 weeks since I last used it.

If it's the lens and not the TCs, the problem is specific to use with EF TCs and yet the problem exhibits different symptoms with the two TCs, and I don't know why that would be the case. Admittedly, I would prefer it to not be the lens, because the service life for the 600/4 II ended last year, so sending it to Canon is not an option. I could replace it with the RF 600/4, but I suspect we'll see a version of that lens with the 1.4x TC and hopefully fairly soon. I would love to have the latter and would not love buying twice.

One other idea occurred to me, literally as I was typing this post. I started to write that I don't have any other TC-compatible EF lenses with which to test the extenders...and realized that while that is true, I do have three other EF mount lenses that are physically compatible with the extenders, but don't report them to the camera body (TS-E 17, TS-E 24 and MP-E 65). So I tried the 1.4xIII and the 2xIII with the TS-E 24, and I found that the 1.4xIII shows F00, and the 2xIII shows an aperture value that can be adjusted.

It seems rather unlikely that both TCs independently failed, but I am thinking that's exactly what has happened. Sort of a Sherlock Holmes, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth," sort of thing.

From a practical standpoint, assuming that I'm correct and both extenders have failed, I see no need to replace the 2xIII. One option would be to replace the 1.4xIII ($480 new or $280 used), but I can also just use the RF 1.4x behind my modified Commlite mount adapter, and just remember that I'm doing that since it's not reported in the EXIF. The downside to the latter is that I would not benefit from the DxO lens profile for the combo (though I could batch edit the EXIF and I suspect that DxO would use the 600 II + EF 1.4xIII profile, it still won't be the right profile).

Thoughts, suggestions, and sharing prior experience welcome!

Edit: the RF 1.4x itself does show up in the EXIF, but the exposure information doesn't reflect it, remaining 600mm f/4.

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