5DSR for wildlife in dawn & birding?

[xps]

My 6D has an very good IQ, but the AF is to slow for my purposes. As I shoot a lot of animals in dawn, I´d like to buy a new FF body to raise the Iso (my 7DII shows really a lot of noise higher than ISO 1600). Used lenses: 600mm L II, 100-400mm II ( both lenses sometimes with 1.4x converter)

Would an 5DSR be a good choice for shooting animals in dawn? How fast is the AF?

I tried the Sony 7RII (phantastic IQ !!!), but I can´t choose an definitve AF Point : , so this is not practicable for wildlife photography. Waiting for an 5DIV? Or for the coming 80D (many f8-AF-points - with (heared from Canon) better high ISO than the 7DII)??

Thank for your help

 

[takesome1]

I use the 5Ds R for wildlife. Your 7DII will be similar to the 5Ds R.

I have tracked this many times for wildlife.
I have minimum shutter speed requirement, noise and aperture.
With mine this is what I found when it takes about 6 minutes to gain one stop of ISO.
So if the 6D has a 1 stop advantage over the 5Ds R when it comes to noise you would gain about 6 minutes of shooting time over the 5Ds R. This is both evening and morning.

YMMV since what I think is acceptable you may not.

So if you have a 2 stop ISO advantage with a different body, 12 minutes of a morning is lost. But you have the added resolution the rest of the time over the FF.

BIF would be a different thing. I could see where on a dark and dreary day you might struggle longer to get the shutter speed necessary.

 

[Deleted member 91053]

Depending on your location a second hand Canon 1DX would be in the same price range (£20 cheaper in WEX). A vastly superior camera for wildlife in all respects except pixel count - but it is more than adequate here too. Also even a well used 1DX will have more theoretical life left in it than the 5D series.
Much as I admire the 5DsR, and want one, it would not be my choice for wildlife.

 

[fegari]

I may be the one here witha different opinion...

I for one think the 5DSR absolutelly ROCKS for wildlife, birds in particular. For fast action like lions chasing buffalo the 7D2 / 1Dx claim the title due to frame rate but in my experience of the last 3 months with the 5DSR I could not be happier.

- I've sold the 5D3
- I've kept the 7DII but haven't used it since I have the 5DSR

Remember that the so called ISO advantage of the 5D3 and 6D is actually relative:

1- the 5DSR has much "cleaner" noise than the 5D3, much easier to remove. Better shadow recovery in my opinion too
2- the BIG winner for me: you have a crop + full frame in one camera, if you shoot birds you can crop to hell and end up with a 20mpx file. Your tele just became some sort of "zoom" . If you filled the frame and had to use a high ISO where the 5D3 or 6D is supposed to be apparent => downsample the export file to 1/2 and you totally negate the 5D3/6D apparent ISO advantage and will still have more detail.
3 - And finally you have as well a monster camera for landscapes

I can only see benefits in my personal use (birds oriented).

Drop me a private and I can link you to my 500px images and send you a sample if you want

Finally, don't take it from me, take it from a Canon Explorer, in particular his older posts in which he actually states what I say above http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/

 

[Deleted member 91053]

If the ISO demands are not too high and the bird can be easily tracked then fegari makes some good points. However much we like the 5DsR (I am certainly a fan!) it is not the first choice for this sort of thing unless you are looking for perched (rather than flying) subjects and the light isn't too demanding. Whilst it will track flying subjects quite well it will not live with the 1DX in the AF department, a quick pick up and try will show you this very quickly.

I primarily shoot birds, preferably in flight, so the best available AF and ISO performance (due to the high/very high shutter speeds needed) is desirable. On top of that, here in South Wales, the light is often not great! Hence my choice of the 1DX. See if you can try one out and see for yourself. Attached is a heavy crop of an Owl taken recently on a very hazy day.

 

[bholliman]

I'm relatively new to wildlife and bird photography, but am very pleased with my 5DsR for this use. I often shoot near dawn and dusk and feel comfortable using ISO's up to 3200. As Fegari pointed out, the noise cleans up easily, especially when downsampled. I sold my 5D3 a few months after buying the 5DsR since the 5DsR does everything better.

I have never used a 1Dx and undoubtedly the high frame rate, excellent AF and noise handling make it a premier low light BIF camera. The one advantage of the 5DsR in comparision is the resolution and ability to crop.

For me the 5DsR is an ideal camera since I'm primarily a landscape photographer and just shoot birds occasionally. Since your usage is different it may or may not be the best choice for you.