Sony A9 + 200-600 vs Canon R5 + 100-500

[Gold]

Anyone have experience shooting with both of these combos for wildlife/birds and how they compared?

Currently got a Sony setup (in sig) with A9 + 200-600 as my main weapon of choice but find the size is a little constraining as it requires my big Lowepro to carry. And despite being semi-regularly allowed to sneak off to take photos it would be nicer to be able to travel with a more compact setup for upcoming travels. Think the main downside will be missing the blackout free viewfinder and excellent silent shooting of the A9 - how does this compare in real life with the R5?

Ended up taking my A6400 + 70-350mm when traveling just for the smaller size so hope that the R5 + 100-500mm would be able to replace both of these. Would probably look to ditch all the Sony gear and go all in on Canon as I still miss elements of my old DSLR (6D + 7D II) setup. The RP appeals as a second body to natively use full frame lenses (particularly a 24-105) while being similar in weight and price to my A6400, and pairing that with the 16mm, 35mm and 50mm 1.8 primes to replace my smaller APS-C (used for photos of my toddler) and rarely used wide-angle (17-28) and macro (Tokina 100mm) with more versatile and lighter. I know the RP was relatively derided on launch but as a second body/back up it looks a nice compromise.

 

[isobarik]

I have nothing to offer on the comparison with Sony - but would counsel spending the extra on an R7 as a second body over the RP (giving you a similar setup to the 6D/7dii you had)

After getting the R5, the RP and the R didn't get a look in

Dave

 

[rob-nikon]

I moved from the A9 to the R6. So far I’m happy with the R6 for the time I’ve had it. Most of wildlife photography is over autumn/winter so I’ve not yet gone through a full ‘photography season’ with it yet.

The silent electronic shutter mode on the R6 is as good as the A9. Its worked well with the 100-500 photographing red squirrels and deer the few times I have photographed them so far.

This may be interesting for you.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mHxpcpU_Eog


The 100-500 is roughly the same size as Sonys 100-400. The R6 and 100-500 fits in the same space as the A9 and 100-400 did which I was happy about. I think the website camerasize.com would help you see the size difference.

Have you considered the R6? It’s cheaper but has less MP (which may be a concern for you). You can nearly pick up two R6’s for the price of one R5, especially if you time it with a double cashback period I did.

 

[Gold]

Thanks both, really helpful particularly the blackout video.

The lower weight of the RP (or even R10) is definitely interesting. At the same time a R7 + R6 combo would probably be a sweet spot. That said there’s definitely an element of GAS about getting the higher end body.