WILDLIFE

Wildlife photography: a pro and a hobbyist test the Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM

Nature photographer Guy Edwardes teams up with enthusiastic hobbyist Pete Lau to share top tips for capturing striking wildlife images with the Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM.
A great grey owl with striking yellow eyes looks directly at the camera in a photo taken by Guy Edwardes with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens.

Wildlife is a genre like no other – every moment is a chance to unlock the extraordinary, but its real beauty lies in the fact that anyone can have a go. Former fire officer turned passionate photography enthusiast Pete Lau proved this during a one-on-one wildlife shoot with professional nature and landscape photographer Guy Edwardes at the Hawk Conservancy Trust, in Hampshire, UK.

Pete and Guy were among the first to use the Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM, a lightweight super telephoto lens with a focal length of up to 800mm, ideal for photographing animals and birds from any position and without disturbing them. Aimed at serious hobbyists, it features an aperture range of f/6.3-9, a 5.5-stop Optical Image Stabilizer and lightning-fast autofocus that ensures clarity and sharpness no matter how fleeting the moment. The RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM is designed to withstand changeable weather, with dust and moisture resistance equivalent to Canon's pro L-series lenses. It also features a white reflective coating for reliable optical performance when shooting in the heat of the sun.

"The wow factor of this lens is its range," says Pete, who has previously used a Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM and RF 800mm F11 IS STM to capture distant subjects. "The 200 to 800mm range is just incredible, and having the ability to use just one lens on a subject that could be a few feet away one moment but 40m away the next gives me so much more flexibility than swapping between two lenses. The RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM offers outstanding results, exceptional capability and real value for money."

A headshot of hobbyist wildlife photographer Pete Lau.

Pete Lau

Pete was paralysed from the chest down after a mountain bike accident in 2014, and now uses a wheelchair. Despite his ongoing pain, he discovered a passion for wildlife photography and now runs a website offering advice on how people using mobility equipment can access the natural world.

"The weight, or lack of it, was the initial surprise with the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM," Guy adds. "It's relatively compact, and extremely lightweight for the focal length. The fact that it shoots up to f/9 is a reasonably good compromise in terms of the type of picture you can take for the weight and the size that you save."

Guy chose to team the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM with his Canon EOS R5, while Pete paired his with the EOS R7. Here, Guy and Pete share their experience of capturing the wonders of wildlife – and while they've used the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM to photograph birds of prey, the lessons they share here are applicable to all creatures.

A headshot of landscape and nature photographer Guy Edwardes.

Guy Edwardes

Guy has been working as a landscape and nature photographer for almost 30 years. He mainly photographs the wildlife and wild places of Britain, but also runs workshops all over the world and has supplied thousands of images to stock libraries.

1. Shoot at animal eye level

A lanner falcon puffs up its wings as it stands in the grass, in a photo taken by Pete Lau with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens.

As Pete is not able to stand, kneel or get out of and back into his wheelchair, the pair had to find a creative way of photographing birds on the ground, such as this lanner falcon. Taken on a Canon EOS R7 with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens at 800mm, 1/1600 sec, f/9 and ISO 1600. © Pete Lau

A Canon camera with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens attached being held low to the ground by a person in a wheelchair.

"Guy suggested I fold out the vari-angle touchscreen on the Canon EOS R7 and turn on Live View," explains Pete. "I carefully lowered the camera to the ground, while using my other hand to control it. With the touchscreen pointing up at me, I was able to get the shot."

Guy prefers photographing animals at their eye level. "If the subject is on grass, sand or water, then I'm going to be lying on the ground or shooting from the lowest possible angle," he explains. "You get a nice diffusion in the foreground, and it throws the background out of focus much more quickly. Even a small adjustment of 15-30cm can make a massive difference to the look of the picture. Also, when shooting birds of prey, it enables you to hide the tethers [attached to the bird's legs]."

Getting on the ground, even with Guy's assistance, was just not possible for Pete. Thankfully the duo found a solution – using the Canon EOS R7's vari-angle touchscreen. "Holding his camera over the side of his wheelchair and using the screen helped Pete shoot from a very low angle," says Guy. "He got maybe 30cm from the ground, and it completely changed the look of his pictures."

Pete, who has been a keen hobbyist for several years, says this is not something he would normally do. "It's brilliant because it gave me so much more flexibility," he says.

2. Shift your perspective to find a better background

In a clearing surrounded by trees, two photographers, one in a wheelchair, use their Canon cameras with the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens attached.

As well as being incredibly versatile, the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM is relatively compact and lightweight for a lens with this zoom range, making it suitable not only for beginners and hobbyists but also for those with mobility issues, such as Pete.

A great grey owl sitting on a tree branch looks at the camera, in a photo taken by Guy Edwardes with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens.

"To get an interesting background, you don't necessarily have to move much," says Guy. "Pete just moved his wheelchair an inch or so to one side, and that was enough to change the background to get a usable shot." Taken on a Canon EOS R5 with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens at 600mm, 1/640 sec, f/8 and ISO 3200. © Guy Edwardes

"Even when you've got a really great subject, such as an owl, that's sometimes not enough. You need to think about the background," says Guy, explaining that even a small movement can make a big difference. "The 800mm reach of the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM gives you a very narrow field of view, so you only need to shift your body slightly to completely change your background."

Pete was pleasantly surprised that a slight shift in the position of his wheelchair enabled him to markedly improve the composition of his shots. "I thought you'd have to move a long way, but you don't," he says. "To begin with, I was getting shots with cluttered backgrounds, with twigs sticking out here and there, but just moving a couple of inches to the left or right made a big difference."

3. Use the longest reach possible

An African hawk-eagle photographed mid-flight, with the background blurred. Taken by Guy Edwardes with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens.

"The longer the focal length, the quicker the background and foreground elements fall out of focus, while your subject stays sharp," says Guy. "Also, the further away you are from your subjects, the less likely you are to disturb them." Taken on a Canon EOS R5 with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens at 455mm, 1/2500 sec, f/8 and ISO 1000. © Guy Edwardes

A crested caracara photographed mid-flight, with the background blurred. Taken by Pete Lau with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens.

Covering the 200-800mm focal lengths, the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM is ideal for photographers looking for an all-in-one wildlife lens. "As a hobbyist, I can't really justify the cost of a dedicated 500mm, 600mm and 800mm lens," says Pete. "But the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM gives me a flexible range and the capability to capture shots I couldn't have achieved before." Taken on a Canon EOS R7 with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens at 742mm, 1/8000 sec, f/9 and ISO 1250. © Pete Lau

Guy often uses a Canon RF 600mm F4L IS USM lens with a Canon Extender RF 1.4x to photograph wildlife, but he was impressed by the 800mm reach of the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM. "In terms of locking on, the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM did a really good job tracking, even in low light," he says. "But the great thing about shooting at that distance is the quicker autofocus. Imagine photographing a bird flying towards you with an 800mm lens. It's going to be a long way away and the autofocus is only having to move a small amount to track it. To get the bird the same size in the frame with a 300mm lens, it's going to have to be a lot closer to you. That means the lens element must move further and faster to keep it in focus. In essence, the longer the focal length, the easier it is for the focusing to work and the more effective it is."

The RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM's 800mm focal length also had added benefits for Pete. "The biggest frustration I have is not being able to get close to subjects," he says. "If I'm on a footpath or track, I'm physically limited to that space. If I go off the track, there's a chance I could fall out of my chair, so having that focal range is incredible. I can get closer than I ever have before."

Pairing the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM with an APS-C camera such as the EOS R7 is of particular benefit as the smaller sensor effectively crops the image, increasing the reach of the lens. At the 800mm end of the lens's range, the APS-C sensor gives you the same field of view as shooting with a 1,280mm telephoto lens on a full-frame camera.

Guy adds that another great thing about the lens is its zoom range. "If you're trying to find a bird in the sky, and you're zoomed all the way to 800mm, you're going to find it difficult to pinpoint," he explains. "Start with the lens zoomed back to 300 or 400mm, so that you can find your subject, then zoom in to 800mm to get a frame-filling shot."

4. Shoot handheld for flexibility

Photographer Guy Edwardes holds a Canon camera, with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens attached.

Guy says hand placement is crucial when holding a long lens such as the Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM. For maximum flexibility, he suggests gripping the lens as far down as possible, supporting it with your palm from below, with your fingers reaching to the front to adjust the zoom ring.

Peter Lau holds up a Canon camera with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens attached.

Guy and Pete were both pleasantly surprised by the compact size of the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM. "I wouldn't normally be able to pick up an 800mm lens, as it's too big and heavy, but the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM is unbelievably light," says Pete.

For capturing fast-moving creatures, Guy recommends leaving the tripod at home. "Shooting handheld gives you that flexibility if you need to move quickly, or to different places," he explains. "The only problem is if you're shooting with a heavy telephoto lens – you can't hold that kind of weight for very long."

Pete's usual stabiliser of choice is a monopod, which also helps him with the weight of his gear, but Guy showed him a new technique. "If I tuck in my elbows and brace them on my belly, that gives me so much more flexibility when tracking a moving subject. With the monopod, I'm limited to that level," he says. "The RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM is so light, I can manoeuvre it one-handed, whereas with some lenses it can feel like a weightlifting session.

"The design is also really well thought out," he adds. "I can pretty much get to everything with a finger and thumb, and for a super-telephoto lens, it's nice and compact."

5. Learn how to freeze fast movement

A Verreaux's eagle-owl captured mid-flight in a photo taken by Pete Lau with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens.

Using a fast shutter speed, Pete was able to capture this photo of a Verreaux's eagle-owl in flight. "This is the only owl that has pink eyelids," he says. "The contours on its wings help it to change its flying position and direction, which was amazing to see and meant I was especially grateful for the EOS R7's Animal Eye Detection AF, which worked very well." Taken on a Canon EOS R7 with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens at 200mm, 1/2700 sec, f/6.3 and ISO 100. © Pete Lau

A barn owl spreads its wings mid-flight in a photo taken by Guy Edwardes with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens.

The 5.5-stop Optical Image Stabilizer in the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM works in tandem with the In-Body Image Stabilisation in the EOS R7 to deliver up to 7.5-stops of stabilisation, making it possible to react quickly and capture shake-free images of birds in flight while shooting handheld. Taken on a Canon EOS R7 with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens at 481mm, 1/4000 sec, f/8 and ISO 800. © Guy Edwardes

When photographing wildlife, Guy recommends using a fast shutter speed. "Shoot at 1/2500 sec or faster, even if it's a bird on a perch," he says. "If it suddenly flies away, you'll be ready."

Not only will a fast shutter speed freeze the animal's movements, but Pete explains that it also helps to compensate for his. "I'm inherently quite unstable," he explains. "From the chest down, I don't have any control over what my body's doing, so I get a lot of camera shake. Increasing the shutter speed compensates for both the bird and me. The Optical IS on the RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM is just phenomenal; it's a game-changer for people like me who are differently abled."

To ensure a fast shutter speed, Guy says he comfortably worked at ISO 6400, especially in the shady woodlands where the light levels were low. "I think people worry too much about high ISOs and noise," he says. "I'd much rather have a sharp, crisp picture that might have a bit of noise, which I can deal with later using software, than miss the shot altogether." In addition, the high ISO performance and noise reduction technologies in modern cameras mean you can achieve cleaner images at higher ISOs than you'd expect.

A close-up portrait of a bald eagle with its bill open, taken by Pete Lau with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens.

"This huge bald eagle was in its enclosure but close to the fence, so I opted for a portrait to see how the lens would define detail," explains Pete. "The results speak for themselves, as do the colours coming through." Taken on a Canon EOS R7 with a Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM lens at 338mm, 1/400 sec, f/8 and ISO 100. © Pete Lau

Whether you're photographing birds or beasts, Guy's techniques, Pete's testimony and a lens such as the Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM, with its versatile zoom range and impressive capabilities, will help you to get one step closer to capturing the untamed beauty of the natural world. "Just give it a go," says Pete. "Anyone can do it. Get out there and see what you can do."


Written by Natalie Denton

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