Photographing flying birds with a 600 mm lens can be challenging due to the narrow field of view, but it can be done! I used a Canon RF 600 mm F/11 lens on a Canon R7 body to do exactly this, and I am glad to state that the results were impressive!
Although a much underrated lens, the Canon RF F/11 STM lens is a capable lens when used in tandem with the Canon RF7 body. I wouldn't be wrong to state that the prime lens is no laggard in doing its job! Even though I have a Canon 70-300 mm USM STM II lens, I had deliberately decided to use the 600 mm prime lens to photograph birds in flight. I wanted to test the lens and take it through its paces. I selected focus tracking, set the ISO to auto, and selected a minimum shutter speed of 1250/second for the shoot. Needless to say, the results came out to be pretty impressive! Of course, the lighting was favourable, although there was a trace of light mist.
Patience can be a virtue, and predicting bird movement can play an important role in flying bird photography. To help speed up focusing, I disabled the full autofocus switch and instead selected the other options, which limit the lens from focusing on close objects. All of the photographs shared in this post were taken handheld for ease of movement, which speaks loudly about the capability of the lens.
Of course, the lens-and-camera combo used for the photographs can be a bit tiring to hold for long periods compared to the 70-300 mm lens, but it can be done! I have not yet used a lens hood with the lens, which might make the combo a bit unwieldy for handheld shots.
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