For the first time in two years, I was back in the UK. It was also my first time using my brand new Canon R5 camera. I’d fitted the 100-400MM lens to the front with a control ring adaptor (bound to ISO changes). With that and some rudimentary practice of all the new settings and buttons, I went out into the New Forest in Hampshire.

Some days in the forest, you are surrounded by animal life, and others, like today, the sightings are few and far between.

A handful of squirrels were bounding through the woodlands. They’re grey fur blending into the grey light.

A few Robins perched on branches and walls.

On two occasions a herd of deer heard us and ran off. The second time I was just fast enough to catch their tails leaving.

And of course, there were the new forest horses.

As we reached the end of our walk, we found a hawk waiting patiently on a branch. 

All in all, I was impressed with the R5, its sharpness is incredible, and the AI animal tracking is fantastic when it works, but does struggle to find the animal in a maze of overlapping branches. The noise on high ISO (given the poor weather and my push for a very fast shutter speed) was really good and noticeably better than my 5D. The continually on LCD screen is a frustration to solve as it will kill the battery life.

I'm looking forward to exploring the camera more.