This video is part two of my morning out at the park after the sunrise shoot, and it turns into one of those wildlife photo walks where you just keep finding “one more thing.” I’m out with the Canon R50 and the RF 600mm f/11, walking the fields (tick spray on, because… yeah) and trying to work slow around skittish meadowlarks. Shooting at an effective 900mm reach, I’m dealing with the realities of that long focal length—shutter speed matters, even with stabilization—and I’m also pushing ISO when the birds are in shade. What surprised me (again) is how good this little entry-level body can be once I get home and see the files on a big screen. The viewfinder looks like crap compared to my bigger cameras, but the results don’t. I’m handholding, sometimes bracing on a tree, and letting the shutter button handle focus while I track what’s happening in the frame—black phoebe, a Cooper’s hawk (circle-of-life gross, fair warning), hummingbirds, posts by the lake with that beautiful green background, and even an egret right at the end… right when my battery dies. Takeaway: this setup is fun, it fills the frame without cropping, and entry-level gear absolutely builds real skills if that’s what you’ve got.