Canon EOS R6 Mark II Stairstep Falls Photography Hike EF 17-40 f/4 L USM

I went to Stairstep Falls on Flora Branch and made some photos using the Canon EOS R6 Mark II and the EF 17-40 f/4 L USM ultra-wide lens. I also used the Maven CPL filter for these shots. Stairstep falls is a beautiful waterfall but only looks good with a lot of flow so you need to wait until there has been a huge amount of rain before visiting this one. I was fortunate in that it had rained for a full week before my trip. Join me at Stairstep falls in Graysville, Tennessee!
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[@randybocksnick3750]

Randy Bocksnick (MT) Phil I love your water falls photography! I've been with you now 8 1/2 years! I've watched you develop into an amazing photographer and a Good Friend I've never met!!

[@PhilThach]

Thank you, Randy! I appreciate your continued support! ⭐️

[@NECPER]

"Bruce Villis go home - Phil Thach is my man looking heroic next to the wayerfall." You´re a great photographer and your landscape scene is fantastic. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year.

[@PhilThach]

Lol 😂 Thank you! Happy New Year!

[@donjagoe]

Very nicely done Phil-I too have always liked that 17-40 and don’t understand why it is not more popular.

[@PhilThach]

Thank you, Don! I really like the range, it's not as wide as some ultra-wide lenses but the fact that it goes out to 40mm will result in fewer lens changes in the field.

[@Eli4Bill]

Excellent waterfall images Phil!👏 Always appreciate you explaining how you set up the shots, exposure, camera and lens information. Great stuff!!

[@PhilThach]

Thank you, Bill!

[@paulpack3090]

love the 17-40...

[@MrTmiket0007]

Thanks for sharing another wonderful video like always and the beautiful photos 👍🤗

[@PhilThach]

Thank you, Miguel!

[@PaKDucati]

beautiful waterfall

[@PhilThach]

Thank you!

[@michaelventarola7100]

Great work.

[@PhilThach]

Thank you!

[@bhalchandrakapatkar1710]

🙏 thanks 👍👌

[@bhalchandrakapatkar1710]

No.1 👍👍

[@PhilThach]

Thank you!

[@adrianalfordphotography]

Nice work Phil. Beautiful waterfall shots. At least the R6II did not go swimming. I would have been so nervous after last time. Thanks for sharing 👍🙏

[@PhilThach]

Thanks, Adrain! I will admit I am definitely less confident around waterfalls than I used to be. I’m also more careful so that is a plus.

[@ses4vols]

It's waterfall season! I really liked the "upper" falls shot. The selfies help with the scale of the lower falls.

[@PhilThach]

Thanks, Stephen!

[@cesarm8811]

Cool photos of the falls...Looking forward to your next video. Happy New Year to you, Heather and the family!

[@PhilThach]

Thank you, Cesar! Happy new year!

[@robertm3951]

Brave to encounter waterfalls and tripods again

[@PhilThach]

I pay a little more attention to each step these days. ✅

[@marvinkumarparboteeah7822]

thanks for the tips

[@PhilThach]

Thank you!

[@ammadoux]

beautiful video, very inspiring. here we are having very unusual rain fall, right now there are warnings of tropical storm, nothing to fear, as they are coming form our tiny red sea. but when its over hopefully can go around and take some landscapes, not much chances of water falls in the area around the city, but who knows. thanks so much.

[@PhilThach]

Thank you! Stay safe!

[@billmartin1663]

Great video, Phil! It's good to see your camera and lens escape without mishap. ;) (Will you ever live that one down?)

[@PhilThach]

Thank you, Bill! Anytime I can photograph a waterfall without falling down, I'm happy! :)

[@Ron.Durant]

Nice photos. Not seen it with the much water on it before.

[@PhilThach]

Thanks, Ron! And thanks again to you and Ricky for taking me there that day last year or I guess it’s the year before last now lol.

[@pepper6253]

Inspiring shots. Nikon user here enjoy seeing what you capture with your Canon set up.

[@PhilThach]

Thank you, Pepper! :)

[@TimChilders]

Nice location! You got some great photos!

[@PhilThach]

Thank you, Tim! I have Ron to thank for that location.

[@terryreece4828]

I'd love to see some bird photography from that R6ii and the 800 f/11. Considering that setup for birds.

[@PhilThach]

Thank you! I have a Sandhill Crane photography video coming out on January 18 at 7:30am USA Eastern time where I use the R6 Mark II and the RF 800 f/11 for all of the photos.

[@terryreece4828]

@@PhilThach perfect!

[@hendrikalexanderbeck]

Thank you very much for the great video. I like your channel. Do you also use the Canone remote control on the R7?

[@PhilThach]

Thank you! Yes, the BR-E1 Bluetooth remote also works with the R7.

[@robbytacheny3362]

What bag are you using? Looks like a good size and has good padding. Have you ever managed to get the RF800 and RF100-500 in there with a body?

[@PhilThach]

I use a Lowpro prorunner 200 AW, it's a very old bag. I bought one in 2011 and it lasted 11 years so I bought another one used on Ebay. Heather has one too. It will hold the 100-500 but is too small for the RF 800. I also have a couple of Lowpro Prorunner 300 AW that were not shown in this video. That slightly larger bag will hold the RF 800 and the RF 100-500 at the same time.

[@rblast1]

Did you try black and white? May look better since it’s winter.

[@PhilThach]

I didn't but that is a great idea!

[@rblast1]

Curious if you have used the mark 2 for sports yet? How well it does sticking to a subject in a crowd like soccer or basketball?

[@PhilThach]

The next video is Basketball. Comes out 1-7-23. It sticks well but can still pick the wrong subject in a crowd.

[@michaelcarnes2087]

I really enjoy your videos. i just purchased an R6ii and was wondering if you think the canon 17-40mm f4 is a good lens on the R6?

[@PhilThach]

Thank you! The 17-40 is good but the 14-35 is better and doesn’t require an adapter.

[@pulseimages]

Great video Phil! I was wondering which tripod you’re using?

[@PhilThach]

Thank you, Sean! I use a SIRUI AM-254 with A-10R ball head.

[@WernerBirdNature]

Hi Phil, thanks for showing the making of for the image I already liked on Vero last year ;-) Like you I'm mostly focused on birding, but I don't shy away from macro, waterfalls (landscape) and occasional street photography. When I'd want to go occasionally a step wider than our 24-105/4, what would be a smart option ? RF 16/2.8 or RF 15-30/4.5-6.3 or EF 16-35/2.8L (second hand $1200) or EF 16-35/4L or RF 14-35/4L (sorted from cheap to expensive). How important is a wide aperture for these cases when waterfalls are often shot at F16 and long exposures ? Is using L glass a big bonus in image quality for these scenario's ?

[@PhilThach]

Hi Werner! Thanks for remembering that photo from Vero. You can count on seeing any picture I post on Vero in a video here later. That's a great question and I'm surprised you didn't include the lens I used in this video. The inexpensive EF 17-40 f/4 L. I think any of the lenses you listed would be good. I'm not a fan of the 14-30 because you can't use the 14mm end of it very much because of the massive vignetting it has. I agree you don't need a wide aperture for waterfalls but there are times when shooting handheld in lower light, f/2.8 can be handy. Still if it we me, I'd probably get the 15-30. It wasn't available when I bought my 17-40. I haven't researched it to see how much vignette it has so you should look into that for sure. I just checked, and my EF 17-40 f/4 L is not on sale anymore, I got mine on sale for $499 and now it is back up to its regular price of $799.

[@WernerBirdNature]

@@PhilThach Yeah, I can predict in a few weeks we'll get to enjoy a video on some butterflies ;-) Thanks for your extensive answer. I didn't list your 17-40 because it isn't listed at my camera shop in Europe, and I wasn't sure if it were perhaps a predecessor of the EF 16-35/4. So, even when you say f/2.8 can be handy, you'd pick the RF 15-30 which is the slowest of this bunch ? When I don't care for this case about zooming, is the RF 16/2.8 too cheap to useful ?

[@PhilThach]

@@WernerBirdNature I did some research on the 15-30, looks like it has a lot of barrel distortion so I'm not sure about that one now. 2.8 is good if you do low-light handheld. if not it's not needed. A friend of mine just bought the 16 and he loves it. I prefer zooms for landscape photography so I can have some flexibility. Sometimes you can't zoom with your feet at a waterfall. That's a shame the 17-40 isn't available in your area. You can still buy it brand new in the USA.

[@PhilThach]

MPB Europe has many used 17-40 lenses in stock. Most are listed as good condition, and a couple are listed as excellent!

[@WernerBirdNature]

@@PhilThach Hmm, you've got a good point about why a zoom can be handy at waterfalls .. as long as one doesn't zoom his R7 into the rocks 😛 I see your 17-40 available second hand at other stores over here for about $400, which would probably be better value for money than the RF 15-30. But my store still has some of my old gear for sale, so making a swap with them would be more efficient. You think the second hand EF 16-35/2.8L would be overkill compared to the 17-40 for what we do ?

[@alexbillian2846]

Suggest the R6 mark ii and adapted EF lenses for hiking photography?

[@PhilThach]

Sure, if that is what you have. I think the RF lenses are better but you might already have EF glass or you might be able to buy used EF glass much cheaper. It just depends on your budget. The EF glass is very good adapted to the R6 mark II and other mirrorless Canon R series bodies.

[@esainpereda3081]

Hey Phil.. so the EF line up is compatible with the R6 mk ii using the r to EF adapter? I’m curious because I’m going to buy one based on my needs. *edit I watched farther into the video and answered my question. That’s awesome . Still it sucks I can’t use my tamron other than on my other body.

[@PhilThach]

Your Tamron EF lens might work on the adaptor too.

[@tanjaremily]

I’m interested in possibly purchasing the canon r6 ii but the rf lenses are so $$$. How well do you find the adapted older canon lenses work in terms of autofocus, ibis etc?

[@PhilThach]

The older lenses work well. If you already own them, start with them, if you don't, invest in the new RF glass so you only have to buy lenses once.