📦 What’s in the Box? A New Wildlife Camera for 2025
Unboxing the Canon R7 + Real Talk on Why I Bought It
By Touchstone Pixels
🧭 Overview
Lately, I’ve been deep in the wildlife game — up at 4 AM, boots in the muck, chasing birds and light. But the footage I’ve been getting? Kinda disappointing.
I thought the issue was my Canon R8. Turns out, the problem wasn’t compression, bitrate, or settings. It was all about subject size in frame, no IBIS, and pushing the limits of the gear in the wild.
That led me to… this box. 📦
Let’s break it down:
🧪 Why the Canon R8 wasn’t cutting it for wildlife video
🔍 What I learned about IPB vs All-I compression
📷 Why I chose the Canon R7 (and not the R5 II)
🎯 Real field use goals for this crop-sensor beast
🎥 The Problem with the Canon R8 (For Wildlife Video)
Don’t get me wrong — the R8 is a phenomenal camera. Sharp photos. Great 24fps cinematic video. But here’s where it falls short for me:
⚠️ Pain Points in the Field:
No IBIS = shaky footage at long focal lengths
Limited weather sealing = risky in wet, muddy terrain
Full-frame = not enough reach with the 100–400mm
💡 At first, I thought the soft video was IPB compression. But after research (and seeing the R8 outperform the R5 II’s internal 4K 60), I realized the problem wasn’t codec — it was field use.
You need your subject to fill the frame. You need stabilization. And you need durability.
🎯 My Two Options
To fix it, I had two paths:
Buy a longer lens (like the RF 200–800 or 100–500 L)
📉 Expensive, heavy, still no IBIS or weather sealing
Get a crop sensor camera (and use my current RF 100–400)
✅ 1.6x crop makes 400mm = 640mm
✅ Better reach with the gear I already own
✅ R7 has IBIS and decent weather resistance
🧪 Why Not the Canon R5 Mark II?
I seriously considered it. But…
4K 60 internal is line-skipped and looks soft
Real sharpness only with S-RAW and external recorders
Great for 8K and pro cinema — not ideal for muddy riverbanks at dawn
📦 So, What’s in the Box?
Canon R7 — Canon’s flagship crop body.
✅ 32.5MP APS-C sensor
✅ In-body image stabilization
✅ Dual card slots
✅ Weather sealing
✅ Super deep grip
It’s not perfect (rolling shutter + low light), but it’s perfect for me right now. I can get closer with my current lens, stabilize the long shots, and not worry as much about getting splashed.
🧰 How I’ll Use It
🐦 Early mornings by the river
🌲 In-the-field wildlife shorts and tutorials
📸 Real-time photography + video comparisons with the R8
📹 Slow motion, stills, vlogging — I’ll put it through everything
🔧 Gear Mentioned
(Affiliate links — they help the channel at no extra cost. Thanks for supporting Touchstone Pixels! 🙏)
📸 Canon R7 – My new crop-sensor wildlife beast
👉 https://amzn.to/44DpIka
📸 Canon R8 – My first pick for lightweight cinematic video + stills
👉 https://amzn.to/3TpEbv0
🔭 Canon RF 100–400mm f/5.6–8 – Great value walkabout wildlife lens
👉 https://amzn.to/4lImRxm
🔭 Canon RF 100–500mm f/4.5–7.1L IS USM – Pro-level reach + L-series quality
👉 https://amzn.to/4lm01Mj
🎬 Final Thoughts
Was this planned? Not really. Almost an impulse buy. But it fits. I needed something that could keep up with how I shoot, where I shoot, and what I’m trying to share with you all.
So we’re doing it the Touchstone Pixels way — run it hard, squeeze every frame out of it, and share what we learn along the way.
Follow the ride. Like, comment, and subscribe. And if this thing lives up to the hype… you’ll be seeing a lot more R7 action on this channel.
Until next time — get out there and shoot something wild.
