I was traveling to the San Francisco Bay Area last weekend (AYSO referee training camp) and I stopped by a Trader Joe’s near the camp, and saw a camera store.

I walked in planning to buy a spare battery for my R5, as I didn’t want to risk counterfeit items on Amazon, and figure a real in-person camera store would be safe.

Well, I had my bag with me, and they had a used RF 70-200 f/4.0 on consignment, and I tried that, but then the salesperson said, “I have a new 2.8 in stock, if you just want to mount it and check it out.” Ugh. I did, and loved it. He saw I had my EF-mount 70-200 2.8 in my bag, and said they’d take it as a trade-in, if I wanted to buy the new RF-mount 70-200 f/2.8.

So, with a swipe of the card, the deal was done. I was traveling down to Irvine for the AYSO National Games, so I figured I’d give it a try down there taking some sports shots. I do love how more compact it is to carry, especially while on a strap.