Magnificent macro

Dan Mold shares some top tips for mastering all the features of Canon’s clever RF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM lens

- Dan Mold

Canon released its full-frame mirrorless EOS R camera four years ago, in 2018, and while lenses for the new RF mount have steadily trickled out over the years, one optic we’d been pining for is a successor to the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM.

Many Canon photographers who upgraded to mirrorless continued to use the trusty Canon EF 100mm prime with an EF-EOS R adapter, but now we finally have the native RF mount version, which comes with a raft of upgrades, including image quality improvements and features such as a 1:1.4 reproduction ratio, spherical aberration control, image stabilization, a focus limiter and much more.

A true macro lens has a reproduction ratio of 1:1 – this is called lifesize because it means your subject is reproduced at the same size as if it were placed across the imaging sensor of the camera. Canon’s RF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM lens not only goes to 1:1 for superb lifesize close-ups, but it can go as far as 1:1.4, so subjects can be photographed at 1.4x lifesize to reveal even more incredible detail – and can do so with an incredibly quiet autofocusing motor. The optic also features optical stabilization, and if paired with an EOS R body with IBIS (like the R5 or R6), grants a whopping 8-stops of stabilization when shooting handheld, making it ideal for shake-free shots if you don’t have a tripod handy.

Read on to see how you can get the most out of this macro lens on your mirrorless EOS R body.

THE SETUP HOW TO GET STARTED IN MACRO

A basic setup for mastering macro photography at home or in the garden