Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS for Macro & Bird Photography?! | Tips for shooting without a flash

[@peterviragphoto]

The Canon EF 100mm macro lens is great for both stills & videos & also very suitable for portraits & the occasional bird/wildlife photography when the subject is close enough. How cute was that magpie at the end?😀 Thanks for watching & feel free to subscribe if you’re new here.📷😉

[@thehehrarchive1556]

Great video Peter, it was nice to be out and about. Could not believe how curious and cheeky that juvenile Maggie was…he was looking for a feed😂🦅🇦🇺

[@peterviragphoto]

Haha yep it was a bit cheeky! 😃 I hope the lockdown ends soon & we won’t be confined to our “backyards”.

[@20807shane]

Thanks. I’ve just ordered this lens and you’ve shown me that virtually anything can become a great picture.

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey Shane. Thanks a lot, very kind of you. I think you’ll enjoy using this lens, it’s great for both video# & stills and definitely a versatile lens. Cheers:)

[@KieranSuddabyPhotography]

Great video and awesome images mate. Looks a great lens! What the minimum focus distance on it? You got real close to them yellow flowers! Great video mate 💪🏼

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey Kieran, thanks a lot mate, appreciate it. The minimum focusing distance is 30cm😉

[@adrianalfordphotography]

Great video Peter. Love when the Wattles are out down the back of my house. Really beautiful smell. Awesome shots mate and yes the overcast conditions are great for neutral lighting. Thanks for sharing the video 👍🙏

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot Adrian! Love the wattles myself. Luckily we have heaps in our neighbourhood. One day I’d love to shoot some aerials when in full blossom. Have a great day & thanks for watching!😀

[@michaelciccone]

That photo of the cob webs was fantastic Peter!

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey Michael, thanks a lot. That looked interesting imo too.😊 thanks for watching😉

[@coastalbay4k]

Great video!! You are the macro photography king for sure. The images you took look fantastic!!

[@peterviragphoto]

Stop it haha. Thanks heaps for watching mate, appreciate your kind feedback! Cheers:)

[@JeremyPayne]

Mate you captured some excellent images in this video Peter. Don't have a macro lens but after watching this I'm interested lol, loved the golden wattle images.

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks Jeremy. Was just shooting some random stuff in the “backyard” lol. Glad you became interested haha. I think you’d enjoy using a macro lens. Have an awesome week! Cheers😊

[@photographyadventuresbygraciel]

Beautiful macro shots!! The bird was definitely staring you down! Hahaha! Great video!

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks heaps Gracie! It was lol😂

[@WalksOnTheWildSide]

Great shots as always. I love the B&W macro - I’m planning to do something with B&W macro myself. The water drops on leaves were superb too. 🙌

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey mate, thanks for that! Never gonna run out of subjects, even in the “backyard” during lockdown, but still so frustrating😬😑( extended by another two weeks with a curfew too lol). I wanna dedicate a full episode to just b&w too down the track. Looking forward to you your next one! Cheers

[@thevalleywalker]

Wow, are the birds normally that accomdating out there? Great series of images on a walkabout Peter. Especially loved the series of one handed leave images you took. I would struggle hand holding even with the help oif ibis wtching you reeling off images like that was very impressive. The UK is just lifting lots of restrictions here.. time will see if this will have a backlash - they are preduicting us to go back into lockdown in a few months if that is the case. I didn't realise Melbourne was in lockdown. Have a good weekend. atb Al

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey Mate, thanks heaps for your feedback. Some magpies are very much used to human presence and are quite opportunistic, looking for food. This one was a curious juvenile yi think. RE the IS, yes definitely helps but had been shooting mainly with a flash so had to keep reminding myself that the same settings weren’t gonna work 😉. Hopefully lockdown will end this month sometime but you never know. Hope you’ve had a great week so far! 😊

[@AdrianRankin]

Good use of your 5km! I loved your wattle photos and the B&W textures, so cool! Great video Peter!

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks Adrian for watching. I like shooting random subjects. Hope you’re having a nice weekend mate. Cheers

[@AdrianRankin]

@@peterviragphoto the sunshine certainly helps!

[@peterviragphoto]

@@AdrianRankin for sure!😀

[@Walkinginthewoods]

It is great to have a versatile lens as it saves you having to carry around and change lenses in the field. I often find that by the time I have changed lenses the bird has flown off. Nice relaxed presentation style, good photographs and useful tips and advice. Greetings from the other side of the world and keep up the good work Peter.

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot buddy, appreciate it! I agree with your sentiments:) Hope you’ve been well. Stay safe! Cheers

[@Walkinginthewoods]

@@peterviragphoto You have some great photos on Flickr. I have enjoyed looking through them. Cheers.

[@peterviragphoto]

That’s very kind of you. Although I haven’t uploaded much to flickr for ages. Most of my shots are on instagram. If you have an account there, I’d be happy to follow you there. Cheers

[@WalterStinnettPhotography]

Fantastic video, Peter! I have done close up photography but have not taken the time to purchase a macro lens for truly macro photography. Your photos were phenomenal and really highlighted the art that can be produced. It was very inspiring so see. It was also that amazing that that magpie was such a willing subject. It is wonderful the photography subjects that can be found in your neighborhood. I look forward to seeing you other videos! You have a new subscriber. I found your IG account via Rauri's IG story and I just looked at your shoutout video he produced. I am glad to be able to connect up.

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks heaps for your kind feedback Walter. I just wanted to show that random, mundane subjects are still cool to be captured, especially when one is limited under the current lockdown restrictions 😀. Rauri is a cool guy & great connecting for sure! Cheers😊

[@editvirag3944]

Really like that image of the beautiful leaf 🍂

[@peterviragphoto]

Which one? The backlit decaying leaf? Thanks😊

[@LetsClickPhotography]

Excellent images Peter. I'm in the market for a 100mm macro, it's has been on my 'next purchase' list for a while. I'm stuck between whether I will get the EF mount or the RF mount and am waiting for Canon to send me over a test copy of the RF to try out. However, everything I ever see from the EF version always looks superb and so, so sharp. Including your images on this one. Really good.

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks heap mate,appreciate it! The RF version is amazing I’m sure & very versatile just like the EF with a slightly more magnification ratio and spherical aberration control etc. The last time I checked it was priced at around 2300AUD & I got my EF version 3+ years ago for a little over $1,000 which was a great bargain. If you got the budget go with the RF I reckon but take it out for a few test shoots and see how you go. Thanks a lot for watching!😊

[@lmatrix6626]

Great shots. Australia is an amazing country wish I lived there!

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks buddy! Love living here😊

[@paulkennedycreativemedia]

Fantastic images. Unplanned shoots seem to always work out better than planned shoots sometimes.

[@peterviragphoto]

Haha in most cases yes, especially because you go out with no expectations, so there is no pressure. Thanks a lot for watching Paul!

[@SKYVLOGG]

Goood like nice my friend👌👍👍👍🙏🇲🇨🙏

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot Taufiq! Take care!😊

[@mahataarijit]

Excellent

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks Arijit!

[@deanmeixner]

Love magpies, they are curious, they can be vicious, but they're also very loyal. When I lived in Melbourne I fed 5 local families of them ... after a year they'd bring their babies to my front door ... 😂 now out in the country I have even more, and they are super friendly and will come up to your feet for a feed and follow you around the garden ... just checking things out 😂🤗

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey Dean:) yeah maggies are crazy cool & can be super friendly and vicious at the same time. Glad you got plenty of visitors up in the country😀😀. Have a great weekend mate and thanks for watching! Cheers

[@deanmeixner]

@@peterviragphoto You too Peter, hope you come out of lockdown VERY soon! 🥃

[@peterviragphoto]

@@deanmeixner thanks mate, hope so!😊🤞🤞

[@mjak993]

Interesting that you mentioned f7.1 - for some reason (*cough* OCD *cough*) I always shoot at full aperture stops. do you find that there's a percievable upside of going "mid-stop" ?

[@peterviragphoto]

Haha nope, no perceivable difference, I quite often use third stop values as well. I tend to shoot at whatever aperture gives me a decent enough IQ in conjunction with DOF that suits the subject but it’s totally subjective. I hate using ISO above 800 for macros especially, so I stayed below f/9 for the majority of shots as it was an overcast day. Thanks for watching Jaki! 😀👍👊

[@mjak993]

@@peterviragphoto yeah, I rarely go above the base ISO - the Toshiba sensor in the D7100 is kinda crap that way :\ (banding issues and whatnot) but I especially liked your leaf shots - well done there, mate!

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks for that! I especially try to avoid higher ISOs on my 80D, above 1600 it just falls apart in terms of IQ. The 1dx 2 still performs great in low light and shots even at 12800 look quite usable but I’d normally not go above 6400.

[@sami_can]

İs "IS" mode always on during macro?

[@peterviragphoto]

I think it’s a good idea to use IS for both single and stacked shots and especially comes handy when shooting macro videos hand-held. Cheers Sami!

[@vanillagorillaunderground]

I’ve had much better macro results with this lens without the lens hood. I only use the hood with this lens on everything else except Macro. Give it a try !!!

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey BabyBlue. I don’t use it with the hood either. I normally have the DCR-250\ NiSi 58 combo stacked with this lens. Have a great rest of the week! Cheers

[@nikolatomasic4445]

Nice and easy photoshoot and another lockdown? I hope this shit ends soon.

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey mate, seems like it’s every month these days 😑😬😑 Thanks heaps for watching!