Adult antlion

[JayLT]

I don't see too many of these a year, but they are one of my favorite insects to get a picture of.  This was taken with the EOS R7 # and RF100mm F2.8 L MACRO IS USM 

[Tronhard]

Now, that is quite exquisite!  Kudos indeed!

[JayLT]

Thank you!

[BK5524]

I love macro photography. I’ve just recently gotten back in to photography and bought an R7. Still learning to use it. Would love to add this lens to my kit. I currently primarily use a 70-200 EF and it’s great. I can’t yet afford the new RF lenses. How much am I really missing without one?

[Tronhard]

Since I don't do macro photography myself, I can only give general comments.   Many RF lenses add to the speed of acquisition of focus and tracking and those that have OIS can interact with IBIS-capable camera.   Also the optics have been enhanced as well, and finally a lot of lenses offer faster lenses - down to f/1.2 for example.

[JayLT]

The RF lens is great, but the EF 100mm f/2.8L IS macro lens is very close in capability and can be found much cheaper on the used market.  The main difference between the two is the 1.4x magnification of the RF versus the 1.0x magnification of the EF.  The 1.4x magnification is great, when you can use it, but it really depends on the subject you shooting as getting that full 1.4x means you need to get VERY close to the subject.  For me, I shoot live subjects so that's not an easy thing to do.  You also start to get into issues with a very narrow depth-of-field (DoF) which means you'll either want to use focus bracketing/stacking and/or a flash with a small aperture, probably around f/16

In the mean time you can add extension tubes to the 70-200 lens to allow a shorted minimum focus distance, they are an inexpensive option to get a bit closer 

[MCPhotography]

What an amazing image. Those eyes! Wow.

[JayLT]

Thank you!  The eyes on these certainly stand out, I have some close-up shots and the colors they have are really impressive

[ccanada]

I am loving everything about this image! Beautiful composition and color. If you'd like the chance to be featured across our social channels, submit some images to our https://canon.us/shotoncanon site.

[JayLT]

Thank you!