In August 2022, I was invited by a friend to attend a Canon EOS R System talk and workshop in Malaysia that Canon Marketing Malaysia held at Bangsar South in Kuala Lumpur.
This is also the first time in 10 years that I have attended a camera talk as I recently changed my camera gear; therefore, I was interested to know more about the EOS R system by Canon.
Canon EOS R System Talk and Workshop Malaysia
The talk and workshop were conducted by two experienced Canon camera users who shared their work in the field using the EOS R system, where one speaker talked about underwater photography while the other focused on mammal and bird photography above ground.
As I have been actively doing photography for both genres, it was the perfect talk to attend because I understood both types of photography. Well, it is no secret that I have been using multiple brands throughout the last 30 years of my photography.
Listening to some of the professionals in their field was an eye-opener because they shared experiences based on the new EOS R system, which is now the mirrorless era. Compared to when I started with film and moved into digital in the early days, there was just too much to learn.
To cut this story short, my objective was to listen and understand more about the new EOS R system, as I am currently using an APS-C system, which I changed in November of 2021 from a 15-year DSLR system.
Plus, I retired from scuba diving in 2018 after 15 years of solid diving around Malaysia and the world. You can read and see photos of my scuba diving in Malaysia and worldwide.
Since retiring from scuba diving, I decided to put more focus on bird photography and birdwatching as it is less stressful and easygoing compared to diving. You can also find out a little more about me.
I have been birdwatching and photographing since 2007 as a hobbyist; about the same time I started scuba diving and underwater photography, and as age caught up, I had to choose one passion.
Extreme Underwater & Bird Photography with Canon EOS R System
The workshop and talk conducted by Canon Marketing Malaysia was a quarter-day event that was held in a function room at the Zenith Convention Hall in Bangsar South from 9.15 AM til about 1.30 PM.
The MC for the event announced that Canon Malaysia Director, Mr Hunter Zhang, would give a few opening words before the actual talk started. He then shared some information about himself before concluding that Canon Malaysia was dedicated to the users by providing many events and sessions.
One of the things Mr Hunter shared was that Canon users in Malaysia could bring in their cameras to do a free check and diagnostic as the year-end is approaching and people are beginning to travel.
Mr Hunter then ended his speech with two exciting Canon EOS R promotions where if you buy an R7, you can enter a contest, and if you win, Canon will reimburse you for the R7 body price. The other promotion is the R10 system with the same mechanics as the R7.
The two invited speakers showcased the capabilities of the EOS R system, where each had its time slots. There were no hands-on sessions as it was mainly focused on experience-sharing.
Canon EOS R System Talk and Workshop Details
9:15 AM: Registration
9:45 AM: Underwater Photography talk by William Tan
10:45 AM: Break
11.00 AM: Bird Photography talk by Liew WK
12:00 PM: Q & A
12:15 PM: End
Mr William Tan took the first session sharing his experience using the Canon R system while scuba diving worldwide and in various underwater conditions. You need to be a scuba diver to comprehend what he was sharing fully.
As I started underwater photography in 2009 using the Canon S90, those were the good old difficult days when it was still in the infant stages. Everything was trial and error back then, and to own a DSLR with housing was like selling a kidney and lung.
So much has changed over the last decade that even a beginner using the latest gear will manage to achieve some decent shots underwater. Hence the R system looks very interesting for this. Luckily I retired from scuba diving; otherwise, I would be up to my neck in photos.
My initial objective was to listen to Liew WK’s talk as he recently returned from Sabah Borneo from a birdwatching trip, and he had quite a bit to share. For that trip, Liew was using the Canon R7 and judging from his experience; it is quite worthwhile to get that unit as a starter kit.
Overall, Liew shared some very interesting tips about ‘eye focus’ and how autofocus modes can capture the subject’s eyes. This was indeed something that my current system lacks.
He then showed us several videos of his experiments using the R7 to track a Hornbill in flight, compiling the burst shots into an MP4 video format. The results were stunning because Liew said he just pointed and pressed the shutter button, whereas the camera did the rest of the work. Now I know why many people have nice shots of birds that they post on social media. (hint)
Canon EOS R System Talk and Workshop Malaysia
Overall, the Canon EOS R system talk and workshop were an eye-opener for me as I was quite impressed with the ‘Eye-Tracking’ function on the Canon R3 and R5 systems. Compared to my DSLR days, this advanced technology is astounding and mind-blowing.
I have to admit, I am very interested in testing out this system, namely for bird photography, and hopefully, I will have the opportunity to do so one day. Meanwhile, you can follow my Birdwatching Malaysia Facebook page for updates and information about birds, locations and gear.
