Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
by Canon
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: CanonAudio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Model: 4657A006
Color: black
Product features:
- 100mm macro USM lens with f/2.8 maximum aperture for Canon SLR cameras
- Secondary diaphragm blocks stray light at f/2.8 for increased contrast
- Ultra-sonic monitor provides outstanding autofocusing speed at all distances
- 3-group floating system for exceptional close-up performance; full-time manual focus
- Measures 3.1 inches in diameter and 4.7 inches long; weighs 21.1 ounces; 1-year warranty
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Customer Review: Excellent lens, for being non-L glass.
Summary: 5 Stars
The Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens is an extremely good lens. I spent weeks researching which single lens I should first purchase for my (now extinct) 10D, and this lens won out on three points: sharpness, f/2.8 and 1:1 macro capability. The only thing it's missing is zoom... and that I can do with my feet.
I have since added a Canon 28-135 to my (small) collection of lenses. The 100 mm macro is not the lens I usually use, except when I am doing studio work of small things... which means that whenever I am working in my studio it's on my camera except for portraiture.
That's not to say it isn't good for portraits; on the contrary, it's great for portraits. I just have too little room to work with indoors for it to be very useful as a portrait lens.
This lens, however, was touted as being "as sharp as L glass", and "one of, if not the, the sharpest non-L lenses Canon makes". I have not yet started purchasing L glass, but I can attest that this lens will make even critical pixel peepers like myself quite happy.
I use two methods for getting exceptional focus. First, I hit the shutter button to achieve focus five separate times. This achieves and fine tunes focus. Second, when I am doing macro work, I always focus manually.
No rails or ring lights here; I'm not a macro photography expert. But I have never failed to appreciate the sharpness this lens offers in all usages.
Another nice thing about it is the small 58 mm filter size. Much easier on the wallet than 72mm, 77mm, 86mm, etc.
I love this lens. The only drawbacks I can find with it are:
1. It is a prime. You have to move it or use rails to get a different "zoom".
2. It is sharper than is advisable for doing portrait photography. You'll have to manually "soften" some images to minimize skin blemishes if you don't want to airbrush.
3. Distance from subject in macro mode is only a handful of inches... not enough for doing macro work of most animate living things.
Otherwise, I always come back to this lens for when I need razor sharp images.
By the way, I find that reviews are not as useful unless I know the experience level of the photographer and their camera type. I am using a Canon 5D Mark 2, which is 21.1 mp. This allows me to be supremely aware of flaws to the optics. This lens keeps up with the full frame 21 mp sensor just fine. I am also what I would call a semi-pro photographer who is on the early end of "medium" level of skill/experience compared to the top pros. I have been studying photography, on my own and in college, since 2000. Hope that helps.
UPDATE (April 4th 2010) - After shooting a wedding with my Canon 28-135 a few months back, I now have three specific points to comment on.
1. This lens positively puts the 28-135 to shame in sharpness.
2. f/2.8 gathers light much, much better than f/3.5 maximum aperture... but it has no IS, which requires a minimum shutter speed of 1/160th for my taste, and that fairly kills it for available light use in dim reception halls during a wedding. At ISO 6400, I still couldn't get clear properly exposed hand held shots in the candle-lit reception hall with this lens shooting 1/160th of a second at f/2.8 without a flash.
3. This lens shows much less CA than the 28-135.
I wouldn't recommend trying to shoot an entire wedding with this lens but it's definitely useful for portraits and macro work during the pre-ceremony set-up. A purely photojournalistic wedding photographer working with plenty of space (outside?) might be able to pull it off.
All in all, great lens, and still my favorite.
UPDATE (February 2nd 2011)
I now have this lens, the 28-135, the 24-70 2.8 L, and the 70-200 IS 2.8 L II lenses. This lens now ranks 3rd for sharpness, just slightly behind the 24-70 L. I don't use it much anymore, but it's still my go-to lens when I need macro. No longer my favorite, but still a much beloved part of my kit.
Description of Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Autofocus lens for macro photography up to life-size (1x) magnification. Inner focusing affords a long working distance of 5.9in. (149mm) at 1x. A 3-group floating system results in excellent delineation at all focusing distances.
Ring USM for silent and high-speed AF, and full-time manual focusing also provided. The optional Tripod Mount Ring (B) B (with adapter) enables the lens to be rotated for vertical or horizontal framing.
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