Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Lens

Product Rating
4.7 of 5
33 reviews

Price Range
$455 - $794

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Product Description

Summary

This lens is what everyone says it is,super sharp!As stated before macro work takes some getting used to,for those having focus issues you need to manual focus when shooting life size.The USM is not slower,use the focus limiter switch when shooting normally and it works perfectly.

I am really impressed with the sharpness of this lens,I will put it up against almost any L ,and for less than $500 its a steal.It does take pratice to get the focusing right when shooting macro.Your best bet is to focus all the way in,then move the lens back until focus is achieved.

Strength

Sharp as a sword
Small profile
Unique shots to be had with this lens

Weakness

Hood not included
Focus takes practice (not the lens' fault)

Summary

Overall the lens can be summed up as being able to focus very close, producing very sharp images, and having extremely shallow depth of field unless stopped down to F16. 100mm is a pretty long focal distance and since the lens does not have image stabilization, the potential for camera shake is pretty great - especially if you are taking photos of objects that are close to the lens. Even the tiniest movement of the camera will result in a blurry images.

I like this lens. I really like being able to focus very close with it, but am just not used to the challenges that come with it. I think a tripod is pretty much a requirement with any macro work with this lens.

People say that it is as good as an L lens, but I'm not so sure about that, having used a 24-105L lens for over a year. The USM is a bit slow compared to the USM on my L too.

I wrote a full review with pictures here :

http://www.supertsai.com/photo/2007/01/canon_100mm_28_ef_macro_review_1.html

Strength

Very sharp images when used properly
can focus very close
good for portraits with the shallow depth of field

Weakness

sometimes the focus hunts if there isn't much available light
USM isn't as fast as USM on my other lenses
shallow depth of field makes it hard to focus accurately when doing macro work
no IS - would be very helpful for closeup work to avoid camera shake and avoid the need for a tripod

Summary

Why Canon didn't put a red ring around the front of this lens I can't tell but from my experience, it's every bit as good as an "L" lens. Perhaps the build quality is slightly lower than one might expect from an "L" lens but not by much. The images are super sharp all the way from f/2.8 to f/32 and it makes a great portrait lens if you don't mind the long working distance. Macro shots are unbelievably sharp and clear and color contrast is better than my camera body can produce.

Strength

Multi-function lens (macro and portrait) Great build quality Unbelievably sharp at all f/stops Great portrait lens Beautiful bokeh

Weakness

A little long for portrait work

Summary

Extremely sharp macro lens. Works well with the MR-14EX ringlight flash. We use this lens daily in our dental practice on EOS-10D bodies.

Strength

Extremely sharp, good close focusing distance. Very useable as a portrait lens as well for orthodontic workups, and for studio photography.

Weakness

Heavy, slow focusing. Range delimiter is easy to accidentally toggle to the longer preset which is very annoying for intra oral photography where we need very close working distances.

Summary

In summary, this lens is the best lens I own. It is astonishingly sharp when stopped down a bit from f/2.8, and the blur on f/2.8 macro backgrounds is beautiful. If you want to capture everything from bugs to dancers, this is your lens. Autofocus is wickedly fast (even on subjects that are very close to the front element!). Contrast, color, and sharpness are simply the best of any lens I have ever used. I use this as a macro for high-magnification insects/plants/flowers/etc, and as a telephoto for event photography. I consistently get the best pictures from my 10D using this baby.

Strength

Autofocus, sharpness, contrast, bokeh, color... everything else in a picture is up to you. The lens delivers everything but a great composition...

Weakness

Difficult to find any.