 EF 100mm Macro: big & tall fun
The real way to enjoy macro photography.
Any compact camera owner has a macro function, but if you want to get serious shooting at close distances, using a reflex camera is the way, but you'll need a dedicated macro lens.
The EF 100mm is the most popular macro lens in the Canon line, although it is not the cheapest macro lens, at $435 it is affordable and the optical quality is really good.
At a maximum aperture of 2.8 it is slightly soft, but you only need to stop it down a little to have a crisp and clear picture and you can have a minimum aperture of f/32.This lens has a very shallow depth of field, so a really small minimum-aperture and precise autofocus are a must. When using a macro lens, auto-focus may be tricky. So, the all-time manual focus that overrides auto-focus is a great thing.
The EF 100mm has a focusing distance limiting switch. The focusing distance range can be selected between 0.31m-infinity and 0.48m-infinity. With the proper range you can speed up the focusing time.
This big guy isn't for macro only, you can use it also as an standard 100mm lens: everything depends on the focusing distance. For close-ups the minimum focusing distance is 1.0ft/31cm.
There is another alternative for APS-C sized sensors owners: the Canon EF-S 60mm Macro. The 100mm is more expensive, but it fits film and full sensor cameras too.
Although the ultra-sonic ring motor is nearly silent, our lens makes some noises when focusing and that's a little annoying. The size and weight are quite a burden, so you should seriously consider buying a good tripod.
To Pimp Up your Glass you can buy a tripod collar, a UV filter, Hood but the most important: a Ring Flash (Check it here -opens a new window-).
The EF 100mm does not dissapoint. It is a very good investment and you can spend many hours behind this really good glass.
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Good
to know... |
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Brand & Model: |
Canon
EF 100mm f2.8 Macro |
Pertinent
info: |
> 100mm f2.8
> 8 groups, 12 elements
> Minimum aperture: f/32
> Min. focusing Distance: 1.0ft (31cm)
> Filter diameter: 58mm
> Weight: 20.5 oz/580g |
Ideal
for: |
Macro Photography |
Street Price: |
$435 |
Low cost alternative: |
Canon EF-S 60mm Macro (Only for APS-C Sized sensors), $360 |
High cost alternative: |
None available |
Advantages: |
- Great optical performance
- Sharp
- Suitable for full frame cameras
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Disadvantages: |
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Big and somewhat heavy
- Autofocus is somewhat slow and imprecise, you'll need to override it often |
Our emotional opinion: |
Macro Photography is a really exciting style using a dSLR and this is a good lens for it: versatile, optically accurate. A very enjoyable lens takes you to a new dimension: really good macro photography. |
EF100mm Macro USM Galleries
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