Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Fixed Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Comment

We bought this used and it was supposed to be in “very good” condition. Definitely wouldn’t consider that to be the case here. The main ring is loose and the lens looks like it has had a lot of use. The listing claimed it came with both the front and rear caps, which it did. However, the front lens cap is not the original lens cap, which was also not stated. It is some odd brand cap. Very disappointed— we have purchased used lenses previously and never had these issues.

Show more

Comment

I love this lens. I am using it on my Canon T7i for macro shots of wildflows, mushrooms, and Mosses. I have only taken it out once but the lens produced fantastic macro shots and the build quality is great. So far, I have 0 complaints about this lens.

Show more

Comment

There are plenty of rave reviews about this lens. Id like to add something from my experience using it for 2+ years. Sharp is right, but more important - little or no distortion. And great color resolution. Photographing artwork, this is critical. This lens is nearly perfect. If you dont know what this means, take a photograph of a piece of graph paper. On most lenses (and yes even L series) youll see the outer lines converging in or out. If this is a painting - a rectangle, guess what, outer areas are distorted and lose sharpness. Sure you can correct in Photoshop, but any stretching - and I mean any stretching loses sharpness. Have I made my point? Here is a surprise that I learned on this lens, smaller aperture is not always sharper. What? Didnt they tell us in photo class the bigger the number the sharper the photo? Not true. There is light distortion at small openings. Heres the sweet spot in my experience: f5.6 to f7 (1/3 less than 8). Higher, you get greater depth of field which you sometimes MUST have, but sharpness drops gradually until somewhere past f11, then way down. Im using strobes, so not really an issue (plenty of light). Focus - sometimes tough as others have mentioned. You have to be patient and have good eyesight. I dont even bother with the autofocus on this lens. A breath will take you out of focus. And Im working on a tripod. At the beginning of every project, I just kind of accept that I shoot a photo, run into the the office, put the card into the computer and check it on Photoshop before I continue. Bummer, but thats the deal with this lens. Distance from the art. If you photograph large work, as I do sometimes, youll need some room. A six foot painting will put you back about 16 feet. An eight foot painting will put you about 25 feet. Thats a big studio (remember you still have to get your body behind the camera). Ive got a 50mm sigma macro for the big ones that does an excellent job, but I always miss this one. Bottom line - GREAT lens for photographing flat artwork. AMAZING lens for photographing small products like jewelry (you swear youre looking at the molecules sometimes). Take your time and use the lens the way it was meant, and you will never be sorry. Oh yeah - you have to own the lens hood, it should have come with it, its so important. Ps. Macro photography is just fun. Every once in awhile you have to take a picture of something very small to marvel at it blown up to king sized proportions.

Show more

Comment

I use the lens primarly for taking close up of flowers and insects. I have found that it dose great for photographing pets. I used to use a Tameron 70-300mm macro lens (not a true macro lens )for taking close ups of flowers and using extesnion tubes for with the Tameron 70-300mm macro and a Tameron 2x teleconverter to take true macro photos. I have also used the Canon 18-55 is lens with extension tubes to take macro photos. However, with this lens I do not need the extension tubes to take macro photos. It is a lot easier to use the Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM lens to take macro photos plus the the Canon EF Macro lens is much sharper. Also I have taken pictures of butterflies and other insects in flight with this lens. I have never been able to that before. The lens exceeded my expectations.

Show more

Comment

I ordered this lens because I have been wanting to step into macro photography and add to my prime lens collection. I must say this lens is awesome! Its far easier to get shots in daylight, but with fill lighting, night or low light shots are still possible. I have shot handheld and still managed to obtain really great photos. Typically, low light shots and indoors may require lighting assistance whether flash or speed light etc. I have found that it makes for a good all around lens. The droplet photo is water and was shot indoors with two speed lights, one being off camera. I find myself keeping this lens on my camera and have found myself preferring it for portraits, too. I also love that it will focus within inches from the front of the lens. Its a great addition to any bag! I have attached several examples of what I have captured with it. All of the attached photographs were captured by me using the Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens with a Canon 6D. (The photographs are for example only and are intended to assist you in your decision on purchasing this lens)

Show more

Comment

This lens does not have image stabilization which accounts for its very reasonable price, however the quality is first rate. We use this lens with a Canon 6D and, as is normal for macro work, mount it on a tripod so the lack of image stabilization is not an issue. We have taken around 500 shots with this lens and can vouch for low distortion and chromatic aberration (although the camera has built in compensation). Pictures are very sharp and the MTF seems to be a close match for the camera sensor. Thoroughly recommended as a budget buy for a high quality 100mm reasonable fast Macro lens.

Show more

Comment

I love many things about this product. Of course, it is a Cannon!! Great close up photos of anything. Great details are captured. The only thing I dont like is that in order to take close ups, you actually cannot be too close to the subject. You need to keep your distance and let the camera focus on the specific area/subject and then take the photo.

Show more

Comment

On my Canon 7D, very close to the subject the lens does hunt. For this camera; if I either backed up a few inches or switched to manual focus and it worked fine. However, using the same subject and camera settings with the lens on either my Canon 5d mk11 or my Canon 1Ds mk11, the lens does not hunt at all. Focus snaps in immediately, even getting very close to the subject. I tried to make the lens focus hunt on these two cameras but no matter how I tried to mess it up, the focus snapped in and stayed there. I own several "L" lenses and this one is as good as any of them. Very sharp and the color is beautiful. Great for macro shots but also a perfect walking around lens. Built like a tank. I dont miss the IS feature, have been able to get sharp photos hand held.

Show more

Comment

Hey listen, we oughta give this lens a reward or something....I used to use a Minolta X-700 to which I would thread onto my 50mm lens either one, two, or all three of my "close up" lenses to get semi-decent shots of bees, flowers, ants, etc., etc., but for the hassle Id have to go through compared to this lens, it was just plain inconvenient. Ive had this lens for about four hours now. Im in awe of how SHARP the images are with this lens, whether its manually or auto-focused. And then, just swing it up from the close-up target, and youve got a great portrait lens. I had some qualms about spending almost $500.00 for a lens of this type, 25 times what I spent for the close-ups for the Minolta, but of course, thats an apples and oranges thing. The build quality of this lens is absolutely top notch. The attention paid to detail in every facet of this tool, whether outside or in, is full gratification of the dollars spent for it; all first quality wherever you look. If youre looking for a great lens for macro work with a lot of versatility, this is the one to buy. I cant wait for summer to get here to utilize its inherent superior attributes. Now, whatd I just say? Itll be a lot of fun to do stuff with! Thanks. Mmn.

Show more

Comment

Im a hobbyist, and Im currently using this lens with my 40D (1.6x crop sensor). This is my first 1:1 macro lens and Ive been having a ton of fun with it... getting insanely close details on ordinary things makes for extraordinary photos (its hard to take a bad photo with this lens, but it takes quite a bit of photographic knowledge to take great photo with it). Ive been using it to photograph nature, toys, food (some beautifully unflattering pictures), the moon (although small in the frame, the details are there), and portraits (I love the portraits it takes... not too flattering, but honest in a kind of brutal way). This lens is razor-sharp in the details so even for taking non-macro pictures, youll get great results. Youll need a flash to get the most out of this lens when shooting macro. I ran out and bought a flash after getting this lens (and gave myself another thing thatll take me months to learn the basics of). Im still discovering how best to use all of my gear together, but its a fun process. Highly recommended.

Show more