If you are looking to buy a macro lens then the 100mm may well be on your short list. Below we’ll review this lens highlighting both it’s strengths and weaknesses.
Build Quality & Usability
The build quality is as you would expect from Canon, solid as a rock. In fact this lens would not be out of place with a red ring round the front as part of the L series lenses (not just for build quality but also thanks to the quality of images it produces, more on this later in the review). Compared with similar lenses from Sigma we’d say the Canon wins hands down in terms of “feeling nice”!
The focusing of this lens is completely internal, meaning the barrel does not extend when focusing. This is in stark contrast to the Sigma 105mm and Tamron 90mm which nearly double in length when fully focused for close up macro work.
The Auto Focusing system is not the quickest we have seen from a Canon lens however when the AF does find it’s target the focus is usually spot on. That said due to their nature all macro lenses take a while to focus from a very close range to infinity so you can’t really hold this against the lens. If you are manually focusing the ring is nice and big and has a smooth action throughout allowing very fine focus adjustments that are often required for macro photographs.
The lens is reasonably sized and fairly light so adding it to your carry round all day bag will not break your back. As with all macro lenses you’ll get the best results when using in conjunction with a tripod however hand held shots are more possible by opening up the aperture and decreasing the shutter speed.
Due to its size, focal length and macro function this lens is best used with a tripod, especially when shooting with smaller apertures. The only thing missing from this lens is IS (Image Stabilization). However such is the quality of this lens that the addition of IS would increase the price probably enough for Canon to move this lens into it’s prestigious ‘L’ series of professional lenses.
One thing we would recommend you do as soon as you get this lens is to buy a UV filter to stick on the front. The front of the lens is big and due to the relative size and weight of the lens it is easily bumped making the security of a UV filter well worth the relatively small investment.
Image quality of the Canon 100mm f1.8 Macro
One of the great features of this lens is that it has true 1:1 macro size that will allow you to take some stunning macro shots. This basically means that the Canon 100 f2.8 will deliver an image onto your cameras sensor at the same size as real life when shooting at the minimum focus distance of 0.3m.
In addition the 100mm focal length means that you do not have to get too close to your subject. This makes this lens much more favorable than the 50mm macro lens from Canon for those that intend taking macro shots of insects and bugs.
Stunning Sharpness
The most impressive thing about this lens is the sharpness of the images it produces. Even at smaller apertures than it’s maximum f2.8, images are nice and crisp with good rich colors and contrast though the sharpest images tend to come at around f2.8. The sharpness of images it produces matches any of the L series professional range lenses easily.
As usual canon does not include a lens hood with this lens which is a real shame. Though probably not necessary unless shooting a lot of outdoor portraits, it would be nice if Canon included hoods with lenses of this quality (and cost!).
Another huge benefit of this lens over other macros out there is it’s potential to be used as a portrait lens. The sharpness of this lens combined with the wide aperture of f2.8 make it an ideal portrait lens. This lens has the quality to replace a standard portrait zoom such as a 85-135mm.
The eight blade aperture helps ensure any background blur or bokeh is beautifully round making low light pictures a true thing of beauty. As mentioned above the optics produce incredibly sharp pictures and wonderful colors that truly ‘pop’.
Summary
If you are looking for a lens that will help get you in to macro photography we think it is worth paying the extra money for the Canon 100mm as opposed to either the Canon 60mm f2.8 or the Sigma 105mm f2.8. Not only is it a truly great macro lens but it is an equally good portrait lens. In fact the fast f2.8 aperture means you’ll also be able to happily use it for smaller sporting events too.
Another point to consider if you are thinking about the 60mm Canon macro is that of the two only the 100mm is compatible with a full frame sensor camera should you wish to upgrade in the future.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Nice article on the canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens. Do you have any plans on upgrading it to include the new 100mm f/2.8 IS Macro? At any rate, is the new lens worth a price differential from $519 of the non-IS to $879 for the IS version? I understand that the new lens uses plastic whereas the old does not. That disturbs me for an L lens. I think there may be other improvements, but I’m not sure what they are.
Any advice, comments would be greatly appreciated as I am going back and forth deciding between these two lenses; and the lower price for the IS version is good only until July 10. Thank you.