usa.canon.com Customer Reviews Collected from usa.canon.com
Canon - EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens - Black
Average Customer Rating:
4.8 out of 5
4.8
Open Ratings Snapshot
Rating breakdown 33 reviews
5 Stars
29
4 Stars
3
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
0
1 Star
0
97%of customers recommend this product. 
(
32 out of 33
)
Customer Reviews for Canon - EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens - Black
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Superior build, VERY useful
on June 8, 2009
Posted by: Who_Knew_Too
from Portland, OR
I do not understand why this lens is not listed in the "L" family of lenses, it is so well constructed. I really enjoy doing macro photography, and cannot imagine a lens could be any better in facilitating this kind of work. My shots have been consistently excellent, with great definition. If excellence in macro photography is what you seek, buy this lens. I recommend the 100mm F/ 2.8 Macro lens with no hesitation.
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, Fast auto-focus, easy to use, consistent results
Cons: none come to mind
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Great Christmas Present
on December 25, 2011
Posted by: Doc
I've always loved macro photography but didn't really have any dedicated macro lenses. I used telephoto lenses with extension tubes for the most part. My wife recently bought me an EF F/2.8 100mm Macro lens and what a difference. Like others have said, it is razor sharp; however, taking macro photos really does require a tripod and all your camera body has (such as mirror lockup and remote shutter release). When you do these, the 100mm macro delivers! You might also want to consider a ring light as your normal flash is useless.
When taking macro shots, auto focus does hunt or doesn't work at all which isn't surprising IF you're taking handheld shots. If you're using a tripod then all works well unless the subject is in motion. When that happens I simply switch to manual focus and all is well with the world.
The 100mm macro is my sharpest lens with greatest sharpness throughout the frame occurring at F/8.
Does it matter that it doesn't have image stabilization? No. All manufacturers recommend turning IS off if you're using a tripod as the IS can, itself, add vibrations. Thus, that's paying for a feature in macro photography that won't be used much. Tests also show that while you might get 3-4 stops IS when not doing macro photography, you'll likely only get 1, maybe 2, stops off tripod for macro work. So is it really worth it? Not in my opinion.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
The best little darn lens
on June 29, 2009
Posted by: Blondie
from Ohio
Love this lens. At first I found it a bit heavy but now I am used to it and I have very small hands. This lens is very versatile. I have used it for macro work, portraits and even landscapes. The images are sharp and crisp at every range. It took me a while to get used to it at the close range. Let the lens work for you and you will find a faster focus time. This lens also creates a fantastic bokeh at macro to portraits. By far my favorite lens in the bag. You won't be disappointed.
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality
Cons: a bit heavy
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
One of Canon's Finest
on December 22, 2011
Posted by: ABQ.Joe
from Albuquerque, NM
I use the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro on a 7D body, making its effective focal length 160mm.
Not only does this lens take wonderful macro shots, it's a fantastic performer anywhere its focal length suits you, with action shots as its only exception.
Macro lenses just aren't fast-focusing, so you can't really fault its tendency to hunt. But once it finds its focus point, it's highly accurate and tack-sharp. I'm pretty sure this is the sharpest lens I've ever used. At the same time, that makes sense to me; when some of the things you can focus on are just a few hundred molecules wide, it HAS to be sharp to resolve them properly.
If you're shooting macros handheld with this lens, use a single focus point on the 'AI' focus setting for best results, but the magic happens on a tripod with manual focus at f/32. (Don't forget to Enable Mirror Lockup to eliminate the vibration of the mirror slap.)
The 100mm Macro has beautiful color and contrast, along with an almost complete absence of chromatic aberration and very little distortion: it's one impressive piece of glass, worthy of a red strip to be sure. Wide open, the 100mm Macro has a beautiful background blur, and a flawless, super-smooth bokeh. It's comparable to the 50mm f/1.2L in my opinion, pure butter.
Grab this lens while there are still copies to be had. It's been replaced by the EF 100mm f/2.8L IS (haven't used that one yet, but I'd bet it's impressive!) The thing is, you can get this lens for a fraction of the cost of the L ...you'd be hard-pressed to find a better value...a MUST have Canon lens.
Pros: super sharp, accurate focus, great color, good contrast, beautiful bokeh, lightweight
Cons: focus hunts, no image stabilization
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Great Lens
on February 21, 2010
Posted by: Anonymous
from Indianapolis, IN
This was the first lens I got for my Rebel XT and I love it! I love the effect I can get with shallow depth of field with this lens. I've used it for jewelry, weddings, portraits, and many other types of photos. I love it as a portrait lens! My only qualm is that its auto focus is slow, especially in lower light situations.
Pros: Superior build quality
Cons: Slow auto-focus
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
One of Canon's Finest Works
on December 20, 2011
Posted by: ABQ.Joe
from Albuquerque, NM
I use the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro on a 7D body, making its effective focal length 160mm. Not only does this lens take wonderful macro shots, it's a fantastic performer anywhere its focal length suits you, with action shots as its only exception.
Macro lenses just aren't fast-focusing, so you can't really fault its tendency to hunt. But once it finds its focus point, it's highly accurate and tack-sharp. I'm pretty sure this is the sharpest lens I've ever used. At the same time, that makes sense to me; when some of the things you can focus on are just a few hundred molecules wide, it HAS to be sharp to resolve them properly.
If you're shooting macros handheld with this lens, use a single focus point on the 'AI' focus setting for best results, but the magic happens on a tripod with manual focus at f/32. (Don't forget to Enable Mirror Lockup to eliminate the vibration of the mirror slap.)
The 100mm Macro has beautiful color and contrast, along with an almost complete absence of chromatic aberration and very little distortion: it's one impressive piece of glass, worthy of a red strip to be sure. Wide open, the 100mm Macro has a beautiful background blur, and a flawless, super-smooth bokeh. It's comparable to the 50mm f/1.2L in my opinion, pure butter.
Grab this lens while there's still copies to be had. It's been replaced by the EF 100mm f/2.8L IS (haven't used that one yet, but I'd bet it's impressive!) The thing is, you can get this lens for a fraction of the cost of the L: if you evaluate it fully, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better value...a MUST have Canon lens.
Pros: super sharp, accurate focus, beautiful color, excellent contrast, buttery bokeh, versatile, super value
Cons: autofocus hunts, no image stabilization, not weather sealed
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Fantastic for coins!
on November 12, 2011
Posted by: HiHo
from New York City
I bought this lens back in 2005 to photograph rare coins and after more than six years and thousands of photos I am still in awe of it. Surgical sharpness and fantastic manual focus, it still works perfectly and is a joy to use. Depth of field is limited but this is not an issue with coins. Build quality is as good as my 17mm-40mm L-Series Super Wide, amazing considering the price.
HIGHLY recommended!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
default lens on my camera
on March 19, 2011
Posted by: danils14
from ohio
.extremely sharp focus and clarity.
.great for macro and portraits.
.auto focus isn't very useful in macro unless the subject is flat(will keep switching focus between the bug or the leaf), you have to switch to manual or select focus to make the lens focus where you want.
.makes bokeh like a champ at pretty much any aperture below 16 as long as the subject and lights are far enough apart.(easy since it's a macro)
.very smooth manual focus.
overall this lens's versatility is impressive for being fixed, and is on my camera more than any other lens i own.
Pros: Superior build quality, Super-sharp images
Cons: no image stabilization
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
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