| Customer Reviews Collected from usa.canon.com |
Canon - EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens - Black
Average Customer Rating:
4.8
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
Excellent lens
on September 1, 2009
Posted by: Tom
Very fine lens with excellent image quality. Sorry but there is wrong MTF chart on the page of 100 mm macro. If you want to see the right MTF chart, read the Canon Lens Work III.
Pros: Super-sharp images
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Superb, dual purpose lens.
on February 14, 2009
Posted by: amfoto1
from San Jose, Calif.
SInce I started shooting with 1.6X crop sensor cameras in 2004, this has become my primary macro lens. Before that, on film (i.e., "full frame") cameras, I tended to use the 180/3.5 macro more.
With the cameras I'm using now, the 100/2.8 gives me the right combo of adequate working distance from shy or downright nasty, sharp-toothed subjects, but not so far that depth of field is ultra shallow so that I need to stop down a lot and use a slow shutter speed, to the point it's no longer practical to handhold.
The 100/2,8 also serves very well as a moderate telephoto lens for non-macro shooting, on any crop sensor SLR. The main reason this lens serves dual purposes so well is that it's got fast USM auto focus. If you are sure to use the limiter switch when shooting at non-macro distances, it's AF will not disappoint (the 180/3.5 does not focus as quickly at non-macro distances, so is less of a dual purpose lens, in my opinion).
Now, I know a lot of people use the 100/2.8 for a portrait lens, too. If anything, in my opinoin it might be too darned sharp for that purpose. You won't win points with your mother in law if you take her portrait with this lens and so precisely show every line and wrinkle! Still, it can be used for portraits, no doubt about it. Just soften her images a little in post production, or risk the wrath of your mother in law!
It also can optionally be fitted with a tripod mounting ring, very handy, but something that is not possible with some other macro lenses around this focal length.
One thing I've never been able to figure out is why the optional lens hood is so large. You certainly don't have to worry about stray light finding it's down there to the front lens element, when you use it! It's a bit of an overkill, but better too much hood than too little, I suppose.
Internal focus means this lens doesn't change length when focused, which is pretty amazing and convenient for a 1:1 macro lens. Earlier 1:1 macro lenses grew tremendously, with double heligoid designs. Some tripled in length, which moves the front elements awfully close to small subjects.
While I would agree that I.S. is nice to have on any lens and would be somewhat useful on this lens when using it as a moderate telephoto, I have to point out that I.S. is of little real use at macro focusing distances. There is one stabilized macro lens on the market now, and even it's manufacturer doesn't claim very much assistance from stabilixation with tiny subjects at higher magnifications. So, personally I don't see much sense in adding I.S. (and complexity and cost) to this already excellent lens.
The 100/2.8 Macro works extremely well with macro extension rings and the MT24EX Twinlite flash, too.
Pros: dual purpose lens
Cons: what's with that huge lens hood?
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
One of my favorite lenses
on May 16, 2012
Posted by: GreenMonstah
I've owned this lens for about three months now and it quickly became one of my favorite lenses. Shooting in macro has always been one of my favorite styles but I always had to make due with my standard zoom. This lens makes it so easy to create a perfect shot. When shooting in macro, I found it easier to use the manual focus because with such a narrow depth of field, many times it did not find the point I wanted it to focus on. However, It works great if youre shooting portraits. It being a f 2.8, it's shoots well in low light conditions and the motor is nice and quiet. Overall. I'm very pleased
Pros: excellent image quality, quiet, great dof, works great in low light
Cons: a bit heavy
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Great Macro For The Money
on August 4, 2009
Posted by: Rufus
from Salinas Ca
I just purchased the Canon 100mm Macro lens about three week ago and I am more than pleased with this lens. The auto-focus is a little different up close and sometimes you must manual focus to keep it from hunting around but I went into this lens knowing that. It is a great addition to my camera bag. I have taken some fairly sharp Macro shots with it so far. I figure It can only get better the more I use it.
Pros: Superior build quality
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Excellent lens: here are some suggestions:
on July 18, 2012
Posted by: hndrbean
from Anaheim, CA
The short take: I have gotten outstanding macro photographs of subjects like insects and plants using this lens. Here are tips on what has worked for me:
For macro work, I ALWAYS set the lens to manual focus, because the autofocus mechanism just cannot "find" extremely small subjects.
As other reviewers have noted, you will need a tripod for macro work.
For extreme close-ups or for telephoto work--at least in my opinion--megapixels matter. I traded in my Canon XSi 12 mp camera body for an 18 mp T2i. The increased megapixels allow me to crop macro images without loss of detail. I love the results!
I ALWAYS use the optical viewfinder for composing shots. The only time I use the LCD is to check the exposure and the sharpness on images I have already taken. Perhaps other users are more adept, but I find that I can determine neither accuracy of focus nor depth of field using the LCD alone.
Because of this focus problem, I initially hated my Canon outfit (after first making the transition from film to digital). But then I purchased a third-party focusing screen equipped with split-image rangefinder and microprism collar--just like my old film camera used to have. Now, using the optical viewfinder, I get nice, crisp results. I love it!
The outfit (T2i + macro lens) is a little heavy. The lens weighs 20.5 oz. When I am out in the field, I use a harness instead of a neckstrap, to eliminate the stress to my neck.
I have been using my EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro for three years now, and I strongly recommend it. I also find that Canon hardware and software is pretty intuitive, and that it lets me do what I want to do.
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Superior build quality, Super-sharp images
Cons: pretty heavy
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
very sharp lens!
on March 29, 2011
Posted by: JIN
from New York
This lens is very sharp! Whether you are shooting a macro or portrait, the result is what you are expecting from Canon! the built quality is solid.
Although now Canon released a L version of this lens which has IS but if you shoot your object with tripod (which you should if you really want the best macro) then IS isn't important to you. the only L is the weather proofing. If you use this lens indoor or it doesn't expose to any water or rain then you should be fine. The quality between the L and non L are pretty similar. Only if you blow up the pics and the L will show a bit more detail. it won't matter to many of us.
for a price like this with the quality, you just can't beat it!
Pros: Super-sharp images
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Wonderful!
on June 26, 2009
Posted by: Aequitas
from 203, CT
This was the first lens I bought other than one that came with the camera. I was so impressed with the quality! The pictures are absolutely amazing! So sharp and clean at 2.8, which is good. I also love to use this lens for portraits, I think it makes anyone look good no matter what! That is, if you dont mind standing atleast 10 feet away from them... can be a problem if space is limited, but then you should get the 50mm. I use this for concerts too when I'm too far away for my 28mm. It takes very nice pics at 2.8 even in low light situations. This lens is good to have in your bag no matter what you're doing or where you're going you can definitely find a use for it other than macro shooting, although its a super fine macro lens!
The onlything I've noticed about this lens that bothers me is the auto focus. Obviously don't use it for shooting macro beause it will drive you insane, but when shooting other things its kind of show and fishes around alot. I've missed some good shots at concerts because of this but i guess thats waht you get for using a lens that has such a wide range of focus. I would definitely reccomend this to some one regardless, its not bad enough to make me not want to use it!
The onlything I've noticed about this lens that bothers me is the auto focus. Obviously don't use it for shooting macro beause it will drive you insane, but when shooting other things its kind of show and fishes around alot. I've missed some good shots at concerts because of this but i guess thats waht you get for using a lens that has such a wide range of focus. I would definitely reccomend this to some one regardless, its not bad enough to make me not want to use it!
Pros: Super-sharp images, 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
Best value macro lens, with TOP quality and detail
on August 2, 2018
Posted by: Overfocused
from Chicago
I've had this lens for 10? years now. It's been a long time. I've dropped it face-first and it took no damage to the elements. It's very well-built. This takes razor-sharp images and has fantastic image quality at any distance.
For macro, it's awesome. I use a hand-held flash with a softbox on it and manual focus for most of my macro endeavors. Macro is a specialist's technique on it's own so if you have problems it's %99.99 likely it's you and not the lens.
Great lens! Worth every penny.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com