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Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro review
Ongoing (started April 9, 2006)
I'd been meaning to get a macro lens for some time. I came across a great deal on the highly recommended Canon 100mm macro, so I picked it up.
First Impressions
For a non-L lens, the build quality is quite good. The lens is well put together and is also surprisingly light. When I attached it to the 30D, it seems to balance quite nicely on that camera. Playing around the AF, it definitely is not as quick as the 200mm f/2.8L, but for objects that are farther away, it seemed to be fairly snappy.
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| The 100mm f/2.8 USM MACRO mounted on a 30D |
Tests
All tests were performed with:
- Canon 30D mounted on a tripod with MLU and remote cable
- ISO 200, RAW, WB: 2850
Some cropping was performed, but no other photoshopping was done.
Sharpness
The first tests I performed were sharpness tests. All are 100% crops.
Click on the image for full size images.
Despite all the positive reviews, I was really surprised by just how sharp this lens really is. As you can see it is very sharp wide open and stays that way. We can see a little softening at f/22 due to diffraction, but that is to be expected and really its not that bad.
Bokeh
When doing macro work, bokeh can be quite important, hence it was tested.
Click on the image for full size images.
As to be expected from a macro lens, the closeup bokeh is fantastic; however when focussed at a distance, it isn't quite as nice. This lens suffers from something called 'nisen bokeh' when focussing on subjects farther away.
Conclusions
Definitely lives up to what people say about this lens. If you want a macro lens, you won't be unhappy with this one.
| Good |
Bad |
- Decent construction
- Very sharp at all apertures
- Beautiful closeup bokeh
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- Not the fastest focus
- Slight nisen bokeh when focussing at faraway subjects
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