Camera Labs

Hello all,
I've been an enthusiastic follower of the site for some time and think you have the most useful reviews of them all.

I have just upgraded my 350D to 40D (magnificent!) and I'm planning to get into macro photography.

The options seem to be the Canon EF 100 and the EF-S 60.
I know that the 60 would require me to be much closer to the subject and all things considered, the 100 feels like a more solid buy, or is it?

One thing I can't be sure is, with a cropped sensor, 100mm will be 160mm and would that be too much in some cases?
I'm also thinking about portrait applications.

if around 100mm is ideal for macro (and portrait) work, wouldn't the extended-by-sensor length of 60mm into 96 be more adequate?

Then there is the cost and size...

So as you can see I could use a little advice.

Thanks in advance for your interest and for the great site in general.

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Canon EOS 40D, EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, EF 100mm f/2,8 Macro, EF 50mm f/1,8 II and some other stuff.
Flickr!

Hi espressoroast,

A warm welcome to the CameraLabs forums.

Congratulations on your upgrade to a 40D - nice, aren't they.

I don't own a macro lens so take what follows with a pinch of salt please. First of all, don't forget that there are good third party alternatives out there if you need more choices. As for the focal length issue, your zoom lens gets you to 85mm so you can use that to judge pretty well whether a focal length of 100mm will be too long for your intended portrait work. If you think 100mm would be OK then my personal choice would be the EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM because of the vignetting of the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens and, possibly for the future, its incompatibility with full-frame bodies.

Anyway, SLRGear and Photozone have each reviewed both the Canon lenses. The 100mm reviews are here and here and the 60mm reviews are here and here. Both sites also have some reviews on Sigma and Tamron alternatives.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Welcome Espressoroast,

I'm also a non-macro user at the moment so I can't say I'm speaking from experience, but from what I've read either lens performs very well as a 1:1 macro lens.

A few points that I've considered are this:

If you are planning on working with insects and/or little creatures that are skittish then the added working distance of the 100mm may come to your advantage.

But, if you'll be using the lens for double duty such as using it as a portrait lens then I'd stick to the 60mm for a more comfortable working distance. I really enjoy using the 85mm for portrait work, but sometimes feel like it's a little too long (on a cropped body), that's when a 60mm would be perfect.

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Leica M9, Nikon D300s, Leica X1, Canon S95, Zero Image 6x9

Ok,
Here's a suggestion,
I get the 100 for macro, which seems to be the more useful one in general.

To satiate my immediate fast portrait lens needs I get the 50mm 1,8 II. This lens is 85€ in Belgium and everywhere I've been reading, it's being praised for its results (for the money that is). I can live with the cheap feeling (it is cheap!) to be able have a f/1.8 when needed.
Is the 1,8 worth of its of 'cheap but does the job very well' reputation?

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Canon EOS 40D, EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, EF 100mm f/2,8 Macro, EF 50mm f/1,8 II and some other stuff.
Flickr!

The 'thrifty-fifty' the 'nifty-fifty', what ever you want to call it, it's a bargain worth owning. It's the lens that will give you the best bang for the buck. It will work as a cheap portrait and low light lens and would compliment your 100mm macro quite well. I see them bought and sold for close to the original price too, so when you're ready to upgrade it to the f/1.4 version you'll get most of your money back out of it. One thing you'll quickly notice is how compact your camera will feel with it on it's a nice size lens for street shooting too.

Good choice, for the price you can't go wrong. Have fun it.

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Leica M9, Nikon D300s, Leica X1, Canon S95, Zero Image 6x9

Hi espressoroast,

I've been concidering on getting one of these Macro lenses also. They both seem good lens in other reviews

Have you picked up the EF-100 yet and if so, how has it performed for you?

thanks,

Hi there,

I really should have reported on them earlier but somehow it flipped, sorry about that.

Yes, I've finally bought the EF-100 and let me just say it, it is an amazing piece of glass. Sharp, accurate and fast. Sometimes I can't believe the amount of detail it manages to capture. I haven't had the time to really properly get into macro but even in a couple of test shots, it was breathtaking.

I've finally choose it over the Ef-S 60 because of several points;

-The increase in working distance really helps, not only in comfort but also by means of light.
-It looked and felt like a more high quality product. It might be just an impression but that's how I've felt.
-The focus-distance limiter really helps, which is not featured in the 60.
-It's not possible in near future (I've just bought me 40D!!) but If ever I want to go full frame, I'd like to carry on using the same kit. (and I have an old EOS 3 film camera as well so Ef-S, I can only buy half hearted.)

The main reason I was interested in the 60 was my aim to also use it as a portrait lens, as the 100 would be a bit long for this but I bought the wonderful ef-50 f/1,8 II for that and frankly, that lens is probably the most fun per € spent.

But if the price difference is a problem and you don't want to have a separate lens around 50mm, I'm sure the 60 will also make you very happy all around.

I hope this helps,
please feel free to ask any more questions you might have.

By the way, if you live around the Benelux countries, Fotokonijnenberg has really unbeatable prices and great, caring staff that know what they are talking about.

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Canon EOS 40D, EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, EF 100mm f/2,8 Macro, EF 50mm f/1,8 II and some other stuff.
Flickr!

Thanks for your review and insight. I think i'll ask Santa for one for Christmas.