Camera Labs

Hi guys.
Just wondered if you could give some advice on a suitable Macro Lens for my 5D2.
My budget is around £400-£500.
I have read some reviews on the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM and it seems quite good.
Do you think I should wait and get my budget up a bit higher and purchase the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM.

I also like the idea of the front element not extending when doing Macro shots.

I want to get super close shots from a Lens if possible.
Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thanks.

_________________
5DMKII, 7D, 50D, (EF17-40-L-USM) (EF24-105-f4L-IS-USM) ( EF100-f2.8L-IS-USM) ( SIGMA 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Diagonal Fisheye ) (SIGMA 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM)
Holiday Home Rentals

Both lenses do macros up to 1:1. Closer than that is a dedicated macro lens that goes up to 5:1
Now the question is if you want to invest into a L lens With IS. For macros at 1:1 you certainly need a tripod so the IS is not relevant, but as a “normal” lens at 100mm, IS is a nice touch. So if it’s in the budget, go for the L lens, if not, the “regular” one is a very nice lens too, and if macro is the sole purpose for it I’m not sure if the L version is necessary.

_________________
Radu
Canon PowerShot S100
Canon 50D , SIGMA 10-20 f3.5 ,Canon EF 24-105 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 macro Canon EF 50/1.4 ,Canon EF 85 f1.8,Canon EF-S17-85 4-5.6 Old Tamron 28-300 inherited from my Canon Rebel G film camera
Canon580EXII
http://www.errre.net

Thanks Radu..
Yes it will be purely for Macro photography with Tripod so I agree the IS and "L" are not really needed. I just need to be sure about the lens as £400-£500 is not a small ammount.
Also it would be nice to try the lens before purchase but the best price I have found is online. I guess I could go into Jessops or somewhere like that and ask to try it out.
I see you have this lens in your sig. Are you happy with your results?

_________________
5DMKII, 7D, 50D, (EF17-40-L-USM) (EF24-105-f4L-IS-USM) ( EF100-f2.8L-IS-USM) ( SIGMA 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Diagonal Fisheye ) (SIGMA 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM)
Holiday Home Rentals

Yes I’m very happy with it, as a macro lens is very sharp and has a solid build, as a lens for “normal” photography sometimes it hunts for focus, but doing an approximate focus manually, which is very easy, it snaps into focus in no time. I don’t know how the L lens behaves in this respect; there are quite a few people here that have it and may tell you about it. . In any case the non L lens is a very popular one due to the value for money ratio which is very good.

_________________
Radu
Canon PowerShot S100
Canon 50D , SIGMA 10-20 f3.5 ,Canon EF 24-105 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 macro Canon EF 50/1.4 ,Canon EF 85 f1.8,Canon EF-S17-85 4-5.6 Old Tamron 28-300 inherited from my Canon Rebel G film camera
Canon580EXII
http://www.errre.net

Another thing to consider is weather sealing. Since your 5D2 is weather sealed you can get another completely weather sealed combo if you choose the L (I see from your sig that you have two weather sealed lenses already)

_________________
Canon DSLRs: 5D Mark III, 7D
Canon lenses: 17-40/4L, 24-105/4L, 24/1.4L II, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 100/2.8L Macro, 70-200/2.8L IS, 100-400L
Other stuff: Canon Extender 1.4x II, Canon 580 EX II, Canon 430EX II, Velbon Sherpa 600R
Apple: MacBook Pro 15", iMac 27", iPad III, iPhone 4S, Apple TV

My deviantART

I have got he 100macro L and used it a fair bit in the last month for the December fest, took hundreds of shots.

I purposely bought the L for the IS, I don`t want o have to have a tripod whenever I come across something I want to photograph. I mainly use it for flowers and insects etc often when bushwalking.
Insects don`t always hang around and setting up tripod takes too long.

The focus system is good, but not lightening fast and it can hunt. Fortunately its easy to focus manually. Like Radu said above getting it close manually and then letting it autofocus works well. Seems like the two lenses share the same characteristic.

Its also a great portrait lens, but for fast action stuff its focus system is a bit slow.

I agree that if all your macro work is with tripod, IS isn`t relevant, but if you think you are going to do any handheld its a must have.

I am wondering if 100 may be a bit short for serious macro work on a 5D, there is also a very good Sigma 150 2.8 and a Canon 180 3.5L, but the canon is more expensive

_________________
Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

It is wrong that you *need* a tripod for macro. I've handheld to 5x magnification on crop sensor, so that's equivalent to 8x magnification on the 5D. Still, a tripod is often easier *if* it is suitable for the subject. So the main question is, what is the subject? If tripod use is suitable, then the IS will be of limited value in itself.

Also consider the non-OS Sigma 150mm macro if you fancy something with a longer focal length than the Canon.

_________________
Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

The research I did before buying a 100mm macro lens indicated that the Canon non-L is not optically inferior to the L, with some comparative reviews favoring the non-L. I bought the L because I wanted a weather-resistant lens in the 100mm focal length range, anyway, and because we already had an excellent Tokina 100mm 2.8 macro lens. Do take a look at the Tokina!

_________________
Canon 7D/5D/40D/1D2N; Nikon F6, FM3A, & Coolpix A; Canon 40mm Pancake, 135L, 50L, 35L, pre-II 50mm 1.8, 100mm 2.8L Macro, 10-22mm EF-S, 28-135 EF, 400mm 5.6L; Nikkor 50mm 1.2 AI-S, 50mm 1.4G, 50mm 1.8D, 16mm 2.8D Fisheye, 180mm 2.8D, 100-300mm 5.6 AI-S; Tokina 17mm & 100mm 2.8 Macro

Hi dalem,

Stack of 27 photos with tripod and Canon 100mm "classic"


Frosted flowers by Gustavo Mazzarollo, on Flickr

Single frame @ 1:1 with canon 100mm "L" , near ground vegetation, impossible tipod there, IS was ON:


Sisyrinchium minutiflorum by Gustavo Mazzarollo, on Flickr

Example shoot of a bird, Canon 100mm "classic", full flash photo (inner jungle):


Bird first day by Gustavo Mazzarollo, on Flickr

Example shoot of same bird, Canon 100mm "L", full flash photo (inner jungle):


Molothrus bonariensis by Gustavo Mazzarollo, on Flickr

_________________
Blog
http://www.gmazza.com

Flickr

Hi gmazza!

Thanks for the great shots. (Interesting Blog too).
I have decided on the 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro (Despite it being mostly "engineering" plastic).
I tried both IS and non IS today and realised that I would be better off with the IS version just for those times when a tripod is not possible. It costs a little more but I think it is worth it.

Thanks also to all who gave advice.

_________________
5DMKII, 7D, 50D, (EF17-40-L-USM) (EF24-105-f4L-IS-USM) ( EF100-f2.8L-IS-USM) ( SIGMA 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Diagonal Fisheye ) (SIGMA 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM)
Holiday Home Rentals

And it's weather sealed

Nice choice!

_________________
Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466