Camera Labs

Hi All
Can anyone help with my problem.
Firstly I am a rookie and still learning.
I have a Canon EOS300D and recently purchased a Canon EF Macro lens - 100 mm - F/2.8.
My main use is for our web site. The two main products are small jewellery and greeting cards. The greeting cards I like to capture as much detail as possible including the grain of the card. However with this lens for a normal shot of a card I have to be around 1meter away and detail is not as good as my cheap old lens which is an EFS18-55.
Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks

Phil Dooley

Hi Phil, your problem might be best helped if you include a comparison shot of what you get with your 18-55 and what you got with your new 100mm. The 1-metre distance would make sense... the lens is longer, so you have to move further away for the same framing of the shot. However, the detail should be much greater from the 100mm so there's something going wrong. If you post photos, please list the EXIF (shooting) data like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc.

Welcome to Camera Labs!

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Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EOS 7D | Canon Digital Rebel XSi | EF 35mm f/1.4L | EF 50mm f/1.8 II | EF 85mm f/1.8 | EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | EF 135mm f/2L | EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS | 580EX II | LumoPro LP-120

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Welcome to the forum!

The lowly 18-55mm is actually a quite good close-up lens, and it seems you learned to use it well. The Crime Unit Unit officers who work our homicide scenes do most of their scene photos with the 18-55mm! It is what the PD issues them. (I work patrol photography, and unless content to use a P&S, have to buy my own equipment; I have a 100mm 2.8L.) The 100mm, being of a longer focal length, is going to "see" things differently than your shorter-focal-length lens, as Plymer just indicated. Please provide more detail, and perhaps some images, to help us help you.

One thing to keep in mind is that at very close distances, manual focus may become necessary, especially if there is not plenty of light.

Another thing is that depth-of-field becomes VERY shallow at close range; the photographer may need to stop-down the aperture considerably in order to get enough of the subject in focus. Indeed, a main feature that distinguishes a true macro lens is its ability to be stopped-down far more than a typical lens.

I will add the disclaimer that I am NOT an expert.

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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 Guys

Thanks for your input I will try a few more things, then maybe post some images.

Phil

I purchased the same lens today. Mine is very sharp even at 2.8, and resolves very good detail. One thing i hate about it is the autofocus speed. since i never owned an usm lens and reading reviews i got lead to believe that usm lenses are a speed demon.
unfortunately it's focus speed is slower than my 55-250 when zoomed in at 250mm! i can imagine how "fast" the tamron 90mm is...

Re: focus speed - have a look at the focus distance window and see how much turning of the focus ring it takes to get from 1:1 to 1:4 to infinity... AF will be slow in the macro ranges because the elements are reconfiguring themselves a LOT more than at "normal" shooting distances. If you're getting a lot of hunting at normal distances, put the focus limiter on (0.48m-Infinity) and then it won't try and hunt within that massive macro range.

That said, the macro lenses are much slower than say, the hilariously-fast 135 f/2L, but they also aren't as bad as some of the big f/1.2 lenses

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Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EOS 7D | Canon Digital Rebel XSi | EF 35mm f/1.4L | EF 50mm f/1.8 II | EF 85mm f/1.8 | EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | EF 135mm f/2L | EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS | 580EX II | LumoPro LP-120

My Flickr

maybe the lens is front/back focusing. Try focusing in live view, it is the most precise focusing you have.

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I'm new to DSLR's, so please be patient and take my opinions with reserve. Thank you : ) Yes, i am Canon man.
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You are using a tripod, right? 100mm 2.8 macro does not have IS where 18-55 has. Could it be that problem?

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With the camera being a 300D (Digital Rebel), there is no live view to use.
Also, I am going to make the assumption that you have one of the original EF-S 18-55mm, which does not have IS.

If you do not use prescription glasses, and if no one messed with the diopter, then try manually focusing the lens on a tripod.
See what it takes to get a good image with manual focus first, then try auto-focus to see what the difference is.

Can we have a sample picture with the macro?

Also, one other thing you could do is set your camera to f/5.6 in order to have more in focus. If you are used to the 18-55mm, at 55mm it is at f/5.6.

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Canon Rebel XTi, BG-E3 Grip
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II, 24-105mm f/4L, 50mm f/1.4, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DO, 85mm f/1.8
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Is it normal for the Canon 100mm usm macro to focus from from closest to distant in 2 second?
I measured the time and it is around 2 sec +- 0.5 sec

Yea, if it has nothing to lock onto, that sounds about right. The 100mm reconfigures its elements a LOT to go from 1:1 to infinity focus, thus needing to take a while. The limiter negates this "problem" for the most part when working at non-macro distances, and can actually be really fast to focus under the right circumstances.

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Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EOS 7D | Canon Digital Rebel XSi | EF 35mm f/1.4L | EF 50mm f/1.8 II | EF 85mm f/1.8 | EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | EF 135mm f/2L | EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS | 580EX II | LumoPro LP-120

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It would probably focus faster if you use one of the focus limiter settings.

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Canon Rebel XTi, BG-E3 Grip
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II, 24-105mm f/4L, 50mm f/1.4, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DO, 85mm f/1.8
Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX Macro
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Canon 430EX II
Opteka 13mm, 21mm, and 31mm extension tubes

Thank you plymer and blue dragon. This is my first USM lens, and I was expecting it to be USM, I had in mind it is super fast, but didn't consider the magnification. I can sleep in peace now, knowing it is not defective