Well, I wound up taking a chance and picked up a super clean 100mm f2.8L IS Macro at a good price. I am pleasantly surprised. This is pretty much what I've wanted, with a few exceptions.
Pros:
Very sharp
Required NO MFA! Ran the tests and it was near perfect.
Nice round candles and smooth fade away in the bokeh
Fast, accurate focus
Great color rendition
Image Stabilization
No significant issues with chroma
Hey, it's also a macro lens
Cons (as compared to the mythical 85 f1.8II or 100 f2 II):
Expensive (new)
Long, especially with the behemoth hood attached
A stop slower
The 2.8 max aperture doesn't really bother me as at 100mm FL it still gives quite pleasant isolation of the subject. With the IS, it functions a couple of stops better in low light than the faster non IS lenses as well.
I'll still be one of the first to check out the updated short tele lenses when Canon brings them out, but for now I'm quite pleased.
Here's a couple of my initial test shots from around the house...
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- www.scottaticephoto.com
