Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

Certainly adequate lighting (flash preferred) will help bring out the detail.

I did a reverse macro (reversed 50mm)with my point and shoot and the detail in the eye was easy to bring out - view it here. I believe extension tubes do something similar.

I looked through some pages but I couldn't find what I was looking for. Has anyone ever used this lens for cars or sports?

I don't think you will find pictures of what you are looking for but the quality of the image for sports or cars will be very good.

Angdvl089 wrote in post #7856583
I looked through some pages but I couldn't find what I was looking for. Has anyone ever used this lens for cars or sports?

I haven't tried, but I imagine that for action shooting with AI Servo you will find the AF will be too slow to respond well. The range from about 6" to infinity with no intermediate limiter will occasionally cause it to swing wildly to find focus. You might do OK if you first focus manually to an approximate distance before the subject comes into focus.

If you have the lens and want to try it out, just try panning some moving cars in AI Servo and see how it does.

I thought this lens had an intermediate limiter?

Angdvl089 wrote in post #7857705
I thought this lens had an intermediate limiter?

Nope. You see those on the hefty telephotos, but no on the 100.

So what does the switch next to the AF switch control?

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OMG, you're right! Gosh, I've been dedicated to using this lens for macros for so long that I forgot that switch even existed! It stays in MF, so I don't even pay attention!

Sorry for the misinformation, my bad, ten lashes to me!

Do you think that half a foot would make a big difference in how the lens focuses?

Angdvl089 wrote in post #7858163
Do you think that half a foot would make a big difference in how the lens focuses?

Yes, because it is the half a foot that requires more movement of lens elements for focusing than all of the rest.

Up to 48 cm, assuming it stays the same focal length, it requires a move of 26 mm of the lens in the lens tube. From 48 cm to 31 cm, it would require another 74 mm were it not that it is an IF lens. Even so, the relation between the first part and the last half foot would be about the same, about 1 to 3, and that only for the last half foot .

Kind regards, Wim

Ok cool. So it wouldn't be as quick as say a 70-200 2.8 @ 100 but somewhat comparable for action?

I just got this lens and I love it. Just learning.

Angdvl089 wrote in post #7858522
Ok cool. So it wouldn't be as quick as say a 70-200 2.8 @ 100 but somewhat comparable for action?

It is probably still a little less fast. But then, good enough I guess .

Kind regards, Wim

Geno DM wrote in post #7854764
Question - How do you guys get so close that a fly's eyes are so sharply in focus? This was at MFD and there's no way I have enough detail to crop it even more and bring out the eye like some of the shots I've seen.]

I think the Canon MP-E 65 can get superb detail in insects eyes.. I have never owned a macro lens so i wouldn't know much else about shooting macro. But that lens is 1-5x magnification. I think the 100mm macro is 1-1x.

Somebody quote me if i'm wrong