Review! 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro

Well I've had my lovely 100L for a bit over a month now, so I decided its time I write up a review to share with you all, especially now that I've had a chance to really use it and get to know it better...

Build:

Excellent, its an L-quality lens through and through, yes the barrel is made of engineering plastics and not metal, but it certainly doesn't feel cheap, it feels well put together and VERY professional

The lens hood is the new type, with the matte finish thats harder to scratch..in theory..i've already put a few on it by smacking it into things during the course of photography..but im very thankful its there! I don't like how small it is in diameter however, I have to constantly pull the hood off to replace the lens cap and that is getting on my nerves a bit, but its not a HUGE deal...

As for weather sealing, I've been thankful for it, I've already had it and my 7D in a nice shower and it didn't falter just as I expected....

The controls are well placed, easy to differentiate with your fingers, and easy to find, the focus ring has a good feel as well and is very easy to manipulate for fine tuning your focus

Also, on the 7D, it feels natural, perfect and like an extension of the camera, havn't had a lens feel so "perfect" in a long time (My N70 and 105mm lens I think..)

So all in all, its an L-lens, what did you expect

AF Speed/Accuracy

The AF on this lens is very good, as to be expected, it does however hunt when the AF is set to its full range, but I can understand that on a macro and its by no means terrible, when you limit the focus range the lens' AF does speed up quite a bit and gets quite a bit more accurate

AI Servo is from what I've seen very good on my 7D, especially on close macro subjects compensating for slight variations from breathing or the wind very well and accurately, in fact most shots I use AI Servo specifically for this reason...From what I understand, the 7D and this lens have a special algorithm thats designed for macrophotography, I forgot where I read this but it does seem to be very true..at least in my usage...

IS Performance

Heres a tricky thing, given the nature of macro photography, ie, the closer you get the harder it will be to hold your camera steady, its very VERY hard to evaluate this completely accurately

I WILL say that it seems to take some pretty extreme conditions to get a completely unusable shot and I've yet had to reach for my tripod because i couldnt handhold a shot..and only in one instance that I remember have I used my flash, and that was because it was a spider, on my ceiling, which i was standing on a table to nail, there were more issues than camera shake and even then, i was shaking from my footing and other things...and the lens still did VERY well...flash or no at 1:1, f/16 and 1/125 it could be very hard to get a sharp shot...

I've got a lot of shots at a decently close distances from 1/13 and up, most shots I've done seem to be in the 1/50 and up range however..Though this is down to lighting and other factors more than sharpness... (For instance, my dog, who likes to move and that, and who i cant keep very still...or the wind moving something)

Overall I'd say the Hybrid IS does work VERY well, I just am not confident in saying it gives me "x stops"...I write my reviews based on real life performance and I will say I'm not disappointed by it and thankful to have it, I doubt any of the other Macros I've owned would perform as well handheld...which is how i use my macro primarily

Optical Performance

To be quick about it, its sharp, seriously VERY sharp, from f/2.8 to f/16 on my 7D its easily the sharpest lens I own, anything beyond that theres diffraction that severely hurts performance, even f/16 is starting to be a bit diffraction limited but its still superbly usable..if i want to be picky, f/5.6-f/8 is probubly the peak of the lens...but thats not being measured by me..I dont work in numbers, just results

Bokeh is silky SILKY smooth, theres no flare i've seen in any situations and the colors are..well...L-like...just as good as my 200mm f/2.8L

My ONLY complaint is that chromatic aberration on this lens is pretty high...I do notice it frequently in images, it saddens me..but nothing is perfect and i usually can correct it out...but still, its something to note

But anyways, heres some examples to further prove my point, all are shot on my 7D and all are handheld, I linked from DA since they host my stuff very high res and such :

f/2.8(I have few wide open examples! )
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com …ascope-Daffodil-159564963
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com/art/Look-that-Bench-159566757
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com/art/Eye-of-the-Skye-159567157

f/4
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com …berri-Flowers-2-162529902
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com …udding-Daffodil-159565423

f/5.6
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com …e-Lines-of-Reas-163873544
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com …Then-Came-To-Be-163873255
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com …on-of-Your-Lips-163874237
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com/art/Ladybug​-1-159565896

f/8
[Very close, 1:2 i think?]
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com/art/Its-Small-163874022
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com …iss-Drama-Queen-162530456
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com …berri-Flowers-1-162529615

f/16
[About 1:1, with flash]
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com …der-on-the-Moon-163870510
[Same]
http://kenjis9965.devi​antart.com …r-on-the-Moon-2-163870636

Value for Money/Conclusion

Well, for what I paid, I'm definately happy I bought the IS...but the better question is..if I was paying absolute full price would I still get the IS?

Well, I would, the build, sealing, and the IS are worth it to me, I shoot almost everything handheld, I hate using my tripod because I find it inconvenient and I am very iffy with my flash still, so I like having IS there so I increase my chances of getting a keeper, i readily admit in macro, theres a lot that will ruin or mess up your photo and getting a good keeper is a pain in the rear sometimes...But the 100L for me has had the highest keeper rate of all the macros I've owned...

Even against when I was using a tripod with my old macros the 100L wins, because being able to shoot handheld gives me a lot more flexibility without having to mess around with a bulky and cumbersome tripod...Yes I know, I'm weird...

If I shot from a tripod or with flash all the time, my opinion would be different, I'd probubly look at the Sigma 150 or 180 over the 100L because the extra length would come in handy when working from a tripod or giving you a more comfortable working distance, and if i wanted a lens in the 100mm class, I dont honestly see why the old 100mm was really worse than it (Though I've never shot with it or even gotten to handle one)

The 100L has been glued to my camera since I got it, I'm addicted to everything about it, I love the focal length and it just feels perfect on the end of my 7D, the images I've gotten from it have been spectacular and have definately reminded me of the L magic in a fantastic way

By all means, if you like macro and dislike tripods, get the 100L over any other macro, its worth the premium

Otherwise, I'd recommend looking into one of the longer macros as I said, since the extra working distance is very nice to have

One other thing I like this lens is its light weight but still professionally perform even though I bought it after couple month of its introduction.

Thanks for an excellent review.

So, Kenji, I gather you like this lens...

...a little less than I do.

Love the lens to bits. I dare say more than my 85L II. I used it not long ago at f22 with tripod and and I honestly can't see any diffraction issues (mind you this is with the 5dII) which is great.

I want one of those, and cannot decide between 100 and 60mm, and this review is very helpful. Thanks!

aboss3 wrote in post #10173730
I want one of those, and cannot decide between 100 and 60mm, and this review is very helpful. Thanks!

I'd go with the 100mm lens over a 60 any day Longer is generally easier for me to work with, especially in macro terms

Yeah, on a 5D2 you probably can go one stop or so more than me before hitting real diffraction issues because of the full frame sensor I should try it at f/22 more, there MIGHT be a way to make it work, just the couple times i did I wasnt overly pleased with the results (so i avoid it)

The price on this lens has dropped $65 as part of the current Canon promotion. I bought it last week for $949 at B&H, before the promo started. Called them today and they'll be issuing a credit . Between this and the little bit of money I made by selling my nifty fifty and the 250D closeup lens, my net cost for this marvelous piece of glass is only around $700

Besides its intended purpose, the 100 mm 2.8 IS is also a great medium telephoto and portrait lens. You won't regret buying it!

Wow, nice work! I was slowly convincing myself to drop down to the old 100 macro, to allow for a 70-200. But these shots proved the value of the IS to me, and having a 7d myself, sent me right back to spending allot more money. Just have to find a cheaper tele lens, no biggie.

I shoot handheld for most of my macro work, manual focus from the live view 10x magnification. I don't use Servo too much, just don't have a lens I trust much yet. But for that reason the IS is invaluable to me. Do you have any reasons for me NOT to do this?

I am REALLY looking forward to this upgrade, will be my first real Macro lens. I have dreamt of this day. so soon......

Again, THANK YOU for this.

I loved this lens! The IS helped alt with me for taking macroshots handheld (I'm neither a tripod person ), but I had to sell this lens for buying the new 70-200mm. One day I'll buying it back, but I'm happy I sold it for the 70-200mm.

DCMP wrote in post #10177923
Wow, nice work! I was slowly convincing myself to drop down to the old 100 macro, to allow for a 70-200. But these shots proved the value of the IS to me, and having a 7d myself, sent me right back to spending allot more money. Just have to find a cheaper tele lens, no biggie.

I shoot handheld for most of my macro work, manual focus from the live view 10x magnification. I don't use Servo too much, just don't have a lens I trust much yet. But for that reason the IS is invaluable to me. Do you have any reasons for me NOT to do this?

I am REALLY looking forward to this upgrade, will be my first real Macro lens. I have dreamt of this day. so soon......

Again, THANK YOU for this.

No problem Sorry for the delayed responce

I cant think of any..personally i dont like liveview handheld But whatever works for you...But the servo performance of this lens is very VERY good...especially for macro subjects!

For a cheaper long tele, depending on what you wanna use it for id consider either the Sigma 70-200 f/2.8s, which while you give up IS/OS you'll get f/2.8, fast focus and very good optical quality, or the Canon 200mm f/2.8L if you can deal with a prime :3

I have a VERY hard time holding still when I do Macro..
Hmm, now I might get one of these. Decisions decisions..

forthewinwin wrote in post #10240961
I have a VERY hard time holding still when I do Macro..
Hmm, now I might get one of these. Decisions decisions..

I'd say that if you have issues holding still doing macro stuff, its worth a shot..

the IS does work, and im pretty convinced without it id never get a lot of shots....