I’ve been looking to buy a nice auto focus macro lens for my Canon EOS system. I’ve been interested in this lens for a long time. I have a friend that has one and he told that he does not like this lens very much, but I had to see for myself. I took this lens out for a few days and even took it out on a job a few days ago. I don’t think this lens is for me though.
I’m going to start out this post with the specs.
| Specs | |
|---|---|
| Lens Construction | 12 elements – 8 groups |
| Aperture Blades | 8 |
| Weight | 1.38 lbs (626g) |
| Diameter | 3.1″ (79mm) |
| Length | 4.7″ (119mm) |
This is a large and heavy lens. I have to say that the image quality is very good, I love the bokeh, and the sharpness is fantastic.
The auto-focus is painfully slow though. If you’re only photographing static subjects, it’s just fine. I was trying to photograph a bee on a flower and the focus motor just couldn’t keep up.
This lens was released in 2000 and I am sure that plays a big part of its focus speed. However, In 2009 Canon released the 100mm f2.8L Macro IS USM. I will get my hands on that lens soon, but it is quite a bit more money though.
I really like the 100mm focal length for portraits, for me, the lens needs to pull double duty. I want to be able to shoot portraits and get some close-up work in. This lens is so slow that I missed half of my shots when trying to capture portraits on a job last week. Although, the still photos were great.
Carrying a heavy lens like this on photowalks is also not ideal (the L version is also slightly heavier) when you’re already carrying a bag full of glass. I will just have to stick with my Nikon macro lenses mounted on my Sony A7 cameras for close up work.
Here are some sample pictures.
