Review Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens sweet spot tips
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Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens - sweet spot f/11 to f/13 (aperture setting)
I purchased this lens early on in my photography experience and am glad I had a shop assistant who pointed me in the right direction. As it's turned out, I couldn't be more happier with the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens. Especially when it comes to photographing small objects, insects and flowers.
Shown below are a few examples of the types of images, as well as the quality you can expect to photograph with the canon 100mm macro lens. As you can see this is one of Canon's sharpest lenses, as recognised by many professional photographers. Numerous SLR camera magazines and books have also listed it amongst one of the best for portrait photography as well.
If your after technical details, the Canon website has these listed already: Specifications for Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens. Anyway as promised, here are a few examples of insect and flower close ups, so you can judge for yourself.
- Butterfly macro / close up
- Dragonfly macro / close up
- Purple flower macro / close up
Hints and tips for using a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens
It does take some time getting used to the shallow depth of field, especially when using an aperture setting of f/2.8. Firstly I found many of my photographs had too little depth of field, or in other words contained too much blur and not enough of the image in focus. You can solve this problem in 4 ways:
- Firstly, you can get used to the exteme depth of field. Many macro photographers have come to expect an image where the object isn't totally in focus. Instead, giving a more abstract view of the insect or flower, as shown in the photo below.
- You can crop the photograph using an image software program like Adobe Photoshop, so that only the main focus is seen in the end result. Of course doing this, your final image will be much smaller than the original which may make it impossible to print in certain sizes.
- When taking the photograph, try and get as much of the subject within the exact same distance from the macro lens. For example, the image of the macro dragonfly above, is largely in focus due to both the body and head being the same distance from the lens. If I had photographed this insect head on, the body would have been blurred, with only the head in focus. The wings in that specific photo are not in focus, due to one being closer than the point of focus (body) and the other being futher away in distance.
- Another way to handle the shallow depth of field is to increase the f stop, to say f/11 for example. This will ensure more of the image is in focus and create less blur in the background.
On the other hand, the shallow depth of field can be a fantastic tool if your photographing things like flowers, where you may want to single out one from a bunch. Take this image below for instance. The Canon 100mm macro lens made it easy to single out one orchid that is seen clearly in focus, yet blur any nearby background elements. If blured backgrounds are often a priority when you're out taking photographs, then this lens is definately for you.
Other notes and conclusion:
The sweet spot for the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens, seems to be around f/11 to f/13 (aperture setting). This sweet spot is where you will see the sharpest photographs being taken. If you own a Canon DSLR camera and are serious about photographing the small things in life, then this macro lens will be a very useful addition to your collection.
If you own this lens yourself, or have any questions concerning the Canon 100mm macro lens, feel free to leave your comments and reviews so other photographers can read a more indepth viewpoint, from a wide range of experiences.
Other examples of photographs taken with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens are shown below.
Click on the thumbnails to view the larger image.
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Hello,
As a note, I think your description of DoF is incorrect:
"Firstly I found many of my photographs had too much depth of field, or in other words contained too much blur and not enough of the image in focus."
This sounds like you are describing "shallow" DoF, where there is not enough DoF. Too much DoF means everything is in relatively sharp focus, from foreground to background.
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Hello Kameraguy,
Yes, you are correct. DOF does refer to the part that is in focus. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will re-word the text.
Thanks again.
Tanya.
Beautiful and amazing shots!... I've been using the Kenko Extension tubes and really like it, but I'd prefer to not always use a tripod. So, my question here is: Were any of these great shots taken WITHOUT a TRIPOD?...
For me, that would solve a major problem since most of the Botanical Gardens will not allow you to bring in a tripod.
HANDHELD seems to be the way to go, if you are permitted to go that way with all this touchy Macro technology that you've got to abide by.
I'd love to get an answer to this. And if indeed you can shoot great Macro WITHOUT a tripod, then I'll scoot down to B&H in NYC and pick a Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro lens and change my Macro tripod ways of shooting!..
I'll probably need a Ring light for additional lumination.
Hello,
Many of my macro shots of bugs / insects are done without a tripod. I find it really hard to follow a moving subject with a tripod. I do however use a Ring light though, which allows me to keep my camera shutter speed fast. Hope this answers your macro question.
Kind Regards. Tanya.
Simple, short concise review. Exactly what I was looking for. Your images shot with the XTi and the lens are superb. I've now ordered my new Macro lens!
Phil.
Hi,
What amazing color in your photos! They really seem spot on - not too much, not too little. What's your secret?
Thanks
Joan
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Hello Joan,
I have another post that talks about how I edit my images with Photoshop CS2. You can find it at: http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/blog/macro/edit-macrophotos-photoshop.html
In short, I basically resize, sharpen, use the shadows and highlights adjustment tool, then finish off with the S curve tool.
Hope this helps
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Hi, very good article!
I'm using a Sigma 70-300 with Kenko Extension Tube and I like it, since I have flexibility to change easily my distance between the insect and my lens.
I never tried this lens before, but I have a simple (maybe dumb) question: it seems that this lens is fixed in 100mm. So, I think you'll have less flexibility than a "range lens" (I just create this term hehehe) like the 70-300 or another model.
How this works? Your distance is always the same?
Thanks!
Hello Danilo,
Yes, the Canon EF 100mm macro is a fixed lens. Which means you need to physically move yourself towards or further from the subject you are photographing. When it comes to macro photography, I don't find this a problem as I'm usually quite close to the subject anyway.
Kind Regards.
Tanya.
Excellent review! Your macro photos are wonderful and make the lens look like a good choice. Which brand and model ring light do you use or recommend for macro photography? How is it powered? How does it attach to the lens or camera?
I would like to see some examples showing the performance of this lens as a portrait lens. Before I switched to digital photography I used a Nikon film SLR. My portrait lens was a 105 mm lens that was an excellent portrait lens.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Hello Chicbee,
I can't say I've taken too many portraits with this lens as of yet. However, you can see good examples on Flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/search/groups/?q=portraits&m=pool&w=41069537%40N00
Photography magazines do recommend it as an ideal portrait lens.
Since writing this post I have started to use a Twin Lite MT-24EX flash for my macro photography work. However, no images in this post have been taken with it. It is connected to the camera and is powered by batteries. I'll do a post discussing it in the near future for you to see for yourself the quality of images taken with the flash.
Hope this answers your questions. Kind Regards.
Tanya.
Hello Tanya,
Thank you for your great review.
I have a question about the canon 100mm lens:
I'd like to take a 1:1 size image with this lens, how can I do it (technically) ?
Thanks,
Arik
Yes Arik, the Canon EF 100mm is a 1:1 lens.
I have the old non Ef version and it has served me well. Very sharp but the AF has gone at the close end. I am waiting for the IS version. I hope it is not too long.
Hello Tanya,
What a great article.. makes me so pleased that I made a good choice when buying this lens. I have just started into photography a little more seriously, so the info here will be very helpful for me.
Chris
I am very new to photography and almost embarrassed to ask this question for fear of it being too stupid but I'm confused about one thing. When a lense is described as 100mm f/2.8 I thought it meant that that was the only setting you could use. Yet you mentioned that the sweet spot was between f/11 and f/13. Would you mind explaning to me what the description on lenses mean then? Again, I'm sorry for the dumb question.
Hello Sandra,
No question is dumb. Every photographer has started in exactly the same position as yourself. When a lens is described as f/2.8, it means that is the lowest f stop that can be set. Hence, they can go higher :)
Kind Regards.
Tanya.
Your macro shots are amazing! After reading your review I purchased the lens and am extremely happy with the pictures. I do need some practice to get a bit sharper pictures but overall I think it's a great macro lens. I have a few of the pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kansasa/sets/72157618275173004/ and all are taken with a Canon T1i.
Now I'll be looking into the Twin Lite MT-24EX flash :)
Thanks for the review!
Hello,
Do you know maybe what would be the difference, if i put raynox 250 lens on my 135mm canon or if i but 100 mm macro canon lens.
The first option is cheaper, but i wouldn’t mind to but the latter if the performance is much better / sharpness etc.
Is the magnification greater with one or another?
i am very fresh at this so i appreciate any help/advice you can give me.
I am also interested in buying a ring flash - which would you suggest for any of these compositions?
Thank you so much for reply
btw, great photos!
Sabina
Hello Sabina,
I can't comment on the Raynox from personal experience, as I've never used that particular lens. For macro's I use the Canon EF 100mm f/2.1, coupled with a macro Twin Lite MT-24EX flash. You can see the results of this combination over at my Flickr page at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hypergurl/sets/72157600049046787/
There is also a Flickr group for the Raynox which may be helpful in finding the answers to the quality of that lens over at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/raynoxdcr250/
Hope this helps :)
Kind Regards.
Tanya.
Hi Tanya
Firstly, I must say your photographs are amazing.
I use this lens along with a ring flash for dental photography and I'm having difficulty taking a 1:1 shot of the upper front teeth when against a black contrastor.
I can't figure out what setting to use to get a good image. I have tried everything I can think of, but obviously my knowledge isn't good enough.
Everytime I try, the teeth appear too white and the true colour does not come through.
I would really appreciate your advice if you can help.
Thanks
Jo
Hello Jo,
I've never used the macro lens and ring flash for dental photography. However there is a very good website specifically for dentists over at: http://thedigitaldentist-site.org.uk/faqs_settings.asp
Hope this helps.
Kind Regards.
Tanya.
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