views on Canon 100mm Macro prime on aps-c

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arwesa

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Hi,

looking for views and experiences on pairing the Canon 7d with a Canon 100mm 2.8 L Macro prime lens.

Was hoping it would double as an affective portrait lens, but slightly concerned about performance/results given it will effectively become 160mm due to aps-c sensor in the 7d...but thinking ahead to when I upgrade or add a full frame sticking to the EF lenses seems to make sense.

Looking for maximum bang for buck to cover all the standard bases, so e.g. next step will be to probably swap my current 70-300 4-5.6 USM II EF lens at a later date to the 70-200 2.8L with a 1.4 mkII teleconvertor so effectively 160-450mm which should suffice for gundog action pictures and will be a good choice for full frame at a later date.

tia and all views welcome....even 'youre crazy' ....:thumbs:
 
It is a great lens....
Performance and results are fantastic for anything....
You will need to obviously be a reasonable distance away...
 
100mm lens on APC is great. For macro work you want to be close so the crop factor helps a bit. For portrait work you will need a fair amount of space.

But a cracking lens for portrait work
 
cool, thanks so +2 for the 'good idea' in general terms.

I think I might try shooting a few portraits at 160mm with the zoom just to get a feel for how practical it would be...
 
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I use mine primarily for macro obviously, but there's been times when I've used it for portraiture etc. I've got it on a 7D at the moment but I get a 5D MkII tomorrow so I cant wait to see what it can do on that. It's a fantastic lens, pin sharp and good for almost anything. I've even used it for a low flying helicopter a while ago.
I've had mine since early july and it was my most used lens on my 550D til I got my 7D last month and it's been on the 550D ever since.
 
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arwesa said:
I think I might try shooting a few portraits at 160mm with the zoom just to get a feel for how practical it would be...
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On your 7D?.....if so then shoot at 100mm to get the same result.

Opinions always vary but I personally wouldn't consider it to be the ideal lens for portraiture. Sure,it can do it but it's a little too clinical for me and the bokeh doesn't really hold its own against Canon's other offerings around that length.

Bob
 
it's great on ff and crop, so no worries.

My only concern would be the very short focusing path between 1m and infinity - makes it very hard to shoot wide open at these distances compared with something simpler like 85/1.8
 
Canon Bob said:
On your 7D?.....if so then shoot at 100mm to get the same result.
Click to expand...

:bang:yup...blonde moment... long day and not enough sleep. ;)

thx for the replies :thumbs: will have to try and find a portrait taken using this lens just to make sure I guess. if it wont give good bokeh then maybe Im as well scrapping the idea and getting two seperate primes?... I just like the idea of minimising the number around L lenses but spending more on each to get the quality.
 
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I was having this discussion with a guy in Jessops last night. I've wanted this exact lens ever since I got my 7D. Now... I asked the sales assistant about it and he said that for that lens, there is nothing better than the Tamron 90mm. and I've heard of the Sigma 105 and obviously te Canon 100 non-is....

I'm really stuck on this issue too, and with the price being significantly more I really want to see the difference. He says I won't.

Can't understand why he would want me to buy something less expensive unless he was being genuine...?

L series 100mm come down to £699 on Amazon now too.... Hmmmm.
 
lancsoatcake said:
Can't understand why he would want me to buy something less expensive unless he was being genuine...?
Click to expand...

Whilst the price may be lower, it's very possible that their mark up is higher.....lower turnover but higher profit, an accountants dream.

Bob
 
Yeah, I thought that Bob, but still seemed alien. The guy was even telling me to hire lenses as it works out Cheaper when wanting to experiment.
 
Daniel, I'm only assuming that your from the Lancashire area by your username. If you were any nearer to Lincoln you could of borrowed mine for a while to have a play about, if you're ever in my neck of the woods give me a shout if you want to have a go.
 
Wow thanks a lot!

I'm in Stoke most of the time (hence oatcake).

Really appreciate the offer

:-)
 
My brother has the Sigma 105 and to be honest there really isn't much difference in the quality of that and my 100mm non-IS lens and if you read the reviews the Tamron is up there too with the best. All very sharp.

If you use the lens for macro, The canon wins as it doesn't have an extending lens barrel. THe Sigma and Tamron lenses extend when focusing, The canon does not.

This can be useful when up close to live subjects like insects if that is what you plan to do. If you want to save money the Tamron and Sigma are both well recommended lenses although they probably don't hold their value the same as a Canon might.

All down to budget :)
 
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