Canon EF macro recommendations

[Larry Placido]

Hi,
I'm looking for a Canon EF macro lens. I'd like to know which of the lenses in the Canon family are the "highly recommended" ones for their optics, weight, etc.

I'm not looking for an "L" lens mind you, but one that is a good balance between price and features. I remember that a few of them had more plastic components that others.

Any recommendations would be appreciated...

Thanks,
Larry

[ChrisPerry]

THE lens is the 100 2.8. I recomend it highly.

Some like the 60 2.8 but it's EF-S only. I've heard good things about the older 50 2.5 but it's not AF or something...
The 180 is the L and rather expensive. It gives you more working distance if that's important to you.

[sjprg]

I'll second the 100mm 2.8 macro.

Don't forget the 500D macro adapter. You have to check which lenses are able to use it.
Canon 500D | B&H Photo Video

[Dennis_Vied]

I have the 180 macro, and while it's a super lens, I just don't use it enough because of its bulk. I would probably find the 100mm handier, and I intend to find out some day.

[Jerry Skrocki]

I have the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro and it is very sharp. I use it with the Canon MT24 macro twin light.

[Roger Sinsheimer]

I have the 100mm and the 50mm with the Life Size Adapter. Each has its place. I'll second the recommendation for the MT24 flash if you can swing it -- it sure makes life a lot easier when you get in really close (especially with the 50mm).

If I had to choose just one I'd go with the 100mm, largely because of the greater stand-off distance. Conversely, depth of field and angle of view are greater with the 50mm.

The 50mm is certainly the lighter and smaller of the two, even in combination with the Life Size Adapter.

I'll point out that the 50mm does not have USM, so it's notably slower to focus when using AF, but if you're doing macro most likely you'll have AF turned off anyway.

A minus for the 50mm is that almost by definition it's more fiddly, since to get to 1:1 you have to dismount the lens and install the Life Size Adapter. It's inevitable that you'll almost have the subject in focus and find that you need to get just that little bit closer, which means breaking down your setup and starting over again with the LSA installed. Or vice-versa -- you'll start with the LSA in place and find that you want to be just a little bit further back, and have to uninstall it, since you can't focus beyond a certain distance with it installed.

Either one's a lot of fun.

-- Roger

[Marc_Schoenholz]

I own the 180 macro and find that its performance is excellent. I especially like the boka and the extra working distance the lens provides. The downside of the lens is its price and weight.

That said I don’t own the 100, but I could see great utility for this lens, especially if you were unable to use a tripod.

Marc Schoenholz