LFingar wrote:
Anyone with any experience with this lens? Should be arriving today. I know, the time to ask about something is before you buy it! The problem is, I've had a post-it note on my monitor for the past few months reminding me of a nearly $700 credit at B&H, and I just happened to notice that the $150 off sale ended this past Saturday. Tired of looking at the post-it note, and for $749, plus sales tax, of course, I just went for it.
Anyway, I want to start experimenting with macro photography. Any tips on getting the best out of this lens would be appreciated. I suppose that next I will be asking about a good flash for macro work, so, any advice there would also be appreciated. Already have a good tripod.
Thanks!
Anyone with any experience with this lens? Should ... (
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It's a wonderful lens. So is Canon's non-IS/non-L version that I use. They're among the most full-featured macro lenses available from anyone and have extremely high image quality. You'll really enjoy it, I'm sure.
They don't come with, but can optionally be fitted with tripod mounting rings... which I highly recommend. In fact, the two Canon 100mm are just about the only lenses around this focal length designed to be used with a t'pod ring. The ring is very useful, since so much macro work is done using either a tripod or a monopod. It maintains balance by keeping the camera and lens centered upon the tripod or monopod. And, if you use an Arca type quick release system tripod or monopod head, a longer Arca lens plate can make for a neat, easy to use "focus slider" (saving the weight, bulk and cost of a focusing rail... though one of those still might be wanted for more precise work).
The Canon tripod rings ("D" for the 100L/IS lens... or "B" for the 100/2.8 non-IS) are rather pricey... $150 or more. There are third party alternatives at about 1/3 the price that seem fine. If you buy one of those, confirm it's metal. There are some plastic ones that are even cheaper, but a waste of money and possibly even hazardous since they usually break in fairly short order. In contrast, I use various Canon t'pod rings on various Canon lenses (including the "B" on my 100mm macro, 180mm macro and MP-E 65mm macro) and they've all held up well to many years of use.
As to macro flash, one I use is the Canon MT-24EX Twin Lite. That comes with a bracket that fits directly to my 100mm lens (and other Canon macro lenses with 58mm filter thread.... an adapter is required to fit it to the 100L, I believe, since that lens has larger diameter front barrel/filter threads to accommodate a bigger front element). But I actually mount the flash heads differently on a Lepp/Stroboframe Dual Flash bracket, to have more flexibility positioning them.
The MT-24EX (and the dual flash bracket I use with it) is rather bulky both in use and to pack around, plus it's largely a "macro only" item. So I also frequently just use one of my standard flashes (580EX II, 550EX) for macro work, since I usually have one of those with me for various possible uses. It's not difficult to use one for macro too... I just attach it to an Off-Camera Shoe Cord and hand-hold the flash where I want it. One thing that's necessary is some sort of diffuser to prevent the flash from completely overpowering close-up objects and critters. There are commercial snap on diffusers that can be purchased for many flashes, but I just use a couple layers of white gauze bandage laid over the the flash head and held in place with a rubber band.
Works fine! With tiny macro subjects the single, large flash acts sort of like a gigantic "soft box in the sky" and the light from it tends to "wrap around" subjects to some extent. It's also possible to use a reflector or bounce card to illuminate the shadow side of subjects, if wanted. There also are macro flash brackets available, if you prefer not to hand hold the flash. Below is an example done using a single diffused standard flash, handheld...
To me, one of the biggest benefits of using a flash is that you can make a background completely disappear, as in the above shots of the praying mantis that were both done midday, but in shade. By stopping my lens down, using a fairly low ISO and higher shutter speed, the flash became the very dominant light source. Very little ambient light is recorded, so the background goes black and clutter (in this case a tangle of branches and leaves) completely disappears. You can control how much or how little of this occurs, by varying your exposure settings and flash output.
I also use the Canon MR-14EX Ring Lite flash.... but not on this lens. To me a ring lite works best at really high magnifications, such as my MP-E 65mm lens does. At up to 1:1 or maybe even a little more (the max the 100mm can do), I much prefer the look of either the Twin Lite or the single standard flash. For my purposes, ring flashes just make for too flat (i.e. "clinical") lighting at around 1:1 or less magnification. Of I were doing dental or medical photography, I might use the Ring Lite for that even at lower mag. I do find it useful for, say, 3:1 to 5:1.
Enjoy your new lens!