LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

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!

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

I have that lens, it's a really nice lens and quite versatile for a prime.
There are several really good books on macro / micro photography and if you really want to learn, I strongly suggest you get one or two, read the book(s) and practice using the examples in the book(s).
Enjoy your new lens...

TMcD Loc: Minneapolis, MN

I've had this lens for several years and it remains among my favorites. I'm sure you'll be pleased with your purchase.
It is quite versatile, and excels, as one would expect, when used for macro shots.
I used it for a few years on a Canon 7D with excellent results. When I finally went full frame last year with a 5d IV, the results with this lens are exceptional.
I've whiled away many a winter hour (plenty of those here in Minnesota) taking macro shots in my basement "studio" where a small table with a draped cloth background and a couple of directional spotlights have sufficed. Delving into off camera flash is somewhere in my future with this lens.
Enjoy!

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

If it is anywhere near as good as the older non IS, Non L, 100mm Macro you have a gem of a lense.... the 100 is super sharp and was prob. my sharpest lens in the Canon bag; that says a lot as I have the older 28-70 Canon L and the 100 is just as sharp.... nice thing is that on the 60D body it was like having a 160 Macro which gave me a little more space. You will enjoy it I am sure.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Good suggestion! Thanks!

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Thanks! I'll be using it mostly on my 5DIV also. Now that spring has sprung, and I can walk normally again (left hip replaced 7 weeks ago) I plan to get outside and put it to use. (the camera, the lens, and the hip!)

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

I spent last Saturday on a bird walk with my wife and as she has our 100-400 on her 7D I used this 100mm Macro L on my 10D. I have done this on many occasions and use it as a GP short telephoto that as I see small flowers and other details including bugs, Architecture details and people shots it is the one lens I use for the whole adventure. The IS is great and a tripod is not brought along. Yes I do use a tripod for many Macro shots but between IS and if needed a flash the need for a tripod is greatly reduced with the excellent IS capability optimized for macro work.
Try just walking around with only that lens for an outing and you will become creative in seeing the myriad of uses for this excellent lens.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Thank You!

Stevieboy Loc: West Palm Beach, Florida

A voice from the past. The lens is fabulous. Instead of buying a dedicated ring flash which I did and sold you may wish to consider alternatives. Check the macro section of UHH. There are some great set ups.....A good one could be attaching a small soft box to your camera mounted flash. Check the macro section and best of luck. Great lens.

Haydon

Using a flash will help you freeze the action.

I like to use a small on camera flash softbox.

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-20x15cm-Translucent-Softbox-Flashes/dp/B00ENSKUUK/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1493809745&sr=8-7&keywords=Flash+Softbox

Consider using a circular white diffuser to turn the sharp contrasting light from sunlight into soft beautiful lighting.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

I would suggest you get a tripod collar for it and use it - it is one of the great assets of this lens IMO. Good third party collars are OK but may need a little tweaking to fit properly. The Canon version is EXPENSIVE.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Anticipation is makin' you wait! That is good, but the wait will be well worth. This lens has so much potential that you will wonder how you got along without it. Tripod? Flash? Hand held? Works very well in all venues of photography. Best tip for this lens? Shoot it, shoot it often, shoot everything with it. Portraits, close-ups, macro, almost anything you want to shoot will be fun. If you use it for flowers the mounting ring is very useful. A crash course in light modifiers will be helpful. Hope you enjoy and use this lens, it is rewarding. Have fun, and enjoy.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

I use this light modifier with my pop-up flash on my Sony/Tokina and like like it so far - not sure if you can control it properly with Canon ....but worth a try as it is cheap ...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/112192062197?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

with pop-up modifier

(Download)

Gifted One Loc: S. E. Idaho

L, do you have an off camera flash?

I have used both the Black Mac and the L. I ended up purchasing the Black used. I had a 430 ex 2 flash found a used kirk macro bracket, flash modifier and Canon cord. I use everything manual and play with exposure. It does not take much of a flash to light. Look in the Macro section lot of guys have some interesting applications.

More specifics PM me.

I am also coming back from multiple surgeries. Age and abuse has taken toll! Good shooting.

J. R.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

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!