For A Few Dollars More…

It was Thursday that I bought a Sigma 105mm macro-focusing lens. Friday, the auto-focusing mechanism failed and I upgraded (paid a bunch more money) to Canon's 100mm, f:2.8, macro lens.

I immediately headed out of the camera store with my second new lens in less than 24 hours and started snapping away. Though, this lens does not carry Canon's "L" designation (top-of-the-line, professional caliber), it is a superb lens. Just as the Sigma 105mm macro lens seemed sharper than my usual Canon 28mm-200mm lens, this Canon macro lens also seems way sharper!

Now, I don't want you to believe that I don't get sharp photos with my 28mm-200mm zoom, because I do. But, this lens just impresses me with the wonderfully crisp pictures which it is capable of producing. Could it be improved contrast? I take lots of photos of my two dogs. And the dogs' whiskers and city tags are sharper right out of the camera before post processing. In the case of the license tags, the engraved information is sharp and easy to read even in shots done at considerable distance.

The Canon macro lens focuses very fast and silently (particularly compared to the Sigma lens which is quite slow). The Canon macro lens focuses internally which accounts for its speed--the Sigma macro lens requires the outer barrel to extend (quite a distance) and to retract.

The Canon EF 100mm macro focusing lens is capable of a 1x magnification (life-size). Life-size means that an object which is a quarter inch long in life will occupy a quarter inch in the film plane (CMOS sensor, in this case). The lens will focus to within 15 cm of the front element of the lens (5.9 inches).

The switch which actuates auto-focusing or manual focusing is where one would expect to find it on a Canon lens. The "focusing zone" delimiter switch is located just about an inch below it (use the switch to limit the zone in which the lens seeks to achieve focus--macro close-up or normal--to achieve faster focus). There should be no confusion with respect to the switches.

The front element on the Canon lens, unlike the Sigma lens, is not recessed. I bought the optional, EL-67 lens hood to protect the front element from stray light and from being inadvertently bumped (I don't use lens caps except when the camera is put away and "out of service").

A number of accessories are available for the Canon 100mm macro lens, Including a tripod collar (allows the pivoting of the camera on the axis of the lens when switching from a horizontal to a vertical orientation); extension tubes; a macro ring light; the aforementioned lens hood (EL-67) and filters.

So, the Canon lens did cost me (quite) a few dollars more. And though, I believe, that most Sigma lenses will give wonderful service and that the failure of the auto-focus of my Sigma lens was likely a fluke, I'm happy that I have the Canon lens. The speed of focusing makes it a practical "real world" lens which will serve one outside of the studio where speed is generally more important than in a studio.

I'm excited by the creative possibilities which a macro lens makes much more convenient by not requiring one to carry an extension tube or close-up lenses. I've not taken many macro photos in years--and now, I look forward to shooting some, daily!