Photography Gear Reviews

New Lens Vs Old Lens

We compare the Canon 16-35mm F/4 IS against the older Canon 17-40mm F/4 in a landscape photography setting to see if the upgrade is worth the money.

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After a recent video some said I should get the Canon 16-35mm to replace my 17-40mm. So I have. But I’ve been talking recently how the gear doesn’t make the photographer so I’m not totally convinced this purchase was required. So I thought I would put it to the test, possibly prove myself wrong, and help you when it comes to making your next lens purchase decision.

Sharpness

There are certain things important to me in a lens when shooting landscape photography. Sharpness is important up to a certain extant. Once an acceptable level of sharpness is reached then I am happy. Most photographs are viewed at a reasonable distance and a normal viewer is not looking at minute details or pixel peeping an image. The overall story is much more important.

Lens Distortion

When working with super wide angles like 16-20mm, distortion can become a real problem and is extremely distracting and prevalent in cheaper lenses. The Canon 17-40mm handles distortion reasonably well so I was interested to see if Canon 16-35mm F/4 IS would be better.

Chromatic Aberration

The coloured soft edges in high contrast areas of an image look extremely unpleasant and can make an image look cheap. Also known as chromatic aberration, one major benefit of a high quality lens is the ability to control it. These days, it can be controlled in post-processing but it results can be hit and miss depending on the image. The Canon 17-40mm can be susceptible to chromatic Aberration, can the 16-35mm improve matters.

When conducting a camera lens review I am also looking at build quality and extras such as IS. Image stabilisation is not important to me for stills. For video, it is much more important so it is still something I look for.

In the video I pit the two lenses against each other at Ribblehead viaduct in the Yorkshire Dales. The Limestone pavement provides some big foreground interest for a shot, something I really wanted to include in the lens review.

Irix 11mm f4 Blackstone Lens review

A review of the astonishing new Irix 11mm f/4 ultra wide angle lens.

This Irix 11mm wide angle lens that is designed for full frame cameras. The lens comes in a variety of mounts including Canon, Nikon and Pentax. When mounted to a full frame camera the 11mm 126 degree field of view is astonishing and opens up new realms of creativity for landscape, architecture photographers and even some scenes close in.

Low Distortion

The Irix 11mm f4 lens is not a fish eye. It is rectilinear with minimal distortion thanks to the '4 high refractive lenses, 2 ED lenses and 3 aspherical lenses that guarantee minimal distortion'. Irix claim distortion is as low as 3.13%. If you want a full technical breakdown of the lens there are some excellent channels out there. I am more interested in practical applications of gear and I can say that distortion handling is excellent, particularly across the centre of the image. Horizon lines remain perfectly straight and vertically down the middle as well. There is some distortion towards the corners of the image but if used correctly this can compliment the image. Its not ideal if you have people in the corners but this is not really a portrait lens.

Image Quality

The lens is nice and sharp but does produce a small amount of vignette and also Chromatic abberation. This was within perfectly acceptable boundaries for me and is very easily removed in post processing using Adobe Lightroom. The vignette is also reduced by stopping down a bit.

Blacktone or Firefly

The lens comes in two varieties to suit the style of photography you are doing. The Irix 11mm f/4 Blackstone is the flagship version. There is also a cheaper and lighter version, with the same high quality optics that may be more suited to photographers wanting to travel light. This is called the Irix 11mm f/4 Firefly Lens.

Build Quality

The build quality of this Blackstone version is excellent. The metal body is well constructed and feels so solidly built that it could survive some serious punishment. The focus barrel is reassuringly stiff but rotates smoothly and accurately. There is a focus lock to ensure there is no slippage in focus and the engraved markings on the Blackstone glow in the dark.

The lens is manual focus. I am sure if you're looking seriously at this lens that will not be a concern for you. The distance markings are there to assist but I did the majority of my focusing using the camera’s zoomed live view function. Quick and easy. The lens is so wide that most things are in focus anyway.

Weather Sealed

The Irix 11mm is weather sealed on all parts apart from the front element. It is splash proof and I used it in the rain without any problems. The lens hood is permanent and protects the bulbous front element.

The Firefly is built using high quality plastic to save weight and bring cost down but is still weather sealed the same as the Blackstone.

Alternatives from the much more expensive Canon 11-24mm F/4 lens and Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8.

Conclusion

I have loved using this lens. It has allowed me to get shots that I otherwise would not have been able to achieve. The wide angle rectilinear perspective gives you a really interesting point of few and opens up new creative possibilities. It is not a lens I would use for every shot but it is relatively unique and having it in your arsenal is a real benefit that will allow you to get shots that other people cannot.

11mm is very wide and captures a large portion of your field of view. The amount of bokeh you get will be limited so it really forces you to think about every single area of your frame and you need to carefully compose your shot. This is a good thing and can result in some really exciting shots.

Cost

At the point of release.

Irix 11mm f/4 Blackstone - $799 / £771

Irix 11mm f/4 Firefly - $599 / £567

You can find a list of dealers at - http://en.irixlens.com

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Canon 18-135 STM Lens Review - Perfect Kit Lens Upgrade

Is the Canon 18-135 STM Lens the perfect kit lens upgrade?

In this video we take a look at the Canon 18-135 STM Lens and ask is this the perfect kit lens upgrade? Many new Canon cameras come with an 18-55mm kit lens. People are often surprised about how limiting that range can actually be and quickly look to upgrade. The Canon 18-135 STM Lens offers an impressive range so may seem like on obvious upgrade at the time of purchase or as a replacement for the 18-55mm. So let's delve into this and have a look.

I recently went to the Lake District to test out this lens, using the range fully to capture both landscapes and more zoomed in detailed shots. Check out my vlog of the day and see more of the beautiful landscape here:

https://www.firstmanphotography.com/vlog/vlog-6

The Canon 18-135 STM Lens is an EF-S lens so is only suitable for APS-C cameras like the Canon 750d/Rebel T6i or Canon 80d. With the crop factor of those cameras taken into account, the lens has a 35mm equivalent of 29-216mm. This is an amazing range that will be suitable for so many different areas of photography. When starting out in photography, this versatility is extremely useful allowing you to try lots of different styles of photography without having to switch lenses all the time and invest more money.

Specs

The lens has a maximum aperture between f/3.5 and f/5.6 depending on the focal length you are using. This is very similar to the 18-55mm kit lens. However thanks to those longer focal lengths, a much better background blur can be achieved. With 7 aperture blades the bokeh is not as creamy as you might find in more expensive lenses but anything from 85mm and above will achieve decent results. In the pictures below you can see the bokeh effect at 85mm, 100mm and 135mm. This works well for portraits where the subject can be isolated.

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The camera has a:

Minimum focus distance of 0.39m
7 diaphragm blades
Weight 480g
Filter 67mm
16 elements in 12 groups

The Canon 18-135 STM has 4-stop image stabilisation that is extremely useful on a lens with this focal range. The image stabilisation is particularly impressive on this lens. The IS on the Canon 18-135 STM performs better than the 18-55mm at the same focal range. At the longer focal lengths the stabilisation is capable of smoothing out some pretty severe movements. This is especially useful for shooting video and can provide some very steady footage even when handheld like this shot. The stabilisation also improves low light performance allowing you to reduce your shutter speed up to 4 stops slower than normal. The Canon 18-135 STM also has the STM focus motor meaning smooth focus adjustments can be made whilst shooting video.

Taking a quick look around the Canon 18-135 STM the thing that instantly strikes is the quality is slightly improved over the 18-55mm. It feels solid and the metal mount adds a little extra strength although like all EF-S lenses it is not weather sealed. The zoom ring is nice and smooth and has a lock switch you can employ to lock the zoom at 18mm. There is the IS switch and the autofocus switch on the side. The focus on this lens is a focus by wire system, like the other STM lenses, meaning the camera has to be powered on for the focus to function whether in autofocus or manual. The focus ring turns easily and smoothly although it feels a little loose. This should not cause too many issues thanks to the focus by wire system. Autofocus is accurate and fast enough for most situations.

Image Quality

Image quality of the Canon 18-135 STM is at the level you would expect for a lens in this price range. It is not the sharpest lens in the box but the quality is very reasonable for a lens with this amount of zoom range. At the wide end, the lens acts as a perfectly reasonable landscaping lens. The ability to zoom in so far also opens up opportunities that do not always exist when going out to shoot landscapes with a wide angle or normal kit lens. This shot of the misty Lake District mountains shows the kind of landscape images that can be captured at longer focal lengths. If you want to take your landscapes even further the Canon 10-18mm matches up very nicely to this lens giving you a combined focal range from 10-135mm for relatively little money.

Cost

This lens is £275/$285 so it’s offering very good value for money when it comes to camera lenses, particularly in the US. Alternatives include lenses with an 18-200mm zoom range from Sigma, Tamron and Canon themselves. These are older lenses though. The quality does not quite match up to this one and they don't have that all important STM focus motor that makes this lens so good for video.

Get the lens in the UK - https://www.firstmanphotography.com/get/canon-18-135mm-stm-lens-uk
Get the lens in the UK - https://www.firstmanphotography.com/get/canon-18-135mm-stm-lens-us
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Conclusion

Overall I really like the Canon 18-135 STM. Thanks to the versatility and the excellent image stabilisation the lens was a joy to use for both still images and videos. With good build quality and more than reasonable image quality this lens will be the only lens many casual shooters will ever need. If you are looking to buy a good quality family camera system with the versatility to do a few other things then this is the lens for you. If you are buying your first DSLR camera I would heartily recommend getting it with this lens as opposed to the standard 18-55mm. If you already own the 18-55mm this lens could be a worthy upgrade, particularly if you are not interested in changing lenses too often and just want a DSLR that is ready for anything.

Other Videos - https://www.firstmanphotography.com/reviews/canon-10-18mm-lens-review

Canon 10-18mm IS STM Review

The Canon 10-18mm is Ultra Wide Angle on a Budget

The fact that Canon decided to make this lens is a great thing. Opening up ultra wide angle photography to a new audience is a welcome move with this Canon 10-18mm budget lens.

When you first strap an ultra wide lens to your camera it is an exciting moment discovering the new perspective it brings to the world. Scenes look bigger and it displays an image much wider than what your eyes would see. The Canon 10-18mm lens picks up nicely where your 18-55mm kit lens leaves off and is a perfect accompaniment to this on a cropped sensor EF-S camera.

Wide angle photography opens up your creative possibilities in landscape photography, architecture photography and is always used to sell houses by making rooms look bigger.

On paper the Canon 10-18mm lens is excellent. It has the ultra wide angle, it's relatively cheap, it's light, the front element does not rotate, meaning you can happily attach filters like a circular Polariser to improve your landscapes. It also has IS that assists video and the STM focus is an excellent focus by wire system that is literally silent.

So all in all the perfect lens?

Well no. In my written reviews over on my website one element of my star rating is ‘Joy Factor’. It describes that feeling you get when using a new product, the fizz, the excitement, the desire to use it again and again, that unexplainable feeling that makes you truly love a product.

The Canon 10-18mm does not have that. It just leaves you feeling flat and the images it produces are just ‘ok’ and nothing more. Other downsides include the plastic mount, the simply dreadful distortion when at the widest angle. Anything outside the very centre of the frame, whilst at 10mm, is going to be skewed out of shape like your image has melted. The lens is also quite slow at f/4.5 - f/5.6 with the aperture adjusting as you move through the zoom range. Also I have found the image stabilisation of very little use.

For stills it will allow you to handhold exposures down to around 1/20 second but at f/4.5 this will still be pretty dark in low light situations without a decent ISO boost. I have been using this lens for my blogs and I have haven't found the image stabilisation has been of any benefit over using a wide angle lens without IS. If you're stood still and handholding then it will do a good job but this is pretty restrictive for creating interesting and varied shots.

I'm not saying don't buy the Canon 10-18mm, especially currently at £180/$279. It will still do a job for you, as it is for me, it's just there are better options out there. The Canon 10-22 is a great lens and is pretty much L lens quality just without the red ring. The Sigma 10-20mm is also another good option and can be picked up very cheaply on the second hand market. Saving up for one of these lenses may be your better option.

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Canon 17-40mm f4L USM Lens Review

Why you should still consider the Canon 17-40mm f4L.

The Canon 17-40mm f/4L has been around for a while now but it is still worth considering for many photographers. There are better lenses out there but this is no slouch and given the incredible value now offered by this lens it is well worth another look.

Who is the Canon 17-40mm f/4L for? Arguably everyone shooting with a DSLR today has use for a focal range like this.

We talk about sensor crop factor so often in modern day photography. The majority of the time it makes very little difference. If people spent more time focusing on the progression of their skills and less time worrying about their gear we would all be better off. At the wide end of the scale though, crop factor is an issue and this is particularly true with the Canon 17-40mm f/4L. However this turns out to be one of it’s biggest strengths.

Attached to a cropped sensor camera the lens has a 35mm equivalent range of 27-64mm. This is a perfect range for so many types of photography and will act as a very good general purpose lens. It is also very similar to the classic 24-70mm on a full frame camera. On the wide end it is probably not wide enough for all your landscape needs so coupling it with a 10-22 would be a very good option.

Image quality is a significant step up from the kit lens with good sharpness across the frame. The low light performance is limited due the the constant f/4 aperture but a boost in ISO will still make it useable and it is still better than the f/5.6 kit lens.

Most DSLR photographers are looking to upgrade to a full frame camera at some point in their photography journey. If you owned this lens at the point of upgrade it would then turn into very good landscape lens. The lens works on both cropped and full framed cameras. I have now used this lens as my main landscape lens for many years and it is very well suited to that purpose.

The focal range is perfect for so many landscape situations and the quality is a very reasonable and rarely have I wished I had more. In landscape photography the quality of your image will depend on your location, your composition and your light, much more than the having the best lens attached to your camera.

Despite this, the image quality does fade to the edge of the frame when shooting at 20mm and below. It softens slightly and there is some relatively severe distortion, although this is common for a wide zoom like this. You will probably want to keep people out of the edges at 17mm or they will end up looking very warped. With landscapes this is not too much of a problem but is worth being aware of when composing your shot.

The lens is well made and has a quiet USM motor. The lens is weather sealed although only once a filter is attached to the front threads. The front element moves inside the barrel when you zoom so allows water to creep in if no filter is attached. The filter threads are attached to the outside of the barrel though and do not move or rotate making it ideal for attaching a circular Polariser. The filter thread is 77mm matching many other lenses meaning you may not have to reinvest in filters. This is especially true if upgrading from the 10-22 lens. The lens is also relatively light at 500g meaning carrying it out to hard to reach landscapes is not an arduous task.

The lens has 12 elements in 9 groups, it has 7 aperture blades, a minimum aperture of f/22 and focuses nice and close at 28cm. This means you can get nice and close to your subject and get some really interesting wide angle shots.

There is a small amount of Chromatic Aberration but this very effectively removed in Lightroom particular in landscapes where the majority of your image will be in sharp focus.

In the process of buying and researching this lens it is likely going to be compared to both the Canon 16-35mm mkii f/2.8 and the Canon 16-35mm f/4 IS. Both these lenses offer better image quality and versatility than the 17-40mm. They are, however, both more than double the cost of the Canon 17-40mm f/4L leading to a questionable return on that extra investment. It would really come down to a decision about what you want to use the lens for. For example, if you plan to shoot a lot of video then the 16-35mm f/4 is going to be worth it, thanks to the stabilisation. If low light ability is key then the 16-35mm f/2.8 may be the one to go for. If it is purely for landscapes then the Canon 17-40mm f/4L wins hands down. The quality difference does not justify a doubling of the price. Once a landscape image is printed you would really struggle to tell the difference between these three lenses.

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As mentioned earlier the cost of this lens is now it's big selling point. It is now more affordable than ever. Under $500 in the US and around £350, when bought second hand, this is the cheapest Canon L lens currently available. That represents incredible value for money considering everything the lens offers, especially when it comes to landscapes. The lens has been capturing beautiful photographs for many years and will continue to do so despite newer and more expensive models being available.

I can recommend the Canon 17-40mm f/4L to anyone, but particularly those looking for a big bang for their buck and a lens that will transition well from a cropped sensor camera to a full frame one.

Buy in the UK - Canon EF 17-40 mm

Buy in the US - Canon EF 17-40mm

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Canon 400mm f5.6L Lens Review

Could the Canon 400mm f5.6L be the best lens for wildlife photography?

In this video we review the Canon 400mm f5.6L and decide if it is the best lens for wildlife photography.

What is a lens like the Canon 400mm f5.6L for? It's a long lens that is going to find its natural use with wildlife photography and sports. It is for times when you want to get closer to your subject when you are physically not able to get any closer.

This lens has been around for a long time but it continues to be a great lens and demand attention and it is easy to see why. The price is now also extremely competitive for a lens like this.

When deciding which long lens to buy, it is important to think about what you are going to be shooting and where. Currently there is no perfect long lens. If top image quality is your main priority, you are going to be looking at an extremely expensive piece of glass that is very large and heavy. This is generally fine for sports. You find a good spot, setup a tripod or monopod and then the action happens around you enabling you to capture it.

With wildlife though, most of us are not high end wildlife videographers and we just want to capture nice shots. It is therefore about finding the right balance between quality, size, cost and whether you can hand hold it.

For me, the Canon 400mm f5.6L lens gets that balance bang on. Let me tell you why.

Firstly, the weight of this lens makes it portable enough to carry pretty much anywhere. At under 2kg almost any adult can handhold this lens for a decent length of time. For me this is vital, especially if you want to shoot birds in flight. On my recent trip to Scotland we went to shoot the sea eagles on the Isle of Skye. We were on a boat that was swaying about and there would have been no way I could have captured the same images using a bigger lens on a tripod or monopod. I also just prefer the versatility of handholding and being able to swing around in a different direction at a moments notice.

Secondly. The image quality. The lens is a prime lens with the quality to match. It's nice and sharp and chromatic aberration is well handled. There are, however, better lenses out there in terms of image quality. The 500mm f/4 mkii is about as good as it gets but the cost of this is astronomical and equal to a small country.

Thirdly is the cost. At around £900 in the UK and $1200 US for a new one it is cheaper than many other lenses, especially Canon L lenses. It is an older lens though so there are many examples out there. Second hand you can pick up a good one for under £700. If you do buy second hand be sure to check the serial number to establish the age of the lens as this could effect the cost further.

Next up the auto-focus of this lens is nice and fast. Again, it is not as good as the higher end lenses but is better than other lenses in a similar range, such as the Canon EF 300mm f/4.0L IS. The focus of the Canon 400mm f5.6L is accurate and generally locks on well.

The Canon 400mm f5.6L lens is not perfect however. Although the f/5.6 aperture allows canon to keep the weight down, it is not the best low light performer. To capture birds in flight and other wildlife you generally want a nice fast shutter speed to freeze the action so a bigger aperture can be a great help in keeping your ISO and noise down. However as time moves on cameras are becoming better and better in low light so you can safely increase your ISO without introducing a massive amount of noise. Effectively this mean this lens just keeps getting better and better.

The lens also does not have image stabilisation. At first thought this may seem a big loss but for me, because I am working most of the time with high shutter speeds, the IS really wouldn't have any effect other than helping me a bit when tracking a subject. The shutter speed alone will freeze all the movement.

The closest focal distance of this lens is also quite large so if you get too close to your subject the lens won't focus. At 3.5 meters you will not get much use out of the lens indoors although the lens clearly is not designed for that.

The lens can be used with full frame and Aps-c cropped sensor cameras. Used on a cropped sensor camera you get an effective focal length of 640mm. This is nice but is certainly not something I ever worry about. I have achieved good quality images with both a full frame camera and a cropped sensor. Also the Canon 400mm f5.6L is not ideal when used in conjunction with a tele-converter. Adding the 1.4x teleconverter will push the maximum aperture up to f/8 which would reduce auto-focusing capability to the 1Dx, 5Dmkiii and the 7Dmkii. You would also need some seriously bright conditions or high ISO’s to get well exposed shots at f/8. In both scenarios better images will always be captured by getting just a few feet closer to your subject.

Overall the Canon 400mm f5.6L is an amazing lens for wildlife photography. The balance between cost and image quality is just about perfect. With the ability to carry all day and hand hold comfortably, this lens is perfect for wildlife photography and still deserves serious attention after all these years. This is without doubt high up, if not top, of the rankings for ‘best lens for wildlife photography’

Buy now Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L - in the UK

Buy now Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L - in the US

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Several images from the post and video were contributed by Lyle McCalmont, a very talented wildlife photographer from the North of England. Check him out on Flickr.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Review

In this video review we take a look at the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM.

Buying photography gear can be an expensive pursuit and this is particularly the case when it comes to lenses. When first looking at the price of lenses it can be a shocking experience. Even when using one of my favourite lenses, the Canon EF 500mm f4 L IS II USM, I am still astounded when reminding myself it costs £7000. Thankfully there are lenses out there that cost less than cars. The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM is one such lens.

See my related video on why you should invest in your photography. https://www.firstmanphotography.com/blog/why-you-should-invest-in-your-photography

Budding photographers often ask me what lens they should buy when upgrading from the kit lens. My answer is almost always, a 50mm prime lens. Canon’s cheapest lens fits into this category so how does this ‘new’ cheapest lens shape up?

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM has always been an excellent upgrade from the kit lens, introducing photographers to prime lenses and the joy of extreme blurred backgrounds at a very reasonable price. It also teaches new skills, such as being more thoughtful about composition; when zooming is limited to what you can do with your feet. Shooting with bigger apertures also introduces bigger challenges when it comes to focusing due to the small depth of field where less than a millimetre of movement can be the difference between a great shot and an unusable shot.

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens is an improvement on the previous version. The old lens had a cheap plastic construction and mount. The newer lens is still made from plastic, albeit a better plastic, but the mount is now of metal construction offering a more solid feel. Other improvements include the aperture blades; where the old lens had five, the new version has seven curved blades offering better bokeh. The bokeh is however a bit rough and does not have the creamy properties of more expensive lenses.

The focus system also receives an upgrade to STM. This is an improvement over the standard focus motor but is still quite noisy. The lens focuses very quickly though and without hesitation providing the kind of assurance normally reserved for much higher end lenses. Even when working with a very shallow depth of field at f/1.8, the focus rarely missed. The focus system is ‘focus by wire’ meaning the camera needs to be powered on in order for the lens to adjust focus, even in manual focus.

STM lenses operate well in live view mode and this often makes them great for video. Sadly this is not the case here due to the noise of the motor. Often this problem can be solved by manual focusing but because the motor operates in this mode as well, your only option is to move your sound recording off the camera. Whilst this step will improve your videos generally, it becomes more difficult and there is also the associated cost of buying microphones and sound recorders. The lens is also lacking image stabilisation which is not an issue for stills but is a must for any kind of decent video work.

Chromatic Aberration is present in areas of high contrast but is no worse than on the more expensive f/1.4 non L version of the Canon 50mm. Stop down a bit and this becomes better controlled.

In terms of sharpness this lens is offers improvements over the kit lens and other more expensive zoom lenses but is not at the level of more expensive primes lenses. Be happy with the sharpness. For the cost, you can't complain.

Overall the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens is an improvement over the previous incarnation. There are some weaknesses along the way and there is a little point upgrading if you already own a 50mm 1.8. However the value and the opportunities it opens up make this lens a superb option to photographers upgrading from the kit lens. This will no doubt ensure this becomes Canon's new best selling lens.

Buy now Canon EF 50 mm 1.8 STM Lens - in the UK

But now Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens - in the US

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Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Review

In this video review we take a look at the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

Macro. This fascinating field of photography grips most photographers at some point in their careers and often never lets go. Magnifying the miniature and blowing it up into a super large print is an addictive pursuit and often wows people with the rarely seen results. However, there is more to owning a macro lens than just running around the house and shooting everything small you can find. This Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM is a pro piece of glass and can be used for much much more.

Getting your hands on the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, the first thing you notice (after that red ring of course) is the lens is relatively light. Although constructed from a plastic housing the lens still maintains a quality feel and the metal mount and water resistant rubber seal ensures the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM is safe and secure on your camera. This lens has all the usual Canon L quality and at 100mm distortion and vignetting is minimal even when shot wide open. Chromatic aberration is virtually non-existent thanks to the UD glass element.

The Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM compares directly with the cheaper 100mm Canon Macro non L lens and you may be wondering why it is worth paying the extra for this, especially when the non L version is such a good lens anyway. The answer, apart from the slightly better build quality, is the Hybrid IS system. This system compensates for the usual angular movement but also for shift movement too. This is important for macro shots when you are getting in close and even the smallest movement will ruin your shot. It means shooting macro shots handheld becomes easier and your number of useable shots will increase. The stabilisation provides 2 stops at 1.0x magnification, 3 stops at 0.5x and 4 stops in normal shooting conditions.

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The Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM can be used for a lot more than close ups of flowers and bugs. The lens is such high quality that it is perfectly suited to studio work when shooting still life or product photography. I use the lens regularly for my water drop photographs and it is the perfect in this role.

If you want to shoot these water drop images for yourself check out this video tutorial - https://www.firstmanphotography.com/tutorials/water-drop-photography

The lens also doubles as a good portrait lens. The 100mm is an excellent portrait range on a full frame. At 160mm equivalent on a cropped sensor camera it is a bit longer but is still a useful portrait range. The IS works well for portraits and provides an added bonus in low light situations.

Overall the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM offers excellent value, especially given the cost, due to the versatility that it provides. If you are looking at the non L version my advice would be to save up the extra pennies and buy this lens. With a 5 out of 5 joy factor, you will not be sorry.

Purchase in the UK - Canon EF 100mm f2.8L Macro IS USM Lens

Purchase in the US - Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens

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