Circuit City: Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro - $318

[Sacksnack]

Just thought I'd pass this along, Circuit City is currently selling the Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro for $318. You could buy this lens and sell it in a year for more than you paid for it.
Here's the B&H listing.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/194451-USA/Canon_4657A006_100mm_f_2_8_USM_Macro.html

I just got the last one at my local store. It's a good deal if you can find one.

-Kevin

[egproductions]

I'm all over this! Ken rockwell said this is one of the sharpest lenses he has ever used.

[Kegan]

Fantastic macro lens. Use it all the time in product shots. Highly recommended.

I paid about $700 CDN for it though...

-Kegan

[egproductions]

Wow CC employees are ruuuuuddde!!! I guess getting layed off doesn't give them a reason to care. I called two different stores.

One girl didn't let me finish describing the lens before she told me we never carried a lens like that even though I know they did!

The other store transfered me to a diff department where I said I am looking to see if there is a specific lens in stock. I was then laughed at and hung up on....

Found a store with it in stock though so I'm happy now :)

[Sacksnack]

I had to have one of the workers look up the price on the computer, they still have it listed for $450. This thing just sings on my 5D. This is my first shot, nothing special, zero sharpening in camera or in post.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3318/3221061646_d5b60993c4.jpg
100% crop
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3385/3220210785_bff3184d92_o.jpg

-Kevin

[egproductions]

This is my first shot, nothing special...

Ditto

http://egproductions.tv/transfer/eye.jpg

[Sacksnack]

That's crazy sharp eg.

[egproductions]

That was at F/20....I tend to like deeper DOF with my macro shots but I think some sharpness is lost as you go beyond f/13

[egproductions]

I've noticed two issues with this lens:

First:
I bought a standard tiffen UV filter to protect the lens. When I screwed it onto the lens, I noticed what looked like a black dirt in the center of the lens. After closer inspection, I realized that this was due to the fact that the filter and the lens glass were actually touching eachother! Called Canon and of course they said to take it up with Tiffen. Will see what Tiffen has to say. Bottom line is that nobody is going to take responsability for this one.

Second:
This lens doesn't seem to be compatible with the 5D II's movie mode. When I lock down my exposure in movie mode, the exposure locks but the settings on the camera vary as if it wasn't locked. When I pull the slightest focus, I get the aperture freeze frame issue. The freeze frame happens even though the aperture isn't even really changing, all that matters is that the camera thinks the aperture is changing and it freezes my recording. My other two lenses don't experience this issue at all. I called Canon and just another silent and ackwardly ending conversation with no solution.

I don't blame Canon support because I am seeing that the issues I am bringing to them time and again have no solutions or recommendations. I never saw myself as someone who would switch over from loving a company so much...but I can't deny the brick walls I have been facing recently either.

[TimurCivan]

Give the lens a test...
do you have speed lights? put em on 1:1 and blast a shot @ F22....

ive been shootin @ F22 with my 24-105 F4L Macro lately... sharpest images ive ever seen out of my 5D.... (also try it on ISO 50.... So clean)

[egproductions]

Timur, that is pretty much my setup for the eye picture above. Off camera 430ex @ f20. It doesn't get sharper.

[TimurCivan]

drool..... that poor girls eye.... must have been seeing a n orange flash for a week....

a speed light at 1:1 is about 2-4,000,000 watts tungsten equivalent.

[egproductions]

oh, I didn't need 1:1 for that and I made sure she wasn't looking right at the flash either.... but yeah those eyes quickly turned into squinty wtf eyes after I took that shot.