C100: Macro lenses with good Dual Pixel AF results?

MattDavis

MattDavis

Well-known member
I've been asked to film some folks making 'things' that measure between 1 inch and and 6 inches, in a 'craft' workshop situation - not lathes, I'm guessing hammers and wire and stuff. I'll be shooting on my C100 with DPAF and a Ninja Blade.

This seems, at first glance, to be the ideal chance to get the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM (IS because of inevitable pulling focus) rented in. I'll be using a slew of my own lenses, but just thought I'd reach out to ask if anyone has done this before with the 100 Macro.

There's also the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM (what a mouthful). I've seen some wonderful wildlife stuff - goto lens for critters - but also seen that, without IS, you can't touch the lens to pull focus unless your tripod is made of cast iron.

So, which would you go out with - the 100 or the 180? (Sorry, can't take both LOL)

Any 'must have' accessories? (Have already booked a PB Slider, LOL)
 
I would go for 100mm Macro. That should get you a very nice macro with good working distance for lighting. The 180mm might help get the camera a little further away but since they are not live objects that will get scared buy getting to close it's really about how much space you want between the lens and the subject.
 
Another vote for the Canon 100mm Macro F2.8 Hybrid IS. Works well with the Dual Pixel AF upgrade from my initial tests last week and, as Erik states, should allow you to get far enough back for lighting as needed.

Edit: To clarify "works well with the Dual Pixel AF upgrade"... what I mean is it is slower, more pleasing to refocus as the subject moves into the focus box than with any of my other Canon lenses. This of course means you may be able to use some focus pulls in the end composition (results with the other lenses seem far snappier and so not likely to be usable - just the resulting correctly focussed sections!).

It is a lovely lens. Bought it a few years ago for a corporate job that needed a lot of macro work with my Canon 7D. Whilst it only gets used on a few jobs, when it is needed it absolutely delivers a first class result. This is either for stills (all I ever use my 7D for now) or for macro clips on the C100 (or hand-held medium tele-shots, where the fast F stop and highly effective and a very quiet Hybrid IS are required, e.g. if I have to use an on-board shotgun).

My Canon 70-200mm F4 IS is often used for tele work but the IS is pretty audible by comparison!
 
Last edited:
Thanks Erik and Andy... Appreciate your candour, 100 seems to be a safer bet.

Okay, this got a little more serious. I was going to rent the lens on a 3 day shoot. I hear there will probably be a few more similar shoots, so now I've got to consider buying. I am, as the Brits say, 'a tight git'. 3x 1 week hire at about £90 per week including insurance, deposit, collection/delivery and quibbles etc. £270 is half the price of the lens, but it is 100% billable to the client.

So I'm left dangling in the wind, thinking about the rental cost over the project being half the cost of the lens. How do YOU get the full cost of the lens back? What makes the 100 Macro earn its keep?

I'm being speculative and playful here. I do fear the fact that I'm gonna buy the sucker when I see my client's PO. So what is the lens really good at beyond critters?
 
I cheaped out and bought the Sigma 100/2.8 a couple of weeks ago. AF only works at wide open, 2.8, so that's out - but the visual quality is fab and it does have IS, if you want to use it as a regular prime.

I decided we'd only use it occasionally for macro work, so was happy to take the hit on absolute L-Lens solidity etc.

One other thing - I did get this set of extension tubes too, which will get you a little closer again. They have Canon electrical contacts:

http://www.harrisoncameras.co.uk/Le...ension-Tubes-132131mm-AF-Canon-Fit_323012.htm

Have fun - and don't drink too much coffee beforehand... :-)

Ben.
 
bengiles said:
I did get this set of extension tubes too, which will get you a little closer again. They have Canon electrical contacts:

http://www.harrisoncameras.co.uk/Le...s. It makes sense to me, but it's still nuts.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Haven't used either lens for video, but I can tell you how wonderful the 180 is for quality build and IQ on a still cam. It is absolutely rivals the 85L for sharp and for a standoff situation is outstanding. Shallow depth of field with this lens is also outstanding when stopped down. Lack of IOS may be an issue but only if you are in a macro situation; even a larger video head probably won't work for focus by hand in macro. Would AF work in your scenario?

Grant
 
MattDavis said:
Ooooh - I remember extension tubes! Good call. More beer to you! (this is getting serious, perhaps I should just annexe a brewery...)

All I need now is a PO with a 3x shoot and... the 100 Macro is *mine!*. Evil laugh. Actually, isn't this always the way? Gear greed. I could be putting a margin on the kit rental, but no... better acquire the 'shiny shiny precious' whilst somebody else bears half the cost. Hold on, I could make a profit renting it in, but I prefer to allow half the burden to be bourn by a client so I can own at a cost to myself? That's nuts. It makes sense to me, but it's still nuts.
Click to expand...

I say if the client pays for half the lens it's a great opportunity to buy it. You will get great interviews with it and probably find other macro opportunities too. But then again.... I'm a lens whore! LOL!!!
 
What about the Canon 100mm Macro without IS? Anyone using it? I have a shoot this week where I am doing some extreme close-ups of greeting cards and need to get into the meticulous details and ornamentation of them as they rotate on a turntable. Was just researching the Canon Macro and the 100 with IS looks to be the prize but a little to costly for a single shoot. I may rent it but I am afraid I'll fall in love and not want to send it back.
 
I have this awful dread that the IS is our weakness. All the videos I see are either locked off, or have a telltale wobble as somebody touches the lens. Not just the Canon lens, a lot of 'examples' of macro work that haven't been turned out by the likes of Marmalade.

It seems like this is just another example of what we'll all find: there's a Cheap way of doing it, there's a Quality way of doing it, and there's an Easy way of doing it, and we must choose two. The cheaper Macro is Quality and Cheap, but it's not Easy. The IS lens is Easy and Quality, but it's not Cheap. I'm sure there's Easy and Cheap ways that are not Quality. Sigh.
 
I am a tight git too... bit never regretted the expense of buying my Canon 100 Macro F2.8 IS. With lenses (and you know this Matt) always buy the very best you can afford when an opportunity presents itself...
 
Last edited:
Don't be such a tad wad, Matt. Get yourself a Motion Control rig. You know you want one. You deserve it.

On the other hand, you'll need a sense of humour, asbestos fingers and a soldering iron...

Here are some pics from series I cut back in 1999 at Pinewood with the Star Wars model team. The rig broke down almost daily, causing the AC to weep regularly. We shot it on 35mm with a periscope lens:

Dream Street 01.jpgDream Street 02.jpg

Funny in hind sight, but she was a monster to live with...

Ben.
 
That... is so... awesome! LOL

And, well, hmmm - yes. I'll get the PO and shell out I think. Thanks all for the dig. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
Go with the EF 100mm f2.8 L IS USM macro lens. The IS is good for handholding and smoothens the micro-jitters. This IS is better than the IS in some of the other canon lenses.
 
I got in touch with Sigma, hoping they would be working on a resolution to the fact their lenses only work with the C100 AF when wide open. Their response this morning:

Dear Ben,
Thank you for your enquiry.
I have forwarded your email to Sigma Japan for assistance but unfortunately their technical team have stated they cannot guarantee functionality with the C100 camera.
Kind Regards
Chris Bibby
SIGMA IMAGING UK LTD
13 Little Mundells
Welwyn Garden City
Herts
AL7 1EW

Talk about damning your product with a faint and vague response...

If the use of dual pixel AF is important to you on a macro lens (and it did work quite well when panning across some text on a screen, albeit with the iris at 2.8), it looks like one of the Canon versions might be a safer bet.

I've decided to return this and swap it for the 100/2.8 L

Shame - as it's an otherwise nice lens.

Ben.
 
By the way, there's £85 cashback in the UK if you buy before May 7th from an authorised dealer.

Go on Matt...:cheesy:

Ben.
 
I did some testing yesterday with the Canon 100m F/2.8 non L lens and the results were mostly good. The autofocus was pretty good when I was shooting well lit objects on a turntable. However, later, when I was trying to determine how close I could actually get to an object and still focus, I saw some quirkiness. I pointed the camera at an envelope(lots of labels and high contrast elements to focus on) I propped against the wall. I was about 8-9 inches from it and the camera starting focus hunting.....very slowly. It essentially went very slowly to the other end of the focus range and then started moving back. Then it got close but never pulled the object into focus.....it just kept hunting. I turned off the AF and was able to focus on the object rather easily. I turned AF back on and it stayed focused....even made minor adjustments as I moved forward or back and inch or two. However.....if I pointed the camera across the room and let it focus, then pointed it back at the envelope it would just hunt and hunt and hunt. I found this very odd as I have not seen behavior like that on my other lenses. I have only had the autofocus upgrade for 5-6 days so it is still new.

This bizarre behavior is making me want to jump up to the L series lens instead....but money is a factor. Can anyone report on the L lens or confirm the oddity I am describing on the non L version?
 
I find it odd that when I was shooting on a locked down tripod with my Canon 24-105 L lense and zoomed all the way to 105, I have a wider field of view than when I put the Canon 100mm Macro lens on the same camera. Is this normal? The product in question fit with room to spare at 105 but with the 100m prime it was clearly out of frame all around.

Also, I pulled the plug and ordered the Canon 100mm L series macro lens from the BH used Dept and only ended up paying about $200 more than the cost of the non L version. I will receive it tomorrow. Here's hoping it works fine..........I'll be returning the non L version as soon as I can confirm this.
 
Thanks for the tests, Mr Icicle!

My good friend Rick is sending me his Canon Macro 100mm 2.8 L IS to play with over the weekend. I'll try to replicate some of your tests too, and somehow I think I'm going to have to make Rick an offer he can't refuse. LOL

Rick was absolutely adamant that I should seriously consider the Nikkor 70-180 as being just a sublime macro lens. That it may be, but it doesn't do Dual Pixel AF and that's a function I'm beginning to find that I can't live without. Did a car interior 'by hand' as part of a short promo, and whilst the shot didn't make it to the final cut, very happy with the way that the lens worked with the camera and pulled focus whilst I did a fake crane shot from passenger's seat (gear lever) up to driver's PoV down and round to pedals (just did a 'Point and Pray' move). Slider dolly moves into bits of metalwork that slowly rotate are JUST the sort of shots I'll need in May.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top