king0fSpades said:Got mine delivered 2 days back. Results are just like my 70-200 F/4L non IS. I was expecting something out of this world. Lens was much sharper at f/8.
DOF was very thin at f/2.8 and I got undesired results.

ask for an exchange

king0fSpades said:Got mine delivered 2 days back. Results are just like my 70-200 F/4L non IS. I was expecting something out of this world. Lens was much sharper at f/8.
DOF was very thin at f/2.8 and I got undesired results.

The obvious advantages with this lens are the f/2.8 and IS (extra 3 stop). If you don't need f2.8, maybe consider f/4 IS (4 stops). This is Canon's best 70-200 lenses in term of IQ, sharpness, etc. I have the f/2.8IS lens for over 2 years and haven't used my 135L since. Granted the 135L has better IQ, bokeh, color, etc, but not that much better.

king0fSpades said:Got mine delivered 2 days back. Results are just like my 70-200 F/4L non IS. I was expecting something out of this world. Lens was much sharper at f/8.
DOF was very thin at f/2.8 and I got undesired results.

This lens is very popular with wedding photographers for exactly what you described. Shallow DOF at 2.8 so you get a nice bokeh behind your subject. It also gives you a little softer picture so you don't see all the blemishes on your subject's face. I have this lens for doing portrait photography an dthen I also have the 70-200 IS f/4 for doing my landscape and everyday photography since it weighs so much less for carrying around.

momoman said:lcong said:They have good price on Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro too, $455 before the 5% live CashBack. Too bad it's also OOS.excellent lens. i tried to find one for $350 when circuit city closed but couldn't find any. many in the photography forums found them at the $350 price which surprisingly, wasn't marked down that much from cc's reg. price which was much lower than anyone else's.Maybe my expectations are not realistic but I finally got my hands on a 100mm f/2.8 macro USM over the past weekend and I gotta say I am kind of disappointed with it. My beef with it is mainly in the build and focusing department. The build feels kind of cheap for a normally $500 lens, feels like there is a bit of play in the assembly. The auto focus is also not as quick or quiet as the USM designation would lead one to believe. The focus hunts and I was using a 5D MKII body, so I don't think it's an issue with using out-dated body/firmware. The focusing does lock and when it does, it's incredibly spot-on, as is necessary by it's 100mm focal length, f/2.8, and macro capabilities. It just takes a while to get there. Taking a picture of a bristle brush, for example, will have the lens going back and forth endlessly as it tries to decide which strand of bristle it should focus on - this is with only the center focus point activated.

What it comes down to is this: for the same ~$500, the 70-200mm f/4L USM has top-notch build quality and first class autofocus speeds. Here you are spending the same $500 on a 100mm prime, I would expect a pretty well built lens with excellent autofocus performance.

Lugged this thing on a trip to the zoo and couldn't get more than 10 mins use out of it since it was so freakn' heavy. IMO I think IS is much too over rated; I'd get a 2.8L over the 2.8L IS any day, but the 2.8L IS is a nice piece to show off though.

Here is one taken yesterday:
Link

king0fSpades said:Got mine delivered 2 days back. Results are just like my 70-200 F/4L non IS. I was expecting something out of this world. Lens was much sharper at f/8.
DOF was very thin at f/2.8 and I got undesired results.

I don't understand how you're complaining about a shallow DOF. Isn't that the whole point with a f/2.8 lens? As for the person complaining about the 100mm macro, it definitely is a slow focusing lens and hunts quite a bit. I used to own one and sold it for that very reason.

Dilligas said:king0fSpades said:Yes you can do better from eBay, but that is eBay right?

Ah, eBay is the great dumping grounds for lenses that have all sorts of issues. Don't be fooled into thinking that white lenses are all perfect off the line (lemons are rare, but do happen). On the flip side though, the percentage of bad lenses on eBay is still pretty low (IMHO) until you start getting into the Sigma, Tokina, etc. brands that have worse quality control.

There are a couple of authorized dealers selling brand new camera and lens on eBay.
When there was 25% Live CashBack, the price was unbeatable.

kimdani1 said:king0fSpades said:Got mine delivered 2 days back. Results are just like my 70-200 F/4L non IS. I was expecting something out of this world. Lens was much sharper at f/8.
DOF was very thin at f/2.8 and I got undesired results.

I don't understand how you're complaining about a shallow DOF. Isn't that the whole point with a f/2.8 lens? As for the person complaining about the 100mm macro, it definitely is a slow focusing lens and hunts quite a bit. I used to own one and sold it for that very reason.

Not complaining about DOF. However I was surprised. At 200mm, F/2.8 and min focusing (< 2m) distance it was less than 2 inches.

When I bought this lens, I thought I will sell 70-200mm F/4L. Now I have to keep both as F/4L has the same quality, may be a bit sharper. Plus it is very light compared to this.

cyberock said:kimdani1 said:king0fSpades said:Got mine delivered 2 days back. Results are just like my 70-200 F/4L non IS. I was expecting something out of this world. Lens was much sharper at f/8.
DOF was very thin at f/2.8 and I got undesired results.

I don't understand how you're complaining about a shallow DOF. Isn't that the whole point with a f/2.8 lens? As for the person complaining about the 100mm macro, it definitely is a slow focusing lens and hunts quite a bit. I used to own one and sold it for that very reason.

I so agree with you!
I have 100mm macro and I usually use manual focus. Actually most of the time I just use the lens back and forth to get the precise focus.