Hi,
I have the USM 100 macro, and will give you my opinions. See below.
"Chris J.T. Houston" wrote:
> the Canon 100mm gives the best picture quality.
The macro quality is excellent. Medium distances are very nice too. I
don't use it much for distance.
>
> I have a new question for you all, in the review for the 100mm Macro, it
> says it does not come with a Tripod mount or Lens hood.
Correct. Kind of a pity for such an expensive lens
>
> Could someone explain why I might want a tripod mount for this lens, as I
> did not think it was very heavy, so why not just mount the camera ?
I don't use a tripod mount for the lens and have never needed it with my
eos 3. But if you were to use an exension tube, teleconverter or
whatever, you *might* want one. I personally would only do this if I
had a light body, because an eos3 hanging off a 2x converter or two
extension tubes would put a lot of torque on the lens body if it were
tripod mounted.
>
> Also, as you are very close to your subject, would a lens hood not produce a
> shadow ?
The distance to you subject at 1:1 is almost six inches (150mm). The
hood is about 2 inches (50mm) deep, so there is a reasonable amount of
distance to you subject (about as much as the old macro 100 at full
extension. If the angle of the light were near the lens axis, or you
were worried about fill light not getting in there (light from toward
the camera position), you could always skip the lens hood at near 1:1
and start using it at around 1:2 or so for improved contrast. This lens
is slightly subject to contrast reducing flare, especially if you use a
softbox close to the subject. I use my lens hood for shooting products.
Don't know how much I will use it in the field because I bought it recently.
>
> Finally, does anyone know if the new Canon Macro Flash will fit on this lens
Yes, I believe it is designed for this lens (the MR14 ringlight fits.
Don't know about the older ML3 ringlight). There is also the adapter
for using this flash on the 180/3.5 macro.
Have fun.
Mike
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