> Working distance and background control. A 200mm puts you farther > away than a 100, and often lets you be more selective in > background. But the 200 is heavier and may require a heavier > tripod. It is also bigger.
Well, "a 200mm puts you farther away than a 100", but it also (for the same magnification) ~requires~ you to be farther away, too, and that can sometimes be a problem (such as when shooting a lower magnification shot straight down, which almost requires a stepladder - <g>). I have come to believe (at least for the macro shots that I tend to take) that a 100mm macro (and my favorite is the A 100/2.8 Macro) is the best all-around macro lens - sometimes the 50mm lenses are too short and sometimes the 200mm lenses are too long. In fact, I no longer own the A* 200/4 Macro, due to lack of use (again, for the macro shots that I tend to take). Of course, then there is the flexibility of the VS1 90-180/4.5 Flat Field Zoom... Fred
