hey all

First time posting in this section.

I'm looking for a new lens to shoot watches. Has anyone tried/tested/got the
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

Keen to hear some thoughts on this. Even if I can't use it well it will make me look good

 

When I had a Canon body I used that lens all the time. I have taken some pretty good shots with it. I used it in my "apple" phase long time ago.
I did this as a project.

 

Stunning

 

Very nice apple pictures..really stunning.

 

I've never used the L version, but the non L version is a great lens too.

 

Can never go wrong with any “L” lens from them. That said, I had one and the equivalent non-L model. I could never tell the difference in real life other than the price and the pretty red ring.

 

Get the L-version if you need the image stabilization. Both versions of the lens are pretty cheap. I have the L and have no regrets.
Both lenses are super, also for normal use, portraits etc.

 

Very nice apple pictures!

I wonder if such a lens is the best choice for taking pictures of watches. The focal length being long the depth of field will be very shallow. A lot of the watch will be out of focus. If that effect is what one is looking for then fine. Reducing the aperture helps in increasing the depth of field but a good cell phone camera (which have a very short focal length lens (ie. 4.2mm) will probably produce much sharper pictures overall.

There is this neat calculator for calculating depth of field. Plug in a few numbers and notice the effect.

 

The clarity and detail (especially the second picture) is very impressive

 

I think the 100mm would be an overkill for your stated purpose (watch pics). I use an EF-S 60mm f2.8 Macro USM lens and it gives good results.

Originally I tried a 100mm lens but focusing was fiddly and the lens was very heavy and needed a tripod mount and a focus rail so I sold it and got the 60mm which I'm quite happy with.

A review of the 60mm here is interesting.

https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-60mm-f-2.8-Macro-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

 

I shoot Nikon my main lens AF-S NIKKOR 24-85MM 1:3.5-4:5 ED glass got that lens a few months ago it's big glass and great portrait lens. My back up Is a cannon I would gladly use L glass on it if it was the main camera L glass is awesome. Been shooting Nikon forever and even my old glass fits my camera

 

Great shots

 

It's the lens that I enjoy the most!

 

That doesn’t seem possible , great pic

 

Ok..I don't think it's all about the lens. I think I have good lens (AF-S Micro Nikkor 105mm 1:2.8 G ED VR) and I am not even close from a picture like that. So what else do we need? More knowledge or other equipment?

 

Wow! Nice

 

I’ll just add a comment to this. If you have a camera with a full-size sensor (what Nikon call FX) then then the 55-60mm macro lens are probably not as good as the 100-105mm lenses, but if you have a reduced sensor size (like my Nikon D90 which is DX) then the 55-60mm lenses work really well.

If you’re on a budget then I’ve had some luck with the old Nikon 55mm AIS which cost under 100 euros. You’ll need a tripod and you’ll need to fiddle a bit with shutter speeds as everything including metering is manual, but results can be good enough. For a bit more maybe get the more modern AF versions as they’ll focus twice as close (1:1 instead of 2:1), but you’ll only need that if you want super close-up details of dial, movement, etc rather than a whole watch head, and you can always crop from a wider shot and I’d say it’s good enough.

Nikon D90, 55mm AIS, mounted on tripod


Crop from above picture