A walk around Singapore (05 - 07 Jan '12)

Since I just acquired the Canon EF 100mm F2.8 L IS USM Macro I decided to bring it to Singapore to see how it fares as a general walkaround lens. At 1.6x crop, it's effectively a mid range zoom at 160mm. I also brought along my Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM this time. I've never been comfortable using it (it's a 48mm equivalent lens) mainly because I find that I have to stand very close to the subject to get any sort of shallow depth of field.

So it turns out that the 100mm f2.8L macro is quite good for 'sniper' style street shots. Even standing across the street I'm able to get nice shots without much cropping needed in post.

 
Canon EOS 60D + Canon EF 100mm F2.8 L IS USM Macro | 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100

However, in confined spaces, I had some trouble fully framing my subjects. Sometimes I stood so far away I felt like a voyeur, and I still chopped off some body parts in my shots.

 
Canon EOS 60D + Canon EF 100mm F2.8 L IS USM Macro | 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200

It is long physically but it is light and not too wide, which doesn't scream 'look at me and my big ass camera and lens!'.

 
Canon EOS 60D + Canon EF 100mm F2.8 L IS USM Macro | 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100

As for the macro function itself, I'm surprised that I did not get many good macro shots at all. It's harder than I thought it would be to be perfectly honest. This is the only decent one in fact.

 
Canon EOS 60D + Canon EF 100mm F2.8 L IS USM Macro | 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600

The 30mm meanwhile, I'm still not too comfortable with. Maybe as my skin becomes thicker I will. At the moment though, I get looks when I'm taking pictures with it. People just know and look at you because you're standing so close. But sometimes that's good for your composition:

 
Canon EOS 60D + Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM | 1/40 sec, f/2.8, ISO 125

My keeper rate this time is lower than normal. I also did not take as many shots this time round. I know I would have if I had either a 50mm or 85mm. Anyway, this is my favorite picture this time round.

 
 Canon EOS 60D + Canon EF 100mm F2.8 L IS USM Macro | 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200

So what's my conclusion? The Canon EF 100mm F2.8 L IS USM Macro is decent as a walkaround lens but I'm much more comfortable with the Canon EF 85mm F1.8 USM. The 85mm just feels right for me. I find I'm either too close or too far with the 100mm. 30mm (equivalent) difference in focal length matters I guess.

That being said though, I think the 100mm Macro will be perfect for a Full Frame camera to use as a walkaround. It'll also be very versatile being able to shoot macro and has IS. Sure depth of field is only decent (being f2.8) but I think it's a good compromise for what you gain.

In the meantime, I will be reading up more on macro photography...

> Full set of pictures on Flickr