A new macro lens coming in the first half of 2025

#2
Not much of a point in making a macro lens super fast aperture. A longer lens such as the 180mm macro would not seem to warrant a significantly higher price either.
Making this a >1:1 (or >1.4:1) super macro or a true macro tilt/shift lens with AF would be reasonable products to charge a higher price for.
 
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#3
I have the 180mm macro lens and have used the 100mm and 50mm. My opinions for what they’re worth:

Working distance is everything. My breathing affects dew on spider web shots. Too close and my shadow falls on the image. I don’t want to tromp on the flowers to get the image of the one I want to shoot. Little creatures flee when you get too close. 180mm is the minimum focal length to pique my interest. More would be better.

No focus breathing for best results with focus bracketing. I think this issue eliminates a zoom but I might be wrong.

A wide max aperture for those narrow depth of field shots like the edge of a flower petal.

I don’t think tilt-shift would be a selling point. I’ve never wished for a tilt shift when I was doing macro work but I shoot nature stuff in the field. Studio product shooters might want that feature. I do sometimes use tilt-shift in landscape and architecture shots.

The 180 is really good. A very tough act to follow.
 
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#4
Yeah, TS macro is probably too niche, those lenses are mostly attractive for product photographers, less so for insects and such.

TominNJ said:
Working distance is everything.
Click to expand...
I use the RF100-400 with a Raynox DCR-250 when I am shooting skittish insects. There is some vignetting at 400mm, and IQ is not comparable to the 100L, but this combo produces almost 4x magnification with very long working distance.
 
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#6
I would love to see a wide angle that can do at least 1:1 for more environmental shots. Currently I use the RF 24mm 1.8 for some larger subjects, but often it falls a little short magnification-wise (.5x). I don’t think a WA would cost significantly more than the current 100mm unless the WA was incorporated into a zoom, however. That is a little mysterious.
 
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#7
I would like to see a smaller and lighter macro lens, that I can take everywhere without thinking too much about it (the EF-s 60mm was like that). But there is no chance for it if it\'s supposed to cost even more than the current 100mm.
 
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#8
Yay! And in time so I can relabel the “50L VCM” funds to “macro” :)

I do wonder if the new macro will be attractive enough to buy, since I already have the 28, 50, 60, 65, 100 and 180mm Canon macro lenses, as well as the Sigma 150. And apart from the 50mm, they all have all been used this year.

A long macro with IS is interesting to me, but not €2500 interesting! For that amount of money I’ll raise the shutter speed a bit and buy all the denoising softwares :)
 
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#9
janhalasa said:
I would like to see a smaller and lighter macro lens, that I can take everywhere without thinking too much about it (the EF-s 60mm was like that). But there is no chance for it if it\'s supposed to cost even more than the current 100mm.
Click to expand...
The EF-S60 on an EOS-M body makes for a very compact macro setup. Even with the weight of the adapter, it balances well.

I wish Canon would give us more of such pocketable and affordable lenses, with matching bodies.
 
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#10
I don't do much macro. I still have the original EF 100mm macro, non L. Very sharp lens. I could never really justify an upgrade. I have found the macro feature on the RF 24mm 1.8 handy. Takes zooming with your feet to another level! :) but it's nice to get in and get a texture, and still a fairly broad field of view for macro standards.
 
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#11
bbasiaga said:
I don't do much macro. I still have the original EF 100mm macro, non L. Very sharp lens. I could never really justify an upgrade. I have found the macro feature on the RF 24mm 1.8 handy. Takes zooming with your feet to another level! :) but it's nice to get in and get a texture, and still a fairly broad field of view for macro standards.
Click to expand...
I used the EF100 non-L for about 13 years and replaced it with the EF100L. I noticed only a slight increase in image quality and when I exchanged the RP for an R5 I noticed that the IBIS and IS didn't play well together at macro distances and the shutterspeeds I wanted to use. I quickly replaced it with the RF100L, which I have no complaints about except the exorbitant introduction price.

So if you're happy with the EF non-L version, keep using it! IQ gains are most likely marginal and pricing for newer lenses is crazy compared to the price/performance ratio of your current lens.
 
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#16
koenkooi said:
I used the EF100 non-L for about 13 years and replaced it with the EF100L. I noticed only a slight increase in image quality and when I exchanged the RP for an R5 I noticed that the IBIS and IS didn't play well together at macro distances and the shutterspeeds I wanted to use. I quickly replaced it with the RF100L, which I have no complaints about except the exorbitant introduction price.
Click to expand...
I'm curious how you have found the focus shifting on the RF 100mm macro to affect your work.

At first, I thought the reviewers were overstating that problem, so I rented it.

I have the EF 100L and really love that lens, so I was shocked when I rented the RF to test and found that the focus shift on aperture change really did have real-world consequences for me, which ended up ruining 20-25% of my shots. I don't normally focus stack, so for me, having that consistent, reliable focal plane matters a lot.
 
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#17
My wishlist for a 180 - 200mm macro lens, ranked by importance (to me ;) ) from high to lower:
  • Same (or better) optical quality as the EF 180 mm
  • 1:1 magnification
  • Fast AF
  • Compatible with RF extenders (for increased working distance with dragonflies, butterflies and other insects)
  • Sufficient number of aperture blades for a round opening with good bokeh
  • Image stabilization
  • Internal focusing (like the EF 180mm)
  • Focus limiter for close up focus range i.e. from closest focus distance to +/- 1 meter
  • F 2.8
  • Removable tripod collar
  • Weight: equivalent to, or lighter than, the EF 180mm
And please NO:
  • Spherical Aberration Control.
  • Focus shift.
  • Tilt/Shift: Tilting does not bring much extra in depth of field in the macro range. A long T/S macro lens would be heavier and probably be very expensive.
 
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#18
I’ve got that EF-S 35 f/2.8 Macro, fantastic little lens, razor sharp and vibrant and the built in lights are actually useful for flowers and non-reflective subjects. Works fine with most modern R series features like in-camera focus stacking too, is light and compact, and also silent for video work. Unfortunately with that incredibly short working distance most living insects are out of the question if you want to get near the 1:1 magnification. It also doesn’t seem to work with electronic full time manual focus, which is really obnoxious when you want to make micro adjustments or the autofocus gets fixated on something well behind your intended subject.
 
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