L-fever...

[K3nt]

...I think I have it.. Is there a cure or am I forever a lost cause? 
The 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II is brilliant! Now all I do is browse for deals on the 100mm f/2.8L IS USM macro lens, seems I can't get enough.

[kirillica]

100L Macro is a perfect, well-built and very sharp lens, good for both: macros and portrets

[epsiloneri]

If you already have the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II, it is already close to the ultimate portrait lens. Have you considered using macro extension tubes for it? The 100/2.8L macro is great, but perhaps you would complement your lens collection better with a wide-angle lens. (depends on what you have and are interested in, of course)

[K3nt]

It's a sickness... I want all L's...  Anything... must...have... 

I think this sickness can only be cured by buying L-lenses... (or if someone whacks me over the head real hard) 

[Flake]

I sold a perfectly good 100mm Macro to buy the 100mm L (partly because I got a great deal) but it was a dissapointment, it's not really any better optically and the H-IS doesn't make enough of a difference to justify the price.

My advice to anyone wanting a lens for macro would be to buy the cheaper 100mm and a macro flash, that will give better images than even the very best macro without a flash. (Cue dissent!)

There are a few niggles with the 100mm L too, they don't get mentioned much in all the adulation - it's not a perfect lens, far from it.

The lens hood is ridiculously large so much so that it's unusable for macro photography, if it doesn't scare away your subject it will block out so much light that you won't be able to focus accurately!

The body is plastic so are the lens filter threads it's easy to strip them!

The lens is larger than other macro lenses so the macro flashes won't fit and you have to buy an adaptor like a step down ring - simple enough buy Canon will relieve you of £45 (£45 for a step down ring !!!!!) just so you can attach it.  It fits the old one directly.

The H-IS is good for about 1 stop at 1:1 magnification I suppose every little helps, but it's just not enough to make a significant difference.

This isn't a cheap lens, it costs nearly 75% more than the non L version, and although it's a great performer, the old one was too, to be honest it's difficult to tell which images were taken with which lens.

Internal focussing makes both of these lenses very quick, especially when compared to third party offerings, but be aware that as they focus the focal length drops so the lenses are actually 67mm at macro magnification.

[EYEONE]

I saw a discussion article on a photography website that was asking "How many lenses do you need?" I thought about it for a minute and settled on "All of them?"

[neuroanatomist]

Have you considered using macro extension tubes for it?

Extension tubes are much more effective on shorter lenses.  With a 25mm tube, the best you get is 0.36x magnification (and that's at the 70mm end - at the 200mm end, the magnification is only 0.14x, which is less than the 0.21x mag you get without the tube). 

For telephoto lenses, you should be looking at the 500D Close-up Lens.  The 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II with the 500D Close-up Lens yields 0.6x magnification, also does surprisingly well.  The IQ is not quite as good as the L marco lens, but considering the cost of the 500D it's very good (I tried some comparison flower shots, and could not easily tell which was which). 

Regarding L-fever - just give in, there is no cure (except death or destitution).

[ronderick]

L-fever?

Well, there's some makeshift remedies you can try, like putting a red-color rubberband around your non-L lens. Of course, they offer only temporary relief...

On a side note, I have seen L-fever victims "progress" to the next stage - when they insist that the red band must be paired with a white-colored lens that's 300mm-plus. It usually occurs when the victims take on a sudden infatuation with shooting birds. At this point you should be really worried.

Of course, when you start seeing the red dot on the camera instead of the red band around the lens... now THAT can be deadly...

[dstppy]

...I think I have it.. Is there a cure or am I forever a lost cause? 
The 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II is brilliant! Now all I do is browse for deals on the 100mm f/2.8L IS USM macro lens, seems I can't get enough.

I had a bad case of it until I got my 24-105mm . . . then I had a bit of buyer's remorse.  I got the 15-85mm when I bought my 60D and it sort of set the bar high for lenses.  It's not an L, but just barely.  Build quality and IQ are just fabulous and the range feels good on a crop body.

It wasn't until I got the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM that I realized why people were so enamored with the build quality of L glass.  It was a nice lens, but felt really cheap.

On the 7D, do you find yourself taking a lot of shots at 100mm?

[prestonpalmer]

this is a good and expensive addiction.  I only buy L's  and when they release an update to an L I already have, I upgrade!

[CR Backup Admin]

Yes, I love fine tools, and do, in fact get some images with lenses like the 135mm L and 35mm L that I could not get with consumer grade lenses. 

However, I would definitely do fine without them, I'd just have to work harder to be creative.  I've seen lots of work done with the non-L lenses that is excellent, but I still love the "L" lenses.

[K3nt]

I saw a discussion article on a photography website that was asking "How many lenses do you need?" I thought about it for a minute and settled on "All of them?"

I seem to agree with this... 

[K3nt]

It would seem from the replies that medical science has no remedy for this odd and very specific disease so I will just have to give in and try to survive.  I like the red rubber-band idea that was suggested, I might try that until I save up for the next L-addition. 

Oh, and the bird thing... I've heard once you go down that route nothing is ever quite enough. (I was wondering whether the 1200mm with a 2x Extender III and a crop body (7D) might be enough, but I came to the conclusion that probably not.  )

EDIT 2: the extender probably won't even work with that lens..

[kirillica]

I sold a perfectly good 100mm Macro to buy the 100mm L (partly because I got a great deal) but it was a dissapointment, it's not really any better optically and the H-IS doesn't make enough of a difference to justify the price.

My advice to anyone wanting a lens for macro would be to buy the cheaper 100mm and a macro flash, that will give better images than even the very best macro without a flash. (Cue dissent!)

There are a few niggles with the 100mm L too, they don't get mentioned much in all the adulation - it's not a perfect lens, far from it.

The lens hood is ridiculously large so much so that it's unusable for macro photography, if it doesn't scare away your subject it will block out so much light that you won't be able to focus accurately!

The body is plastic so are the lens filter threads it's easy to strip them!

The lens is larger than other macro lenses so the macro flashes won't fit and you have to buy an adaptor like a step down ring - simple enough buy Canon will relieve you of £45 (£45 for a step down ring !!!!!) just so you can attach it.  It fits the old one directly.

The H-IS is good for about 1 stop at 1:1 magnification I suppose every little helps, but it's just not enough to make a significant difference.

This isn't a cheap lens, it costs nearly 75% more than the non L version, and although it's a great performer, the old one was too, to be honest it's difficult to tell which images were taken with which lens.

Internal focussing makes both of these lenses very quick, especially when compared to third party offerings, but be aware that as they focus the focal length drops so the lenses are actually 67mm at macro magnification.

Well this all is a question of taste. As I shot in studio mainly, I have both: 70-200 L F4 and 100 L Macro. As studio size is 100m2, I have no problem with focal length, so 70-200 is "full of dust", because I really love my 100 L Macro

[skitron]

Regarding 100 macro vs 100 L macro, I've seen a number of reports that autofocus of the non-L when using as a short tele is not very good. That plus the IS made the L worth the extra bucks for me. It does stink however that 3rd party macro flashes apparently don't readily fit the L...still investigating options for that...