A new macro lens coming in the first half of 2025

[usern4cr]

I prefer photographing small objects, which may or may not be alive and skittish, from a far enough distance so that you don't scare things off. That means a longer distance which requires a long focal range. For that, I loved the build and photos on my Olympus 300 f/4 pro lens with retractable lens hood. On my R5 I use the 100-500 f/4.5-7.1L which gives a bigger sensor and zoom (and more size & weight).

In a future Canon macro lens, assuming it would be a prime lens, I'd prefer a 600mm f/8 lens with 1:1 magnification (and great IS). Besides macro use at a wonderfully comfortable distance you'd get a great birding (etc) lens.

I doubt that Canon will come out with a zoom macro lens. My hope for the lens Canon actually comes out with is the 180mm 1:1 macro lens. It's probably the longest reach I can hope that Canon actually gives us.

 

[P-visie]

I prefer photographing small objects, which may or may not be alive and skittish, from a far enough distance so that you don't scare things off. That means a longer distance which requires a long focal range. For that, I loved the build and photos on my Olympus 300 f/4 pro lens with retractable lens hood. On my R5 I use the 100-500 f/4.5-7.1L which gives a bigger sensor and zoom (and more size & weight).

In a future Canon macro lens, assuming it would be a prime lens, I'd prefer a 600mm f/8 lens with 1:1 magnification (and great IS). Besides macro use at a wonderfully comfortable distance you'd get a great birding (etc) lens.

I doubt that Canon will come out with a zoom macro lens. My hope for the lens Canon actually comes out with is the 180mm 1:1 macro lens. It's probably the longest reach I can hope that Canon actually gives us.

Canon has a patent application for a 300mm f4 macro lens with 1:1 magnification. Add a 2* TC and you get a 600mm f8 with 2:1 magnification.
If this patent application ever turns into a product.

See: https://www.canonrumors.com/canon-patent-application-telephoto-macro-lenses/

 

[usern4cr]

Canon has a patent application for a 300mm f4 macro lens with 1:1 magnification. Add a 2* TC and you get a 600mm f8 with 2:1 magnification.
If this patent application ever turns into a product.

See: https://www.canonrumors.com/canon-patent-application-telephoto-macro-lenses/

I would be VERRRRRY happy if they came out with a 300 f/4 1:1 lens! If they did, I'd use it as is and absolutely love it!

I don't really like using TC's (they do lose image quality) as I would prefer to crop if I had to while enjoying the larger field of view if needed (that's like having a 2X zoom magnification during post processing). The upside of a TC is the hope for more detail in the smaller image. If I really needed that I think I'd just buy their best R APS-C body with higher pixel density in a smaller sensor - That is, the APS-C body would be the "teleconverter" for the lens without any new optical glass in the way. But the downside of that is having to deal with a different camera & menu interface, which I'd rather not have to deal with. So, again, I'm back to being happy with it as is and cropping if needed.

I think it would be a easier for Canon to offer a 300 f/4 1:1 instead of a 600 f/8 1:1 as it would probably sell better and be a lot closer to their old 180mm 1:1 macro.

 

[P-visie]

I would be VERRRRRY happy if they came out with a 300 f/4 1:1 lens! If they did, I'd use it as is and absolutely love it!

I don't really like using TC's (they do lose image quality) as I would prefer to crop if I had to while enjoying the larger field of view if needed (that's like having a 2X zoom magnification during post processing). The upside of a TC is the hope for more detail in the smaller image. If I really needed that I think I'd just buy their best R APS-C body with higher pixel density in a smaller sensor - That is, the APS-C body would be the "teleconverter" for the lens without any new optical glass in the way. But the downside of that is having to deal with a different camera & menu interface, which I'd rather not have to deal with. So, again, I'm back to being happy with it as is and cropping if needed.

I think it would be a easier for Canon to offer a 300 f/4 1:1 instead of a 600 f/8 1:1 as it would probably sell better and be a lot closer to their old 180mm 1:1 macro.

I hope (= deferred disappointment ) for both the RF 180-200mm macro and the RF 300mm f4 macro. The 300mm macro would “replace” the EF 180mm with 1.4* extender for butterflies and dragonflies.

 

[[email protected]]

I was of that opinion as well, but ultimately I did switch and I have not found the issue to be problematic for me.

I bought the new RF version right away. Liked the increased magnification ratio and for a long time never noticed the focus breathing. Figured it was a video guy's problem, not my issue.

But then I got into a little bit of stacking, and I've been frustrated a few times. What I discovered is that sometimes I can't effectively focus stack sets of images with the RF 100, unless I throw them over to Helicon, which does a really good job of adjusting the images for breathing before it stacks. It works, but is a significant worflow increase for those images.

Just happened to me Thursday when taking picture of a hexagonal-pored polypore mushroom. Had two shots that needed to be merged to get both the underside of the fruiting body and the stem in focus. These fruiting bodies get to be about 1.5 inches wide, and it was a nice worst-case scenario, as the outline of the mushroom for the stem frame was a few millimeters off in all directions. Helicon did a fantastic job of it, but it's a silly complex workflow to have to add just to merge two pics. Learning Helicon is a multi-hour affair. I had to use it for something else (slime molds), but a normal person isn't going to do that.

 

[koenkooi]

[…]. Learning Helicon is a multi-hour affair. I had to use it for something else (slime molds), but a normal person isn't going to do that.

If we take ‘normal’ as ‘average’ or ‘top of the bell curve’, that person would likely not even own an ILC. People trying to use Helicon or Zerene are already a tiny fraction of photographers, let alone the general population

Having said that, Helicons UX is not intuitive and the fact that every situation can require a different algorithm isn’t helping it. It would be nice to have a old Topaz style split screen showing a portion of the image for all options, making it easy to pick the best one.

I’m waiting for someone to integrate all modern technologies like denoising, sharpening, blur detection and 3d reconstruction into one to create a one-click stacking app. Topaz partnering with Helicon would be a big step forward in that regard.

 

[SwissFrank]

Comparing the weight of the TS-E with the EF 180mm macro and possibly a new RF long macro is not correct:

• TS-E 90mm with a 2* extender has a 5.6 aperture (vs f3.5)
• No 1:1 magnification and
• No AF

The Tilt and shift mechanism adds significant weight and bulk, e.g. the TS-E 135 f4 L weighs 50% more and is 20% longer than the EF 135mm f2 L.

When you're shooting macro you usually stop down. Rarely is the maximum aperture size a significant factor though I'd agree it sometimes can be when shooting at lower magnifications. However, at lower magnifications, you do not need the tele-extender, so your maximum f-stop is f/2.8.

Also, you're confusing aperture and f-stop. Aperture is properly stated in millimeters, as the diameter of the entrance pupil. 2.8 is an f-stop, which is the ratio of focal length to aperture, and primarily of use when discussing exposure times.

Also, you've neglected my mention of the 250D or 500D closeup lenses. These make the lens's furthest ("infinity") focus 250mm and 500mm, and nearest focus far closer, about 25-30cm. That gives you .36x magnification. Adding a 25mm extension tube gets you up to 0.64x. Adding a tele-extender gets you up to 1.28x.

I don't think most people don't use AF for macro photography, instead setting the camera for the desired magnification, then moving the camera around until the focus is ideal.

Finally, I'm not proposing the TS-E 90/2.8 as a perfect substitute for a dedicated macro lens, so please stop complaining that it doesn't quite do this or that. I never SAID it does exactly the same things.

 

[SwissFrank]

No, not on the TS-E 90mm f2.8 (the non-L version released in 1991) to which SwissFrank was referring, this lens only has 0.29 magnification. So with the 2* TC the magnification would be 0.58.

AGAIN you are ignoring my mention of close-up lenses, 250D and 500D.

 

[SwissFrank]

I doubt that Canon will come out with a zoom macro lens. My hope for the lens Canon actually comes out with is the 180mm 1:1 macro lens. It's probably the longest reach I can hope that Canon actually gives us.

I'm quite sure that if Canon's making another long macro it will be 2x mag or more. So many non-dedicated macros are shooting up to 0.5x, and so many other manufacturers are above 1.0x.

I loved my 180/3.5, though the RF100Mac seems as good.

What I'm curious about is if Canon will release EF12 and EF25-type extension tubes. I think the close-up lens 250D and 500D are no longer official products but not sure why. It's the existence of niche tools like that, that most people don't need most of the time, that make the system of the market leader more compelling.

 

[JKT]

I'm quite sure that if Canon's making another long macro it will be 2x mag or more. So many non-dedicated macros are shooting up to 0.5x, and so many other manufacturers are above 1.0x.

The added magnification doesn't seem as important for the longer macro lenses. It is the short one where it counts.

What I'm curious about is if Canon will release EF12 and EF25-type extension tubes.

I suspect that with RF the nearest elements are so close to sensor that the added extension has much more effect on image quality than it did with EF.

 

[Loswr]

What I'm curious about is if Canon will release EF12 and EF25-type extension tubes. I think the close-up lens 250D and 500D are no longer official products but not sure why. It's the existence of niche tools like that, that most people don't need most of the time, that make the system of the market leader more compelling.

I ran across my EF12 II and EF25 II tubes last night while pulling out my macro rail. Haven’t used them in a long time, but when I do it’s not for macro (have the MP-E when I need magnification) but rather for a shorter working distance with my 600/4 II. So I’ll hang onto the tubes while I have the lens.

The close-up lenses were discontinued long ago. Like extension tubes, there are 3rd party options. The ones from NiSi are reportedly good.

 

[SwissFrank]

The added magnification doesn't seem as important for the longer macro lenses. It is the short one where it counts.

I'm sure you're right, but I think interest doesn't suddenly vanish at some point. I think it's always of interest to any macro shooter as an option at least. My fifth grader wanted to see water bears so we got the 100Mac out but 1.4x just isn't enough to get a good look, they're like 20 pixels long. 30 would be a lot better.

 

[JKT]

I'm sure you're right, but I think interest doesn't suddenly vanish at some point. I think it's always of interest to any macro shooter as an option at least. My fifth grader wanted to see water bears so we got the 100Mac out but 1.4x just isn't enough to get a good look, they're like 20 pixels long. 30 would be a lot better.

That is not a question of magnification. It is about focal length. Most of us want more of that.
On the other hand, it isn't that common you need to take 2:1 images from 1 m away.

If I put TC on the 180, I usually want more reach and won't be using it at 1:1 for the base lens. Using them with EF 100, I'm almost more likely to be after added magnification instead ... having left MP-E home.

 

[koenkooi]

Having used the EF-M28 this week, I really like the builtin lights. Making them brighter and dimmable would be a nice improvement.

Since the EF180L still works great, the things I miss is a short-ish, like 50mm, 1:1 macro lens. I have the EF50, but that is only 1:2 and sounds like a million angry hornets while focusing.
The M6II+EF-S60 works quite well in those situations, but the shutter slap makes it need much higher shutter speeds than desired.

 

[bekind2all]

I think canon should launch a probe lens with auto focus capabilities that would be awesome.. and a super macro lens like mpe-65 1-5x super macro with auto focus.. both of these lenses can have a title of first of it's kind.