Canon already has a nice 100mm macro lens in the EF 100mm f/2.8 macro, so it came as a bit of surprise when Canon launched a new macro lens with the same focal length and aperture. The new Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS Macro is expected to sell alongside with the original macro lens, albeit with a significantly higher price tag. What’s with this new lens that justifies a price premium over the existing lens?
Canon is positioning this lens as a premium professional quality lens with the L designation, so one should expect superior performance over the already excellent non-L macro lens. In addition, the crowning glory is the integration of a new Hybrid Image Stabilization technology into the new lens, which Canon claims will improve the percentage of sharp images when hand-held. Unlike conventional IS in other lenses, the Hybrid IS compensates for angular and linear shifts when one is shooting in macro, so it is supposedly more effective than the usual IS technology when shooting close-ups.
So is it really worth the extra money? Read on!
