Canon 60mm EF-S vs. 100mm EF

I am currently looking at buying either the 60mm EF-S or the 100mm EF. I have a 350D and the stock 18-55mm lens. This is housed in an Ikelite housing.

I would think that the 100mm might be better due to the possibility of using it on full frame cameras in the future. As well, the 60mm is about $150 cheaper.

Not sure what to buy. If anyone could help, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

From what I know, the 60mm is more versatile. You can get to 1:1 (although at very small distance) and shoot fish portraits etc.

The 100mm (adding the crop factor will make that similar to a 150 / 160mm) is a specialist lens. The longer working distance also asks a bit of your strobes.

so it depends. If you are a beginner in UW photography, I would get the 60mm first (I know that wil be my next lens as well).

Gerard

Hi Mark,

I've used the 100mm USM on a 20D w/ Ike housing. The lens yields excellent results on the crop sensor cameras going >1:1 For more magnification and less working distance, apply a Woody's Diopter. At these ratios, the AF doesn't work very well though. Ike's manual focus port works really really well w/ this lens. It has a rubber ring that grips the lens focus ring, so no gear is needed. When the camera is used in Custom Function 4-3 you can use the star button to AF, and if that doesn't work, you can go to the manual focus knob seamlessly. It's awesome.

Not sure if this is option for the 60mm or not, but wanted to give my experience w/ the 100mm. When I switched to the 5D I didn't have to ditch any lenses... Everyone who has used the 60mm loves it though, so it's a tough call.

Cheers

James

I have and use both. I get far more use out of the 60 on my 20D. It allows me to shoot macro, fish portraits, and medium sized fist, turtles, etc, on the same dive. With the 100, I have to back way off to shoot anything other than macro. They both work well, but the 60 is easier to use.

I only have the 100mm but can basically agree with all that is said above. It just depends on what you plan to shoot underwater. With the 100mm you will not be able to frame anything larger that 8-12" in clear water, less in poor vis where you have to stay closer. But if you want to shoot things, in particular fish, in the 1-8" range the 100mm is a fantastic lens and the extra working distance is much appreciated, again especiallly with fish. The 60mm probably gives you about twice the field-of-view at the same distance and will still do macro if your subject allows you to get very close without disappearing. Think about what subjects appeal to you most and what other lenses you already have in your bag. The 60mm will be a lot better quality than the 18-55mm but the kit lens already focusses pretty close and covers the same focal length. I actually was quite pleased with the results of the 18-55m if you keep the aperture small.

Bart

PS you'll also be looking for an extra port for the 100mm, and probably also for the 60mm. In hind-sight I think it may have better if I had bought a bit longer port than the one recommended by Ike for the 100mm macro. That gives you some space to add a teleconverter or extension tube. Off course the price is that it reduces the "clear space" between port and object. Would be interesting to see if others go for the shortest port that fits or leave a bit of space for add-ons.

I have pretty much decided to go with the 60mm. However, as brought up, would anyone recommend buying a longer port so that an extension tube can be used? If so, what are the possible drawbacks when using the port without the extension tube? Thanks for all the help so far.

You can get somewhat more "hunting" with the autofocus at times with the longer port.

Because the 60mm already has such a close focus, an extension tube may not be the best choice. Teleconverters are better used with longer focal length lenses and they probably do not even work with an EF-S type lens. At least not the Canon TCs. So I'd go with the Ike recommended port so that as little of your short working distance is wasted by air inside the port.

Bart

So I've ended up getting the 60mm from B&H. However, I have found that it has a huge problem locking autofocus both above and below water. Did I get a bad lens or is this normal. I only have used the 18-55mm and 75-300mm lenses prior to this, so that's what I'm comparing it to. I'm debating sending it back for a replacement.

Thanks.

Hi Mark,

It is very strange that it is hard to focus with your 60. Short lenses like that (and especially USM lenses) should be easy to focus. Let's wait for some input from Canon owners, but I think there must be something wrong with yours. My 60 Nikon is not USM and focusses very well.

Luiz

sounds like a problem all right. Mine has never had that problem. Clean the contacts and try it again, then try a different lens.

sounds like a problem all right. Mine has never had that problem. Clean the contacts and try it again, then try a different lens.

Sounds to me that it may possibly be as simple as your AF settings on the camera. What is it set to.

Hit your AF button on the camera. It serve's me best on "AI focus". I have the 60 and the 100 for macro. They can both be a tad tempramental. Also in lower light you will need to use your modeling light on your strobe.

The 60 is an awesome lense and alot of fun to use. It is sharp, tack sharp. I use it as my "workhorse lense"...I love that term...I use it often. Specially in southern and northern california waters.

Anyhow Thats my take on it.

Mike Bartick

Saltwaterphoto.com

Mark,

Check your contacts on the camera and lens to make they're not dirty. A microfiber cloth is good for removing grease, etc. that can screw up communication between your camera and lens. Make sure your lens is on AF and "full range", too.

For macro shooting I've always switched to center point AF, which has more sensitive X and Y sensors. Get an AF lock, quickly recompose and pull the trigger. Also, as macros like the 60mm have a much narrower field of view you have to practice putting the AF center cross hairs on something with different contrasts to achieve a fast, reliable focus lock.

For fish I always use the eye edge or even nostril. Start a bit farther away and then "jog" the AF lifting your finger off the trigger as you creep closer to your intended subject. You can (and SHOULD!) practice this on land until it becomes second nature with a macro.

All macro lenses will miss AF and then do that frustrating move, racking all the way out and back before you can start over trying to focus

With practice you'll get more keepers......

Good luck!

dhaas

I just purchased a dSLR setup and my first lens for underwater was the 60mm EF-S macro. I put it all together in my ikelite housing, and one thing I'm a bit confused about is how tight the grip/sleeve/port are around the lens. I can't turn the zoom sleave to manually focus without the whole port twisting around. This seems dangerous to me to have the port slidding about the whole dive. Are others with the 60mm seeing this too?

[EDIT: nevermind... I realized when I switched to the 2.8-3.0 zoom sleave, I was still using the <2.8 spring grip. ]