Home  Donate  New  Search  Gallery  Reviews  How-To  Books  Links  Workshops  About  Contact

Canon 180mm f/3.5 L
EF Macro
(1996-)
Optical & Mechanical Perfection:
Canon's Sharpest Lens.

© 2015~2023 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

Sample Images   Intro   Specs   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

Canon 180mm f/3.5

Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 L Macro (Full-frame, 1.3x and and APS-C coverage, 72mm metal filter thread, 37.3 oz./1,057g lens only, 41.4 oz./1,173g with collar, 1:1 1.5'/0.48m close focus, about $600 (typ. $450 ~ $700) used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay. They also can be found at Amazon). enlarge.

 

This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. It helps me keep adding to this free website when you get anything through these links — but I receive nothing for my efforts if you take the chance of buying elsewhere. Never buy at retail, since Canon doesn't seal its boxes so you can't tell if it's a used, returned or damaged lens or missing accessories. Thanks for your support! Ken.

 

February 2022     Canon Lenses   Canon Reviews   All Reviews

Why fixed lenses take better pictures

Best Macro Lenses: an overview of what focal lengths and why.

How to Shoot Macro

Canon Extender EF 1.4x II

Canon Extender EF 2x II

 

Sample Images    (many more in the review)    top

Sample Images   Intro   Specs   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

Flower, RP, December 2014

Flower, December 2014. Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 L, f/3.5 (wide open) at 1/500 at ISO 100, no lens profile used, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2.) bigger.

 

Flower, RP, December 2014

Flower, December 2014. Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 L, f/16 at 1/25 at ISO 100, no lens profile used, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2.) bigger.

Please help KenRockwell..com

Introduction       top

Sample Images   Intro   Specs   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

Adorama pays top dollar for your used gear.

Amazon

B&H Photo - Video - Pro Audio

This EF 180mm f/3.5 L macro is Canon's sharpest lens. While all Canon lenses are sharp, if you like to split pixels and try to force lenses into situations where you can see slight differences in sharpness, no other Canon lens is as sharp as this one.

Based on my own testing as well as Canon's MTF curves, it's sharper than every Canon ultrawide, sharper than every Canon normal and sharper than every Canon zoom lens of any range.

It's sharper than every other Canon Macro lens.

It's sharper than every other black Canon lens.

It's sharper than every Canon lens less than 300mm.

It's sharper than the 300/4 L IS and 400/5.6 L.

This lens is ultra sharp at every distance, even wide-open.

The only Canon lenses as sharp or marginally better are some of Canon's five-digit price tag ultra-telephoto fixed lenses like the 300/2.8 L IS II, 400/2.8L IS II, 400/4 DO IS II, 500/4 L IS II, 600/4 L IS II and 800/5.6L IS.

If you can't get a sharp photo with this lens, you're doing something wrong. It needs to be held still; mirror lockup will help when shot at speeds between 1/4 to 1/30. Its long focal length will show clearly any atmospheric heat shimmer typically when shooting at distances longer than about 50 feet (15 meters) outdoors.

Better than optical perfection (almost all lenses are imperfect and more than good enough to make great photos), this lens is an all-metal mechanical masterpiece. The only plastic is the dinky bayonet hood.

Just move the focus ring at any time for instant manual-focus override.

 

Format

This is a full-frame lens, so it works on all formats.

Full frame lenses are at their best on full-frame, which is how I will be reviewing it.

You can make the usual inferences when used on smaller sensors.

Compatibility

This EF 180mm f/3.5 L works flawlessly on every digital and 35mm Canon EOS camera. For use on mirrorless, use an EF to RF adapter and it's perfect, even working great for focus stacking on the R8!

This lens is optimized for 35mm EOS and Full-frame digital, and of course works on old 1.3x and current 1.6x Canon cameras.

This works perfectly with every Canon EOS camera ever made, meaning every Canon DSLR, mirrorless and every Canon autofocus film camera made since 1987.

This means of course it works great on today's 5D Mark III, 6D and Canon 7D, but I tried and autofocus works great on my original Canon EOS 650 from 1987!

 

Canon 180mm f/3.5

Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 L. enlarge.

 

Specifications         top

Sample Images   Intro   Specs   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

 

Name

Canon calls this the CANON LENS EF 180mm f/3.5 L ULTRASONIC.

EF means "electronic focus;" there is an autofocus motor inside the lens.

L means as expensive as L.

ULTRASONIC means that the focus motor operates reasonably silently.

 

Optics       top

Canon 180mm f/3.5 internal construction

Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L internal diagram. UD Glass.

The front element is concave; it curves in from the front!

14 elements in 12 groups.

Three elements are of UD glass, designed to increase sharpness and eliminate secondary color fringes.

Multicoated.

Internal 18 focussing.

 

Focal Length

180mm.

When used on an APS-C camera, it sees an angle of view similar to what a 300mm lens sees when used on an FX or 35mm camera.

 

Angle of View, full frame

13.5º diagonal.

7.6º vertical.

11.5º horizontal.

 

Diaphragm       top

Canon 180mm f/3.5

Canon 180mm f/3.5L at f/3.5. (EF diaphragm not visible).

8 straight blades.

Stops down to f/32.

Aperture range is always f/3.5 to f/32 as indicated on your camera, even though the effective aperture gets smaller as focussed closer.

 

Close Focus       top

1.5 feet (0.48m) from the image plane.

 

Working Distance       top

1.12 feet (13.5" or 0.34m) between front of lens and subject at 1:1.

 

Maximum Reproduction Ratio       top

1:1 (1.0 x), lens alone.

1:1 means life-size, or that the image at the sensor is the same size as the subject.

Close-Up Lenses, Extension Tubes and Teleconverters will let you get even bigger than life sized.

 

Hard Infinity Focus Stop?        top

No.

 

Focus Scale       top

Yes.

 

Depth-of-Field Scale       top

Not really, it has two marks next to each other for f/32.

 

Infra-Red Focus Index       top

No.

 

Filters       top

72mm.

Metal threads.

 

Close-Up Lenses, Tubes and Converters       top

See the Close-Up Lenses, Extension Tubes and Teleconverters sections in the Performance section.

 

Size       top

Canon specifies 3.2" (82.5 mm) diameter by 7.3" (186.6 mm) extension from flange.

 

Weight       top

41.360 oz. (1,172.6g), lens with collar as shown.

37.285 oz. (1,057.0g), lens alone without collar.

4.075 oz. (115.6g), Tripod Mount Ring B (B) only.

Canon specifies 38.4 oz. (1,090g).

 

Hood       top

Dinky plastic ET-78 II bayonet hood included. It's $40 for a replacement.

It's the same hood as included with the EF 135mm f/2 L.

 

Canon 180mm f/3.5

Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 L with hood attached. enlarge.

 

Caps       top

New 72mm Canon pinch-type front cap II and standard EOS rear cap, included

 

Tripod Collar       top

Tripod Mount Ring B (B) is included.

If lost, it's $140 to replace it.

It also fits the 100mm Macro USM, and a white version, the Tripod Mount Ring B (W), comes with the 300mm f/4 L IS.

 

Case       top

Canon includes a zippered and velcro closing padded nylon LZ1324 case.

It also fits the 100-400mm, 35-350mm f/3.5-5.6L USM, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM and 70-200mm f/2.8L USM.

 

Canon LZ1324 case

Included LZ1324 case.

 

Canon case

Zipper and Velcro closure of LZ1324 case (100-400mm shares same case as shown). bigger.

This is a very useful sturdy padded case. You can use the double-handled zipper for solid closing, and once open, there's velcro on the top for shot-to-shot open and closing. Bravo!

 

Canon LZ1324 case

Back of LZ1324 case.

 

Canon LZ1324 case

Bottom of LZ1324 case. bigger.

 

Introduced       top

April 1996.

 

Canon Model Number       top

2539A007.

 

Included       top

Lens.

Tripod Mount Ring B (B).

Caps.

LZ1324 case.

 

Price, USA        top

2023 April

About $600 (typ. $450 ~ $700) used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

They also can be found at Amazon for around $650 used.

 

2022 February

About $800 (can range from $435 to $1,600) used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

They also can be found at Amazon.

 

2021 December

About $800 (can range from $550 to $1,700) used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

They also can be found at Amazon.

 

2015 January

$1,450 after rebate where I got mine at this link to it at Adorama; this link to it at Amazon is also a great place to get it.

Box, Canon 180mm f/3.5 L

Box, Canon 180/3.5 Macro. bigger.

 

Performance       top

Sample Images   Intro   Specs   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

Overall    Focus   Bokeh   Close-Up Lenses  Coma

Distortion    Ergonomics   Extension Tubes   Falloff

Filters  Flare & Ghosts  Focus Breathing   Color Fringes

Macro   Macro exposure   Mechanics   Sharpness

Spherochromatism   Stabilizer   Sunstars   

Teleconverters   Tripod Collar

 

Overall     performance      top

The Canon 180mm f/3.5 L is Canon's sharpest lens, is easy to focus at any distance, is superbly made of all metal, and has no distortion.

The 180/3.5 is optical and mechanical perfection for use as a telephoto, portrait, nature and landscape lens, as well as being Canon's best macro lens ever.

 

Focus     performance      top

Autofocus

Autofocus is fast enough for normal use.

Autofocus isn't very good; because of the huge range of focus distances covered by this lens, if you're not already in about the same range of focus, your camera may simply give up and not autofocus until you manually move the lens into the correct region. Use the Focus Limiter and this ought not be a problem, but overall this lens' autofocus is among Canon's worst. That's OK, because we focus manually in macro anyway.

It is extremely difficult for any lens to get autofocus to work well over such a huge range, and if you get the lens to the correct range manually, all is fine. If you don't want this inconvenience, then use a different lens for general use.

 

Autofocus Accuracy

Autofocus is always dead-on.

 

Auto/Manual Switching

Just grab the ring anytime for instant manual-focus override.

 

Manual Focus

Macro shots are usually made with manual focus.

It takes 210º to turn from ∞ to the closest distance.

Sadly, I find that manual focus is geared more for speed than precision, and therefore it is more difficult to set the correct focus manually because I need to be so careful with small movements of the manual focus ring.

The manual focus ring is fine, but considering what a critical control it is for a macro lens, it should be much bigger since it's so important.

 

Focus Breathing

The image gets larger as focused more closely.

 

Focus Distace Data

The focussed distance reads in meters in Photoshop CS6's Lens Distortion tool.

 

Bokeh     performance      top

Bokeh, the quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to the degree of defocus, is swell.

Backgrounds get very soft and never distract. This, and better facial rendering than shorter lenses shot more closely, are why 180mm lenses are great choices for portrait lenses.

Here's a full-frame sample. Click for the camera-original JPG:

Canon 180mm f/3.5 bokeh at f/3.5

At f/3.5. Camera-original © file.

 

Close-Up Lenses     performance      top

Canon makes a very high quality dual-element close-up lens, the 72mm Canon 500D, which screws on the front.

It lets you get magnifications from 0.36x to 1.48x.

It lets you do this with no loss of light as you get with Extension Tubes or Teleconverters.

Canon suggests not using autofocus with the close-up lens.

 

Coma     performance      top

There is no coma.

It's sharp right out to the corners, even at f/3.5.

 

Distortion     performance      top

There is no measurable distortion at all normal distances, and only the slightest invisible pincushion distortion at macro distances.

For more critical use in the macro range, use these values in Photoshop's Lens Distortion tool to remove it:

 
FX and 35mm
100' (30m)
0.0
30' (10m)
0.0
10' (3m)
0.0
1:10 (2m/6.6')
-0.25
1:5 (1.2m/3.99')
-0.3
1:2 (0.66m/2.15')
-0.5
1:1 (0.48m/1.56')
-0.4

© 2015 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

 

Ergonomics     performance      top

Canon 180mm f/5.6

Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 L ULTRASONIC.

Ergonomics are great for normal use. Focus and everything is great.

Manual focus moves with just a fingertip.

For macro use, I find manual focus a little bit too fast, making it more difficult to set precise focus than I would prefer.

 

Extension Tubes     performance      top

 

Canon suggests not using autofocus with extension tubes.

 

Canon EF-12 (12mm long)

You can use the Canon EF-12 or Canon EF12 II, however all it does is shift your focus range to 0.477 ~ 2.930 meters, with a magnification range from 1.09x ~ 0.07x.

In other words, the EF12 is a waste of time unless you really need to get just 10% closer than you can without the tube.

 

Canon EF-25 (25mm long)

The Canon EF-25 or Canon EF25 II doesn't do much more.

It lets you focus from 0.48~1.501 meters, with magnifications of 1.21x ~ 0.15x.

Again, I'd skip this tube unless you need just a little help getting just a bit bigger than life size.

 

Falloff (darkened corners)     performance      top

Falloff is invisible. It's invisible wide-open, and gone by f/5.6, even without a lens correction profile and regardless of focus distance or reproduction ratio.

I've greatly exaggerated this by presenting it against a gray background. In actual photography, it's completely invisible.

 

Canon 180mm f/3.5 falloff on full-frame, no correction.

Repro Ratio
f/3.5
f/4
f/5.6
Infinity
1:5
1:2
1:1

© 2015 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

 

 

Filters, Use with     performance      top

There's no problem with vignetting, even using a stack of ordinary 72mm filters.

 

Flare and Ghosts     performance      top

I shot it straight into the sun as seen under Sunstars, and had no problems.

 

Focus Breathing     performance      top

Focus breathing (the image changing size as focused) is mostly of interest to cinematographers who don't want the image changing size ("breathing") as the lens is focused among different subjects.

The image from the 180 macro gets much larger as focussed more closely.

 

Lateral Color Fringes     performance      top

There are no lateral color fringes, even without a lens profile on full frame.

This is superb, and as expected for such a lens.

 

Macro     performance      top

There is little depth of field at macro distances with all macro lenses.

If we photograph flat things, we can get amazingly sharp results even wide-open:

Canon 180mm f/5.6 macro performance

Damp fabric at a few feet wide-open at f/3.5 at 1/500 hand-held at ISO 100 on full-frame 5D Mark III, 22 December 2014. Full resolution 5D Mark III file.

 

Canon 180mm f/5.6 macro performance

Window shade at a few feet wide-open at f/3.5 at 1/1,000 hand-held at ISO 100 on full-frame, shot through window glass, 22 December 2014. Full resolution 5D Mark III file.

 

Product shots

Top, Nikon FG

Top, Nikon FG and 50mm f/1.8 AI-s pancake. Shot with Canon 5D Mark III, f/29 at 1/200 at ISO 200 with studio strobes. bigger or camera-original © Canon 5D Mark III file.

 

Macro at 1:1

There is zero depth of field at 1:1 with all macro lenses. Therefore only the face of this watch is in focus. The hands are out of focus, the hour markers and tachymeter scales are out of focus, and the numbers in the date window are out of focus, all because they rise up from or descend down from the face of the watch.

Canon 180mm f/5.6 macro performance

Casio Oceanus at close-focus distance at f/8 on full-frame. Full resolution 5D Mark III file.

 

Canon 180mm f/5.6 macro performance

Crop from above at 100%. If this is about 6" (15cm) on your screen, printing the complete image at this same high magnification would result in a 40 x 60" (100 x 150 cm) print! Full resolution 5D Mark III file.

What looks like noise is the precise surface texture of the watch.

If you look at the full resolution file, what seems like fuzziness and color fringes on the sides is actually the optical limitations of the watch's crystal so clearly captured by this lens.

Shot wide-open at f/3.5 at 1:1 it has some slight spherochromatism ("color bokeh"), and this goes away by f/5.6.

In fact, this lens is essentially diffraction limited by f/5.6, which is its sharpest aperture at 1:1.

 

Macro exposure compensation     performance      top

All lenses change their effective f/number as focussed more closely. It's only noticeable when we focus lenses to macro distances.

This is this lens' weakest point. This lens does not compensate automatically for the the normal exposure loss that almost all macro lenses exhibit as focussed more closely.

This makes no significant difference at normal distances, but at macro distances can make lenses a stop or two slower than they are at infinity. Look through the finder, and you'll see the image get darker as focused much closer. This is normal.

This is no problem for shooting in any automatic mode as most people do at normal distances, but will result in different exposures as you change distance once you set a fixed exposure manually as pros often do in macro or studio settings.

I shoot most of my macro in a studio with studio strobes at fixed power in manual exposure. With this lens, I have to change my aperture setting slightly as I change distance to keep my exposure constant.

This is why I prefer to shoot the Nikon in my studio, since Nikon cameras and lenses compensate for this automatically — even in manual exposure. If I set f/22 on this Canon lens and focus more closely, it can be a stop or more underexposed, while with Nikon cameras and lenses, they compensate and give the same exposure.

Don't let me scare you away from this lens since most of you always shoot in automatic — or with TTL flash, but if used with everything set manually and you need to change distances significantly, you will have to change your aperture setting to get the same effective exposure at each distance.

Repro Ratio
Stops lost
Effective maximum f/stop
0
f/3.5
1:10
0.12
f/3.8
1:5
0.35
f/4
1:3
0.6
f/4.3
1:2
0.85
f/4.7
1:1.5
1.0
f/5
1:1.2
1.25
f/5.4
1:1
1.46
f/5.8

You can ignore this with auto and manual TTL exposure, but it must be heeded when used with manual studio strobes or external exposure meters.

See more on page 8 of Canon's manual.

 

Mechanics     performance      top

Canon 180mm f/5.6

Rear, Canon 180mm f/3.5 L, showing UB0914 date code. enlarge.

The Canon 180mm f/3.5 L is an all-metal jewel.

 

Hood

Plastic bayonet.

 

Hood Mount

Metal.

 

Filter Threads

Metal.

 

Identity

Printed on plastic ring on outside front of lens.

 

Forebarrel

Metal.

 

Focus Ring

Rubber covered metal.

 

Internals

Looks like all metal.

 

Mid Barrel

Metal.

 

Tripod Collar

Metal.

 

Rear Barrel

Metal.

 

Mount

Metal.

 

Markings

Painted.

 

Serial Number

Engraved into bottom rear of barrel near the mount, and filled with white paint.

 

Date Code

Printed on rear light baffle as shown above.

Mine has date code UB0914, meaning my sample was made in Canon's Utsunomiya plant in September 2013.

 

Rear Gasket (moisture seal at mount)

No.

 

Noises When Shaken

Mild clunking.

 

Quality

Made in Japan.

 

Sharpness     performance      top

Image sharpness depends more on you than your lens, and lens sharpness doesn't mean much to good photographers. It's the least skilled hobbyists who waste the most time blaming fuzzy pictures on their lenses, while real shooters know that few photos ever use all the sharpness of which their lenses are capable due to subject motion and the fact that real subjects are rarely perfectly flat.

I've covered this above: the 180mm f/3.5 is Canon's sharpest lens, essentially diffraction limited even wide-open.

If you can't get an ultrasharp image from this lens, you're doing something wrong. It could be haze or heat shimmer in warm weather, or subject or camera motion, or the simple fact that there is no depth of field at f/3.5 at 180mm and that your subject is three dimensional. See also Fixing unsharp images.

Here's Canon's MTF curve, which shows engineers just how nearly perfect it is:

Canon EF 180mm f/5.6 L MTF Curve

Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 L MTF Curve.

 

Spherochromatism     performance      top

Spherochromatism, sometimes called "color bokeh" by laymen, is a minor aberration which can add slight color fringes to out-of focus highlights.

There is no spherochromatism at normal distances.

There is slight spherochromatism at 1:1, which goes away by f/5.6.

 

Image Stabilization       performance       top

While the EF 180 L macro has no Optical Image Stabilization (OIS, IS or VR (Vibration Reduction)), it works with stabilized cameras like the stabilized EOS R5 and works spectacularyt well on the EOS R3, letting me hand-hold second-long exposures!

"Percent Perfectly Sharp Shots" are the percentage of frames with 100% perfect tripod-equivalent sharpness I get when I'm shooting hand-held while free-standing with no support or bracing. Hand tremor is a random occurrence, so at marginal speeds some frames will be perfectly sharp while others will be in various stages of blur — all at the same shutter speed. This rates what percentage of shots are perfectly sharp, not how sharp are all the frames:

 

On the stabilized EOS R5

% Perfectly Sharp Shots
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/15
1/30
1/60
1/125
1/250
1/500
Stabilization ON
0
0
0
0
0
33
83
100
100
Stabilization OFF
0
0
0
0
17
0
50
83
100

I see a one-stop real-world improvement.

Even though I only see one stop of real-wold improvement, it makes a huge improvement in the percentage of perfect shots I get at 1/60 and 1/125, so it's a very welcome improvement.

 

On the stabilized EOS R3

% Perfectly Sharp Shots
1
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/15
1/30
1/60
1/125
1/250
Stabilization ON
5
0
33
17
83
100
100
100
100
Stabilization OFF
0
0
0
0
0
0
17
33
100

I see about a five-stop real-world improvement.

The numbers above are for perfect sharpness as I see at 300% on my monitor. At normal sizes it looks much sharper; here's an imperfect sample shot hand-held for one second, and it looks fine:

Canon EOS R3 Sample Image File

One-Second exposure Hand-Held at 300mm Equivalent: Some of Rockwell's Bookshelves, 12:09 PM, Tuesday, 01 February 2022. Canon EOS R3 shot in JPG quality 4, Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM (300mm equivalent as shot here with 1.6x crop) on EF to RF adapter at f/7.1 hand-held for one second at Auto ISO 100 (LV 5.6). bigger or camera-original © JPG file (2 MB).

 

Sunstars     performance      top

With its straight 8-bladed diaphragm, this Canon 180mm f/3.5 makes 8-pointed sunstars on brilliant points of light.

Canon 180mm f/3.5 Macro sunstars at f/11

Canon 180mm f/3.5 L Macro sunstars at f/11. bigger.

 

Canon 180mm f/3.5 Macro sunstars at f/32

Canon 180mm f/3.5 L Macro sunstars at f/32.

 

Teleconverters     performance      top

Canon EF Extender 1.4x II

It works with the Canon EF Extender 1.4x II, making it a 252mm f/5.

More importantly, the 1.4x converter lets you get to 1.4x life size. You can fill a full-frame sensor with a subject just 17 x 26 millimeters.

Only the more central autofocus zones work on DSLRs like the 5D Mark III. They won't all display; it's as if you have fewer autofocus areas covering only a smaller region towards the center.

Autofocus doesn't work very well with the 1.4x converter. Autofocus wins no prizes without the converter either, and with the converter, often gets stuck or confused.

Once you get focus, it is extremely sharp.

 

Canon EF Extender 2x II

The Canon EF Extender 2x II makes this a 360mm f/7.1.

More importantly, the 2x converter lets you get to twice life size. You can fill a full-frame sensor with a subject just 12 x 18 millimeters!

There is no autofocus on a 5D Mark III or other modern DSLRs. All the autofocus zones blink as you press the shutter halfway, but they don't do anything.

Focus manually, which is what we do when shooting macro anyway, and it works fine, even if the finder is dark and we have no focus aids other than the ground glass.

 

Tripod Collar    performance      top

The tripod collar won't win any prizes.

It isn't very smooth.

It has some play (slop) when not locked.

It does not have 90º clicks.

You have to take the lens off the camera and then slip it off the back of the lens to remove it, and when you do, there are a few metal nubs left on the lens that are not comfortable to grip.

 

Compared         top

Sample Images   Intro   Specs   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

See also Best Macro Lenses for an overview of all available macro lenses.

This is Canon's best macro lens ever. Most importantly its longer focal length allows us to stand back for better perspective and more room so we don't block our lighting.

 

Versus the Canon 100mm /2.8 L IS

The 100mm f/2.8 L IS is mostly plastic. Image Stabilization serves no purpose for serious macro shooting with strobes or flash.

100mm is too short to get the best perspective rendering. You have to get too close to get close, and not only is the perspective inferior to a 180mm lens, you block too much of your light.

The 100 L is for wimps; who wants to pay top dollar for a plastic lens? Serious macro is shot with flash or studio strobes, so Image Stabilization serves no purpose.

 

Versus the Canon 100mm /2.8 USM

The 100mm f/2.8 USM is also plastic and too short for serious use.

However at half or one-third the price of the other lenses, it's an excellent choice on a budget. Real macro shooting doesn't need IS.

 

Versus the Nikon 200mm f/4 AF-D

The Nikon 200/4 AF-D Macro is much better.

Both the Canon 180 and the Nikon 200 are all metal and optically fantastic.

The Nikon has better manual focus. It has a bigger focus ring, and focus is more precise for macro use. This Canon's manual focus moves too quickly for careful adjustment.

Critical for me in a studio environment with manual studio strobes and manual exposure is that this Canon lens does not compensate for varying exposure factors with distance, while Nikons do. As I change distance from my tabletop setup I have to change the aperture on this Canon lens, but not with my Nikon cameras and lenses.

Some people are confused because the indicated aperture range changes with the distance with the Nikon lens, while it's always f/3.5-32 on this Canon. The problem is that the Canon is designed so no one returns it as defective as happens with Nikon macros when people want to know why it won't go larger than f/4.7 at close distances, while with this Canon and manual exposures, you get darker pictures more closely if you don't change the apertures manually as you change distance.

When used on any autofocus Nikon, the Nikon 200 automatically compensates and keeps its effective aperture constant as you get closer, while the Canon does not.

The Nikon's tripod collar does not come off, while Canon's does.

The Nikon 200 Micro has a solid metal hood which is so sturdy I hold it as if it's part of the lens, while Canon's hood is crappy plastic.

 

Usage       top

Sample Images   Intro   Specs   Performance   

Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

 

Canon 180mm f/5.6

Canon 180/3.5L. bigger.

 

Canon 180mm f/5.6

Controls, Canon 180mm f/3.5 L.

AF — MF

Use AF for normal shots.

In AF, it autofocuses, and you can grab the focus ring at any time for instant manual focus override.

M is manual focus only and locks-out autofocus. Use M when shooting macro, for which manual focus works better when photographing 3-D subjects. In manual, just look at the ground glass and focus snaps-in much faster than diddling around with moving AF points around.

 

Focus Range Limiter

Use the 1.5m-∞ range for normal shots. It prevents the AF system from getting lost looking very close.

Use the 0.48m-∞ range when shooting macro.

 

Close-Up Lenses, Tubes and Converters

These let us get even closer.

See also the Close-Up Lenses, Extension Tubes and Teleconverters sections in the Performance section.

 

Canon's User Manual.

 

Recommendations       top

Sample Images   Intro   Specs   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

This is THE lens for shooting macro with Canon. When you need to get close, you need a lens this long so you can stand back far enough from your subject to render it in natural perspective, and not block your light.

As Canon's sharpest lens, if you're a tripod-using nature and landscape shooter, this is your lens. It's not good for random handheld use in available light since it has no image stabilization. It is extraordinary when held still for all other uses.

If you need to get even closer than life-sized, consider Canon's special near-microscopic lens, the Canon MP-E 1~5x Macro.

I got my 180mm at this link to it at Adorama; this link to it at Amazon is also a great place to get it.

If you've found the months I've spent researching and sharing all this, please know that this all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. It helps me keep adding to this free website when you get anything through these links — but I receive nothing for my efforts if you take the chance of buying elsewhere. Never buy at retail, since Canon doesn't seal its boxes so you can't tell if it's a used, returned or damaged lens.

Thanks for your support!

Ken.

 

More Information         top

Sample Images   Intro   Specs   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

 

Canon 180/3.5 Macro instruction manual.

Canon USA's page on the 180mm f/3.5.

Canon Camera Museum's page.

 

Help me help you         top

I support my growing family through this website, as crazy as it might seem.

The biggest help is when you use any of these links when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. It costs you nothing, and is this site's, and thus my family's, biggest source of support. These places have the best prices and service, which is why I've used them since before this website existed. I recommend them all personally.

If you find this page as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone.

If you've gotten your gear through one of my links or helped otherwise, you're family. It's great people like you who allow me to keep adding to this site full-time. Thanks!

If you haven't helped yet, please do, and consider helping me with a gift of $5.00.

As this page is copyrighted and formally registered, it is unlawful to make copies, especially in the form of printouts for personal use. If you wish to make a printout for personal use, you are granted one-time permission only if you PayPal me $5.00 per printout or part thereof. Thank you!

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Ken Rockwell.

 

Home  Donate  New  Search  Gallery  Reviews  How-To  Books  Links  Workshops  About  Contact

 

 

 

12 Apr 2023, 01 February 2022, 20 December 2021, 11 February 2019, January 2015, 21 December 2014