Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens review

The Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM was hailed as the world's first medium telephoto macro lens upon its release, and it arrived with serious intent. Designed for close-up specialists, product photography and even portrait work, this lens blends precision with creativity.

With its 1.4:1 magnification ratio, image stabilization and a unique Spherical Aberration control ring to adjust the bokeh, it offers more than just standard macro capabilities and stands out against many of the very best macro lenses. As part of Canon's L-series, it also promises pro-level build quality and optical performance.

Whether you're shooting tiny insects, intricate textures or stylized portraits, this lens is designed to deliver pin-sharp results and smooth, dreamy backgrounds. It comes at a premium price tag, but we think it's worth every cent and is an essential for every macro Canon shooter.

Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM review

Design & build

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• Well-built and solid
• Weather-sealed
• Although it's large, we didn't find it too heavy

The Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM has a clean, modern design that fits right in with their premium L-series lineup. It’s solidly built, and although it weighs 25.8 oz (730 g), we didn’t find it overly heavy to shoot with, and found that it feels well-balanced on most full-frame Canon mirrorless bodies. The matte black finish, red ring and smooth contours give it that classic Canon pro look. (However, we did notice its proneness to fingermarks.)

The lens doesn’t extend when focusing, which is great for macro work. Plus, it’s weather-sealed, so you won’t have to worry about any rain or dust getting in. It features a Spherical Control (SA) ring, which we’ll get to later, as well as the usual suspects: an image stabilization on/off switch, an AF/MF switch and a focus limit switch. Design-wise, we have no complaints — it’s cleverly designed with enough switches and rings to make it feel special without going over the top.

Image quality

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• Outstanding image quality
• Bright, true-to-life color rendering
• Basically no optical defects

The image quality of the Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM is nothing short of astounding. It delivers stunning resolution, even wide open at f/2.8, where the images are crisp from edge to edge. It handles fine details superbly for macro photography, where every texture and surface matters — this lens captures everything with clinical precision.

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We shot a whole range of different macro subjects with this lens, from insects to flowers and plant details, berries and close-up views of a variety of crystals to get as much detail and color variation as possible on real-life subjects.

Chromatic aberration is well controlled, with basically no color fringing even in high contrast images. In addition, there's hardly any vignetting or distortion, which is incredible for a macro lens — we hardly had to make any corrections in post.

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The color rendering is true to life and well-balanced, with good contrast straight out of the camera. Thanks to the nine-blade aperture and f/2.8 maximum aperture, the bokeh is smooth and not too distracting.

The 100mm focal length and f/2.8 aperture are also a recipe for beautiful portraits, especially with the spherical aberration control (more on that below) to adjust the bokeh. We didn’t have enough time with this lens to shoot portraits, but given the overall quality of the shots we did get, we can confidently say that this lens will excel in almost any given style you’d want to use it for.

Functionality

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• Spherical aberration ring to control bokeh
• 1.4:1 magnification ratio trumps the competition
• Autofocus is fast and accurate

One of the more attractive features of this lens that stands out against the competition is the Spherical Aberration (SA) ring. This ring controls the intensity of the bokeh, and is a surprisingly cool feature for both macro and portrait photography. When the SA ring is set to its standard position, you'll get standard bokeh. Push it towards the minus and your background will become softer and blurrier. Push it to the other end and it becomes much harsher, giving a busier effect to your bokeh.

There's a slight amount of focus breathing when you adjust the SA ring from one side to another, so if you're set up on a tripod, then you'll need to adjust your distance between the camera and the subject. We loved experimenting with this, and we appreciated that there is a lock button if you want to keep it as standard without accidentally knocking it.

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Another standout feature is the magnification ratio. Although some macro lenses can produce 2:1 or even 5:1 ratios, most macro lenses only offer 1:1 true macro. This Canon lens, however, offers a magnification ratio of 1.4:1, meaning your subjects appear 1.4x larger on the sensor than they are in real life. Couple this with a fantastic working distance of around 3.7 inches (94 mm), and that makes for some seriously great macro shots.

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While getting that close to a subject is great, we did find ourselves having to remove the lens hood at times due to the hood causing a shadow on our subject. It also means that there's a greater chance of scaring your subject away, which did happen numerous times for us. The lens is also image-stabilized, which is helpful for composing your shot at such high magnifications.

Verdict

Overall, we loved this lens and think it's a standout for any macro photographer needing sharp, detailed close-ups with beautiful bokeh. It's ideal for dedicated macro shooters, but would be a hefty investment for beginners or anyone who shoots macro on a casual basis. That said, it doubles as a stunning portrait lens, so it does give good bang for your buck and you won't regret buying it.

As impressive as this lens is, it won't be suitable for everyone. If you shoot astro or wide-angle landscapes, the focal length will be too long. It could work for detailed moon or deep-space images with a star tracker, but there are other similar lenses with a wider aperture that would be better suited to astrophotography. You could shoot general wildlife photography with it in a pinch, but its fixed 100mm focal length is typically quite short for a wildlife lens, so you'd need to be quite close to your subject.

If the Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM isn't for you

How we tested the Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

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We tested the Canon RF 100mm F2.8L IS USM lens over the course of 10 days, shooting a variety of subjects around the house and in our garden. We used in-camera focus peaking to help nail the manual focus when shooting moving subjects at increased magnification, and we shot at multiple magnification ratios to test the whole range.

We photographed insects, flowers, plants, fine textures and crystals. While using the lens, we switched the image stabilization off and back on to evaluate the difference it made. We used the lens for periods of up to an hour at a time to test the comfort levels of its size and weight.