Great buy, glad I pulled the trigger, lots of bang for the buck

Outstanding lens for the money. Not an "L" series, but it's no slouch. I'm a pretty decent enthusiast photographer and I am very impressed with the level of quality that this lens produces. I'm not independently wealthy nor do I happen to have extra dough lying around to burn. So I need to do plenty of research in order to come up with the product that is going to give me the best bang for my buck. So when I was searching for a quality macro lens, all of my searching continued to draw me back to this model. And because it is an EF rather than an EF-S, it will run on any Canon SLR (always nice for future considerations). It does not come with IS technology and can be slow to focus, but I've been working with lesser technology for so long that none of this means anything to me. I still remember having to always manually focus my Mamiya/Sekor 500 TL and that wasn't all that long ago. Got my first digital camera about 8 years ago (Sony DSC F717). Up until then I was using the 500 TL ALL THE TIME! I'm only 35 years old, but I'm an old pro. I think this lens is fantastic and for the average $550 price tag, I think it's great. Although I managed to get a steal at $380 (hood included). Used but in perfect condition. What a buy! Would recommend this to anyone. ANYONE!

Exellent lens with high quality construction and sharp picture and color.

I really find no complaints about this lens. This is my first true macro lens so it took a bit of getting used to but the picture quality and overall quality of the lens is great. The lens can hunt for focus more than a non macro version but that is normal with macro lens. If there is good contrast though I generally find the focusing quick and satisfactory. I have read many negative reviews because of the slower focusing in lower lighting situations but I feel those customers may be happier with a standard 100mm (not macro). The construction and weight of the lens feels good. Nothing cheap about it. I was fortunate in having the canon lens hood included with the purchase. Generic lens hoods are much cheaper than canon, and I have a couple myself, but the canon lens hoods have a textured non reflective surface on the inner part of the hood to eliminate stray light. Cheaper hoods don't have that feature. Even at full price this lens would be worth every penny.

This lens is a must!

I love the Canon EF 100 mm f/2.8 USM Lens for Canon. It's one of the top lens people want in their bucket list. It is an macro lens so you should know how to use macro type lens before you buy it because this lens is really good. It is more preferable than the L lens since it is cheaper, the only difference is that that one is weather proof but they both have the same quality.

If I had a second chance, I'd buy this lens again.

This lens is perfect for shots up-close, as well as portraits and just about any other type of shot you could squeeze into the frame. The focus is one of the quickest I've used, and the focus-limiters are a nice addition, even though they aren't even needed. The pictures come out very sharp and detailed.

I don't know of anyone who has this lens and doesn't love it.

First I'd like to say that I checked out many different macro lenses before purchasing this particular lens. If I didn't have someone I could borrow from, I rented a lens from LensRentals.com. That being said here's my take on the lens.

Focus: Slow & sluggish even with USM but quite
honestly all the macro lenses I tested
were similar so it's a wash. Most of the
time you'll be manually focusing.

Image quality: Scary Sharp, This lens is as sharp as any
L-series macro I tested. Used it once in the
studio as a prime portrait lens. I'll stick
with my 70-200 f/2.8L for portraits.

Build: This is a solid lens but when mated with my
5DMkIII is well balanced. I don't have the
tripod collar but don't seem to need it and
doesn't seem front heavy when on a tripod.

Summary: Unless you need more reach (like the 180mm
macro) you won't find anything to complain
about if you bought this lens. While it's
not as pretty as the 100mm f/2.8L, this lens
is not plastic and performs in a stellar
manner. You lens won't disappoint!