squirrel$$$bandit
Veteran
I spent a couple of days shooting with the Canon 100mm f/2 that I got the other day, and thought I'd post a little report.
There it is on my Franken7--it is, as you can see, quite large, but it isn't as large or as heavy as I'd feared. I was actually quite comfortable using a wrist strap, but I like heavyish cameras. It's a nicely made lens, good damping, good detents, etc. It is less flare-prone than you might expect (I dont' have a hood). One ergonomic quirk is that the whole front of the lens moves when you focus, so that 1) the aperture setting is never where you think it's going to be, and 2) you have to use both hands to change aperture, one to hold the focus ring steady and the other to move the aperture ring, otherwise the lens will just turn. Rather old-fashioned for a lens of this vintage.
Focusing is a challenge wide open, and I got a lot of blurry shots. I think it will fare better on the M2, but haven't tried it yet. However, I love the way the lens renders, and the bokeh seems outstanding to me. Interestingly, nobody who saw I was holding a camera asked me about it or even looked twice--the black 7 and big black lens pretty much look like an SLR with kit lens, if you're not paying attention!
Here are a bunch of shots taken yesterday at the local botanical garden, the Cornell Plantations. I'm not a big nature photographer, but I have to admit, walking in the woods, calmly looking for interesting images, and taking my time to set up the shots, was extremely relaxing. Not great stuff but a nice day, to be sure. Shot on Delta 100 in Rodinal 1:50.

There it is on my Franken7--it is, as you can see, quite large, but it isn't as large or as heavy as I'd feared. I was actually quite comfortable using a wrist strap, but I like heavyish cameras. It's a nicely made lens, good damping, good detents, etc. It is less flare-prone than you might expect (I dont' have a hood). One ergonomic quirk is that the whole front of the lens moves when you focus, so that 1) the aperture setting is never where you think it's going to be, and 2) you have to use both hands to change aperture, one to hold the focus ring steady and the other to move the aperture ring, otherwise the lens will just turn. Rather old-fashioned for a lens of this vintage.
Focusing is a challenge wide open, and I got a lot of blurry shots. I think it will fare better on the M2, but haven't tried it yet. However, I love the way the lens renders, and the bokeh seems outstanding to me. Interestingly, nobody who saw I was holding a camera asked me about it or even looked twice--the black 7 and big black lens pretty much look like an SLR with kit lens, if you're not paying attention!
Here are a bunch of shots taken yesterday at the local botanical garden, the Cornell Plantations. I'm not a big nature photographer, but I have to admit, walking in the woods, calmly looking for interesting images, and taking my time to set up the shots, was extremely relaxing. Not great stuff but a nice day, to be sure. Shot on Delta 100 in Rodinal 1:50.



