I have owned the non-L USM version for quite a while...it's a pretty good macro lens, and is available relatively affordably on the used market. It is not a speed demon in terms of focusing, but it's a solid performer. My feeling about the non-L model is that its weakest characteristic is the sharp-sided bokeh rendering on out of focus points of light, on raindrops, and in foliage backgrounds; it produced very sharp-sided, and I think very ugly, geometric renderings on points of out of focus highlight matter...which can actually be pretty large expanses in many macro and close-up situations in the natural world (meaning outdoors).
I think the Tamron 90mm AF macro models have prettier out-of-focus rendering characteristics than the non-L Canon USM (I am referring to the second model of this lens...there was an older, NON-internal focusing 100/2.8 EF macro) EF Macro. Of course, not every scene will have OOF background highlights...but many times in the spring and summer, there WILL be backgrounds that have OOF points of light from a wide variety of subjects--water, foliage, the ocean, rain or dew drops, whatever...just something to keep in mind. I'm not familiar with the rendering characteristics of the new L-macro from Canon.
Message edited by author 2015-03-17 08:44:41.
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