USM versus non-USM lenses for coin photography...

lkenefic

Hey Everyone... I'm slowly accumulating a camera setup for coin photography. I bought a Canon T2i with the kit lens... 18-50mm... and I'm now looking at 100mm Macro lenses. The Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens was recommended, but I'm also seeing non-USM variations. Is the Ultrasonic Motor needed for coins? I can see where having super fast focussing would be good for other applications like portraiture or something where there would be motion in my subject matter but (unless something seriously goes wrong) my coins should be stationary. Does having the ability to Manual focus when the Autofocus feature is engaged ever come into play?

Again... thanks in advance!

Best, Leo

robec

If you’re only using the lens for coins USM is probably not needed. You want to manually focus the lens anyway. You do need to switch the Canon lens from auto to manual.

I’ve never used anything other than the USM 100mm Canon macro lens so I can’t say much about the non USM 100mm macro lenses, but I have used a 75mm lens with bellows setup with great results. This is an enlarging lens which is non USM.

DelawareDoons

What Robec said. No need for USM given the shooting should be all manual focus with fixed camera/lens and fixed subjects.

jesbroken

Thanks Leo, for this post. Wow, do I ever feel ignorant. I was told a long time ago the USM meant U.S. Made and not to buy a lens unless it said that. So I bought a lens without USM and it never worked. I therefore, thought lesson learned. But now, I feel some people, ME, should not have non auto cameras. Any one want to trade a camera for coins. lol
Jim

robec

@jesbroken said:
Thanks Leo, for this post. Wow, do I ever feel ignorant. I was told a long time ago the USM meant U.S. Made and not to buy a lens unless it said that. So I bought a lens without USM and it never worked. I therefore, thought lesson learned. But now, I feel some people, ME, should not have non auto cameras. Any one want to trade a camera for coins. lol
Jim

Though both are USM there are two varieties of Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lenses. One is US made and the other is from Japan. I was told the US version is better, but I have no experience with the Japanese product.

lkenefic

Well, I'm glad I posted since I didn't know there was a huge difference between the lenses made in the US versus those made in Japan. In fact, there are other optics where I actually seek out Japanese made glass... the early Tasco Worldclass rifle scopes were pretty good for the price.

hfjacinto

USM means ultra sonic motor and it there is no need for USM or even an expensive lens for taking pictures of a non moving object. USM is nice for places where quiet and fast is needed. You should be taking pictures at F6-F8 and on a tripod so your exposure can take from a fraction to a second. USM is not needed.

yosclimber

As @hfjacinto said, USM is quiet when it does the autofocus, so people use it for shooting animals like bugs that might spook at noise. Coins won't spook.

I use the original Canon 100mm macro lens, that was only sold in Japan, because it was a lot cheaper than the newer USM versions.
I don't think there is a significant difference in optical quality between the original and the newer ones, except possibly their most expensive L series: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens ($1300). Even then, I don't think the difference would be significant for shooting coins. Ken Rockwell compared all of them and said the sharpness is Superb on every one.
https://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/100mm-compared.htm

And I almost always use autofocus, along with LiveView. It's fast and does better than I can do with my eyes and the limited range of the focus ring. I am shooting half dimes, which have relatively small vertical relief. On larger coins you might want to use manual focus, if you need to choose between focusing on the fields or on the highest points of the design. But with enough light, you shouldn't have to choose that.

hfjacinto

At F8 the depth of field will make even the highest relief coin all in focus. Manual focus is only needed for extreme macro shots or using a tilt/shift or the 1-5x macro which are over kill for coin photography.

robec

My Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens is about 10 years old. With all the changes and advancements made in those 10 years I don’t think it makes any difference if the lens in US or Japanese made. I do know the prices have just about doubled since I bought mine. You might want to save some money and think about finding a good used one.