Smart Photography 201707

Sujith Gopinath

VERDICT

The Canon EF-M 28mm Macro IS STM

might not be a professional quality lens,

but at the price point that it retails, it

is great value for money. The built-in

macro light and super macro mode

makes it all-the-more desirable. We

would call it an amateur’s bliss.

PLUS

• Useful Macro ring
  light


• Compact and
  lightweight


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• Full-time manual
  focus

MINUS

• Plastic lens
  mount


• f/3.5 is rather
  slow

81 %

Design and Build Quality15/20

Key Features 18/20

Ergonomics 17/20

Performance

Autofocus 3/5

Sharpness 3/5

Distortion control 5/5

Aberrations 3/5

Darkening

of corners 4/5

Extra features 5/5

Sub-Total 23/30

Value for Money 8/10

FINAL SCORE

Angle of view (Diagonal): ������

Closest focusing distance: 0.093m (Super

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Focus adjustment: AF with full-time

manual

Lens construction: �����������������

groups

Dimensions (max. diameter x length):

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Drive system: Stepping motor-driven lead

screw + rack system

Filter size: 43mm

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Aperture range: f/3.5 to 22

No. of diaphragm blades: 7

Weight: �����������

KEY SPECIFICATIONS

The combination autofocussed with
precision, though at Macro range,
we felt the need for a bit of manual
override. Autofocus was silent and
fast enough compared to amateur
lenses, but not as fast as some of the
professional models.

For the test, we kept the lens correction
options ‘On’ since all M-series cameras
in the market now have these features
enabled and we expect people to use
them.

We observed a wee bit of darkening
at the central point at f/3.5, but the

light fall-off was minimal. We would

consider this as good as absent. The

lens did not produce any distortion.

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but we observed heavy ghosting,

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fringing was seen at f/3.5 in strong

against-the-light images, but only as a

blink-and-miss affair.

This lens cannot be compared in

sharpness to the more expensive

Macro lenses in the market. Overall,

it produced uniform sharpness from

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sharp as other apertures. The sweet

spot seemed to be f/8.

The built-in macro light provides just

enough illumination to light up macro

subjects evenly. The super macro

range is quite useful, but the extremely

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and the macro light is not powerful

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in exposure. Neither does the IS

compensate for such extreme shakes.

Also, at the closest super macro range,

you are almost touching the subject.

Value for Money

The Canon EF-M 28mm Macro IS

STM lens retails at an MRP of

INR 22,995. At this price, the lens is

great value for money, considering that

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Stabilisation. |SP

Aperture: f/8

Shutter Speed:��������

ISO: 3200

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Smart PhotographyJuly 2017