What 100mm at f/2.8 actually gives you
100mm is the classic portrait range — long enough to compress features flatteringly without forcing you across the room.
f/2.8 is the working standard for a fast lens — a stop or two of low-light headroom over a kit zoom, and noticeably more background separation.
Size, close focus and filters
At 730g (1.61 lb) it has real presence on the front of a camera, though it stays hand-holdable for a session.
Maximum magnification is 1.4x, meaning the subject can be projected onto the sensor at life size or larger — true macro rather than a close-focus marketing claim. It focuses as close as 26cm.
Filters are 67mm — worth checking against what you already own, since polarisers and ND filters at this size are reusable across any other lens sharing the thread.
Autofocus, stabilisation and weather sealing
Autofocus is driven by a Dual Nano USM motor.
Optical stabilisation is built in, which stacks with in-body stabilisation on bodies that have it and does the work alone on bodies that do not.
The barrel is weather-sealed, so rain and dust are a manageable risk rather than a reason to pack up.
