I own or have owned all the macros lenses made for Canon EF and EF-S cameras, including the the EF 180 3.5, the EF 100 2.8 L ii, the EF 65mm 65mm mp-e, and the older 50mm 2.5), and this Zeiss beats them all for image quality and precision...

People are going to seriously hate on me for this. I know it. There are a lot of very strong positives with this lens, and I took some great shots with it, but the manual focus is too much of a challenge, even in a studio setting. I rented this lens for 2 weeks and made sure I shot every day.

A great lens for Canon. It is built like a rock. Manual---It really is a studio lens.

I don't shoot much micro, I shoot portrait frequently. I love the optical quality of this lens. It is excellent in both sharpness and color! But one thing you should consider is that the focus ring is much tighter than others in Zeiss series. So it is a slow operating lens.

This lens WILL ruin all other lenses for you. Just be forewarned. After using this lens, all my other lens seem inferior and I have trouble going back to them. I have never used a more sharp and beautiful lens in my life. The clarity, contrast, and colors are superb.

Super sharp, great lens, macro a plus

There's not a lot to dislike about this lens. As long as you forgive the manual focus it's a beautiful piece of kit. It's feels solid. The focus ring turns smoothly with the right amount of travel and feel. And, of course, it takes amazing photos with the legendary Zeiss micro contrast.

I have purchased and used many 50mm lenses, including the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, the Sigma 50mm f/1.4, this Zeiss 50mm f/2.0 Makro, and most recently the Zeiss 50mm f/1.4. For image quality, this is far and away my favorite of them all, though it's not the easiest to use or most appropriate for all...

This is one of the best lenses available for Canon SLR cameras. I demand a high quality 50mm "normal" lens. Normal lenses spend the most time on my camera, and are useful in practically any situation. I used and ultimately sold several other 50mm lenses before arriving at this Makro-Planar option.