Whats the absolute best macro lens for the Canon EOS R5 that actually works for professional product shots without costing a literal fortune or driving me crazy with technical glitches? I am honestly so frustrated right now because I have spent the last three days falling down a rabbit hole of reviews and I feel less sure now than when I started.

So here is the deal. I am based in Seattle and I just landed a decent contract with a local jewelry boutique to do a bunch of macro work for their new collection like rings, necklaces, and some vintage watches. I need to get this gear sorted by next Wednesday or I am gonna be in trouble with the client. I have been looking at the RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM because it is the native glass and everyone says it is the one but then I read these horror stories about the Spherical Aberration (SA) control ring causing weird focus shifts and making the images soft if you even breathe on it wrong. Then other people say just stick to the old EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM because it is a legend but I really dont want to deal with an adapter if I can help it because it just adds more bulk and another failure point in my bag.

I have about $1200 maybe $1300 to spend on this and I am just stuck. Is the RF version really worth the extra cash or is the focus shift thing a dealbreaker for precision jewelry work? I also saw some people mentioning the Laowa 100mm 2x Ultra Macro but that one is manual focus only right? I think I need autofocus for some of the focus stacking I plan to do in-camera with the R5 but maybe I am overthinking that too. My head is spinning and I just need someone who actually uses this setup for work to tell me what to buy so I can stop reading spec sheets and start shooting...