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Even a high-quality Canon camera may fail to achieve the results you desire. But when you pair it with the best lens for Canon, the results are spectacular. In this review, I detail the features and specifications of various Canon lenses and what makes them a good option.
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Equipping yourself with the best lens for Canon will help you shoot stunning landscapes and portraits, whether they are distant subjects or in low light. Below, I review my best picks of Canon lenses.
The Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L is a versatile focal length prime that performs exceptionally well in poor lighting situations. With a maximum wide aperture of f/1.2, it benefits the application of selective focus and shallow depth of field techniques.
The optical construction features an aspherical and UD element to eliminate the spherical and chromatic aberrations, enhancing the image's sharpness and clarity. Also, it's equipped with a 10-blade aperture diaphragm which helps produce an appealing bokeh quality.
Like the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L, it comes with Ultrasonic Motor, which helps realize a smooth and fast autofocus performance, making the focusing effortless.
The construction is weather-resistant, making it ideal for harsh conditions such as moist and dusty places. However, it's the heaviest on my list, weighing 2.09 pounds, making it unsuitable for shooting for an extended time.
The Canon 90mm f/2.8L is a short telephoto that is exceptional due to its perspective control and closes the focusing distance. As a tilt-shift lens, it excels in tabletop
It allows around 10 degrees of tilt, approximately 12mm composition, and perspective shift. Unlike the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8, it comes with a maximum magnification of 0.5x and 1.3 inches minimum focusing distance, enhancing the shallow depth of field control even when shooting close-up subjects.
It comes with a tilt knob and a tilt-lock functionality, which facilitates the lens's stability when shooting scenes. The nine-blade aperture diaphragm helps in producing a better bokeh quality than Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L, making it impressive when using the selective focus technique.
However, it weighs 2.02 pounds which is not ideal for an extended period of shooting.
The Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L is a short telephoto that features a unique design for close-up shooting, making it ideal for mid-range shots and portraits.
In particular, this lens is a prime macro lens that achieves a life-size magnification of 1:1 with a focusing distance of at least 11.8 inches.
Unlike the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L, it comes with an image stabilizer function that helps to reduce the camera shake effect by around two stops in life-size magnification. Also, the stabilization can reach four stops when shooting at a lower magnification, further enhancing the image's sharpness.
Like the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L, it comes with an ultrasonic autofocusing motor which facilitates an accurate and fast focusing experience. It weighs 1.38 pounds, lightweight enough to carry around.
The Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L comes with a complex optical construction that blends a wide maximum aperture of f/1.4 and a desirable wide-angle focal length. It features two low dispersion elements in its optical construction, which helps to eliminate color fringing, optical distortions, and aberrations.
Besides, the elements come with Subwavelength Coating geared to minimize ghosting and flare, facilitating color neutrality and better contrast even when shooting in bright lights. Although not impressive like the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L, the eight-blade aperture diaphragm facilitates a good quality bokeh.
The construction is high-quality with weather sealing, making it suitable for use in trying circumstances such as shooting in moist and dusty places. It weighs 1.43 pounds, which, although heavier than the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L, you can carry in a camera bag.
The Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L is a prime wide-angle ideal for nature, interior, and landscape
Although not impressive like the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L, it comes with a maximum wide aperture of f/.8, which makes it perform well even in low-light shooting, making it suitable for astrophotography.
The optical construction consists of two elements and two low dispersion elements geared towards eliminating both chromatic and spherical aberrations, realizing improved color accuracy, clarity, and image sharpness.
Also, these elements come with a Super Spectra coating which helps reduce the ghosting and flare for enhanced color fidelity and contrast, especially when working in backlit situations.
Unlike the Canon 90mm f/2.8L, it weighs 1.42 pounds which is lightweight enough for shooting for an extended time without the wrists hurting.
With a wide range of options in the market, you might be confused about which lens will pair well with your Canon camera. Below, I outline the various attributes you should consider in a Canon lens. Also, the below table gives you an overview of their varying features.
| Lens | Diaphragm Blades | Minimum Focus Distance (Inches) | Weight (Pounds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 | 10 | 15.72 | 2.09 |
| Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 | 8 | 11.8 | 1.38 |
| Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 | 8 | 9.84 | 1.43 |
| Canon 90mm f/2.8 | 8 | 15.36 | 2.02 |
| Canon EF 14mm f/2.8 | 6 | 7.87 | 1.42 |
Lenses vary widely in terms of build quality, and you can determine the difference simply by lifting two lenses at the same time and feeling their weight.
For example, you take Canon 50mm lens f/1.2 and Canon EF 100mm f/2.8, there is a considerable difference between them in terms of materials used and weight.
Apparently, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 contains much more plastic than Canon 50mm f/1.2, which is particularly noticeable in the region of mounting, an area where metallic materials are necessary as it is where the lens rubs the camera.
Many lens manufacturers offer a variety of lenses of varying quality. For example, the Canon series has several lenses called "L-series" lenses. You can notice them, for they are marked by a red ring at the end.
L-series lenses are known as professional or luxury quality lenses, which use high-quality optical and glass elements. They are generally heavy, sturdy built, fast enough, and take great pictures.
Many Canon lenses have some kind of image stabilizer to combat camera shake.
Camera shakes are the slight movements that occur when the shutter is opened. It has a greater effect when shooting at low speed, when using a longer focal length lens or when you are shooting handheld.
Different types of lenses and cameras have different types of image stabilization, but most DSLR lenses have small gyroscopic sensors that correct camera shake.
The mechanisms are hard to understand, but you'll find that the Canon lenses that have image stabilization, such as Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L, enable you to shoot handheld at slower shutter speeds than when you're not using them.
Besides, the image stabilizer helps prevent camera shake, and it is essential in low light conditions without freezing your subjects.
The maximum lens aperture determines how much you can magnify the lens light allowance. Wide apertures make shooting in low light easier and help distinguish the subject from the background elements.
The maximum aperture is usually listed in the lens name. The easiest way of finding out the aperture is to check the figure after the f element or f/ in the lens's name.
For instance, the maximum aperture of the Canon 50mm f/1.2L is f/1.2, making it ideal for backlit conditions shooting.
Autofocus performance varies widely from lens to lens, and a significant difference can be made between an excellent shot of a social occasion or a sporting event and a disappointing shooting experience.
Modern DSLRs and mirrorless cameras are still relatively new, and there is a subtle interaction between the focus motor and the optical design, which eventually affects the performance.
However, ultrasonic ring-type motors like the one used by Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L are excellent for focusing mirrorless and DSLR cameras, especially when you need a smooth autofocusing experience.
A smaller focal length lens is ideal for landscape photography. For instance, using a lens such as Canon EF 14 f/2.8 that comes with a focal length of 14mm will be suitable when shooting landscape photos because it has a wider field of view. You only need to shoot with a narrower aperture so you can have everything in the frame in focus.
A camera lens can go bad in several years or decades, depending on the build quality and the conditions of use. Typically, high-quality lenses that are weather-resistant such as Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L, may last for several decades.
Typically, every autofocus motor produces some noise when in operation. However, the amount of noise depends on the type of motor. For instance, the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L ultrasonic motor is almost silent.Â
Different Canon lenses come with varying features, capabilities, and quality, and the best one will depend on your
