The Best Landscape Lenses for Canon

Landscape photography is all about capturing every element that makes the view stunning. But it can be a challenge to immortalize this wonder when your equipment is lacking.

A landscape lens works wonders in making sure that nothing gets cropped. Each of these lenses offers something that makes them stand out against the competition. This is where you need to evaluate your landscape photography needs and goals.

It is essential that you end up with the best landscape lens for you. What constitutes “best” depends on your needs and how you plan to use it. Here are some of the best landscape lenses for Canon cameras.

Quick Review: Which Landscape Lens is for You?

Best Overall Canon Lens for Landscape Photography

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras

Four Stars

• The EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM is part of Canon’s premium line of lenses. This ensures the ability to produce an excellent image, weather resistance, and ultimate operability.
• This is the best overall landscape lens for landscape photography. Photographers would be delighted for its image stabilization capability, an improved auto-focus performance, and superb image quality.
• It comes with features like sensitive gyro sensors to detect even the slightest movement, ultrasonic frequency vibrations to deliver that great focus, and the ability to work with the EOS line of cameras from Canon.
• It also offers the highest optical quality without a noticeable change in aperture over the lens’s full focal range. This feature allows photographers to zoom all the way to 105mm without touching the shutter speed controls.
• The lens is also for those who are looking for a powerful lightweight with extended zoom capabilities like those found in the EF 24-70mm f2.8L USM.

Best Budget Canon Lens for Landscape Photography

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens

Five Stars

• A versatile lens, the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM is capable of capturing portraits, any action, and nightscape wonders. It is a great option for those on a budget but does not want to skimp on features.
• The lens is also best suited to working on capturing stills and videos due to its powerful STM steeping motor that allows for its speedy and smooth operation. The motor also supports the Movie Servo AF mode on certain DSLRs to produce precise and near-silent focusing.
• This Canon lens allows you to have a minimum focusing distance of 1.15 feet and a 0.21x maximum magnification.
• In terms of its design, the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM comes with an updated modern design that includes a metal lens mount and a re-located focus ring to fit all essential parts into its form factor.

Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM FLD Large Aperture Standard Zoom Lens

Four and a Half Stars

• Canon’s Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens is another option for landscape photographers. It provides photographers the ability to shoot with a focal length starting at 17mm wide-angle and offers a large aperture of F2.8 throughout the entire zoom range.
• The lens also features the Sigma line’s exclusive OS feature. An anti-shake technology that offers the use of shutter speeds approximately 4 stops slower compared to normal speeds.
• The 17-50mm lens also comes with Sigma’s own FLD glass elements. This feature allows the lens to have performance equal to fluorite along with two glass mold and one hybrid aspherical lens that corrects all types of aberrations. The lens also features a Super Multi-Layer coating that reduces flare and ghosting.
• However, this lens has some vignetting on the 17mm focal length f/2.8 that reduces throughout the zoom range up to the 50mm focal length in f/2.8.

Best Standard Canon Lens for Landscape Photography

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Standard Zoom Lens

Five Stars

• If you are looking for a standard focal length zoom lens for your Canon DSLR, the EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II USM might be for you. This lens comes with a large aperture throughout its focal length.
• It also features 1 Super UD lens element and 2 UD lens elements to minimize chromatic aberration in the periphery at wide-angle and reduce color blurring around the edges of the subject.
• The EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM also comes with two types of aspherical lenses to reduce spherical aberration in both the entire image and through the full zoom range.
• The lens is also perfect if you are looking for a silent and fast auto-focusing feature with its ring-type USM and high-speed CPU with optimized AF algorithms.
• This lens was designed for all types of landscape photographers. It was constructed with improved dust sealing and water resistance. It also has fluorine coatings on the front and rear lens surfaces to reduce soiling, smears, and fingerprints.

Best Wide-angle Canon Lens for Landscape Photography

Best Zoom Wide-angle Canon Lenses for Landscape Photography

Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens

Five Stars

• The EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens is essential for landscape photographers due to its excellent ultra-wide zoom capability. This lens comes with a 16-35mm focal range that is ideal for perspective control while not sacrificing image quality.
• This Canon lens also features an f/2.8L aperture to give photographers greater control over depth of field, which is a great feature for shooting in low-light environments.
• As landscape photographers are the main target of this lens, it also features subwavelength coatings (SWC) and air sphere coatings (ASC) to prevent reflection and reduce both flaring and ghosting.
• You also need not worry about using the lens in harsh conditions as it is dust- and water-resistant. On top of that, it also has a fluorine coating to maintain a clear lens during extreme weather conditions.

Best Prime Wide-angle Canon Lens for Landscape Photography

Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Wide Angle Lens

Three and a Half Stars

• The EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Wide Angle Lens is part of Canon’s line of premium fixed length L-series of lenses. It is the ideal lens for photographers who are looking for spectacular sharpness and great performance regardless of the setting.
• It comes with two high-dimension, large-diameter aspherical lenses that provide sharpness in every image may it be in a well-lit or a low-light environment.
• This lens also comes with Sub Wavelength Coating that makes it anti-reflective due to its unconventional coatings. This feature is a big plus if you intend to do more landscape photography while on a summer trip or on a tropical island getaway.
• This Canon lens also provides a way for you to minimize chromatic aberrations with its two UD lenses.

Best Telephoto Zoom Canon Lenses for Landscape Photography

Best Canon Lens for Landscape Photography with Scale

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens

Five Stars

• The EF 70-200mm f/2.8L III USM should be on your list if you are looking for a telephoto lens. This Canon lens comes with all the features important in taking a deep look at wildlife and landscape photography.
• It features a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture to produce beautiful background blur and fast shutter speeds.
• It also comes with the camera brand’s unique Air Sphere Coating (ASC) and Super Spectra Coatings to reduce lens flare and ghosting.
• If you are venturing into wildlife photography or just wanted to include some wildlife in your work, this lens provides a fast and near-silent autofocus capability. It also comes with an inner focusing ring that works together with a high-speed CPU for precise, faster performance.

Best Long Canon Lens for Landscape Photography

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens

Four Stars

• Best for sports and wildlife photography, the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II USM Lens was designed to deliver cutting-edge performance and brilliant resolving power in a compact form.
• On the image quality front, this lens comes with all the elements capable of producing a great image. It has one fluorite and one super UD element to achieve the right balance of contrast and resolution with reduced chromatic aberration across the zoom range.
• It also comes with Canon’s new inner focusing AF system. This new technology allows for a fast and accurate focus down to 3.2 ft. with a .31x maximum magnification.
• The lens was also designed for harsh conditions. It was ruggedly constructed with advanced dust and water sealing for durability in a range of environments.

Best Alternative Telephoto Lens for Landscape Photography

Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens for Canon EF

Four Stars

• The Sigma lens offers the best performance without the need to worry about its form factor. This ultra-telephoto zoom lens is a full-frame lens with APS-C compatibility in a compact size. Its size and power make it ideal for wildlife photography, bird photography, and landscape photography.
• This lens comes with features including an all-new optical stabilizer (OS) unit to provide a powerful stabilization effect. The stabilization feature is aided by an ultrasensitive acceleration sensor that easily detects shakes in any direction.
• It was also made knowing that it would be subjected to extreme environments and use. This Sigma lens’s rugged design also comes with treated surfaces and enhanced strength for durability and prolonged use.
• The lens is also capable of producing smooth bokeh and reduced flare with its 9-blade rounded diaphragm.

Sigma 150-600mm 5-6.3 Contemporary DG OS HSM Lens

Four Stars

• This lens from Sigma is the first telephoto lens from the brand’s Contemporary line of lenses. It fits the needs of photographers who want a lightweight and compact telephoto lens when shooting outdoors.
• The 150-600mm 5-6.3 Contemporary DG OS HSM Lens comes with essential Sigma technology including a quiet and optimized Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) and a new Optical Stabilizer (OS) with an accelerometer. Both these features contribute for improved panning photography.
• It also comes with a new zoom lock switch. This new switch allows locking at any focal length. Aside from the new zoom lock switch, it also features a new manual override (MO) switch for improved focusing control.
• It is also dust- and splash-proof as well as water and oil resistant due to coating on its front glass.

A Guide on Buying Landscape Lenses

There are a lot of options for landscape lenses for your Canon DSLR camera. The question boils down on how you will use the lens and what equipment you already have. Read on below to help you decide which among the available landscape lenses for your camera is the best one for your needs.

Some of the Best Canon Lenses for Landscape Photography

Each of the lenses produced by Canon comes with its own unique feature that makes it stand out from others. With that said, it is important to consider your intended purpose for your next investment. While the “best” landscape photography lens is subjective, the following are some of the most recommended lenses from Canon:

Canon EF 11-24
Canon EF 16–35mm
Canon EF 24-70mm
Canon EF 24mm
Canon EF 50mm
Canon EF 24-105mm

Canon EF lenses: Which Cameras are Compatible?

Canon releases several kinds of camera lenses. This can make compatibility a headache if you do not do prior research. If you are eyeing to purchase a Canon EF lens, this significantly helps.

The EF mount is for use with Canon’s full-frame (24 x 36mm) and APS-C (22.3 x 14.9mm) format DSLRs.
The EF-S mount is exclusively made for Canon’s APS-C format DSLRs.
The EF-M mount was designed exclusively for use with Canon EOS M mirrorless cameras.

Prime Lenses over Zoom Lenses for Landscape Photography

Yes, you can use a prime lens for landscape photography. However, you must know the advantages and disadvantages that comes when using this kind of lens. Prime lenses are mostly used for capturing images in low-light conditions. The good side of using a prime lens is that you can get a detailed, sharp photo while taking a shoot of a landscape. But, the downside is that it comes with a fixed focal range. This means that you cannot control how you frame compared to what you usually do on a standard zoom lens.

Zooming with a 50mm Lens

A 50mm lens is a prime lens so it has a fixed focal length. You need to walk closer to the subject if you want to take a more intimate photo. This kind of lens will allow you to experiment, learn, and understand more of composition in landscape photography.

What is the Best Landscape Lens for a Canon DSLR?

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens easily beats every product in this list due to its low price tag and high level of its performance. It is a prime lens that is a great entry point for photographers wanting to experience shooting with better glass. Its ability to shoot both stills and video adds another value despite its affordable price.

Runner-ups in this list include the Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens and the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens. The Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens, offers a way to produce sharp images with a focal range perfect for landscape photography. On the other hand, the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens offers those who wanted a long lens for wildlife photography. The lens is compact and capable of delivering precise composition, zoom adjustment, and reduced flaring and ghosting.