The Best Canon DSLR Lenses to Buy in 2024

If you’re the proud owner of a Canon DSLR camera, you probably already know how good they are at virtually every type of photography. From landscape images to portrait photography, vlogging, and wildlife shots, Canon DSLR cameras are well-suited to a range of photography styles and skill levels. Better yet, the right digital camera lens can improve all of these qualities and add new features to your Canon camera.

With plenty of camera lens options on the market, it can be difficult to know which will best suit your camera, shooting style, and skill level. To help you make the right decision, our expert team has put together a guide to the best-buy Canon DSLR lenses in 2023 in popular categories including prime, macro, and telephoto zoom lenses.

Although they are frequently overlooked by enthusiasts and more experienced photographers, standard zoom lenses are an important part of the Canon lens lineup. A standard Canon zoom lens is the perfect lens for newbie photographers and can help build photography skills you’ll use for years to come.

Since they are so lightweight and simple to use, standard zoom lenses allow you to explore a range of photography styles, angles, and composition techniques - all without having to swap between multiple lenses. This versatility makes them a great choice for more seasoned photographers who love to travel light while still being able to shoot everything from portraits to landscape images.

Scroll on to discover our top pick of Canon standard zoom lenses in 2023.

Not just for landscape or wildlife photographers, a telephoto lens is a versatile, high-performance addition to any photographer’s tool kit. Thanks to their long reach and handheld-friendly build, these lenses can be used to capture a range of subjects while keeping your distance. For this reason, telephoto lenses have fast become a favourite of wedding photographers wishing to capture intimate moments without disturbing the happy couple. 

The best telephoto lenses are also equipped with a fast and quiet AF motor that enables smooth, rapid zoom even during filming.

If you’re ready to add one to your lineup of photography accessories, we recommend the following Canon telephoto zoom lenses.

Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM II

• Long-range, portable handheld-friendly build
• Built-in Image Stabilisation (IS) - take sharp and blur-free images, regardless of lighting conditions
• Nano USM AF motor - suitable for sports and video
• Unique LCD screen - quick and easy readout of essential settings

Canon EF 100-400mm L IS USM II

• Compact, versatile and high-performance telephoto zoom lens
• Built-in Image Stabilisation (IS). Improved 4-stop optical image stabiliser with 3 IS modes - take sharp and blur-free images even when shooting at long focal lengths
• USM motor - fast and silent autofocus
• Constant f/4.5 maximum aperture
• Front and rear fluorite coatings to reduce dirt sticking to the lens
• New rotation type zoom ring for fine adjustments and balance

Do you constantly find yourself stepping back to fit more detail into your photographs? Are you looking to freshen up your photography by expanding your field of view? If so, a wide angle lens could be right for you. Thanks to their shorter focal length and wider field of view, wide angle lenses can frame expansive views, making them ideal for landscape and architecture photography.

This digital camera lens type can fit more into a frame than a standard zoom or prime lens, and is consequently favoured for real estate photography and other indoor shots.

Top tip: Take your next family or group photo with a wide angle lens to capture every smiling face in stunning detail and focus.

Our favourite Canon wide angle lenses in 2023 are below.

Canon EF 16-35mm f4

• L-series quality at a reasonable price
• Built-in Image Stabilisation (IS) - great for available light landscapes
• F4 constant aperture
• Fast and quiet USM motor
• Premium optical quality and workhorse build quality

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM

• Compact & Lightweight, suitable for crop-sensor EOS DSLRs
• STM AF motor - silent and smooth autofocus
• Built-in Optical Image Stabilisation (IS) - for a range of styles, including interior shots and landscapes.
• 7-blade circular f22 maximum aperture

Once the standard digital camera lens, prime lenses are now generally only used by experienced enthusiasts and professional photographers. As they don’t zoom, you’ll need to get on your feet and physically get closer to your subject if you want a tighter shot - but don’t let this put you off! Physically adjusting your shot in this manner can improve your photo composition skills and enhance your photography overall.

Beyond this, there are plenty of trade-offs for the absence of a zoom functionality, including a lower price, greater portability, amazing image quality, and a faster maximum aperture. Read on to discover our top picks of Canon prime lenses this year.

Canon EF 85mm f1.4 L IS

• L-series build quality
• 9-bladed circular f/1.4 maximum aperture to deliver smooth background blur
• Built-in IS (Image Stabiliser) combined with a large maximum aperture to take sharp handheld portraits in multiple conditions, including low light and indoors
• USM AF motor - quiet and extremely fast
• Dust and moisture-resistant

Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM

• Ultra-bright f1.4 aperture - brilliant, shallow depths of field
• Suitable for studio and on-location shoots
• Suitable for full-frame and APS-C format Canon EOS DSLRs
• Sharp and detailed images, from corner to corner

Proof that bigger doesn’t always necessarily mean better, macro lenses let you capture even the most minute subjects in incredible detail. A closer minimum focus distance makes this type of digital camera lens a must-have for any wildlife or nature photographer interested in capturing insects, leaf details, and similar small subjects. Most modern macro lenses feature 1:1 magnification capability, allowing you to capture a small subject in real size on your camera’s sensor.

In spite of their name, macro lenses aren’t just for macro work: They can also be used for everyday photography and to capture highly detailed, intimate portraits.

Find our top Canon macro lens in 2023 below.

Canon EF 100mm f2.8 L Macro IS USM 

• F2.8 maximum aperture - reduce backgrounds to blur with ease
• Built-in Image Stabilisation (IS) - ideal for stable, handheld shooting
• Premium L series optics and reliable build quality
• Focus limiter switch

If you’re looking to explore new photography techniques, refine your existing skill set, or both, a new lens for your DSLR camera could be the way to achieve this. The right DSLR lens can sharpen your skills, refresh your approach to photography, and even inspire you to start shooting new subjects and in different locations.

Our guide to Canon DSLR lenses can help you decide which camera lens to buy, but other Ted’s resources can help make your decision as straightforward as possible. Read our Digital Camera Lens Buying Guide now, or pop into your local Ted’s store to get advice in person.