Best Canon Zoom Lens
(For Beginners And Enthusiasts)

Choosing the best Canon zoom lens can be overwhelming with so many options available. Now that mirrorless cameras are well established, depending on what camera you're using, you can choose from Canon EF, EF-S, RF, and RF-S lenses. See my Canon compatibility chart for more on that topic.

Update list of best Canon zoom lenses
INCLUDING EF | EF-S | RF | RF-S Lenses

A versatile zoom lens is a game-changer for any photographer. Whether you're capturing everyday snapshots, landscapes, portraits, or wildlife, the right zoom lens can help you achieve stunning results. In this article, we'll explore the best Canon zoom lenses for different shooting situations.

What is the best canon zoom lens? The quick answer is the Canon 70-200 f 2.8 IS Lens. That 70-200 lens includes both the EF for DSLRs and the RF for mirrorless camera versions. That's what a large survey revealed. But there's more to it than that. That's based on the reader's opinions on one of the biggest digital photography web sites on the entire internet.

Unfortunately, it's not that simple.  If you were to re-phrase the question and ask what the most popular general purpose Canon lens is, it would be the Canon EF 24-105 f4 lens for DSLRs and the RF 24-105mm lens for mirrorless.

The readers of that web site mentioned above are predominantly advanced and professional photographers who likely have different needs and wants with their Canon lenses and accessories.

But that's not you and me!

How To Pick the Best Canon Zoom Lens for You

It starts first with the type of photography you do, your camera body design and how you use your photographs.  If you are only posting on Facebook, creating online galleries, or printing a few small 4x6 prints, you really don't need to buy the priciest lenses.

If you have a Canon camera with APS-C sensor, like the Canon 60D  70D 80D 90D 7D  T3i  T4i  or T5i T7 T7i T8i and don't ever plan on upgrading to a full-sensor, it simply makes little sense to pay for the extra size, weight and price of a lens designed for a full-sized sensor, unless you get a great price on it.

Wide-Angle, General Purpose or Telephoto Zoom Lens

There are some choices at lenses that cover a super wide-angle range through long telephoto (18-200mm) but I am not a fan of the quality issues, distortions and aberrations that come along with these lens designs because I'm a pro shooter, but they can be good choices for a photo enthusiast like you.

General Purpose Canon Zoom Lenses

Canon 24-70 f/2.8 USM and the Canon 24-70 USM II Lenses are very high quality, general purpose zooms. Professionals and serious amateurs love the fast f/2.8 maximum aperture.

The 24-70 f/2.8 USM lens earned a 90% Canon Geek 4-5 rating**  while the newer and more expensive 24-70 f/2.8 USM II  earned a 94% rating**.

For most photographers the price tag is just way too high to justify getting that extra f/stop or two. The other shortcoming of the 24-70 is it's zoom range of only about 3x.

The 24-105 lens is my favorite general purpose zoom lens and at f/4 it is plenty fast enough for low light situations.  Although it's not known as a portrait lens, when the lens is zoomed to 105mm, you can achieve a nice soft bokeh at f/4.

For me, if you are sticking to an "L" lens, the 24-105 is the best Canon zoom lens in the general purpose category. For smaller "crop" sensor cameras, the EF18-135 is great for DSLRs, and the RF 18-150mm lens is the best zoom lens for mirrorless crop cameras.

Photo taken with Canon 24-105mm lens

Canon Wide Angle Zoom Lenses

The Canon EF 17-40 f/4 was the flagship wide-angle zoom lens for full-sized sensor cameras. Very highly rated but of limited value for portrait and sports photography. It's a solid choice for shooting landscape photos.  

Canon EF 16-35 f/2.8 is a real specialty lens for low light situations. Very fast f2.8 throughout it's range. Similar zoom range to the 17-40 but twice the price for that extra f/stop. For mirrorless wide-angle the RF 15-30mm is the best lens choice.  

I personally don't need to have a superfast f2.8 for a super wide angle lens.  Fast ISO sensors on the newest cameras give you the ability to shoot in darker environments without that extra f/stop capability. depth of field

Canon Telephoto Zoom Lenses

The only Canon telephoto zoom lens I owned at first was the 70-200 f2.8. For me it's the best Canon lens for portrait photography.  Although it can be used for sports and wildlife in limited situations, it is a great size to handle a nice variety of portrait situation. Since the original post on this website, I've added an EF 100-400mm lens for shooting sports, birds, and other wildlife photos.

The 70-200 is strong enough to use for head shots and "wide" enough for full-length posing and small family portraits.  It's plenty fast at f/2.8 and gives great bokeh at all of the lower apertures, particularly when zoomed all the way in to 200mm.

One of the best Canon zoom lenses in terms of popularity is the Canon 75-300 f/4-5.6.  It is extremely affordable and makes a great compliment to the standard 18-55 "kit" lens that comes with many of the Canon DSLR lenses. A solid choice for beginners and enthusiasts.

Drawbacks: no image stabilization, no USM motor and a bit "slower" variable maximum f-stop of f-4 to f-5.6.

ALSO READ: Canon Lens Costs.

Table Of Canon Zoom Lenses

Here is the updated table of the best Canon zoom lens-along with a few alternatives-for 4 different types of photography.

Table of Canon zoom lenses

This site is based around providing useful, practical advice and reviews on Canon digital cameras, lenses accessories,  gadgets, gear and related equipment.  See the related articles below my signature.

Have a blast. Shoot your Canon.  **The Canon Geek 4-5 rating is calculated by adding the total number of 4 and 5 star ratings of buyers on Amazon and dividing that sum by the total number of reviews.

As an Amazon affiliate Canon Camera Geek receives a small commission from qualifying purchases, at NO added cost to you.

Bruce Lovelace is the publisher of Canon Camera Geek. Read more about him on the About Page. He also publishes how to articles and camera gear reviews at the Photography Tips website.

View some of Bruce's photos on Instagram  and Flickr.   Join the tribe of followers on YouTube. Bruce also runs photo workshops and provides 1 on 1 digital photography coaching.

Canon Geek on Google My Business

This post contains affiliate links and the publisher may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links, at no cost to you.


KEH: WHERE I BUY CANON GEAR
"I've found that the condition of the used equipment from KEH is excellent and a whole lot cheaper than buying new" - Bruce, the Canon Camera Geek

Canon Lens Articles:

• Canon 10-18
• Canon 16-35mm f/4.0
• Canon 17-40
• Canon 17mm Tilt-Shift
• Canon EF-S 18-135 Lens
• Canon RF-S 18-150
• Canon 24-70 f2.8
• Canon EF 24-105 Lens
• Canon RF 24-105 Lenses
• Canon 28-135 Lens
• Canon 50mm Lenses
• Canon 70-200 f2.8
• Canon 70-200 f4
• Canon 85mm f1.8
• Canon RF 100mm Macro
• Canon 100-400mm II
• Canon 400mm f5.6
• Canon 400mm f4.0
• Canon Kit Lenses
• Macro Lens for Canon
• Best Canon Portrait Lens
• Canon Prime Lenses
• Best Canon Zoom Lens
• Cheap Canon Lenses
• Canon Lens Abbreviations
• Best Canon Wedding Lens
• Accessories for Canon Lenses
• Canon Kit Lenses for EOS 70D

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