M50 Mark II Lens Suggestions
Best Canon M50 Mark II Wildlife Lenses

by Sean Reed
(Monroeville NJ USA)

I'm looking to get my wife a new lenses for Christmas for the M50 Mark ii I had gotten for her recently. It came with the 15-45 lens but we spend quite a bit of time outdoors and I want to get something more suited to when we will use it. We plan on spending a lot of time on a boat and see quite a few birds and landscapes we'd like to get good photos of. I'm not looking to get crazy with a professional level lens that's going to cost over $1000 but looking to get something slightly better than what she currently has to encourage the hobby to see if it's something she wants to get into. I'd like to spend somewhere around $300 - $500 which I know limits me a bit but wanted to see what you would recommend. Should I consider an adapter for the EF series as a first step so that other, more available lenses are an option later on?

Hi Sean!

Thanks for asking about the best lens choice for your wife's Canon M50 Mark II. I have two answers for you

Canon EF-M Lenses For M50 II Camera

If you want to have a good lens for shooting wildlife, in particular birds, there are two EF-M lenses to consider. The EF-M 18-150mm lens is a versatile lens, giving you a nice wide angle focal length at 18mm and a decent (not great) magnification at the telephoto end of the zoom all in one lens.

The better choice, if you want to stick with an EF-M lens for your M50 M2 bird photography is the EF-M 55-200mm lens. It's not as versatile, but has more appropriate focal lengths for photographing small and distant targets like birds.

With that said, realize that both are going to give you great image quality, but neither one of these EF-M lenses has the reach that the typical bird photographer wants. Birds are shy and generally don't allow you to get too close before flying away. The best bird lenses usually are 300mm lenses or longer. That brings you to what I think is likely a better lens option for your M50 Mark II.

Canon EF-S Lenses For M50 II Camera

EF and EF-S lenses can be attached to the mirrorless M50 Mark II by using an EF to EF-M adapter. The adapter is just an empty tube with electrical connections and contains no glass. There is no loss of image quality when you use one. I use the EF-EOS R adapter for connecting my Ef and EF-S lenses to my Canon "R" cameras, and the principle is the same.

The number of lens options to use with your M50 MII goes way up if you add in the adapter and consider both EF and EF-S lenses. I use an EF 100-400mm lens for my bird photography, but that is likely out of your desired price range. Consider an EF 70-300mm or EF 75-300mm lens (See the link below).

(If all this EF, EF-S, and EF-M lens mount is confusing, here is a post that might help: Canon Lens Compatibility)

I don't know if you'd prefer getting a brand new lens or not, but you can get longer lenses at cheaper prices if you consider getting a used one. See the advertisement on this page for KEH. I buy my used lenses from them because of the outstanding (like new) condition of their used lenses.

Affordable and new Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Lens on Amazon. As an Amazon affiliate Canon Camera Geek receives a small commission from qualifying purchases, at NO added cost to you.

Good luck, Sean. Birds are a tough subject to photograph, especially if they're in flight, but easy to photograph if they're at your backyard feeder. A fast focusing camera with a fast burst rate, combined with the right lens for your Canon M50 Mark II makes it easier to get some great shots.

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