Photography Lenses

Rob Nock says:

This is a very broad question because there are many different types of Nature photography so you may need to be more specific about what you want to do. Here are some general guidelines.

For Nature Scenes you will want a good quality Wide angle lens, usually at least 24mm (35 mm equivalent). So look for a Zoom that starts at least that wide. Preferably f2.8 or lower.

For Insects, flowers etc. you want something with close up capability, a “Macro” lens. The best Macro lenses are fixed focal length, not zooms but their are a number of pretty good zooms with a Close Focus of Macro function.

For Birds & Wildlife the best lenes will be Moderate to Long Telephotos with the longest focal length & lowest f/number you can afford. There are good quality zooms from Canon and Sigma that would be good for this, look for something in the 100-500mm (35mm equivelant) focal length. This would be a good lens to get with a Macro feature if you want to get a combination lens.

Evan B says:

Depends on your budget, but here are some not-totally-expensive lenses for different purposes.

The best bet for landscapes on your camera is the Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5, which will give you a true “ultrawide” perspective.

The best bet for closeups of insects and flowers would be the Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro, which will double as a superb portrait lens. Note that this is a “prime lens,” or a lens that doesn’t zoom.

A good standard zoom, covering wide to short-portrait would be the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. This is much sharper and faster than the kit lens.

Wildlife means telephoto, and telephotos cost money. Avoid the $200 70-300mm zooms like the plague (the more expensive Canon version with Image Stabilization is pretty good.) The 70-300IS is totally different animal optically, and probably your best bet for getting started with wildlife.

If you’re more serious about shooting wildlife, consider the Canon 300mm f/4L IS and a 1.4x Teleconverter. This lens does not zoom, but will offer far superior image quality and low-light ability from the zoom, and it will work with the Teleconverter to reach 420mm (roughly the equivalent of 672mm on your camera!). Note that I don’t recommend trying a teleconverter on a zoom lens: generally poor results.

Dr. Sam says:

You have some excellent answers above, but here are some review pages, just as an additional resource.

Canon Lenses and Reviews

(See “Recommendations” on this page)

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (28-135 equiv.) (April 2007-$515) is a good “walk around” lens at a good price.

Not quite as much of a wide angle, the Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Autofocus Lens (2007-$1,060) is a pretty good all-around lens. This review says, “If I had only one lens, this would be the one.”

Excellent general purpose lens: Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Autofocus Lens (April 2007-$1,140)