Which landscape lens should you choose?

On this photography/travel blog, I’ve been writing more and more about camera gear lately, from choosing the best DSLR to choosing a mirrorless camera or a wide-angle lens. Yet there was one topic I had barely covered from an equipment point of view: landscape lenses. Landscape photography is actually one of the fields I practice the most, and probably the one where I feel most at home.

This article is here to help you choose a lens for landscape photography. You might say that you can shoot landscapes with any lens, even an 18–55mm kit lens. And yes, that’s true. But the idea here is to show you the options available if you want to move up to better gear than the kit lens that came with your camera body.

I deliberately chose to cover landscape lenses for both DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. In a way, this article also brings together several guides already published on the blog—how to choose a wide-angle lens and which lenses to choose for mirrorless cameras—with a more specific focus on landscape photography.

After a quick overview of the most common landscape lenses, I’ll briefly go over the technical points to consider when choosing one. Then I’ll share my landscape lens recommendations, sorted by budget, camera type (DSLR or mirrorless), brand, and lens type. All right, let’s go!

As I said in the introduction, you can obviously shoot landscapes with a wide-angle, a macro lens, a standard zoom, or a telephoto. In theory, any focal length can work. For this guide, though, I’ll focus on three types of lenses for landscape photography.

Generally speaking, landscape photography is very often associated with wide-angle and ultra–wide-angle lenses. Many of the photos you see are taken with this type of lens, which gives you a wide field of view and helps create a sense of scale and openness in the scene. Looking for a complete guide to wide-angle lenses?

You’ll also see some photographers using standard zooms (mid-range focal lengths), often because they offer more flexibility in framing without requiring you to move around too much…

Finally, telephotos are also used in landscape photography. Personally, I often end up reaching for one. Sometimes a landscape feels “too big,” and a telephoto lets you isolate a specific detail. I also use one to pick out a distant subject, especially when the foreground isn’t particularly interesting—which, of course, becomes very visible with a wide-angle. People often say that a telephoto “compresses perspective.” Purists may argue with the wording, but in landscape photography, a telephoto does give the impression of bringing foreground and background elements closer together, even when they are several kilometers apart. It also makes it easier to reduce depth of field, so you can blur the foreground or background more easily. Used well, it can create very pleasing results.

When we talk about camera gear, there are always several criteria to keep in mind, some more important than others. I won’t repeat everything I covered in my article on how to choose a camera lens, but here are the key points to consider before making your choice. You thought finding a lens was simple!

We’ve just talked about it, and focal length is the most decisive factor. You’ll need to choose between a very wide field of view (wide-angle), a medium field of view (standard zoom), or a tighter frame (telephoto). Of course, keep in mind that you probably won’t use your lens only for landscapes.

A wide-angle focal range also works very well for street scenes, architecture, market photos, and more. Standard zooms are useful in many situations, though less so for wildlife and sports, for example. Telephotos are generally better suited to distant subjects, such as wildlife or sports photography. You rarely buy a 300mm lens mainly for landscapes; usually, it’s for another more specific need.

Of course, focal length also depends on your sensor size. A 24–70mm lens on a full-frame sensor is a standard zoom, whereas on a Micro Four Thirds sensor, you’d need something like a 12–35mm to get a similar field of view (crop factor ×2). A bit of math for fun: 12–35mm × 2 = 24–70mm.

It’s not always easy to take a firm position on aperture when it comes to landscape photography. In normal conditions—broad daylight, let’s say—you won’t necessarily need a large maximum aperture, since you’ll often be shooting between f/8 and f/16 and rarely wide open for landscapes.

In low light, however, a larger aperture can let you shorten your exposure time. In theory, in these situations, any self-respecting landscape photographer will use a tripod to keep the best possible settings: ISO as low as possible and a deep depth of field around f/8 to f/16.

That said, as mentioned earlier with focal length, there’s a good chance you’ll also use this lens in other situations. If you use your wide-angle for night scenes, northern lights, or concerts, a large aperture will clearly be a plus. The same goes for a telephoto, where you may want to separate your subject from the background (with nice bokeh/background blur) while keeping a fast enough shutter speed to avoid blur. A large aperture helps in both cases. Generally speaking, if you can afford it, I’d choose a lens with a larger maximum aperture rather than a more modest one.

Another useful point to consider is lens stabilization. In general, it matters less with short focal lengths, because you don’t need as fast a shutter speed to avoid camera shake. But as soon as the light drops and/or you start using longer focal lengths, a stabilized lens can really help. It can also make certain effects possible without a tripod, such as shooting handheld at 1/2s or even 1s to create slight motion blur in water or blur passersby in a street scene.

Depending on the conditions in which you most often shoot—daytime, sunset, night, and so on—it may be worth choosing a more specific lens. Generally speaking, I’d say that a lens that can do more can usually do less. I’m not telling you to buy a stabilized f/2.8 lens if you don’t need one, but if the price difference and physical factors like weight are manageable, and you’re hesitating between two models, I’d choose the one that gives you the most flexibility in the widest range of situations.

Even if it’s not strictly a technical point, price is still the deciding factor for many of you. That’s why I chose to structure the recommendations by budget first…

Some people may see this as a minor detail, but not all lenses are equal here. Landscape photographers often use photo filters to capture the scene in front of them. Personally, I had quite a hard time choosing my latest wide-angle lens because I didn’t want to replace my entire filter system. I’m mentioning this because some lenses have a bulging front element, which prevents you from using a classic screw-in filter system (obviously), and often a standard filter holder too. You may then have to switch to a much more expensive system… so be careful!

Here’s a recap of the lenses I recommend for landscape photography, sorted by budget, sensor format, and brand. As mentioned in the introduction, most people will use wide-angle and ultra–wide-angle lenses for landscapes, and to a lesser extent standard zooms and telephotos. I deliberately won’t detail every possible standard zoom and telephoto for landscape photography, simply because there are too many, and in most cases, you’ll use those lenses for other types of subjects too. Still, at the end of the article, I share a few standard-zoom recommendations and some thoughts on telephotos. It’s up to you to decide whether it makes more sense to stick with a native brand (Canon/Nikon) or choose a third-party option. Sigma and Tamron, in particular, now offer more and more lenses with very good value for money. You can also take a detailed look at DxO, which tests a large number of lenses. If you shoot Canon, I recommend checking out the complete guide I wrote on the best Canon wide-angle lenses!

For each category, I provide a summary table of the different lenses mentioned in the text, so you can compare and sort them according to your needs and preferences. Prices are updated directly and shown for three online retailers. Reminder: FF = full frame = 24x36mm

Below, you’ll find a summary table listing all the lenses I recommend under €500. The table is sortable and compares prices from three online retailers.

• At Canon (EF-S): for a wide-angle option at a “low price,” I particularly recommend the EF-S 10–22mm f/3.5–4.5 USM and the EF-S 10–18mm f/4.5–5.6 IS STM.
• At Nikon: the AF-P DX Nikkor 10–20mm f/4.5–5.6G VR remains a benchmark in this price range.
• From third-party brands, I recommend taking a close look at three alternatives available in both Nikon and Canon mounts: the Sigma 10–20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM, the Tokina ATX-I 11–16mm f/2.8 CF, my first excellent-quality APS-C wide-angle with a nice f/2.8 aperture, and the Tamron 10–24mm f/3.5–4.5 Di VC.

If you have a full-frame body (“full frame / 24×36”), wide-angle choices at this price are extremely limited. To my knowledge, Tokina is one of the few options with its 17–35mm f/4 (there’s also the 16–28mm f/2.8, which is slightly more expensive—I mention it below). Both lenses have a very good reputation, and for the price, I think they’re two solid choices. Among native brands, the budget for a wide-angle lens quickly jumps above €500 unless you turn to the secondhand market. Around the €500 mark (though often still slightly above), there’s the Tamron 17–35mm f/2.8–4, which I mention later.

Oh right, I almost forgot: for tighter budgets, and if you’re not afraid of manual lenses, Samyang offers an excellent and highly regarded 14mm f/2.8 MF. You can find it new for under €350, and it’s clearly a good way to get started with landscape photography without breaking the bank.

For Panasonic/Olympus mirrorless owners looking for a wide-angle lens in this price range, the choice is fairly limited. There’s the Olympus 9–18mm f/4–5.6, with a relatively modest variable aperture (and usually slightly above €500). Otherwise, take a look at the excellent Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 9mm f/1.7 or the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN. With autofocus, there isn’t much better at this price.

For smaller budgets, and if you don’t mind manual focus, Samyang offers great value for money with a 10mm and a 12mm, both with an f/2.8 aperture.

Here are the wide-angle options for Micro Four Thirds, with autofocus, around or under €500.

Below, I list the manual-focus lenses for the M4/3 mount under €500. There’s still plenty of choice, with lots of options to get started at a low price.

For APS-C mirrorless cameras, the choice has improved, even though it still varies a lot from one mount to another. For Canon EF-M, one of the main wide-angle options is the EF-M 11–22mm f/4–5.6 IS STM. There are still relatively few options in this price range at Fuji, except for the Fujifilm XF 16mm f/2.8 R WR. You will, however, find manual-focus lenses from third-party brands such as the TTArtisan 10mm f/2 X, the Samyang 12mm f/2 NCS CS X, or the Laowa 10mm f/4 Cookie X. For Sony mirrorless cameras (“E” mount), you’ll find the excellent Sony E 11mm f/1.8, the Sony E 16mm f/2.8, and also the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemp., Viltrox 13mm f/1.4 STM E, the Samyang AF 12mm f/2 E, etc.

For Nikon Z (DX), the choice is still more limited, but you can look at options such as the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Z or the Viltrox AF 13mm f/1.4 Z.

The table below summarizes the main characteristics of the lenses mentioned above (wide-angle lenses under about €500—there may be others).

In this price range, choices are more limited, but they do exist. For example:

• For Sony full-frame bodies: Sigma 17mm f/4 DG DN I C, Tamron 20mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2, Tamron 24mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2, Samyang 14mm f/2.8 FE AF, Samyang 18mm f/2.8 FE AF, etc.
• For Canon RF full-frame bodies: Canon RF 15–30mm f/4.5–6.3 IS STM, Canon RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, Samyang MF 14mm f/2.8 RF
• For Nikon Z full-frame cameras: Samyang MF 14mm f/2.8 Nikon Z, Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8 Z

Choices are also very limited in this price range. Here’s a summary of the lenses mentioned above:

Here, we’re entering a price range that gives you more room to choose. You can find all the recommended lenses in the €500–€1,000 range in the summary table below. You can sort the table by features and compare prices from three online retailers.

At Canon, for APS-C, you won’t find anything better than the two lenses mentioned in the €0–€500 range. At Nikon, there’s mainly one lens: the 10–24mm f/3.5–4.5. There’s also the older Nikkor AF-S DX 12–24mm f/4G IF-ED, but compared with the Nikon 10–24mm, I’m not sure I’d recommend it, to be honest, given the price. In this range, third-party brands don’t offer anything dramatically better either; we’re still talking about the 11–16mm f/2.8 (Tokina) or the 10–20mm f/3.5 (Sigma).

For full-frame DSLRs, if you have a larger budget (€500–€1,000), you can start treating yourself to several wide-angle options. If you stick with native brands, you still won’t get a large f/2.8 aperture at this price, unfortunately. At Canon, I’d particularly mention two models: the older but still very good 17–40mm f/4 L, a solid compromise at a still reasonable price, and, at the upper end of this range, the 16–35mm f/4, the lens I bought in summer 2019. From what I’ve seen, I’m more than happy with it!

On the Nikon side, a very good compromise in my opinion remains the 18–35mm f/3.5–4.5G ED (admittedly with a modest variable aperture). The 16–35mm f/4 VR also has an excellent reputation and accepts 77mm filters. Also worth noting in this price range are the Nikkor AF-S 20mm f/1.8G ED and the Nikkor AF-S 24mm f/1.8G ED.

With third-party brands in this price range, you can look at the Tokina 16–28mm f/2.8 and the two Tamrons: the 17–35mm f/2.8–4 Di OSD and the 15–30mm f/2.8 G1 (there’s also a G2, which is generally a bit more expensive but still worth considering if you’re interested in this 15–30mm). Finally, Samyang offers a very nice wide-angle with a large aperture, the AF 14mm f/2.8 (autofocus). At around €650, it’s a very interesting lens to consider.

In this price range, you can turn to several lenses from both brands:

• The Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7–14mm f/4 ASPH or the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 8–18mm f/2.8–4 ASPH
• The 7–14mm f/2.8 PRO at Olympus is very often around €1,000, sometimes slightly above, but you get a nice f/2.8 aperture. Also note the Olympus M.Zuiko ED 8–25mm f/4 PRO

In short, here is a more complete look at the different options between roughly €500 and €1,000.

Here’s an overview of the main mounts offering wide-angle lenses between about €500 and €1,000.

• At Sony
  • The Sony 10–18mm f/4, a highly regarded wide-angle around €900/€1,000 (but hard to find now),
  • The Sony E 15mm f/1.4 G or (the one we chose), the Sony E PZ 10–20mm f/4 G
• At Fuji
  • The Fuji 10–24mm f/4 R OIS WR, the first “financially accessible” wide-angle. The Fujifilm XF 8–16mm f/2.8 R LM WR is much more expensive. For fans of beautiful lenses, Zeiss also offers for Fuji mount a 12mm f/2.8, the Zeiss Touit, apparently a real gem. You can also look at the Fujifilm XF 16mm f/1.4 R WR

To summarize, here are the lenses mentioned in the table below.

For Fuji (with AF) between €500 and €1,000

For Sony (with AF) between €500 and €1,000

For Canon RF-S (with AF) between €500 and €1,000

For Nikon Z (DX) between €500 and €1,000

With Canon RF, only the Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM fits into this category, and it can also be used for macro thanks to its 1:2 magnification ratio. With Nikon Z, at the upper end of this price range, there’s the Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 S. Shorter focal lengths often already go beyond €1,000.

With Sony, you have a lot of choice in this price range, so you can treat yourself. I’m not going to list everything here, but I’ll mention in particular:

• Sony 20mm f/1.8 G (at the upper limit) or the Sony 24mm f/2.8 G FE,
• From third-party brands: the Tamron 17–28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD, the excellent Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG DN Art, the Sigma 16–28mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemp., the Tamron 20–40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD, or for tighter budgets, the Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 FE, Samyang 14mm f/2.8 FE AF

As with the other price ranges, here’s a summary table that lets you compare the main characteristics and prices of the lenses in this range.

I don’t recommend anything beyond the lenses already mentioned in the previous €500–€1,000 range.

If you have a full-frame body and are looking for a wide-angle lens, this is where you can really treat yourself. At Canon, the reference zooms remain the 16–35mm f/2.8L III and the 11–24mm f/4L. In primes, you also have the 14mm f/2.8L II. At Nikon, you can look at the 14–24mm f/2.8G (very expensive, and with a bulging front element).

If you’re considering third-party brands, there are the excellent Sigma 14–24mm f/2.8 Art (I would have chosen it that summer if I could have mounted filters on it easily) or the 12–24mm f/4 Art. At Sigma, there’s also the excellent 14mm f/1.8, a wide-angle with a truly huge maximum aperture. You also have the Tamron 15–30mm f/2.8 Di VC G2 (the Canon version has a filter holder system built directly into the lens).

At Panasonic, you’ll find the 10–25mm f/1.7, a very fine lens with a very large constant f/1.7 aperture. There’s also the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Summilux 10–25mm f/1.7 ASPH and the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 8–18mm f/2.8–4 ASPH.

In this price range, for an APS-C mirrorless camera, there’s the Fuji 8–16mm f/2.8 R LM WR.

For full-frame mirrorless cameras, you have quite a few appealing wide-angle options in this price range.

For Nikon Z, here are the main ones, with autofocus.

For Canon RF (full-frame bodies):

For Sony full-frame bodies (FE mount), the choice is also broad:

For the L mount, there are also many options!

As mentioned above, your choice will mainly depend on the type of camera you have (DSLR or mirrorless), your sensor size (mFT, APS-C, or full frame), and very often your budget.

If you’re on a limited budget and using APS-C DSLR bodies, I would particularly recommend the Canon EF-S 15–85mm f/3.5–5.6 IS or the Nikon 18–105mm f/3.5–5.6 VR. The 17–50mm f/2.8 EX or the 17–70mm f/2.8–4 DC, both from Sigma, can also be very good affordable alternatives. Still with APS-C DSLRs, and for those with a larger budget, I recommend the two excellent options: Canon’s 17–55mm f/2.8 and, at Nikon, the 16–80 f/2.8–4 VR. Their larger apertures give you more flexibility, especially in low light.

For those with a full-frame DSLR body, there’s the Canon 24–105mm EF f/4L IS II USM and, at Nikon, the 24–85mm f/3.5–4.5G VR. These are among the cheapest options, and at this price point, you won’t get a large aperture. There’s also a nice Sigma alternative that I recommend for anyone looking for a “low-cost full-frame standard zoom”: the excellent Sigma 24–105mm f/4 Art, which is clearly a step above the other two mentioned. If you can afford it and want a great standard zoom for landscape photography as well as other subjects, you can turn to the classic 24–70mm f/2.8 (sometimes stabilized, sometimes not), whether from Nikon, Canon, Sigma or Tamron. Prices rise very quickly, and it’s up to you to decide whether paying twice as much for a native lens is worth it compared with a very good Sigma/Tamron.

For those who have switched to mirrorless cameras, things are not quite as simple given the number of systems available. Remember that mirrorless cameras come in three main sensor sizes: mFT, APS-C, and full frame. Naturally, the field of view of a standard zoom changes depending on the sensor size. Broadly speaking, we’re looking at around 12–35mm in mFT, 16–50mm in APS-C, and 24–70mm in full frame.

For those using an Olympus/Panasonic mirrorless camera (mFT) who want to move up to a higher-quality standard zoom than the kit lens, I particularly recommend the 12–60mm f/2.8–4 (Panasonic) or the 12–100mm f/4 (Olympus). If you have the budget and want to invest in a beautiful standard zoom with a large constant aperture, the 12–35mm f/2.8 II (Panasonic) and the 12–40mm f/2.8 (Olympus) are two superb references.

For Sony APS-C mirrorless users looking for a higher-quality standard zoom, two references stand out: the 16–70mm f/4 (cheaper, but with a smaller aperture) and the 16–55mm f/2.8 G (for larger budgets). With Fuji mirrorless cameras (APS-C), we find more or less the same logic, with the 16–80mm f/4 OIS (mid-budget) and the excellent 16–55mm f/2.8 R LM WR (more expensive, but with a nice constant f/2.8 aperture).

As for full-frame mirrorless lenses, I’ll only give a few recommendations for Sony, which offers the widest choice. As with DSLRs, there’s a 24–105mm f/4 (lower budget) and a 24–70mm f/2.8, both of which remain solid standard-zoom references depending on your budget. The Tamron 28–75mm f/2.8 is also a good alternative: cheaper and lighter.

As I said in the introduction, it’s obviously possible to shoot landscapes with a telephoto lens. That said, it’s still less common, and I’m not going to list every telephoto option here. Keep the following in mind: telephotos are often expensive, heavy, and bulky when they have a large aperture (f/2.8, for example). Fortunately, in landscape photography, we often use smaller apertures (we “stop down”). So, to avoid breaking the bank, you can limit yourself to telephotos with maximum apertures of f/4 or f/5.6. Of course, if you also want to use your telephoto for portraits, wildlife, or sports, it’s better to go for a lens with a larger aperture. Speaking of wildlife, I invite you to read my article on camera gear for a safari.

That brings us to the end of this article on landscape lenses in photography. As usual, I’ll try to keep it updated as new lenses come out. In any case, I hope this article helps you choose your next lens for landscape photography! Maybe you’re looking for another lens for your mirrorless camera? Here’s my complete guide!

See you soon,

Written by Sylvain PONS

I've been passionate about photography since 2010, learning as I went along. Today, I dedicate myself to guiding others in their choice of camera gear and sharing a variety of tips to improve their photography skills.

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