Canon EF lenses list

This page is the last one talking about camera lenses. We have finally finished listing all the lenses adapted to each mount and each brand (at least the main ones)! For those who are interested in Canon, we’ve already started to talk about the lenses adapted to the EF-S mount, i.e., for Canon APS-C DSLR cameras.

We finish our (herculean) work by this page, which includes all the lenses adapted to the Canon EF mount – meaning for full frame Canon DSLR cameras. Of course, all the lenses listed on here can be also used with Canon APS-C cameras.

Just to remind you that the EF mount was first introduced by Canon in 1987. Canon will then offer, in 2003, the EF-S mount, which is a variant of the EF mount intended for the APS-C cameras of the brand.

Anyway, moving on: if you own a full frame Canon DSLR camera, here are all the lenses you can use. Even if we tried to gather everything we found, we may have forgotten some. Very often, several versions (noted “II” or “III”) of a lens have been produced over time. We have only included the most recent ones, but be aware that the previous versions can often still be found new, or even second-hand for significantly less money.

Here is a summary of the different current full-frame DSLR cameras from Canon.

All the tables on this page can be sorted according to the characteristics you want (focal length, maximum aperture, filter size, etc.).

This page required a lot of research and compilation work. The list of lenses (unless we forgot) is up to date. We will later add our advice and tips to help you choose your lenses.

Canon offers a large number of lenses for the EF mount. The choice is much wider than for the Canon EF-S mount (adapted to Canon APS-C SLR lenses). As always, I’ve decided to divide the lenses for Canon full frame SLR cameras as follows:

1. Wide-angle (WA) and ultra-wide-angle (UWA) lenses: focal lengths less than 20mm (UGA) and 20mm to 35mm (GA),
2. Standard lenses: from 35mm to 75mm,
3. Telephoto lenses: for focal lengths beyond 75mm,
4. Macro lenses: suitable for macro photography.

Here are all the wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses offered by Canon for this EF mount. They are particularly adapted for anyone wanting to shoot very wide, especially for landscape photography, architecture, interiors, etc. I personally shoot my landscapes with the Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM, which I particularly like as it allows me to fit a lot of things in the frame, and especially to be able to use classic screw-in filters and/or a standard filter holder.

You will find in this list both zoom lenses and fixed focal lengths.

For those interested in this type of lenses, I wrote a complete page listing and detailing all Canon wide-angle lenses. You will find there all the wide-angle lenses for DSLR (full frame and APS-C) as well as all the Canon wide-angle ones for mirrorless cameras. All the lenses mentioned in the table above are obviously in there, but also many alternatives from third-party brands.

Regarding standard Canon lenses, I’ve gathered here all the classic zooms like 24-70mm, but also some transtandard lenses like 24-105mm, 24-135mm or 28-200mm. You will also find all prime lenses, from 35 to 50mm.

For Canon full frame cameras, many telephoto lenses are available. There are the classic ones in all brands: the 70-200mm with an aperture of f/2.8 or f/4, depending on your budget and your needs, or even cheaper telephoto lenses like the very good Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS II USM. I personally shoot with the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM and I do love it.

Finally, you will find a series of fixed focal lengths, like the 85mm (I shoot with the excellent Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM, which is really cheap now), the 100mm, 135mm and other prime lenses much more expensive, dedicated to wildlife or sports photography.

I have only listed here the few best known macro lenses from Canon. The most used and the most versatile one remains the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, and it enjoys an excellent reputation. You should know that there is also an older version of this 100mm, which is less expensive. Otherwise, you will have to look at third-party brands if you want more choice. Sigma, Tamron or Zeiss offer excellent macro lenses with autofocus.

Note that several extenders are available for the Canon EF mount. They can be used on a very wide range of telephoto lenses, from the Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM to the Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM, including the classic Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM. So, there are:

• Canon EF x2 III Teleconverter
• Canon EF x1,4 III Teleconverter

As usual, you will lose one stop of shutter speed with the TC x1,4, and 2 with the TC x2. For example, if you use the 2x multiplier on a lens like EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM, you’ll get the equivalent of 98-280mm f/5.6. By using the x1.4, you’ll get the same focal length but at f/4.

Of course, there are other third-party brands that offer cheaper focal length multipliers, such as Kenko, Yongnuo or Viltrox.

The Canon EF mount is nothing new, which is clearly an advantage for us. Prices of old lenses have really dropped, and many third-party brands have then started to produce new ones for this mount. For autofocus lenses, you can have a look at brands like Sigma, Tamron or Tokina, while other brands offer only manual focus lenses. This is specified in each table.

Sigma offers a very large number of lenses for the Canon EF mount. I have included here only the most recent ones as there are way too many. I have voluntarily divided them into 3 tables, by type of focal length: wide-angle, standard, and telephoto lenses. As a reminder, the “Art” range is equivalent to the top of the range at Sigma, while the acronym “OS” reminds that the lens is stabilized. Finally, still in the acronyms, “DG” indicates that the lens is dedicated to full-frame DSLR’s. Be careful not to confuse with the acronym “DG DN”, which reminds that the lens is dedicated to full format mirrorless cameras.

The table below lists all the wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses from Sigma for the Canon EF mount. It may be worth noting, if you’re interested, that some very nice options with large apertures (f/1.4) exist. Be careful though, most of these lenses do not accept traditional screw-in filters.

Here are the Sigma standard lenses. Sigma offers nice alternatives to Canon lenses, slightly cheaper than the brand’s ones (for the classic 24-70 and 24-105mm). Note also the three primes with very large apertures (f/1.4).

I have only listed the “recent” lenses since there are too many, but here is what you can find at Sigma as a telephoto lens for the EF mount.

I summarize below all the Tamron lenses available for the Canon EF mount. As a reminder, the “Di” acronym reminds the compatibility of the lens with full frame DSLR cameras. “Di II” means that the lens is dedicated to APS-C DSLR sensors. “Di III” is intended for mirrorless cameras. Note that all lenses in this list have an autofocus. The stabilization at Tamron is noted “VC”.

We no longer have to introduce the German brand Zeiss, very well known in the world of DSLR, and more and more in the mirrorless’ one. Here are all the Zeiss lenses for the EF mount of Canon, all manual focus. The acronym “ZE” reminds that the lens is intended for Canon full format cameras (not to be confused with the acronym “ZF.2”, aimed for Nikon).

Irix is a new Swiss brand offering some nice wide-angle lenses at lower cost. For lenses sold at less than 500 €, feedbacks are quite positive. The 150mm macro lens also has a good reputation for a relatively low price for such a long macro lens.

All lenses proposed by Laowa are non-stabilized and manual focus. For macro photography fans, there are some nice references allowing you to go beyond the classic 1:1 magnification ratio.

Tokina is one of the few third-party brands offering lenses for the Canon EF mount with autofocus. Only the most recent lenses have been listed below. You can find other older lenses on the second-hand market.

Samyang (also known as Rokinon in the US) offers mostly manual focus lenses for Canon EF mount. However, since 2018, two lenses with autofocus have been released: the Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 F and the Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 E.

The Chinese brand Yongnuo offers a set of “cheap” lenses, mostly with autofocus, for the Canon EF mount.

I’m coming to the end of this list of available lenses for the Canon EF mount. If you find any mistakes or if you think that other lenses could have been added to this list, feel free to leave us a comment below the article. In the meantime, if you are still hesitating between Canon and Nikon, here is the list of all Nikon lenses available for the F mount.

Sylvain