Canon EOS Lenses

Canon manufactures a wide variety of lenses in its EOS Camera System that are specifically designed for its line of EOS film SLR and DSLR cameras. Currently Canon includes over 65 lenses in its catalog, that range from the inexpensive Canon f/1.8 50mm prime to the ultimate f/5.6 1200mm zoom monster of a lens. And of course there is a lens to fill all the spots in between.

Canon lenses can be categorized in several different manners: by focal length, by "quality" or by function. For my purposes, I'll attempt to break them down by function, then focal length then quality.

A word about terminology.
As with any technical area, photography and in particular photographic equipment has its own "language". Here is a short glossary of terms:
DO: Diffractive Optical. Results in a smaller lens.
EF / EF-S: Lens series. EF lenses fit all Canon EOS Cameras. EF-S lenses only fit certain APS-C format sensors.
f/xx: F-stop of a lens. Measure of a lens maximum aperture. Lower number allows shooting in lower light situations.
IS: Image Stabilization.
Macro Lenses: Lenses specifically designed for close-up photography.
Tilt-Shift Lenses: Lenses specifically designed for architectural photography. Allows you to adjust the lenses to eliminate the trapezoidal effect that occurs when taking pictures of tall subjects.
USM: Ultra-sonic Motor or Ultra-sonic Mount. Canon's term for its high-speed lens drive motors.

Canon Prime Lenses.
A prime lens is any lens that has a constant focal length. There is no zoom. If you wish to fill more of the frame, you must physically move closer to your subject. The opposite is true if you wish to include more of your surrounds in a shot; you must move farther away from your subject.

Wide-angle Canon Prime Lenses:
These are lenses that range in focal length from a 14mm to about 35mm.
Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM
Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L USM
Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 USM
Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM
Canon EF 24mm f/2.8
Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM
Canon EF 28mm f/2.8
Canon EF 35mm f1.4L USM
Canon EF 35mm f/2.0

The Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM, Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L USM, Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM and Canon EF 35mm f1.4L USM are considered high end "Luxury" lenses by Canon and receive the "L" designation in their names. These are professional level lenses and are usually quite expensive when compared with Canon's standard lens offerings.

Standard/Medium Telephoto Canon Prime Lenses:
These lenses range in focal length from 50mm to about 100mm.
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
Canon EF 100mm f/2.0 USM

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM and the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM receive the "L" designation from this group of lenses, although most will agree that as far as image quality, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM comes very close.

Telephoto Canon Prime Lenses:
This group of lenses contains lenses with a focal length of 135mm through 300mm.
Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM
Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 with Softfocus
Canon EF 200mm f/2.0L IS USM
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 300mm f/4.0L IS USM

All but the Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 with Softfocus are "L" lenses.

Super Telephoto Canon Prime Lenses:
This group contains lenses that range from 400mm to 1200mm.
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 400mm f/4.0 DO IS USM
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM
Canon EF 500mm f/4.0L IS USM
Canon EF 600mm f/4.0L IS USM
Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM
Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L (Special order only)

All but the Canon EF 400mm f/4.0 DO IS USM are "L" lenses in this group.

Canon Zoom Lenses.
Zoom lenses are those lenses that allow you to adjust the focal length over a given range of values. There two main varieties within zoom lenses: constant aperture lenses and variable aperture lenses. With constant aperture lenses, the lens aperture remains fixed through the focal length adjustment range. In variable aperture lenses, the aperture can change from one focal length to another. Constant aperture lenses are usually considered better lenses.

Canon Ultra-Wide Angle Zoom Lenses:
This group includes lenses that range from a minimum focal length of 10mm through 17mm.
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM
Canon EF 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
Canon EF 17-85mm f/4.0-5..6 IS USM

The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM is a EF-S series lens and will only fit certain APS-C format Canon EOS Cameras. The other lenses are "L" lenses. Because of the "crop factor" involved with using lenses on APS-C format DSLR cameras, the 10-22 has the same effective focal length as the 16-35 when used on a full-frame camera.

Canon Standard Zoom Lenses:
This group contains lenses with a minimum focal length ranging from 18mm through 35mm.
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM
Canon EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Canon EF 28-90mm f/4.0-5.6 II
Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM
Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L USM

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM only fits certain APS-C Canon EOS Cameras.

Canon Telephoto Zoom Lenses:
This group contains lenses with a minimum focal length ranging from 55mm through 100mm.
Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L IS USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III USM
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
Canon EF 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II
Canon EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM

The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS only fits certain APS-C Canon EOS Cameras.

Canon Macro Lenses:
These lenses are specifically designed for close-up or macro photography.
Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Canon EF 185mm f/3.5L Macro

The Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM only fits certain APS-C Canon EOS Cameras.

Canon Tilt-Shift Lenses:
These lenses help correct any trapezoidal distortion found in architectural photography.
Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L
Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8
Canon TS-E 90mm f.2.8

As you can see, Canon has a very extensive line of lenses in a wide range of focal lengths and quality, making the Canon Lens line-up the most extensive in photography.