10 Best Wide Angle Lenses for Canon 2023

For anyone who owns a full-frame DSLR camera from Canon such as the 5D Mark IV, a wide angle lens is a must-have. The same rule applies for all full-frame DSLRs no matter the model. But why is this kind of lens so important?

The wide angle lens is a popular choice for:

• Portrait photography
• Sports
• Wedding
• Photojournalism and so forth

There are quite a few reasons why wide-angle lens photography is fast becoming a trend. For instance, as far as the mechanics reasons go, these lenses are reputed for their high levels of precision.

What’s more? They are renowned for their wealth of resolving power which beats what ordinary camera provide, fair and square.

So, if your goal is to capture some commemorative photos, you’d be at a great advantage if you jump onto this bandwagon. But with so many lenses on offer, you might be wondering which one to settle for.

That’s what this review of the popular wide angle lenses is all about. Hopefully, it will help you make an informed bet.

Wide Angle Lenses for Canon – Comparison

Don’t have the whole day to read about these lenses? The following is a short comparison chart meant to help you make the most from your Canon camera.

1. Canon EF 8-15mm Fisheye Lens

This lens produced by Canon is one of the most radical models you will ever encounter and it will definitely alter your perspective on photography.

Product description

The Canon EF 8-15mm lens was released by Canon in August 2010 offers multiple focal lengths in a fisheye configuration.

Your attention will first be drawn to its outstanding focal length range. You will get to experience the amazing 180-degree diagonal angle view of images coupled with imaging formats including full frame and APS-C.

This model is the widest fisheye zoom lens globally and features UD glass for suppression of chromatic aberration, a Sub-wavelength coating, fluorine coating for minimizing fingerprints and smears and allows for instant switching from AF to manual operation.

Other features and benefits

The lens takes quite a short time to go through the focusing range. Further, it does this while producing little or no noise at all. You can also turn the focusing ring to override the autofocus results if you wish.

It has an incredible build quality and is designed to be weather and dust-resistant.

It balances well on full frame and APS-C based camera bodies due to its fair weight and size.

The focus ring has roughly ninety degrees of turning action and this leads to incredibly swift autofocus performance.

Lastly, the lens hood is petal shaped and maintains its natural position in order to protect the protruding front element.

Pros

• Quiet and fast autofocus performance
• Dust resistant
•  Extremely sharp

Cons

• Lens cap and hood tend to come off

2. Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L ii USM lens

This lens was specifically designed for you if you are a professional photographer. It can be used in both full-frame DSLRs and other models with APS-C sized image sensors.

Product description

The Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L ii lens has an amazing build quality and an extensive weatherproof sealing. The lens hood is petal shaped while the lens cap fits very securely. At the front end of the lens is a wide, rubberized focusing ring while a distance scale and a depth-of-field scale are located behind it.

All the focusing is internal and you will have a slider switch to allow you to switch between auto and manual focusing. Even better, full-time manual focusing is supported.

The convex front element is protected by a clip-on lens cap which covers the lens hood.

Other features and benefits

The plastic lens cap is an improvement from its predecessor. It clips more securely in place and is also quite easy to remove. You will also notice that the AF/MT switch is smoother and integrated much more effectively into the lens barrel.

Once you fit the lens into the camera, you will surely be impressed by the perceived flatness of its field of view. The rectilinear distortion is incredibly low and the image will be as sharp as it can ever be.

The focusing is really fast, a clear indication of an outstanding performer.

Pros

• Very sharp
• Fast focusing performance
• Weather-resistant build

Cons

• Quite expensive

3. Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens

When it comes to landscape photography, most of the attention is on the width and sharpness of the lenses. Most professional landscape shooters prefer wider and sharper lenses, and this desire can easily be quenched by the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L lens.

Product description

The lens is made out of 16 elements in 11 groups and has nine aperture blades. It has a minimum shooting distance of 0.28m (at 24mm) and a maximum magnification of 0.16x (at 24mm). The lens measures roughly 108 by 132mm and also approximately weighs 1180g.

Other features and benefits

Once you use this lens, you will first notice that there is basically no unnatural distortion. The image is so sharp that even at a focal length of 11mm; even the edges of the image can be clearly seen.

Chromatic aberration is kept at a level which is quite low for lenses of the same class.

The front element of the lens is circular and protrudes outwards and so you will have to use a rear gelatin filter that you will insert into the filter holder at the rear of the lens.

On the other end, the convenient 24mm focal length will ensure you end up with outstanding images of the highest quality all around.

Whether at f/8 or f/11, this lens will surely deliver an outstanding performance.

Pros

• No unnatural distortions
• Has an ultra-wide angle
• Has an amazing build

Cons

• Quite expensive

4. Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 Ultra-wide zoom lens

This lens was released in February 2010 and is specifically designed for DSLR cameras with APS-C size image sensors and has the widest angle of view of its make.

Product description

The lens has an angle of view which is equivalent to a 12-24mm lens and has new Sigma FLD glass elements, whose performance can be equated to that of fluorite glass and they make up for the color aberration. It has a focal distance of 9.4 inches and is compactly constructed to measure 4.2 inches long and 2.9 inches wide.

Other features and benefits

It features new FLD elements which help in keeping rectilinear distortion to a minimum. This type of glass is known to have a lower refractive index as well as low dispersion as compared to regular optical glass.

The lens has a fixed, petal-shaped hood which helps in guarding against scratches and knocks as well as reducing the entry of stray light in contre-jour circumstances.

The focusing and zoom rings and lens hood are made out of dense high-quality polycarbonate and this combination of elements results in a stunning appearance for the gadget.

It will offer an amazing perspective on the items you take a photo of and has very low levels of barrel distortion that results in a straight line appearing bowed.

Pros

• Very affordable
• High resolution at all focal lengths
• Amazing build quality

Cons

• Not a very fast lens

5. Tamron AFA012N700 SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di Wide-Angle lens

The development of this lens was first announced in September 2014 while the release was in January 2015.

Product description

This unique lens has a focal length of up to 30mm and a steady aperture of f/2.8 throughout the zoom range. It has in-built image stabilization and superior all-around image quality from an ultra wide-angle zoom. The lens also has soft-focus backgrounds at wide angle settings.

It also has a quiet auto-focus feature due to the ultrasonic silent drive.

Other features and benefits

The lens is awesome for low-light photography due to its outstanding optical performance and steady aperture of f/2.8 throughout the zoom range.

Its focus speed is quite high due to the USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) Motor feature. Further, it does so extremely silently.

The outstanding feature or benefit of this lens is the built-in image stabilization. In this lens, this is referred to as Vibration Compensation and it provides up to four stops of compensation in hand-held shooting.

Lastly, it utilizes eBand and BBAR coating technologies to ensure exceptional performance against extremely bright sources of light.

Pros

• Exceptional image stabilization
• High focus speed
• Minimal distortion

Cons

• Too bulky

6. Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM lens

Product description

This model was announced in May 2014 with the aim of providing an alternative to the EF-S 10-22mm USM. It is a lightweight ultra-wide zoom for APS-C format DSLRs. It has a pretty basic build and has impressive optical quality.

It is highly rated by movie shooters due to its image stabilization feature as well as smooth STM focusing.

Other features and benefits 

First, it is a compact and lightweight ultra-wide zoom for Canon’s cropped DSLRs with APS-C sensors.

The EF-S 10-18mm covers a view equivalent to 16-29mm and you will comfortably capture wide landscapes or group shots without necessarily having to move further backward.

The zoom range, which starts at 18mm, will enable you to zoom much wider with minimal interruption during coverage.

It has STM focusing which is much smoother and quieter than the earlier versions, making it a favorite for movie makers.

Lastly, it is also lighter and smaller than earlier versions, thereby enhancing its portability trait.

Pros

• Lightweight and small
• Silent and smooth focusing
• Quite affordable

Cons

• Not weather-sealed

7. Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di-ii Wide Angle Zoom Lens

Product description

This lens is an ultra-wide-angle zoom lens for Canon APS-C and Nikon DX format DSLRs. It has optical image stabilization while it has an impressive moisture-resistant construction. It has a focal length of 10-24mm and measures 84.6mm wide by 83.6mm long. It weighs 884 grams and has a 77mm filter size.

Other features and benefits

An important feature for this lens is the Vibration Compensation (VC) system which would allow hand-held shooting at shutter speeds which are four stops slower than the realistic pace which normally results in blurred images as a result of camera shake.

It has a moisture-resistant construction which makes it quite suitable for outdoor expeditions. It also utilizes an electromagnetic diaphragm to make the lens advantageous for live view and video.

Its optical construction, which includes 16 elements arranged in 11 groups and low dispersion (LD) glass element, is vital in minimizing or eliminating issues such as chromatic and coma aberration.

The application of BBAR (Broad Band Anti-Reflective Coating) helps greatly in making the optics resistant to flare.

Lastly, the auto-focus feature is silent, fast and accurate, making it an outstanding performer.

Pros

• Weather resistant construction
• Silent and swift auto-focus
• Effective image stabilization

Cons

• Relatively expensive

8. Sigma 12-24mm f/24 DG Art Lens

Product description

This lens was announced in September 2016 and is the widest zoom lens from Sigma to date. For the landscape and architecture photographer, this is definitely going to sound really appealing since this view is extremely wide.

It has a focal length ranging from 12-24mm and a maximum aperture of F4. It has an effective Ring-type Ultrasonic Focusing and 9 diaphragm blades which are rounded. The focus method is the internal one while the construction is fairly weather resistant.

Other features and benefits

First, it has a multi-layer coating whose main purpose is to reduce flare and ghosting which tend to interfere with the quality of the image.

Secondly, you will have the option of altering focus by fine-tuning at four focal lengths and four distances as well through the USB-dock.

It has an impressive magnification and about 6cm of working distance. The optics consist of 16 elements in 11 groups.

Lastly, it comes with padded lens case and a strap for protection and storage.

Pros

• High-quality images
•  Deals well with chromatic aberration
•  The lens flare is at its minimum

Cons

• No image stabilization

9. Tokina 11-20mm f/2.8 Pro DX Lens

Product description

The Tokina 11-20mm Pro DX lens covers a wider focal range in comparison to the preceding 11-16mm zooms and is, therefore, more versatile, ranging from landscape to interior tasks.

It has f/2.8 maximum aperture and a minimum focus distance of 28cm. it weighs approximately 560grams and has 9 aperture blades.

Its construction includes 14 elements in 12 groups.

Other features and benefits

To start with, it has extremely high sharpness and contrast while the spherical aberrations are at a minimum. This is due to the construction of the lens which sandwiches two glass molded elements in between three super-low dispersion glass elements.

The multi-layer film coatings help in reducing internal reflection which normally results in ghosting and flares.

The rubber ring at the rear helps in sealing it against the camera’s metal lens mount.

It has a compact and well-balanced build and is quite comfortable when paired with an APS-C DSLR.

Pros

• Highly sharp images
• A solid and balanced build
• Feels comfortable in the hands
• Pros4

Cons

• Noisy auto-focus
• No image stabilization

Also read: 6 Best Pentax 67 Lenses

10. Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM lens

Product description

The lens was released in 2012 and has the image stabilization feature. It is widely considered to be the best wide angle lens for canon 6d since it is quite rare for wide-angle prime lenses to have the image stabilization feature.

You can comfortably use it for landscape and architectural photography as well as indoors and for travel photography.

Other features and benefits

The lens includes a durable metallic mount which is roughened and apart from the classy look, it prevents scratches from getting to the lens.

Then there is the ultrasound focusing motor which is silent, accurate and swift. It also allows for full-time manual override of the autofocus operation.

It also has a modern and silent image stabilizer which makes up for camera shake and allows shutter speeds up to 4-stops

The lens is sharp all round from the image center to all the corners. There is minimal distortion and this turns into an incredible performance of the lens.

Finally, the 7-blade circular aperture diaphragm will ensure that you get the softest and most beautiful backgrounds.

Pros

• Compact and solid build
• Features an image stabilization feature
• Versatile in terms of the environments it can work in

Cons

• Really expensive

Wide Angle Lenses for Canon – Buying Guide

So, what are some of the factors to keep in mind when shopping for these lenses? Well, to break it down for you, here’s a set of factors worth keeping in mind at all times.

The Field Of View

What’s the field of view that you’d like to achieve? Normally, the wider your lens’ focal length, the wide the zone of sharpness is likely to be.

Do You Need A Fisheye Effect?

A fish-eye effect is important especially when looking to add some striking effects on your shots. Indeed, fish-eye lens are responsible for the circular images that give a lot of detail about the background.

And if that’s what you’re looking for, you might want to insist on getting a set that’s specially designed for that role. While at it, note that these lenses come with focal lengths that range from 6mm to 16mm.

What About Exaggerated Perspectives?

For anyone looking to get the most from their shots, ultra-wide angle lenses are the go-to choice. They provide you with some exaggerated perspectives and are perfect for silhouetting foreground subjects.

These kind of lenses come with focal lengths falling in the range of 17mm and 20mm. They’re normally a perfect bet for outdoor photography.

Which One Is The Best?

If you’re looking for some extra-wide photo capturing abilities, the Canon EF 14mm Ultra-Wide Fixed angle would be a perfect bet. On the other hand, if looking that coveted fisheye effect, the Canon EF 8-15mm would be a perfect bet.

Final Thoughts

The wide angle lens has the potential to help you access wider opportunities, quite literally. So, don’t limit your options. With our review of the popular wide angle lenses for the Canon brand, we hope it’ll now be easier for you to make a sound decision.