Canon Telephoto Lenses for Every Budget
photo by dan_prat via iStock
Canon Telephoto Lens
Whether you’re a relative newcomer to the world of telephoto photography or you’re a seasoned pro, there’s always room for upgrading your glass to something a little better with more features and capabilities.
Of course, brand-new Canon telephoto lenses can be very, very pricey. So the question of “where to buy cheap Canon lenses?” is likely on your mind.
In this Canon lens guide, we’ll review four Canon telephoto lenses for every budget that perform well, have tons of features, and are highly rated by Canon shooters.
Let’s get to it!
Editor’s Tip: The lenses you use are the most important gear you have - more important than even your camera. When shopping for lenses, buy the best lens you can afford. You can stretch your budget if you buy used, which means you can get a better lens for less money. Each of the lenses listed below have links to used versions for you to check out.
Best Budget Telephoto Lens for Canon: Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD
Lens mount: Canon EF
Autofocus type: Ultrasonic
Stabilized: Yes
Weight: 2 lbs., 8 oz.
Top pro: Great price
Top con: Slow aperture at 400mm
Used price: $648.00 in Like New condition
When you’re looking for the best budget telephoto lens for Canon, you can’t discount the value of a Tamron lens.
Not only is this lens relatively lightweight at 2 lbs., 8 oz., but it has a huge reach at up to 400mm. If you’re on the fence about this lens or a 70-200mm, having twice the reach with less weight could be an important determining factor.
Like its counterpart discussed below, this 100-400mm lens offers an excellently fast autofocus system. Add to that a 4-stop stabilizing system and you have the makings of a top performer on a budget.
But just because this is a cheap Canon lens doesn’t mean it’s cheaply made. The lens feels solid and sturdy in your hand and it has weather sealing to keep the elements out. What’s more, if you compare the image quality of this lens to Canon’s own 100-400mm lens, the differences are virtually indistinguishable.
And at less than $650.00 for a used lens in like-new condition, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better lens at this price point!
Get a detailed look at this lens in the video above by Dustin Abbott.
Best Mid-Range Telephoto Lens for Canon: Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 SP Di VC USD G2
Lens mount: Canon EF
Autofocus type: Ultrasonic
Stabilized: Yes
Weight: 3 lbs., 5 oz.
Top pro: Blazing-fast autofocus
Top con: Very heavy
Used price: $1,199.00 in Like New condition
With a name with that many acronyms, this has to be a good lens, right?
Though Tamron might have been looked down upon in years past, they’re now responsible for some of the best third-party lenses for Canon on the market today.
Their 70-200mm f/2.8 offers better performance than Canon’s own 70-200mm version. In fact, this lens has best-in-class image stabilization (offering 5-stops) and its autofocus system is absurdly fast thanks to dual microprocessors that speed up its performance.
This lens has three different modes for various types of photos. On the one hand, there’s a mode for panning shots and another for static shots.
On the other hand, the lens also has a special mode that applies image stabilization only during the exposure, therefore the viewfinder image is not affected. This is advantageous as it aids in tracking moving subjects, particularly those that are moving erratically.
Best of all, this lens is pennies on the dollar compared to its Canon counterpart!
Get a detailed review of this lens in the video above by Christopher Frost Photography.
Best Professional Telephoto Lens for Canon: Canon 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM with Built-In 1.4x
Lens mount: Canon EF
Autofocus type: Ultrasonic
Stabilized: Yes
Weight: 8 lbs.
Top pro: Built-in teleconverter
Top con: Major price tag
Used price: $8,399.00 in Excellent condition
If you need a do-anything telephoto lens, look no further.
Canon’s EF 200-400mm f/4L is not a small lens by any measure, so if you haven’t been to the gym lately, you might want to reactivate your membership before investing in this lens.
Though it’s big and heavy (which you should expect of a lens like this), it’s sharpness is simply off the charts. The built-in teleconverter (which reaches 280-560mm at f/5.6) is a huge bonus as well, giving you extra reach without having to switch to a longer lens.
With the teleconverter, this lens is ideal for sports and wildlife photography. Its reach and sharpness are ideally suited to either pursuit, though with an f/4 maximum aperture, you’ll encounter issues when light is not plentiful.
Nevertheless, that f/4 aperture is huge for a lens like this, and its depth of field control is simply wonderful.
This is not a Canon telephoto lens for the faint of heart, but if you have the arm strength and the budget, it’s hard to beat this lens for long-range photography. See this lens in action in the video above by Canon Imaging Plaza.
Speaking of budget, if this lens is too rich for your blood, you can always sell your old lenses and use the proceeds to finance this bad boy.
Outfits like KEH are always on the lookout for good used lenses to buy (like the Canon 28-300mm F/3.5-5.6 L IS USM and the Canon 600mm F/4 L IS II USM), so if you have something like that and you no longer need it, sell it!
