Start getting more from your Canon lenses! In this expert guide written by our friends at the Canon magazine PhotoPlus you’ll find tips on how to use your Canon lenses to their full potential, as well as essential lens-buying advice and the best lens choices for different situations.
The major plus point of owning a DSLR over a point-and-shoot camera is being able to switch lenses to suit your subjects, rather than making a hash of it with a fixed lens on your compact that might not be wide enough or long enough, or fast enough, or sharp enough.
But there are hundreds of different lenses available for your Canon DSLR and knowing which lenses are best for your needs, and then working out how to actually use them, can baffle even the most dedicated enthusiast photographer.
In this guide we have compiled no less than 40 top tips for getting the very best from your Canon lenses (note that when we say ‘Canon’ lens, we mean ‘Canon-fit’, so that also includes popular third-party brands such as Sigma, Tamron and Tokina).
From standard and wide-angle zooms to primes and macro lenses, from telephoto and superzooms to specialist fisheye and tilt-shift lenses, we cover every type of lens, and explain the best techniques for using them.
Plus we share our buying tips so you know what to look out for, and provide a list of the very best lenses in each category to consider when you’re upgrading…
How to use Canon lenses: standard & wide-angle zooms
01 Avoid converging verticals of buildings
Wide-angle lenses enable you to squeeze more of a scene into a single frame, but you’ll need to be close to subjects in order to make them appear large enough.
This can cause problems when you’re shooting architecture; if you point a wide-angle lens upwards when you’re standing close to a building you’ll end up with converging verticals, where the top appears much narrower than the base. You can use this effect creatively to make structures appear to tower above the viewer.
02 Watch the corners
Not all Canon cameras show the whole picture through the viewfinder. The Canon EOS 700D, for instance, shows 95% of the area being captured, so it’s all-too easy to find that unwanted elements have crept into the corners of the frame when you check your pictures.
While it can be straightforward to crop the image or clone the distractions out in
your photo editing software, why not fix it at the time of shooting? Zoom out slightly before you take the shot and glance around the edge of the frame before zooming in again.
Another easy solution is to use Live View, as this shows the full image from the camera sensor, although it can be tricky to fine-tune composition in handheld shooting.
03 Take sharper shots
Affordable standard zooms tend to have slow maximum apertures, such as f/5.6 or f/6.3. This means that for a given focal length they let in less light than a zoom with a fast maximum aperture, such as f/2.8.
There’s a risk that pictures will be blurred in low light or when you’re photographing moving subjects, so increase the ISO to compensate (or let your camera handle this by
choosing the Auto ISO setting). It’s definitely worth buying a walkaround lens with Image Stabilization, if you can stretch to it.
04 Hyperfocal distance
Landscape photographers frequently make use of the hyperfocal distance when using a wide-angle lens. The hyperfocal distance is the shortest focus distance at which everything, from close-range to infinity, will appear sharp.
The setting you need to use changes according to a complicated formula that depends on the focal length of the lens, the aperture and even the size of the camera’s imaging sensor, but there are many smartphone apps available that calculate the hyperfocal distance for you once you’ve tapped in all the necessary info. Simply manually focus the lens at this distance to maximise the depth of field.
Before
Zooming in to our original shot
After
You can let the software do the corrections automatically (based on predetermined lens profiles) or carry out a manual correction using the sophisticated tools available.
What to consider when buying one of these Canon lenses…
06 EF-S vs EF
Canon makes lenses in two different mounts. EF-S lenses are engineered to only work on cameras with APS-C-sized sensors (so, everything bar the full-frame 6D, 5D and 1D bodies). If you’re thinking of going full-frame in the future, consider EF lenses as these are compatible with all Canon DSLRs.
07 Distance scale
Not all wide-angle lenses have a focus distance scale printed on their lens barrels, but it’s something to look for if you plan on doing lots of landscape photography. The scale will enable you to set the hyperfocal distance accurately – something you’ll have to guesstimate with lenses that lack it.
08 Close focusing
Some zooms are marked as having a ‘macro’ function, but this is really just a marketing gimmick to indicate that they can focus fairly close. For true 1:1 life-size photography you’ll need to buy a dedicated macro lens.
09 Filter compatibility
If you want to add a filter to the front of the lens, check the front of the lens barrel. You’ll find the diameter of the filter thread detailed here. Standard lenses tend to have smaller filter threads, so if your filters are too large for the lens, buy step-up adaptors.
10 Zoom range
Ultra-wide zooms cover a range of focal lengths, but it’s the shortest focal length that you should be guided by. Chances are, once you’re bitten by the UWA bug, you’ll predominantly use it at its widest setting. In the EF-S mount consider lenses that start in the region of 10mm – every millimetre makes a huge difference at the wide end.
How to use Canon lenses: prime lenses
11 Focus accurately
The wide maximum apertures offered by prime lenses enable you to work with a very shallow depth of field. This is a trait that you can exploit when shooting a portrait, allowing you to create a margarine-smooth background that doesn’t detract from the subject.
However, accurate focusing can be difficult when working at the very wide apertures of f/1.4 and f/1.8 typically offered by 50mm and 85mm lenses. If you want to make sure your model’s eyes are sharp, select One Shot AF and manually select a single AF point that’s positioned over their nearest eye.
Shot at f/5.6
12 Freeze action
Typically, primes are ‘fast’ lenses. This doesn’t mean they necessarily focus faster, but rather that they enable the use of faster shutter speeds thanks to their wider maximum apertures. For instance, the widest aperture you can select at 50mm on a Canon 18-55mm kit zoom is f/5.6.
Shot at f/1.4
However, the widest aperture available on Canon’s 50mm f/1.4 prime lens is four stops faster. That makes a massive difference to getting a blurred shot or sharp one; if an aperture of f/5.6 gives a shutter speed of 1/50 sec, then the f/1.4 aperture would give a shutter speed of 1/800 sec in the same situation.
13 Control the aperture
The choice of aperture has a big effect on the depth of field – or the amount of front-to-back sharpness there is in an image. Wider apertures (such as f/2.8) reduce the depth of field, while narrower apertures (such as f/22) increase it.
You’ll want precise control over the depth of field when you’re using a fast prime lenses, so set the camera in Aperture Priority (Av) mode.
Press your camera’s depth-of-field preview button as you change the aperture to see the effect it has on the image displayed in the viewfinder.
No ND filter
14 Fit a neutral density filter
Using the widest aperture on a fast prime lens can lead to overexposed pictures in bright conditions.
The reason for this is that the shutter speed required to make a normal exposure at this aperture may be faster than the camera’s fastest setting (such as 1/8000 sec on a 70D).
With an ND filter
To get around this, you can fit a neutral density (ND) filter to the front of the lens to reduce the amount of light available, bringing the shutter speed back within the camera’s available range.
A variable ND filter can be a useful gadget if you shoot video, enabling you to adjust the strength of the effect as the light changes.
15 Zoom with your feet
Prime lenses offer a single focal length; they don’t zoom, so you’ll have to work harder to compose shots.
However, that also makes them excellent tools for learning the art of composition – if you’re new to photography, a cheap prime lens such as Canon’s 50mm f/1.8 makes an excellent investment.
The shallow depth of field offered by these lenses can be used as a compositional device too, allowing you to blur distractions and selectively focus to highlight a key feature of the scene.
What to consider when buying one of these Canon lenses…
16 Maximum aperture
Wider apertures let in more light, enabling faster shutter speeds and shallower depth of field – but they come with a price tag. Canon’s entry-level 50mm f/1.8 ‘nifty fifty’ costs around £90, while the f/1.4 version – at two-thirds of a stop faster – is almost £300. The top-end f/1.2 version costs over £1,200.
17 Filter thread
The front element and filter thread of a fast prime lens often has a large diameter, and this is something to bear in mind if you’ve already amassed a large collection of filters. You may need to upgrade them, and larger filters are more expensive.
18 Factor in sensor size
APS-C sensors are exposed to a smaller portion of the image projected by a lens. Multiply the lens focal length by 1.6 for the ‘effective’ focal length (EFL). This is good news for wildlife (a 400mm lens offers an EFL of 640mm) but bad news for landscapes (a 24mm lens offers an EFL of 39mm).
19 Aperture blades
Lenses with a more aperture blades usually produce better ‘bokeh’ (out-of-focus areas) because the lens opening is more rounded. This is why highlights captured with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM (8 blades) look smoother than those captured with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II (5 blades).
20 Manual override
Look for a prime lens that offers full-time manual focusing, such as one fitted with Canon’s Ultrasonic motor (USM). This will enable you to fine-tune the focus point even when the camera’s using autofocus, which comes in very handy when you’re working with a particularly shallow depth of field.
How to use Canon lenses: telephotos & super zooms
21 Banish dark corners
All lenses have a degree of corner darkening, although you may only notice it when the background is light in tone. Fast zooms and prime lenses used at their widest aperture settings are particularly prone to the effect.
However, there are a variety of ways in which you can reduce the problem. Choosing a narrower aperture can remove the worst.
Activate the Peripheral Illumination Correction function of your EOS camera to brighten up the corners at the time of shooting, or shoot Raw and use the vignette reduction tools available in Adobe Camera Raw or DPP.
22 Compress perspective
Telephoto lenses ‘compress’ a scene (although it’s really down to the distance you’re shooting at rather than the focal length itself), which makes foreground and background elements appear closer than they are in reality.
You can use this to make hills and mountain ranges look densely packed together, or to make the buildings in a city appear stacked in each other’s shadow.
The only thing to be aware of is that telephoto lenses have a shallower depth of field than standard or wider lenses; this is useful for creating a blurred background in a portrait, but makes things difficult when you want to keep every ‘layer’ in a scene sharp.
Shot at 1/640sec – sharp
23 Watch the speed
Longer focal lengths require faster shutter speeds to reduce the effects of camera shake compared to lenses with shorter focal lengths.
On a full-frame EOS camera, a 50mm lens should deliver sharp pictures when it’s being handheld at 1/50 sec or faster – however a focal length of 500mm can require a minimum shutter speed of 1/500 sec or faster for the same result.
Shot at 1/30sec – soft
This means that wide apertures and higher ISOs are often required (eg f/4 at ISO800 for a 1/500 sec shutter speed), although Image Stabilization can help make the difference between a blurred shot and a sharp one.
However, for consistently tack-sharp shots we’d always recommend a tripod when using lenses of 500mm or more.
24 Attach a lens hood
It’s common knowledge that a lens hood can shield the front element of a lens and prevent ghosting and flare from degrading picture quality. However, a lens hood is much more versatile than that.
For instance, fit one when you’re shooting in damp conditions and you’ll protect the front element from raindrops and snow – it can even be used to hold a makeshift plastic rain cover in place when conditions turn torrential.
If you do a lot of photography at the zoo or in an aquarium, consider a buying a third-party rubber hood that will enable you to press the lens against viewing windows and reduce reflections.
25 Extend shooting time
Image Stabilization is a common feature on telephoto lenses and superzooms from Canon, Sigma and Tamron, but it’s one of the many advanced features that can quickly drain batteries if used excessively.
This is exacerbated in winter, when cold conditions cause camera batteries to lose their charge much more quickly. So when the temperature plummets, switch IS off and increase the ISO to give you faster shutter speeds for handheld photography – or reach for a tripod instead.
Extend shooting time further by switching the lens to manual focus (MF) while you’re at it.
What to consider when buying one of these Canon lenses…
26 Floating aperture
Telephoto zooms that have a fixed aperture, such as a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, can be very expensive. A more affordable option is a zoom with a ‘floating’ aperture (such as f/5-6.3), where the aperture gets smaller as you zoom into a scene, meaning less light makes it through to the camera sensor.
27 How long?
The barrels of superzooms and some super-telephoto lenses can extend quite far at full zoom. This can make them a little unwieldy, particularly in the case of big lenses. Superzooms can almost double in length, but a zoom lock switch can prevent them from accidentally extending in transit.
28 Extend the reach
A teleconverter fits between the lens and the camera and multiplies the effective focal length of the lens by 1.4x (with the Canon EF 1.4x III Extender) or 2x (EF 2x III Extender). The downside is slower autofocus, a narrower maximum aperture, and slightly reduced image quality.
29 Keep it clean
Dust and other marks on the front element can reduce image quality, so keep it spotless. Invest in a bulb blower, brush and microfibre lens cloth – and use them in that order. Buying clear protective filters for all your lenses can provide a barrier against knocks and inclement weather.
How to use Canon lenses: specialist lenses
31 Use Live View to focus
When you’re shooting macro subjects, accurate focusing is critical. You’ll be dealing with a wafer-thin depth of field, even when shooting at relatively narrow apertures, so switch the lens to manual focus (MF) and use the magnification function offered by Live View to find the focusing sweet spot.
By pressing the button marked with the magnifying lens on the back of the camera, you’ll be to enlarge the focus point – one tap gives you x5 magnification, a second tap gives you x10.
Wide-angle
32 Try a tilt-shift lens
Tilt-shift lenses have two main features: they enable you to ‘shift’ the lens to correct for converging verticals in an image, and ‘tilt’ the lens to increase the depth of field when using a wide aperture.
Lens shifted
These features have plenty of real-world benefits, such as shooting a landscape while handholding the camera; typically you’d have to use a narrow aperture to keep everything sharp, and that would usually result in a slow shutter speed.
The lens swivels around as you make these adjustments, which can be unnerving at first, but they’re pretty robust tubes of glass. Despite Canon’s tilt-shift lenses having the ‘EF’ prefix, they’re all manual focus.
33 Get creative with a macro lens
A dedicated macro lens isn’t just for close-focus photography. It still offers the full focusing range – right up to infinity focus – so it can be used in the same way as you would any other prime lens.
A 50mm macro makes a great portrait lens on an APS-C camera body, for example, while a 100mm macro doubles up as a sharp, short telephoto lens on a full-frame EOS DSLR.
With most lenses offering a fast maximum aperture of f/2.8, you can create images with a shallow depth of field and freeze motion. Just don’t expect them to be a supplementary sports lens, as they’re not the fastest focusing optics around.
Shot at f/2.8
34 Choose the right aperture
Despite depth of field being critical in macro photography, don’t automatically choose the narrowest available aperture.
Shot at f/16
Rather than producing the sharpest possible image, the result will be soft thanks to the way that light bends around the aperture blades – a phenomenon known as diffraction.
Shot at f/32
The aperture offering the sweet spot of sharpness and depth of field is usually closer to the middle of the aperture range. Go any wider than f/8-f/11 and the much shallower depth of field becomes an issue.
35 Get the best from a fisheye
Fisheye lenses let you capture a seriously wide, distorted image, but you’ll need to be extremely close to a subject to prevent it appearing as a tiny speck in the final image.
Framing a fisheye shot brings its own unique set of challenges. For a start, it’s all-too easy for your feet or your shadow to appear in the picture, so activate Live View and hold the camera at arms’ length.
Camera shake needn’t be a concern, as the typical 8mm and 15mm focal lengths of fisheye lenses allow for sharp handheld photos at 1/8 sec and 1/15 sec respectively. You can freely choose wide apertures too, as the depth of field will be extensive at every setting.
What to consider when buying one of these Canon lenses…
36 Longer focal length is better
You have to be closer to a subject to achieve life-size images with macro lenses with focal lengths around 50mm than you do with ones of 100mm or more. The closer you are, the greater the risk of casting a shadow over the subject or (in the case of butterflies or bugs) frightening it away.
37 Focus limiter
As macro lenses can focus from just a few centimetres all the way to the horizon, they can be quite sluggish to lock on to a subject. A lens fitted with a distance limiter switch allows you to restrict the area that the focusing system has to cover, which can help speed things up.
38 What’s your budget?
Canon’s tilt-shift lenses are some of the best optical performers in the EF line-up. But their cost is hard to justify unless you’ll be using them day-in, day-out. If all you really want to do is get the tilt-shift ‘toytown’ effect, try a Lensbaby Composer – or simply recreate the effect in Photoshop.
39 The right fisheye
There are two main types of fisheye lenses: circular and rectilinear. You also need to bear in mind whether you’ll be using it on a full-frame or APS-C camera. A circular fisheye designed for a full-frame camera won’t show a full circular image when used on a camera with an APS-C sensor.
40 Avoid dust
Despite some specialist lenses having unusually shaped front elements and lens caps, they share the same rear cap as every other Canon lens. Once you’ve attached a lens, join the rear lens cap and camera body cap together to keep them dust-free.
