The BEST Canon EOS Lenses

Here is a list of the best lenses from Canon, Sigma, Tamron and Tokina as determined by user opinions from my "Lensplay" website. Of course there are many criteria for what's the best lens but here there are three sets of "best lens" data sorted by both price and overall rating. Just because a lens doesn't appear on the "best lens" list doesn't mean it's not a good lens of course. For example less popular lenses may not appear because they have not received enough ratings to qualify (at least 10 are needed before a lens will be rated as a "best lens").

Over on my other website, Lensplay.com I've been running an experimental database of lenses for Canon EOS bodies. Readers of the site were invited to give their own ratings on lenses on a scale of 5 to 10 which is fully explained on the Lensplay Ratings page. Briefly they are:

• 10 - Outstanding
• 9 - Very good
• 8 - Good
• 7 - Above average
• 6 - Average
• 5 - Below average

Rating below a 5 are reserved for me to assign to really bad lenses, though I haven't yet really found anything worth less than a 5 in a modern lens. I restricted users from giving anything less than a 5 rating to a lens because no lens in the database is that bad and ratings below a 5 would probably represent some sort of grudge that the user had against the lens maker (or maybe me!), or a deliberate attempt to skew the ratings, not the true quality of the lens.

Of course users don't scientifically test lenses. They don't shoot resolution test charts and calculate MTF. They use the lens and if they are happy with it, they give it a good rating. So the user rating combine technical quality with probably some subjective bias on the part of the user about how much they like the lens and the results it gives them. Actually that's probably a better way of judging a lens than a purely technical test. It gives a better feeling of whether the average user of the lens is happy with it.

As with every community activity there will always be some members of the community who like to "mess with the numbers" and hand out great ratings to lousy lenses or lousy ratings to great lenses. Because of this only lenses rated by 10 or more users are included here, plus the method of calculating the overall rating looks and accounts for "spoilers" based on a number of parameters (which I'm not going to reveal).

I have just (December 2011) manually reviewed the database entries looking for bogus data and when found I've removed it. Again I will not reveal my techniques for validating data, but they do exist. Data that gets past initial checks is reviewed again at regular intervals for validity.

I think the results are a pretty accurate reflection of user's feelings about the lenses. There are no lenses included that I'd have excluded and most of the lenses I would have picked are in the tables somewhere.

The listings on Lensplay.com are dynamic and show the results in real time. The tables here are static and reflect the last update here (December 2011). The ranking don't change too much over time, which is what you'd expect. The links will take you to a page on Lensplay.com with the full lens specifications and (usually) a few extra comments on the lens. The prices for lenses which are no longer available new are estimates of what you might expect to pay on the used market for a lens in good condition

Best Lenses for Canon EOS (price no object)

So here are the top 20 lenses based on user ratings with no regard to cost (note that only lenses with 10 or more ratings are listed)

The first thing you'll probably notice is that all but one of the top 20 are Canon lenses. The exception is the rather expensive Sigma 300-800 zoom. There aren't too many ratings on that lens (for the obvious reason that not many people own it), so the uncertainty on that rating is higher then most of the others. Most of these lenses are primes, but there are a few good zooms in there too

Best lenses for Canon EOS under around $600

Of course, not everyone can afford a lens several thousands of dollars, so let's take a look at what the highest rated lenses under around $600 are. Some prices may have crept up a little since the database was last updated which is why I say under around $600