Canon has an all-encompassing array of loftier-quality lenses for its various camera systems, including dozens of prime lenses. Prime lenses typically offer superior quality to their zoom counterparts and are ideal for specialist photography like landscapes, macro, and portraiture.
In this guide, we’ve selected ten of the best Catechism prime lenses you can buy, including EF, RF, and EF-M mount picks.
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Canon EF 50mm f/one.8 STM
Our Selection
A upkeep lens for portrait photography

Canon EF 50mm f/i.four USM
An improved budget lens with a larger maximum aperture

Catechism EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
A high-quality macro lens with a bang-up focal length

Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM
One of the best L-series lenses for landscape photography

Canon RF 85mm f/ane.2L USM
Bully for portrait photography and low-light shots

Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM
A durable lens with a versatile maximum aperture and controls

Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM
An excellent lens for telephoto photography such as wildlife shots

Canon RF 35mm f/i.eight IS Macro STM
Ane of the all-time RF macro lenses available

Canon EF-M 22mm f/ii STM
Best EF-M Lens
Excellent quality for landscape and wide-bending photography

Canon EF-G 32mm f/i.four STM
Swell for portraits, with an effective focal distance of 51mm
Best Canon Prime Lenses: Our Top ten Picks
- 1. Canon EF 50mm f/ane.eight STM
- ii. Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
- iii. Catechism EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
- 4. Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L Two USM
- 5. Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM
- 6. Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM
- vii. Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM
- 9. Catechism EF-M 22mm f/2 STM
- 10. Canon EF-Chiliad 32mm f/i.4 STM
i. Canon EF 50mm f/1.viii STM
Our Pick

Neat for beginners
The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM is one of the all-time lenses for new Canon cameras owners.
Pros
Meaty and lightweight body
Near silent STM autofocus
Fantabulous maximum aperture of f/1.8
Cons
Tin’t offer the same quality as L-series lenses
For those who are yet learning photography, the Canon EF 50mm f/one.8 STM is one of the best Canon prime lenses available. This is an older lens, but it is incredibly cheap and an excellent upkeep buy. If you desire a versatile, well-rounded lens without spending a fortune, it’southward a not bad selection.
Thank you to the 50mm focal length, the lens is suitable for a range of photography including portraits, street photography, and even landscapes on a full-frame sensor. On APS-C cameras, the 50mm focal length is effectively 80mm, which would brand the lens better suited for portraits.

While this lens cannot compare to the quality of L-series models, it still offers great epitome quality with consequent sharpness. Information technology too has the Stepping Motor autofocus system, which is well-nigh silent and offers smooth focusing.
This could exist the ideal lens to buy as your beginning lens – information technology would be a swell introduction to Canon lenses, and you lot can use it every bit a springboard to more than advanced models.
2. Canon EF 50mm f/one.4 USM

Great for full general photography
The Canon EF 50mm f/1.four USM offers a few improved features compared to the Canon EF 50mm f/1.viii STM.
Pros
Fast and accurate ring-USM AF motor
Loftier-quality lens construction for precipitous images
Improved maximum aperture of f/i.4
Cons
Not as sharp as L-series lenses
Similar to the Catechism 50mm f/1.eight, the Canon EF 50mm f/ane.four USM is some other fantabulous budget option. This 50mm lens has a similar level of quality but has an improved maximum discontinuity of f/1.four. As a result, it should perform slightly meliorate in low-calorie-free situations and give y’all better control for creating bokeh furnishings.
Also, this lens has the ring-USM autofocus system, not an STM motor, which is generally faster and more than accurate.

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.iv USM has 7 elements in half-dozen groups. The aperture blades are also circular for beautiful rounded bokeh effects.
As for optical quality, the 50mm f/1.4 is considered to be slightly sharper than the 50mm f/one.8, but the difference is marginal.
3. Catechism EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

Not bad for macro photography
If yous desire to take sharp macro shots, the Canon EF 100mm f/ii.8L Macro IS USM is the best pick available.
Pros
Focal distance of 100mm for telephoto macro shots
Minimum focusing distance of 0.99 ft/0.3 m
Durable exterior casing
Cons
Relatively heavy and bulky
If yous want a specialist lens, Canon has a proficient range of macro lenses; a great option in this category is the Catechism EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, which excels at macro photography for several reasons.
Showtime, it has a focal length of 100mm. This offers greater reach than near macro lenses and guarantees greater detail from a altitude. It besides features a close-focusing distance of just 0.99 ft/0.3 chiliad and a close-up magnification of 1X.

The 100mm f/2.8L is a well-rounded lens with a high-quality build. It is another premium Fifty-serial lens and packs various weather-resistant elements. The optical pattern is also impressive, with fifteen elements in 12 groups.
You can expect your macro shots to be crystal clear, and the maximum aperture of f/ii.8 ways that you tin can easily highlight parts of your discipline. Lastly, this macro lens has Canon’due south ring-USM autofocus motor, which is fast and accurate for moving macro subjects.
iv. Catechism EF 24mm f/1.4L Two USM

Great for landscape photography
The Catechism EF 24mm f/ane.4L II USM is a premium 50-series lens that excels at landscape and street photography.
Pros
Fast band-USM autofocus
Loftier-quality lens construction
Groovy maximum aperture of f/1.4
Cons
Not the well-nigh compact of lenses
Canon has some splendid wide-angle lenses, including the Catechism EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM. This is an L-series lens and therefore benefits from durable construction and high-quality lens elements compared to standard Canon lenses.

At 24mm, this lens excels at wide-bending shots such as landscapes and street photography. If you want to specialize in either of these genres or desire a premium lens for travel photography, and then information technology’south one of the all-time options available.
Within the lens, there are a diversity of elements including two large-diameter aspherical lenses. The different elements all have an anti-reflective SWC coating. What does this hateful? It essentially improves image quality and helps reduce problems like ghosting and lens flare.
As a travel lens, the Canon EF 24mm f/one.4L II USM also features a dust-resistant and water-resistant outside. This means yous can comfortably apply the lens outdoors and in different weather weather. For autofocusing, you can do good from the ring-USM motor, which is both fast and accurate.
5. Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM

Slap-up for portraits
The Catechism RF 85mm f/1.2L USM is a fantastic, versatile lens for portrait photography and low-light compositions.
Pros
Large maximum aperture of f/i.ii
Reflective optics to minimize distortions
Programmable command ring
85mm is an first-class focal altitude for portrait photography. Every bit a result, the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM is one of the best Canon prime lenses for portraits. This L-series lens looks fantastic with a fashionable red ring and sleek blackness design. All the same, it too packs amazing quality and functioning.

For portraits, y’all can do good from the maximum aperture of f/i.2. This ways that y’all can easily separate your subject area from the background, and information technology also means that the lens excels at low-light portrait photography. For versatility, you can also program the control ring for various functions. For example, you could set information technology to command the aperture or exposure.
The lens structure has one aspheric element and one UD element. These help amend colour and contrast just also minimize distortions. Effectively, your photos with this lens should look perfect. A pocket-sized downside is that the Catechism RF 85mm f/ane.2L USM does not take any epitome stabilization (IS). However, yous can withal benefit from the in-body IS of cameras similar the Canon EOS R5 and R6.
six. Canon RF 50mm f/ane.2L USM

Peachy for creative portraits
The Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM is an incredibly counterbalanced lens that offer superb image quality.
Pros
Big maximum aperture of f/1.2
Dust and water resistant
Abrupt paradigm quality with minimum distortions
One of the nigh versatile lenses for Catechism EOS R organisation users is the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM. This is a well-rounded lens that works for a variety of photography types. It can ideally serve as a high-quality portrait lens, but the 50mm focal altitude also gives you room for movement, and you lot can capture some unique angles and compositions.
To ensure fantastic and consequent image quality, this lens has three aspheric elements and one UD element. The lens besides features both Air Sphere coatings and fluorine coatings. The fluorine coatings assist keep the drinking glass clean, while the Air Sphere coating reduces annoying problems like flare and ghosting.

We too like that this lens has another useful features. For example, it has vibration resistance, which will help get in-focus photos. Add to that the fact that the outside is resistant to both dust and water and you lot’ve got a winner.
To create amazing portraits with round bokeh furnishings, the maximum discontinuity of f/1.2 should help greatly. This should also make the lens perform well for darker compositions.
seven. Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM

Keen for wild animals photography
The Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM has some great features, including a lightweight and meaty blueprint.
Pros
OIS with up to five stops of milk shake correction
Weighs but 2.05 lbs/0.929 kg
Hands retractable pattern
Cons
May not have the best AF system
Those who accept a camera like the Catechism EOS R5 or R6 have access to some fantastic telephoto lenses. In recent years, Canon has developed a series of meaty, lightweight telephoto lenses that employ a dissimilar design to their traditional telephoto options.
1 of the best examples is the Canon RF 600mm f/xi IS STM, a relatively affordable telephoto lens in comparison to other Canon zoom lenses. Regardless, at 600mm, you are rewarded with exceptional telephoto detail – which makes it ideal for wild fauna and sports photography.

Some people may be discouraged by the maximum discontinuity of f/eleven, but this should not pose any effect. At a focal distance of 600mm, an aperture of f/11 should still provide excellent separation between the discipline and background.
To improve its performance for wildlife and sports photography, this lens too packs optical image stabilization, which gives up to 5 stops of milk shake correction. When combined with the in-body epitome stabilization of the Canon EOS R5 or R6, you can easily track and focus on moving subjects.
8. Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM

Peachy for close-upwards macro shots
For macro photography, the Catechism RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM is a versatile lens that provides excellent quality.
Pros
Minimum focusing distance of 0.56 ft/0.17 g
Programmable control ring
Lightweight and meaty pattern
Cons
Some may find the 35mm focal distance limiting
Canon EOS R organisation owners also have a great macro lens available: the Catechism RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM. This is a standard series RF lens and is one of the cheaper options available for this lens mount. As a result, it makes for a great budget macro lens and a decent wide-angle lens, too.
For macro photography, the 35mm focal distance is a niggling short. Every bit a issue, you lot will have to get closer to your field of study. Notwithstanding, this shouldn’t be an issue, equally the Canon RF 35mm f/ane.8 Macro IS STM has a minimum focusing altitude of 0.56 ft/0.17 k. Likewise, information technology has a magnification ratio of 0.5X.
This macro lens is as well easy to use and benefits from a control ring. The control ring can exist programmed for different camera functions. For example, yous could gear up it to control the aperture – a major component of well-nigh macro photography.

For boosted functionality, the lens has optical epitome stabilization which corrects for up to 5 stops of photographic camera milkshake. This should arrive incredibly piece of cake to utilise when handholding.
9. Canon EF-Grand 22mm f/2 STM
Best EF-M lens

Great for mural photography
The Canon EF-1000 22mm f/2 STM is one of the best-quality lenses for Canon EOS Chiliad cameras.
Pros
Consistently sharp images
Excellent maximum aperture and circular blades
Lightweight and compact
Cons
AF organisation may struggle in low-contrast compositions
Currently, at that place are a limited number of prime lenses for the EF-Thou mount. However, one of the best Canon prime lenses for cameras similar the Canon EOS M50 Mark Two is the Catechism EF-Chiliad 22mm f/two STM. This remains ane of the superlative lenses for Canon’s One thousand serial cameras due to its sharpness, compact design, and versatile aperture range.

This is essentially a pancake lens and it weighs simply 0.23 lbs/105 g. As a result, it is one of the lightest EF-Grand lenses bachelor. Information technology is neat for travel as you tin can hands fit it inside your pocket or your backpack.
The Canon EF-Thousand 22mm f/2 STM excels at landscape photography, but it tin also be used for shut-up shots due to its modest minimum focus distance. It is also 1 of the sharpest EF-M lenses available. Regardless of the aperture, you can await pin-precipitous photos with minimum problems.
This lens also has the STM autofocus organization. The Stepping Motor is fast, and information technology also has a virtually silent operation.
10. Canon EF-Thousand 32mm f/1.four STM

Great for portraits
The Canon EF-Grand 32mm f/1.4 STM has an effective focal distance of 51mm on an APS-C sensor and is great for portraits.
Pros
Lightweight design at just 0.52 lbs/235 1000
Fast and accurate STM autofocus motor
Great maximum aperture of f/i.4
Cons
STM motor may not be as fast every bit the USM organisation
Our concluding option is the Canon EF-M 32mm f/ane.four STM. This is some other excellent quality prime lens for Canon EOS Yard cameras. On the Grand-series bodies, the 32mm focal length has an effective focal distance of 51mm. As a result, it is a great lens for portrait photography, street photography, walkaround photography, and more!
Like the Canon EF-Thou 22mm f/2 STM, this lens has excellent sharpness and information technology also performs consistently in depression-light compositions thanks to the maximum aperture of f/1.4. It also has the STM autofocus system, which is silent and offers accurate focusing.

In terms of portability, this is some other compact lens. It weighs just 0.52 lbs/235 g and has an overall length of 2.iv in/six.1 cm. This makes it great for travel photography and it tin can easily be carried in a dedicated camera handbag or backpack.
Which Canon Prime Lenses Is the Best for You?
Choosing a prime number lens tin can exist tricky – there are then many to choose from! Which is the perfect focal distance? What lens is suitable for specific types of photography? In that location are many questions to inquire.
If you want a high-quality lens for wildlife and sports photography, something like the Canon RF 600mm f/eleven IS STM is a corking choice, thanks to its immense 600mm focal distance. Alternatively, for wide-angle landscapes, the Canon EF 24mm f/ane.4L Ii USM or Canon EF-Chiliad 22mm f/two STM are suitable.
Lastly, for portraits and street photography, a mid-range focal altitude like the Canon EF 50mm f/ane.8 STM or Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM could exist a swell option.
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