If you have a Canon EOS 6D, you have a lot of choices in lenses. It uses Canon’s EF mount, a well-established one with plenty of high-quality lenses from Canon and third-party companies. But this quantity can make choosing a lens confusing.
I’m Caleb, and I have five years of photography experience. My specialty is sports photography, and I’ve shot several sports over the years, from basketball to soccer. I know a bit about Canon and Canon lenses, as it’s my brand of choice.
In this article, I’ll discuss the best lenses for the Canon 6D, including the best ones for different shots and the best budget option. If you’ve gotten your hands on this camera but still need a lens, keep reading to see which ones stand out as the best.
Contents
Key Takeaways
- If you can only buy one lens, a 24-70mm one like the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM is the best choice for the most versatility.
- 35mm prime lenses like the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Lens For Canon are excellent for semi-wide shots and for recording video, and they may come in cheaper compared to zoom lenses.
- For really wide shots, the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM may suit your needs.
- If you’re on a tight budget, you might want to consider a zoom lens with a variable maximum aperture, like the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 III. These lenses sacrifice some performance for great versatility in their ranges.
Yes, the Canon 6D is perfectly usable for night photography, including astrophotography. Its full-frame status gives it an advantage in this area over crop sensor cameras.
Is The Canon 6D Good for Portraits?
While there are higher-resolution options out there, the Canon 6D is an acceptable choice for shooting portraits. Its full-frame sensor helps it to compete with newer midrange APS-C models that might have a higher resolution.
What Is The Canon 6D Used for?
The Canon 6D is an intermediate generalist camera and can easily fit into travel or nature photography niches. It’s not as suited to action photography due to its relatively slow shooting speed.
What Makes The Best Canon Lens?
Here are some things to consider when looking for a lens for your Canon 6D.
- Range: This is obviously one of the most important specs. While the usual worry does not have enough range, you should also make sure your lens of choice doesn’t have too much range for your style of photography, especially if it’s a prime lens.
- Maximum Aperture: A wide maximum aperture will give you sharper results and improve shooting in low-light conditions.
- Size: If you want to avoid standing out as a photographer, consider opting for a lens in a smaller size. Also, smaller lenses tend to be easier to carry for extended periods.
- Mount: If you’re buying a lens for the Canon 6D, you’ll have to make sure it’s compatible with the Canon EF mount for it to work.
- Stabilization: Depending on your type of photography, you may want image stabilization. It’s especially useful when a lens has different stabilization modes for different types of photography.
The 4 Best Lenses for The Canon 6D
In my opinion, these are the four best lenses for the Canon 6D. Each of these lenses covers a distinct role, so you’re sure to find at least one that works for your needs.
1. Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM (Best Overall)
- Range: 24-70mm
- Max Aperture: f/2.8
- Image Stabilization: No
If you can only buy one lens, the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM is a good contender for the one you should get. The main strength of this lens lies in versatility, as it covers some of the most popular ranges without making you switch between multiple prime lenses.
But this lens has other strengths than just the advantage of a 24-70mm focal range. The image quality is sharp no matter where in that focal range you’re shooting, and the f/2.8 max aperture helps with sharpness.
This lens is also pretty glare resistant, which is good if you use your Canon 6D for outdoor photography.
The autofocus is both accurate and quiet, and when you combine that with the relatively small profile, this one looks excellent if you want to avoid standing out too much while taking pictures.
It’s not a perfect lens, however. There is a dip in image quality towards the closer part of the focal range and vignetting further out when shooting at f/2.8. Still, it’s a small price to pay for the versatility.
My Verdict: The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM is arguably the best lens option for generalist photographers on EF mount cameras like the EOS 6D.
2. Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM (Best Wide Lens)
- Range: 16-35mm
- Max Aperture: f/2.8
- Image Stabilization: No
If wider shots are your thing, the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM is a good choice. The ultra-wide field of view doesn’t disappoint, and this one works great if you want to capture sprawling, atmospheric shots of landscapes or interiors.
The aperture is fixed at f/2.8, and while that does sacrifice a bit of versatility, this aperture setting provides sharpness and low-light performance.
If you plan on using the lens outdoors, you’ll be satisfied to find out it’s water-resistant and weather-sealed.
Additionally, the lens elements are updated from the original version of this lens, which provides better image quality.
The main downsides here are related to versatility. Because of the fixed f/2.8 aperture, this lens might not be as good for some types of photography that require more blur. The focal range is also relatively constrained compared to other Canon lenses with adjustable ranges.
My Verdict: The Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM is the best choice if you want an ultra-wide experience on your Canon 6D.
3. Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Lens For Canon (Best Portrait Lens)
- Range: 35mm
- Max Aperture: f/1.4
- Image Stabilization: No
The Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Lens For Canon may not be an official Canon lens, but it’s still a high-quality one. The first thing that stands out here is the very impressive f/1.4 maximum aperture, making the lens an obvious choice for low-light or action photography.
The fixed 35mm range also fits into a nice niche. 35mm, of course, is one of the most popular focal lengths for film, and this lens is a good one to add to your collection if you want to capture that semi-wide film look in your photos.
Perhaps because the lens is made by a third party, it’s also cheaper by a decent margin compared to official Canon lenses that cover a similar role.
If you care about build quality, you’ll be happy with this one, as it’s made from an all-metal body, an upgrade over some of the previous Sigma models that used plastic. The lens is still fairly small and light, however.
The biggest con with this lens is its vignetting, which is expected for a lens that shoots as wide as this one. If you’re not shooting with the aperture as wide as open, though, you should experience less of this vignetting.
My Verdict: If you want a high-quality lens to cover the semi-wide range for a reasonable price, the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM A Canon should cover your needs.
4. Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 III (Best Budget Lens)
- Range: 70-300mm
- Max Aperture: f/4
- Image Stabilization: Yes
If you only have a small budget but need to shoot a variety of ranges, the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 III might be a good choice. It’s an inexpensive alternative to Canon’s higher-end zoom lenses, which can run into the thousands in price.
In terms of build, the lens is small and lightweight. This size does increase by a fair amount when the lens is fully zoomed, but the smaller, compressed size is useful for storage.
If you can’t afford a zoom lens with a wider maximum aperture, this one can do the trick for shooting sports. You definitely won’t get the best performance, as f/4 isn’t excellent for a sports lens, but you can still get some good shots if the lighting conditions are ideal.
Despite the wide range, the vignetting here actually isn’t too bad. Once again, the lens isn’t going to blow anyone away with its quality, but the performance is better than what you might expect from the price.
As for downsides, the major one is that the lens doesn’t really excel anywhere except for the price. And if you’re buying this zoom lens because you want to try action photography, you’ll find that getting the sharp results you’re looking for is difficult.
My Verdict: The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 III is a fitting zoom lens if you’re on a tight budget or if you’re a more casual photographer willing to sacrifice some image quality for a great deal and a versatile focal range.
Final Thoughts
As I’ve just shown, there are many good lens options out there for the Canon EOS 6D and any other camera using the Canon EF mount. Hopefully, this article has helped determine which works best for you.
Do you have a favorite lens for this camera, or do you think there’s another one that should be on this list? Let us know in the comments!
