9 Best Canon Lenses for Night Photography

Having the best Canon lenses for night photography makes it easier to succeed in this challenging genre. Exploring the night with a camera opens up a world of stunning visuals, but capturing these scenes requires the right equipment. You need lenses with fast maximum apertures, and which combat flare, chromatic aberration, and ghosting.

Our top choice, the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, is celebrated for its wide aperture and exceptional sharpness, making it perfect for low light conditions. If it’s not quite right for you, we’ve identified eight other options that cater to a variety of shooting needs and preferences. It means every every photographer should be able to find their ideal match for night photography adventures.

What Is the Best Canon Lens for Night Photography?

Selecting the best Canon lens for night photography involves considering aperture size, image stabilization, and lens weight. Our list includes options like the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM and Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM | A, chosen for their low-light capabilities, ensuring sharp, detailed images under the stars. These lenses stand out for their ability to capture more light, reduce noise, and offer flexibility in framing night scenes. They are almost indispensable for night photography enthusiasts.

Our Favorite Canon Lenses for Night Photography

Let’s take a closer look at our selection of the best Canon lenses for night photography. We’ve chosen lenses that have sought-after features for night photography. These include wide aperture,  image stabilization, and lens construction and coatings. We think here’s a lens here for every scenario, helping you to capture the night in all its glory.

The Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM is a fantastic choice for night photography. Its fast f/1.4 aperture is fabulous in low light conditions. A fast lens reduces the need for high ISO settings that can lead to noise. As a prime lens it offers superior sharpness, crucial for detailing the night sky or cityscapes.

This lens also boasts minimal distortion, a big advantage when photographing stars or architecture at night. Its two high-precision aspherical elements and two UD elements work together beautifully. They keep images sharp from edge to edge, while minimizing chromatic aberration. The minimal distortion keeps your straight lines straight. And the lack of chromatic aberration keeps the edges of objects sharp.

However, the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM is relatively heavy at 650 grams. This might be a consideration for photographers who travel on foot to remote shooting locations. On the other hand its weather sealing gives you peace of mind doing outdoor night shoots. It’s a durable lens in various conditions, from dewy nights to dusty environments.

The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM crops up time and time again in our “Best of” reviews. And night photography is no different. It excels  with its constant f/2.8 aperture and optical purity. This wide aperture is key for letting in plenty of light, which helps keep ISOs low and reduces noise. Its zoom range from wide to short telephoto is ideal. You have the width for cityscapes and street scenes. And you can get closer in for some cool street candid photography.

This lens also boasts excellent sharpness across its zoom range. Special lens elements reduce chromatic aberration, making sure that high-contrast night scenes are free from unwanted color fringes. However, it’s a bit heavy, which might be a downside if you’re carrying it around for long periods.

Although there’s no image stabilization, the fast aperture helps mitigate camera shake. This lens is a good option for those needing flexibility and high image quality for night photography, though a tripod might still be necessary for the best results. The good news is that although it’s pretty expensive, it is a superb lens for almost any task.

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM is a good choice for night portraits. Its fast f/1.4 aperture makes a huge difference in low light. The faster the lens, the less you need high ISOs to expose your image. And the noise generated by high ISOs is worst in areas of shadow. So for night photography it’s especially helpful not to need them. 

This lens also features image stabilization, a rare find in fast prime lenses, which is a big advantage for handheld shooting in low light. It compensates for up to four stops of camera shake, making it easier to capture clear shots without a tripod. This is one of Canon’s L-Series lenses, with the build quality and weather sealing you’d expect.

More than anything, though, this lens is notable for the sheer excellence of its optics. It’s as near to perfect as you could hope to get. Even wide open at f/1.4, the images are sharp across the whole frame. You’ll get fantastic subject isolation at those wide apertures with portraits. And those portraits will pop out against the best bokeh you will find anywhere. 

The Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM | A is a standout choice for night photography. The fast maximum aperture of f/2.8 is perfect for low light conditions, allowing you to use lower ISO settings and reduce noise. Its zoom range from ultra-wide to standard wide-angle is perfect for expansive night skies or cityscapes.

The lens is commendable for its minimal distortion and advanced lens coatings. The control of flare and ghosts is impressive. And the Low Dispersion elements minimize chromatic aberration, which is especially important in high-contrast night scenes.

Weighing around 1150 grams, it’s on the heavier side, which might be a consideration for those who travel or hike to remote locations for night shots. However, its solid build and weather sealing make it a reliable option for outdoor night photography. Despite lacking image stabilization, the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM | A’s wide aperture and optical performance make it a very useful lens for night photography enthusiasts seeking quality and versatility.

The Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM is a spectacular lens for night photography. It’s insanely wide for a non-fisheye lens, and is perfect for those vast landscapes under the stars or cityscapes at dusk. The f/4 aperture, while not as wide as some prime lenses, still performs well in low light when paired with a tripod for long exposures, ensuring sharp, detailed images.

This lens stands out for its minimal distortion, because that is very difficult to achieve with such an ultra-wide focal length. The high-quality lens coatings reduce flare and ghosting from bright light sources, such as streetlights or the moon, enhancing image clarity. Weighing in at 1180 grams, it’s relatively heavy, but its solid build and weather sealing make it a durable companion for outdoor night shoots. It’s also very expensive. But, I venture to suggest, not overpriced.

The maximum aperture of f/4 is a little on the slow side. But the lens is remarkable for its edge-to-edge sharpness across the whole focal range. Night skies will be breathtaking, and urban landscapes more impressive. The world looks different through an ultra-wide lens, and its never looked better than it does through this one.

The Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM is a versatile lens, ideal for night photography. Its constant f/4 aperture, while not the widest, still allows for effective low-light shooting when paired with a tripod. The range from wide to telephoto is perfect for capturing everything from expansive night skies to detailed urban landscapes. Its image stabilization is a boon, offering up to 5 stops of shake reduction, crucial for sharp images in dim conditions.

This lens stands out for its sharpness across the zoom range, ensuring crisp details in night scenes. The build quality is solid, designed to withstand the demands of professional use, including weather sealing for those unexpected outdoor shoots. Weighing around 700 grams, it’s relatively light, making it a good companion for photographers on the move.

Despite its f/4 aperture, the RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM’s performance in low light, combined with its versatility and image stabilization, makes it a very useful lens for night photography. It’s a great option for those looking to capture the beauty of the night without changing lenses frequently. And the 24-105mm range is one of the most popular with photographers of all types. So you’ll find uses for this lens in the daylight hours too!

The Canon RF 135mm f/1.8L IS USM is an interesting choice for night photography. It has a very attractive fast maximum f/1.8 aperture. This is ideal for shooting when there’s not much light. It’s also a prime lens with exceptional sharpness from edge to edge. Plus, its image stabilization, compensating for up to 5.5 stops of camera shake, is particularly beneficial for handheld shots in dim settings. The medium telephoto focal length can give street scenes some interesting compression. And it could be great for some candid people-snapping!

Weighing around 935 grams, so it’s not light. But it’s robust and built for the demanding professional. The lens’s optical design, featuring ultra-low dispersion elements, effectively minimizes chromatic aberration, ensuring sharp images even in challenging night scenes.

Overall, the Canon RF 135mm f/1.8L IS USM is an outstanding lens for night photography. In fact, for all kinds of photography. The bokeh is superb, and the lens is as close to optically-perfect as you cold wish. Its quality and performance make it a top choice for professionals and enthusiasts aiming to capture the beauty of the night.

The Canon RF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS USM is one of the best zoom lenses available for Canon’s mirrorless cameras. And it shines in night photography. The fast f/2.8 aperture is perfect for capturing light in dim conditions. This, combined with image stabilization, significantly reduces the need for high ISOs, minimizing noise. Its zoom range is versatile, perfect for framing distant night scenes or isolating subjects under the stars.

Weighing around 1070g, it’s relatively lightweight for its class, making it manageable for night shoots in remote locations. The lens’s edge-to-edge sharpness is impressive. Canon have managed to pretty much eliminate flare, ghosts and chromatic aberrations from this lens. Your night photos will be true and sharp. And its autofocus is about as fast as you could wish for.

Overall, the Canon RF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS USM is a very useful lens for night photography enthusiasts. Its combination of a wide aperture, stabilization, and optical excellence makes it a top choice for capturing the beauty of the night, from cityscapes to celestial events. And the good news is, you’ll find it just as at home shooting a wedding, a works event, or even a soccer game.

The Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM is a nice fast prime lens that excels inwards well for night photography. Its f/2 maximum aperture helps to keep the ISO low even in low light. Unusually for a wide angle, the lens has image stabilization. It’s unusual, but very helpful when shooting at night.

Weighing approximately 335 grams, this lens is light and easy to carry, making it ideal for photographers who venture into the night to capture cityscapes or starry skies. Its optical design, including one glass-molded aspherical element, ensures sharp, distortion-free images across the frame. Many a famous photographer has worked successfully with little more than a 35mm lens. It used to be the press photographer’s favourite. And for night street scenes, it’s a great choice.

Overall, the Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM stands out for its combination of wide aperture, image stabilization, and compactness. It’s a very useful lens for night photography. Its performance in low light, coupled with its portability, makes it a top choice for photographers looking to capture the beauty of the night without the burden of heavy gear.

Conclusion: The Best Canon Lenses for Night Photography

We think that we’ve suggested a comprehensive list of the best Canon lenses for night photography here. We’ve concentrated on the lenses that perform well in low light conditions. We’ve picked a range of lenses suitable for various night scenes, from wide landscapes to detailed portraits. Top of our list of features have been wide apertures and image stabilization for reducing noise and improving image quality.

Our top choice, the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, is chosen for its wide aperture and sharpness. This lens is very useful for capturing detailed night scenes. But there are eight other lenses to consider, each with unique benefits for night photography. So you should find what you need here!