9 Best Canon Lenses for Car Photography

Choosing the right Canon lenses for car photography can significantly improve your shots. Car photography might be promo shots of the vehicles, social media-friendly artsy pictures, or action shots of motorsports. Whatever you’re shooting, the lens you use is key to getting those stunning, professional-looking images.

Our top choice, the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, stands out for its versatility and sharpness, making it ideal for car photography. But we’ve also chosen 8 other lenses, offering a range of options to suit various shooting needs and preferences.

What Is the Best Canon Lens for Car Photography?

Selecting the best Canon lens for car photography involves considering sharpness, focal length, and aperture. Our list includes lenses perfect for capturing every detail, from wide-angle shots to close-ups. Each lens is chosen for its ability to produce clear, vibrant images, making cars stand out against any background.

Our Favorite Canon Lenses for Car Photography

Let’s take a closer look at our favorite Canon lenses for car photography. From capturing sleek lines in low light to freezing fast-moving cars with precision, there’s a lens here for every scenario. Explore these options to find the perfect fit for your photography style and requirements.

The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens is a top choice for car photography. In fact, it’s one of the most-loved Canon lenses by professionals. Its wide aperture of f/2.8 is perfect for capturing cars in motion or at rest, allowing for fast shutter speeds and a shallow depth of field. This helps to make the car stand out from the background, focusing attention on the vehicle’s design and details. The zoom range from 24mm to 70mm offers flexibility. You can shoot wide to include the car’s environment or zoom in for detailed shots.

Sharpness is key in car photography, and this lens delivers. It provides edge-to-edge sharpness, ensuring every detail of the car. Everything from the luster of the paint, to the fine-grain texture of the leather, is captured with clarity. The autofocus is quick and reliable, locking onto moving cars easily or adjusting swiftly for composition changes in static shots.

There’s no image stabilization, which might not be a major issue for car photography as you’ll often use faster shutter speeds or a tripod. The weight of 1.77 lbs (805 g) is manageable, making it easy to handle during long shoots. This is a pro-level L-Series lens, with a robust build quality including weather protection. For anyone serious about car photography, this lens offers the right mix of aperture, focal length, and sharpness. And you’ll use it for dozens of other photography genres too.

The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM lens is a strong choice for car photography, especially for motorsports. Its 70-200mm zoom range allows photographers to focus on specific parts of the car, like the wheels or grille, compressing the background for a professional look. The f/2.8 aperture helps in low light and creates a shallow depth of field, making the car pop against the background.

Sharpness is excellent across the zoom range, ensuring that every detail, from the texture of the paint to the branding on the tires, is captured clearly. The autofocus is quick and reliable, perfect for tracking moving cars. The lens’s weight, at 3.49 lbs (1.5 kg), is manageable, making it easy to use even during long photo shoots. If you’re using a tripod, it has a mounting collar to keep your outfit nicely balanced.

The autofocus has limiters to help the lens track fast-moving subjects. The image stabilization is a nice bonus, helping to keep shots sharp at slower shutter speeds or when handholding the camera. At the racetrack, you’ll particularly appreciate the IS setting that works when panning and tracking a subject. The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM is a popular, capable lens that is just as at home at a wedding, a basketball game, or the racetrack.

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM is a great choice for car photography if you’re getting up close to stationary vehicles. Its f/1.2 aperture allows for shooting in low light, creating images with a shallow depth of field that makes the car stand out sharply against a smoothly blurred background. This lens is particularly good at emphasizing the sleek lines and curves of a car, drawing attention to the craftsmanship. You can get close without the distortion of a wider lens.

With its fixed 50mm focal length, photographers can capture a ‘true to eye’ perspective, making it ideal for creating images that resonate with viewers. The lens’s edge-to-edge sharpness ensures that every detail, from the reflection on the car’s surface to the texture of the seats, is crisply captured. Autofocus is quick and precise, and manual focus is always available with a swift twist of the focus ring.

This 50mm lens is likely to find itself attached most permanently to your camera. What it lacks in focal length versatility, it makes up for in speed and absolute optical crispness.  Weighing 1.3 lbs (590 g), the lens is relatively easy to handle during long photo sessions. The Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM is a pro-level lens, with exceptional optical clarity and a very fast maximum aperture. It’s not cheap, but it will deliver day after day, in a whole range of scenarios.

The Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM | A for Canon EF is one of Sigma’s Art range of lenses. Developed for professional use, they deliver beautiful image quality at an attractive price.  The wide-to-mild telephoto zoom range makes it perfect for capturing both the entire car and its environment or zooming in for detailed shots. The constant f/2.8 aperture allows for shooting in various lighting conditions, providing a shallow depth of field to highlight the car against its background. The optical stabilization (OS) is a big advantage, helping to keep shots sharp at slower shutter speeds.

To capture all the elements of a car’s “look” you need a lens with excellent sharpness. And this lens delivers excellent results across the zoom range. Stopped down, you can capture the sweeping exterior lines. Or put the wide f/2.8 aperture to use and highlight a detail or two beautifully isolated against a smooth background or foreground.

The autofocus is quick and reliable, essential for capturing moving cars or changing compositions swiftly. And if you’re outdoors, you’ll appreciate the comprehensive weather sealing on the lens. The high build quality means that at 2.24 lbs (1 kg), it’s no lightweight, but it is manageable for both handheld shooting and tripod work, making it a very useful tool for car photographers.

However, the lens’s size and weight might be a consideration for those used to lighter setups. But for car photography, where precision and image quality are paramount, these factors are easily outweighed by the lens’s performance. The Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM | A is a great lens, with uses beyond the F1 paddock or car showroom.

The Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens is one of my favourite lenses. Its wide-angle range is perfect for showcasing cars in their environment, making it easier to convey a sense of space and context. If you’ve never shot with an ultrawide lens, you will probably be blown away by the results. The world is different at 16mm.

The f/2.8 aperture gives you the flexibility to shoot atmospheric images in available light. This lens ensures that every detail, from the sleek lines of the car to the reflections on its surface, is captured with clarity.

Sharpness is exceptional across the zoom range, crucial for highlighting the intricate details of vehicles. The fast autofocus is also impressive, and although a longer lens is more usual at a racetrack for action shots, there are plenty of photos to be had with this lens tracking moving cars. The AF will keep them nice and crisp even at high speeds. Weighing 1.74 lbs (790 g), it’s relatively easy to handle, whether shooting handheld or on a tripod.

Overall, the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM is a very useful lens. And not just for cars. Weddings, landscapes, even urban photography, all come alive with this beautiful lens. 

The Canon RF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS USM lens is a game-changer for car photography, offering a blend of telephoto reach and a wide aperture. This lens is perfect for capturing cars in motion, providing the ability to freeze fast-moving subjects with clarity and precision. Its f/2.8 aperture ensures excellent performance in low light and creates a shallow depth of field, drawing attention to the vehicle while blurring the background beautifully.

With its rapid autofocus and image stabilization rated for up to 5 stops, shooting handheld in various conditions becomes more reliable, ensuring sharp images even at slower shutter speeds. Weighing 2.35 lbs (1.1 kg), it balances well on mirrorless bodies, making it manageable for extended shoots. The lens’s optical quality is outstanding, delivering edge-to-edge sharpness that highlights every detail of the car, from the texture of the paint to the reflections on the chrome.

However, its versatility doesn’t stop at action shots. The RF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS USM also excels in capturing detailed close-ups of car parts, making it a very useful tool for both dynamic and static car photography. Its robust build and weather sealing ensure it can withstand challenging shooting environments, making it a reliable choice for professionals. Overall, this lens is a top option for photographers looking to capture cars with precision, whether in motion or at rest.

The Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM is a prime lens that stands out for its affordability and performance in car photography. Its f/1.8 aperture is ideal for creating a shallow depth of field, making it perfect for emphasizing the sleek details of a car against a blurred background. This lens is particularly useful for capturing the beauty of a vehicle, whether it’s at rest or in motion.

Weighing just 5.6 ounces (160 g), it’s incredibly lightweight and easy to handle, making it a convenient choice for photographers on the move. Despite its plastic construction, it offers good durability and a solid feel. The autofocus is quick and accurate, and manual focus is always available. The lack of image stabilization is hardly a drawback given the fast maximum aperture.

Overall, the Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM is a very useful, high-quality lens without a hefty price tag. Its optical performance and wide aperture make it a solid choice for those aiming to capture stunning car portraits and action shots.

The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II USM lens is a great value telephoto zoom for car photography. Its relatively modest f/4 aperture, while not as wide as some alternatives, still allows for a shallow depth of field. This makes it great for isolating cars from the background or capturing them in action with crisp detail. The lens’s sharpness is exceptional, ensuring that every aspect of the vehicle, from the gloss of the paint to the texture of the tires, is captured with precision.

This is one of Canon’s pro-level L-Series lenses, with good build quality and weather sealing, so its 1.72 lbs (780 g) weight is impressively portable. It makes it easy to handle during long shoots or when tracking moving subjects. The upgraded image stabilization is a significant boon, effectively reducing camera shake and allowing for sharper images at slower shutter speeds. Combined with the lens’s fast and accurate autofocus, it ensures that you won’t miss a moment, whether shooting a car in motion or focusing on intricate design details. Overall, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II USM is a great value lens, combining quality and versatility without the bulk.

The Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM lens has been called the world’s best ultra-wide zoom lens by some reviewers. Part of the reason for that is its exceptional image stabilization. It is also helped by its f/2.8 aperture which ensures excellent performance in low light. You can use the shallow depth of field it creates to focus on the car while blurring out distractions in the background. This lens is especially useful for shooting in tight spaces or for emphasizing the car’s presence within a landscape.

The lens is a respectable 1.85 lbs (840 g), which reflects its pro-level build quality as an L-Series lens. It’s pretty manageable for handheld shooting over extended periods. Fast and accurate autofocus ensures that even the fastest-moving cars are captured with precision. And when they are in focus, you probably won’t find a sharper lens anywhere. Overall, the Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM is a very useful lens for car photographers seeking versatility and high-quality wide-angle shots.

Conclusion: The Best Canon Lenses for Car Photography

We think you will like our selection of the best Canon Lenses for Car Photography. We selected them for their overall quality, and especially their mix of features. including, maximum aperture, focal length, and image stabilization. We’ve chosen lenses ideal for various scenarios, from capturing cars in motion to emphasizing intricate details in low light. Each lens makes the cut for its ability to produce sharp, clear images, ensuring photographers can choose the right tool for their specific needs.

The top pick, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, stands out for its versatility and sharpness, making it the best choice for car photography. It offers a perfect balance of focal range and aperture, ideal for both action shots and detailed close-ups. We also think the other lenses we’ve chosen also provide good options, depending on your photography styles and requirements.