7 Best Lenses for Canon T8i in 2024

By Tati Taylor 15 days ago, Cameras & Lenses

Top-rated lenses for Canon Т8i on the market.

best lenses for canon t8i

Best known as a great beginner device, this camera can still satisfy those with advanced skills. Surely, the camera itself is well-built but it actually matters more whether your lens is of high quality and whether you know the right settings.

The latter can be learned with practice and to buy a good lens, you can simply study this list of the best lenses for Canon T8i and select one or two for your purposes.

Top 7 Best Lenses for Canon T8i

  1. Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 - Our Choice
  2. Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 - Affordable
  3. Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 - Compact
  4. Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 - Fluorine coating
  5. Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L - Optical image stabilization
  6. Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 - Build quality
  7. Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 - Solid performance

Below, you can find several options manufactured by the same brand as well as other compatible models. Any list item boasts the right balance of price and quality, allowing you to take breathtaking photos without devastating your budget. The review covers primes and zooms, some wide-angle or telephoto lenses, and several genre-specific models.

1. Canon EF 50mm f/1.8

Our Choice
lens for canon t8i canon ef 50mm f/1.8 stm

Mount: Canon EF | Diaphragm blades: 7 | Autofocus: Yes | Min focus distance: 0.35 m | Max magnification: 0.21x | Filter thread: 49 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 69.2x39.3 mm | Weight: 160 g

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⊕ Compact body
⊕ Superb quality for the price
⊕ Perfect image quality
⊕ Little weight
⊖ Slower focus

This model is one of the absolute best lenses for Canon T8i. It is a standard, very universal optical device that costs sensibly. With crop factor, you will get an 80mm focal length. This is the perfect tool for numerous genres such as portraiture, sports, and even nighttime.

The 7-blade design provides very satisfying soft bokeh and decent autofocus makes shooting easier. The barrel is plastic, so has very little weight, but sturdy at the same time and with a metal mount ensuring extended service.

2. Canon EF-S 18-135mm

Affordable
lens for canon t8i canon ef-s 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

Mount: Canon EF-S | Diaphragm blades: 7 | Autofocus: Yes | Min focus distance: 0.39 m | Max magnification: 0.28x | Filter thread: 67 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 77.4x96 mm | Weight: 515 g

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⊕ NANO USM motor
⊕ Swift AF
⊕ Efficient stabilizing mechanism
⊕ Compatible with Power Zoom Adapter
⊖ Minor distortion visible

If you are looking for super-zoom Canon Rebel T8i lenses, you will love this new affordable model. It is equipped with the improved Nano USM focusing motor that combined all the best qualities of the two earlier-used types. It can focus very quickly and with high precision, but does it very smoothly and practically noiselessly.

It also received an enhanced image stabilizer. These two features make it a good lens for recording footage, not only stills. The lens can also be connected to the brand’s popular innovation, the Power Zoom Adapter, and become quite a professional tool.

3. Canon EF-S 18-55mm

Compact
lens for canon t8i canon ef-s 18-55 f/4-5.6

Mount: Canon EF-S | Diaphragm blades: 7 | Autofocus: Yes | Min focus distance: 0.25 m | Max magnification: 0.25x | Filter thread: 58 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 66.5x61.8 mm | Weight: 215 g

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⊕ Small lens
⊕ Looks stylish
⊕ Striking quality
⊕ Has a stabilizing unit
⊖ Narrow aperture

For those who need good standard Canon EOS Rebel T8i lenses, this model is definitely a must-have. It has a very fluid and silent STM focus helpful in many shooting environments. Additionally, it has a great stabilizing unit that can give you 4 full stops of improvement.

Just flick the switch on the lens itself and enjoy the sharp photos with no defects even where the light is insufficient. Last but not least is the device’s compact body that really lightens your load when traveling or doing long hours shooting.

4. Tamron SP 150-600mm

Fluorine coating
lens for canon t8i tamron sp 150-600mm f/5-6.3

Mount: Canon EF | Diaphragm blades: 9 | Autofocus: Yes | Min focus distance: 2.2 m | Max magnification: 0.26x | Filter thread: 95 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 108.4x257.7 mm | Weight: 1990 g

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⊕ Enhanced optical elements
⊕ Fluorine coating
⊕ VC
⊕ Stunning sharpness in the center
⊕ Weather-sealed barrel
⊖ Takes its time to focus

This great telephoto can be mounted on a full-frame device, too, but on our model, the range will shift to 240-960mm approximately, if you count in the crop factor. With this lens, you will get impressive sharpness and swift performance. It has a great ultrasonic focus motor and helpful Vibration Compensation technology.

The optics itself received the now standard coating further enhanced by a layer of the newer eBAND. You can see no signs of flare or ghosting.

If you look at the lens body, you will see a fixed but rotating tripod collar for mounting at any orientation and a lock button to prevent the lens from expanding in a bag. What you can’t see is the protection from water or debris.

5. Canon EF 70-200mm

Optical image stabilization
lens for canon t8i canon ef 70-200mm f/2.8l

Mount: Canon EF | Diaphragm blades: 8 | Autofocus: Yes | Min focus distance: 1.2 m | Max magnification: 0.21x | Filter thread: 77 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 88.8x199 mm | Weight: 1480 g

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⊕ Agile and noiseless AF
⊕ Air sphere coating
⊕ Repels dust and water
⊕ Optical stabilizing unit
⊖Modest vignette

This Canon Rebel T8i lens will give you a 112-320mm equivalent range. With the static f/2.8 aperture and a 3.5-stop stabilization, it can shoot pretty crisp and detailed images.

Operating on an ultrasonic motor, it locks the focus on an object in a soundless way. The optics have been coated to eliminate flares and other annoying misbehavior.

In addition, the body is sealed so even hard rain or a sandstorm won’t penetrate the barrel. As a small bonus, you get a removable collar which shifts the camera’s gravity center to make it more stable on a tripod or monopod.

6. Canon EF 70-300mm

Build quality
lens for canon t8i canon ef 70-300mm f/4-5.6

Mount: Canon EF | Diaphragm blades: 9 | Autofocus: Yes | Min focus distance: 1.2 m | Max magnification: 0.25x | Filter thread: 67 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 80x145.5 mm | Weight: 710 g

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⊕ Lens information display
⊕ Super-quick autofocus
⊕ Robust device
⊕ Up-rated image stabilization
⊖ Absence of weather protection

This is quite a stunning option for those, who want to shoot far away objects with detalization. With the NANO USM, you also acquire the ability to instantly lock the focus and thus shoot something moving.

The composition of the lens includes a UD element and this greatly enhances its performance. It ensures high brightness and contrast and the chromatic aberrations are at their lowest.

If you mean to use it for videography, you will find that the lens shifts its position noiselessly and with satisfying fluidity. The interesting Lens Information Display allows you to check the set parameters as you’re building your shot.

7. Canon EF-S 35mm

Solid performance
lens for canon t8i canon ef-s 35mm f/2.8

Mount: Canon EF-S | Diaphragm blades: 7 | Autofocus: Yes | Min focus distance: 0.13 m | Max magnification: 1.0x | Filter thread: 49 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 69.2x55.8 mm | Weight: 190 g

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⊕ Practically weightless
⊕ Built-in Macro Lite
⊕ Hybrid stabilizing mechanism
⊕ GMo aspheric lens
⊖ Inconvenient focus ring

This is the perfect Canon T8i wide angle lens to attach to a camera and capture interesting moments. The motor is very quiet and quick, the stabilizer can introduce up to five stops of improvement, and the coatings eliminate any flare.

The shots come out bright and detailed. The lens has a very special Macro Lite unit that can illuminate the close-up object from either side as well as from both.

Image Name Features  
lens for canon t8i canon ef 50mm f/1.8 stm
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Our choice
  • Min focus distance: 0.35 m
  • Max magnification: 0.21x
  • Filter thread: 49 mm
  • Weight: 160 g
CHECK PRICE
lens for canon t8i canon ef-s 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6
Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6
Zoom
  • Min focus distance: 0.39 m
  • Max magnification: 0.28x
  • Filter thread: 67 mm
  • Weight: 515 g
CHECK PRICE
lens for canon t8i canon ef-s 18-55 f/4-5.6
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6
Compact
  • Min focus distance: 0.25 m
  • Max magnification: 0.25x
  • Filter thread: 58 mm
  • Weight: 215 g
CHECK PRICE

How to Choose the Canon T8i Lens?

best lenses for canon t8i,

Focal Length

This value, indicated in millimeters, serves to tell whether the lens is wide-angled or a telephoto. The latter helps you reach further away and capture something distant in detail.

These are often used in portraiture because by zooming you avoid distortion of facial features. The background blur is also nicer. However, such a lens is quite a bulky affair and it is also prone to somewhat darkening the shot and sometimes blurring it.

A lens with a broad field of view will not have those flaws. It can capture more of the landscape so this is what photographers prefer using it for. The piece of optics will be small and lightweight and the photos you take will be bright and detailed.

However, these pieces of optics have flaws of their own. The most serious one is the distortion appearing towards the edges. It can make your landscape tilt a little and, in a portrait, the deformation can look grotesque.

Autofocus

Picking the best lenses for Canon T8i, you should pay attention to the letter markings following the aperture value. Those represent the types of focusing mechanisms and can either be STM or Nano and regular USM.

The former is a recent development, the abbreviation standing for stepping motor. It moves without the noise of hitch which is now irreplaceable for videography.

USM lenses can focus quickly and with precision but they do it loudly which is still fine for photography. Those with a Nano prefix are improved and have a more fluid motion together with a reduced noise level.

Crop Factor

The model we’re looking at today has an APS-C sensor with a 1.6x crop factor which alters the performance of any lens. Take the range marked on your optical device and multiply it. For instance, a 10-18mm wide-angle would turn into a 16-28.8mm on this camera, which is far more universal.

Weight

best lenses for canon t8i,

If you travel around a lot or simply struggle to hold still something heavy, then the weight that the optics adds to the gear acquires importance. Normally, the further the lens can zoom, the heavier it will become. Make sure to seek that information in the specifications when you’re making a choice.

FAQ

  • What is the best macro lens for Canon T8i?

Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM

  • What is the best portrait lens for Canon T8i?

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 is the most praiseworthy prime for portraits by the same brand.

  • What is the best video zoom lens for Canon T8i?

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 can be considered the best option, especially when supplemented with a PZ-E1 Adapter that enhances zooming. It also features dynamic IS that really simplifies the task of capturing footage on the go.

  • Can old Canon lens be used on DSLR?

As long as you buy devices with an EF mount from 1987 and after, you can use them as Canon T8i lenses. These have special electrical contacts at the juncture that allow them to “communicate” with cameras. For that reason, the older versions simply won’t work. Neither do the old EF-S.

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