The Best Lenses Under $500 of 2023

The Canon RF 50 f/1.8 STM is our favorite “nifty fifty” lens, and is a pick that’s appeared in some of our other guides. On top of being affordable, it’s lightweight and delivers excellent image quality in a pocketable size. You barely notice it’s there when attached to a camera, making it perfect for everyday use.

It performs well in low-light thanks to its bright f/1.8 aperture, and can produce beautiful bokeh for portraits. Canon also includes helpful features that make the lens more enjoyable than a standard kit lens, including a control ring that can adjust the aperture, ISO, and exposure compensation.

The Canon RF 50 f/1.8 STM does suffer from a few issues—it isn’t weather-sealed, and its autofocus is noisy. But, for the price, the lens is close to perfect and delivers results that punch above its weight.

For folks who own Sony’s APS-C mirrorless camera system, the Sony E 35mm f/1.8 OSS is an essential lens. The compact prime features an ideal focal length for everyday use (52.5mm when converted) and a wide aperture that’s great for portraits and low-light situations. The lens also offers excellent optics, superb build quality, and stabilization, which is a plus for both stills and videos.

We particularly like this lens for beginners because it offers a minimal design. There are no dials to turn or buttons to press, although that simplicity does come at a cost, as there is no weather sealing. Even without all the bells and whistles of more expensive glass, the Sony E 35mm f/1.8 OSS produces outstanding images and pairs fantastically with a Sony APS-C camera.

The Fujifilm Fujinon XF 23mm f/2.0 R WR may be priced under $500, but it feels like it costs double. It produces some of the sharpest images in its category and offers a high-end build quality that rivals more expensive alternatives. And thanks to its bright f/2 aperture, it performs well in low-light situations.

The lens is also compact, and with a 35mm equivalent focal length, it’s an excellent option for everyday use. Meanwhile, autofocus is quick and quiet, which is critical for street photography, and the fast aperture means you’ll get nice bokeh with portraits.

The only knock against the Fujifilm Fujinon XF 23mm f/2.0 R WR is it doesn’t feature optical stabilization, so you may need to bump up the ISO in specific scenarios. Still, if you own one of Fujifilm’s newer APS-C cameras, the Fujifilm Fujinon XF 23mm f/2.0 R WR will pair nicely.

For the price, the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary features everything you want from a wide-angle lens. It produces tack-sharp images and offers a bright f/1.4 aperture, making it one of the widest lenses available for APS-C and Micro Four Thirds systems. The lens also features weather-sealed construction, unlike other options in this price range.

What we enjoy most about the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary is its optical design. It uses low dispersion and aspherical elements to improve sharpness and clarity throughout the aperture range. The lens’s design also allows for greater contrast and color fidelity, so you’ll get more vibrant results in strong lighting conditions. As good as Sigma’s lens is, it omits optical stabilization and is a bit large, although the image sharpness and wide aperture make it a worthwhile purchase.

Few lenses are as versatile as the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM. The wide zoom range allows you to shoot everything from landscapes to portraits to wildlife without swapping out your lens. The flexibility of the wide zoom range will enable you to carry around one lens for all your needs and travel lighter.

In addition to excellent zoom capabilities, we like the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM for its compact size, lightweight build, and macro capabilities. These features make Canon’s lens the Swiss Army knife of zoom lenses and the perfect entry for beginners. The only problem is the aperture range is slow, so it isn’t the best option for low-light use.