Canon Rebel SL1’s biggest “feature” is its small and light body, but this small DSLR is also packed with excellent features that can be found in more advanced cameras. In order to fully use its sensor and quality (same goes for most cameras), it’s very important that you use it with good lenses! Here are the best, most affordable lenses for both beginners and professionals.
Once you decide on which lenses you want to get, make sure to check out or lens filter buying guide so you don’t damage any glass!
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Best All Around Zoom Lenses for SL1
Canon EF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
It serves as an excellent replacement for the kit 18-55mm. It gives you 80mm longer reach at the telephoto end, same aperture sizes, much better image quality and improved build design.
It’s also more appropriate for traveling, and in case you want to record videos, there’s also an STM version with a silent motor (click here). It’s slightly more expensive though, but makes a big difference in videos. On an APS-C camera, the lens is equivalent to a 29-216mm lens, meaning you can photograph from wide scenes, landscapes, all the way to sports and races!
You can buy the Canon EF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 at Amazon here.
Canon EF-S 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 IS
For around $700, the Canon EF-S 18-200mm gives you even more reach, but at 200mm it doesn’t always deliver great results. This is a common “issue” with long zooms, as there always has to be a sacrifice between quality and reach.
Its Image Stabilization will help you up to 4 stops (only useful for static objects in low light), and there’s also a Lock button because the lens likes to extend naturally as you’re walking around.
You can buy the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 at Amazon here.
Best Prime Lenses (Portraits/All Around)
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
For years, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II has been number one choice for those on a budget due to its low price paired with excellent performance. Prime lenses (one focal length) usually have much better image quality because they contain less glass elements. The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 is a small, lightweight lens with an extremely large aperture opening, allowing you to shoot indoors and outside when it’s dark.
Image quality, colors and sharpness are all superb, and it’s an excellent purchase after the kit lens. Its auto focus is one of the loudest I’ve ever heard from a lens, but it’s something you get used to pretty quickly. Nonetheless, at $125 you won’t find anything better.
You can buy the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 at Amazon here.
Canon EF 24mm f/1.8 STM
For those who want a prime lens with a large aperture opening, this is the lens. It’s sort of like the 50mm f/1.8, but much more usable for real estate, street, night life, landscape and club photography. It’s also good for someone trying to upgrade from their kit lens, as the lens is better in all aspects.
The closest focusing distance is 6 inches, making it good for macro photography as well, and it focuses faster than the 50mm f/1.8! It weighs only 4.4 ounces (125g), is designed to work on APS-C cameras (all Rebels and non-Full Frame DSLRs).
You can buy the Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM at Amazon here.
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
I originally purchased the 50mm f/1.8, but upgraded to the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 above after lots and lots of shooting. While they’re both good, the more expensive 50mm obviously has its pros; bigger and better build quality, faster and more precise auto focusing (it’s more silent as well) and slightly better image quality.
It’s usable at f/1.4, especially when you need as much light as possible, but stopping down to f/2.8 will give you unmatchable sharpness! Besides the USM (Ultra Sonic Motor), it also features full-time manual focus, so even if you have your lens set at AF, you can rotate the manual focus. This is excellent when shooting conditions where the lighting goes from good to bad quickly, and you can’t waste your time constantly switching between the two modes.
You can buy the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM at Amazon here.
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
Mounted on an APS-C camera, the 85mm is equivalent to 135mm on Full Frame, which is an excellent range for tighter portraits, concerts and weddings. You won’t distract anyone with the 85mm f/1.8 USM, and you will fill the frame perfectly most of the time.
Not only is this one of the sharpest lenses (even beats plenty of more expensive models), its bokeh is absolutely amazing.
You can buy the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM at Amazon here.
Best Telephoto Lenses (Sports/Wildlife)
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM
Sports, wildlife and action are just few of the things where a telephoto lens comes in handy. Sometimes you simply can’t get closer to your subject, and other times you don’t want to scare your subject away. With the Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS STM, those types of photography won’t be a hassle, especially outside.
It delivers high quality, sharp photographers at all ranges, including 250mm. Auto focus is also quick, precise and silent, and you won’t find a better telephoto lens for such a low price. On top of all that, the Image Stabilization works up to 4 stops (aka pictures taken at 1/15 look the same as taken with 1/250 shutter speed).
You can buy the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM here.
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
It’s not as affordable as the telephoto lens above, but the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 gets you 50mm closer on the far end, offers improved image quality through all focal distances, a better focusing mechanism along with the Ultra Sonic Motor (quieter and more accurate). This lens is for those who would like to take telephoto work a bit more seriously, and don’t plan on upgrading the lens for at least a year or two.
It takes 58mm filters, has a 3 stop Image Stabilization system and weighs 1.4 pounds. Compared to the old 75-300mm, this version blows it out of the water.
You can buy the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM at Amazon here.
Best Wideangle Zoom Lenses
Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM
Normally we’d recommend the 10-22mm for wild angle work, but with the introduction of Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 last year, not only is quality the same, but it’s also twice as cheap and offers improved Image Stabilization.
Those who want to record videos should really consider getting this lens, as the STM (Silent Motor) makes auto focusing completely silent and smooth, allowing your videos to look more professional. For photography it’s obviously an excellent piece of glass designed for landscape, street, indoor and night photography.
You can buy the Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM at Amazon here.
Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM 
This lens is truly something special, because for years we thought a large aperture in a zoom lens was next to impossible, but in 2013 Sigma proved that this was far from the truth. The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 is also far from expensive ($799) and is a must lens for anyone who also plans on photographing in low light conditions (outdoor at night, inside, parties, portraits etc.).
It feels like a solid lens and is built well, same goes for its image quality. It weighs 820g (1.79 pounds), has a closest focusing distance of 0.28m and 9 diaphragm blades for smooth bokeh/background blur. You really won’t find anything better for a long time, especially at this price!
You can buy the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM at Amazon here.