Zoom lenses offer a range of different focal lengths in a single lens so you can vary the field of view. Lenses with a single focal length are usually called ‘prime’ lenses and give you a fixed field of view.

More important than the focal length is the field-of-view the lens gives with your camera. Short focal lengths give a wide field-of-view. They are often recommended for landscape photography because the field-of-view takes in a wide expanse of the landscape.

Long focal lengths give a narrow field-of-view, isolating just a small area of the scene. They are less suited to landscape work, but can be effective if you want to emphasise a particular aspect of the view, or eliminate less attractive areas. The interactive demo to show how focal length affects field-of-view and the resultant image.

EOS cameras use interchangeable lenses, so you can choose between zoom and prime lenses with focal lengths from 8mm to 800mm. The EF-S 18-55mm lenses sold with APS-C format EOS cameras such as EOS 1100D, EOS 600D, EOS 60D and EOS 7D offer a good starting point for landscape photography. The EF 24-70mm or EF 28-135mm lenses suit the full frame models, such as the EOS-1Ds Mark III and EOS 5D Mark II.

To learn more about the wide range of lens available for your EOS, visit the lens website.