Best zoom lenses: The best picks from Canon, Sony, Nikon and more

Zoom lenses help you to get closer to your target, no matter what kind of photography you specialize in. Some can even rival telescopes for magnification power, so they're the perfect companion for budding astrophotographers. But with so many lenses out there, choosing the right one can be tricky. That's where our guide to the best zoom lenses comes in.

If you are keen to capture the majesty of the cosmos, now's a great time to add a zoom lens to your setup, too. April 27 is a new moon and the darker skies make it easier to pick out galaxies. Why not put your zoom lens to the test by taking some stunning shots of the Pleiades? Or try capturing the Leo Triplet, so named because it's made up of three individual galaxies, M65, M66, and NGC 3628.

The one snag with using zoom lenses for astrophotography is that the Earth's rotation is more pronounced, leading to unwanted star trails. To compensate for this, it's a good idea to invest in one of the best star trackers. And if you're looking to upgrade your camera body too, we've rounded up the best cameras for photo and video.

The quick list

Below you'll find an overview of all the lenses included in this guide, with some pros and cons to help you find the ones that best suit your needs and budget. In this section, you will find links to read more detailed reviews of the products you're most interested in.

The best zoom lenses we recommend in 2023

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The best zoom lens overall

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Topping our list of zoom lenses is a real titan of a lens from Sony. Catering to both astrophotographers and daytime photographers, this high-quality lens is perfect for capturing deep-sky images at night or for shooting wildlife, nature or sports during the day. This makes it a versatile bit of kit with a wide appeal.

Design: This lens has a couple of drawbacks. It's relatively heavy at 4.7 lbs, which can be challenging to handle when attached to a heavy camera. To achieve the best professional results, you might need to invest in a powerful star tracker, which will further increase the overall cost. In addition, you'll also need to invest in a quality tripod in order to carry this level of payload.

Performance: This is a lens that stands up incredibly well to the torture test of being shot with the aperture wide open, which is essential if you're considering using it for astrophotography. The center of the image is almost absurdly sharp, even when fully zoomed in at 600mm. The maximum zoom achieved by this lens is an impressive feature. Admittedly, using the maximum zoom does cost you a little light as the aperture can only be opened as wide as f/6.3 once you crank it in, which will cost you either shutter speed or ISO (or a bit of both).

Functionality: When you think about the potential weight of a 600mm lens with a faster aperture and the image quality that modern sensors can deliver, the trade-off is worth the price. Especially if you have a recent full-frame camera that can produce good image quality at high ISO settings. This lens provides significant magnification, opening up spectacular photographic opportunities. And with the Sony, you can get all this for under $2,000.

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The best Nikon telephoto

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The Nikon Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S-Line is easily one of the best zoom lenses on the market, offering incredibly sharp images right to the edges alongside fast autofocus and built-in image stabilization.

Design: This lens isn't small or light, weighing over 3 lbs and measuring 8.7 inches in length, but it has an elegant and functional design with a detachable foot for fixing it to a tripod. It's a tough and weatherproof piece of kit, with a fluorine-coated outer lens to prevent scratches, and it has plenty of on-body control options. There are three focus rings, the first for aperture, the second for focusing and the third for focal length, and it also features an OLED screen on top for displaying your current settings — a handy addition since you can assign up to 21 different functions to the lens itself.

Performance: In our Nikon Nikkor Z 70-200 f/2.8 S review we found the sharpness of the image quality on this lens staggering no matter how far we pushed the settings. The f/2.8 aperture allows you to capture super-sharp images of stars, but the lens is equally capable of capturing superb daytime landscape shots. The only limitation for some astrophotographers will be the focus range since 200mm isn't quite enough to capture detailed close-ups of the Moon, but this is the payoff for the low f-number and can be solved with the addition of a 1.4x teleconverter.

Functionality: The lens features fast and quiet autofocus as well built-in image stabilization, which Nikon calls Vibration Reduction. This is extremely helpful when shooting handheld and adds to the versatility of this impressive multi-functional lens.

• Read our full Nikon Nikkor Z 70-200 f/2.8 S review.

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The best Nikon F-mount telephoto

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Design: This lens is crafted from lightweight fluorite elements, and it comes with customizable buttons on the lens barrel that make it a breeze to track your subjects. The zoom and focus rings are super smooth and easy to use, and you can comfortably hold the lens with your left hand and operate these rings with just a finger or your thumb.

Performance: During our review of the Nikkor AF-S FX 70-200 f/2.8 FL-ED VR, we found the edge-to-edge sharpness of this lens incredible at any aperture. Shooting wide open at f/2.8 is what this lens is known for and makes light work of any low-light environment. Deep-field astrophotography is where the Nikkor AF-S FX 70-200mm f/2.8 FL-ED VR really excels, thanks to the wide constant aperture and intelligent Vibration Reduction that switches off automatically when it detects it’s on a tripod.

Functionality: Because of its Silent Wave Motor and internal focusing, this lens has lightning-fast and super quiet autofocus. It even gives you an extra half-stop of Vibration Reduction to help keep your view steady when shooting handheld, allowing for longer shutter speeds. Plus, its wide f/2.8 aperture stays the same throughout the zoom range, which is great for astrophotography because you don't have to fiddle with settings throughout your shoot.

• Read our full Nikon NIKKOR AF-S FX 70-200 f/2.8 FL-ED VR review.

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The best Nikon ultra-telephoto

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Design: This lens is one of the heaviest in this guide, tipping the scales at 5.1 lbs. This might be a challenge for less sturdy tripods or star trackers, but if you're using such a powerful lens, it's likely you'll need a professional-grade tracker that can handle the weight.

Performance: Wildlife photographers will love this lens, and it performs well for astrophotography too. During our Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR review, we found there was minimal chromatic aberration on extremely contrasted edges, even at 200% crop. Although the lens suffers a little from some vignetting around the edge, this can easily be removed in image editing software.

Functionality: This lens can reach an impressive 500mm focal length and also comes with a constant f/5.6 aperture. This means that, unlike other superzoom lenses, the aperture doesn't close down to reduce the light reaching the sensor as you zoom in. It also has four switches on its side to restrict autofocus distance, with options of FULL (which will autofocus the entire range from its minimum focusing distance to infinity) or infinity — 6 meters to cut AF hunt time.

• Read our full Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR review.

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The best Canon wide-zoom

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Design: This lens has an incredible amount of glass and an impressive 95mm filter thread, allowing it to let in an insane amount of light. It's fully weather-sealed and only missed out on the five-star rating from us due to its size, weight and price.

Performance: When we reviewed the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L USM lens we were staggered by the quality of image created by this lens. It performs extremely well when shot wide open at f2 in low light conditions, despite not being the best focal length for astrophotography. We were pleasantly surprised by how well it tracks moving objects, and it also has excellent eye tracking (we thought it rivaled Sony's). Even more impressive is the fact that it gave no lens flare when shooting directly into the sun, which is almost unheard of.

Functionality: This lens offers a customizable control ring, an AF/MF switch, a lock button and a smoothly-operating, quiet zoom ring. Although it lacks image stabilization, the lens is so large and bright that we didn't really miss having IS — although, considering the incredibly high price, we were surprised that it didn't have it.

• Read our full Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L USM review.

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The best Canon telephoto

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Design: The Canon RF 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM is one of the lightest and most compact telephoto zoom lenses on the market owing to the design of its zoom mechanism. Instead of taking place inside the barrel of the lens, it telescopes in and out externally, allowing the lens to collapse into its compact form and shifting the center of gravity back closer to your eye, which makes it very well balanced when shooting handheld. The only downside of this design is that it doesn't leave any room at the back for a teleconverter, which will be a major limitation for some given that the maximum focal length is capped at 200mm.

Performance: This lens offers beautiful image quality which peaks at f/4, although results are still pleasing when shooting at f/2.8. It provides stunning contrast all the way to the edges, with only some minor vignetting when shooting wide open which can be easily corrected in post-production. In our Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM review we also really enjoyed the bokeh offered by this lens.

Functionality: A particular highlight of this lens is its powerful autofocus which operates almost silently thanks to the twin Nano USM motors — perfect for capturing noise-sensitive wildlife. You also get up to eight stops of image stabilization, and the included lens hood has a useful window which can be opened to adjust the position of any filters without having to remove the entire hood. To top it off, the rear control ring can be customized to let you change exposure settings from the lens itself, with options for the ISO, aperture and shutter.

• Read our full Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM review.

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The best all-rounder from Sony

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Design: Although big zoom lenses can seem a tad heavy, the heft comes with the territory for a zoom lens of this quality, but luckily this new version of this lens is around 29% lighter than its predecessor. When we reviewed the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II, we found it much easier to shoot with this model throughout the day without significant armache.

Performance: Although this lens has a maximum zoom of only 200mm, the images it produces are incredibly sharp and high-quality at this focal length. We were able to crop our photos drastically in post-processing without losing any sharpness. The autofocus works exceptionally well, and the lens creates beautiful bokeh even when using narrower apertures, making it great for artistic shots and portraits. It may not be the first choice for astrophotography with this focal range unless paired with a star tracker with a suitable payload but we found that it still produced very respectable photos of the night sky.

Functionality: This new iteration from Sony adds some attractive upgrades to what was already a very impressive zoom lens. The 70-200mm focal length makes it a great all-rounder, producing sharp and vibrant images. This newer version also has more switches on the lens itself for more intuitive shooting, which we liked. There's AF/MF, a new Full Time DMF switch, which is great if you want to override the autofocus if it becomes stuck on a certain point, a focus limiter with either Full or 3M-∞, then an OSS on/off switch and a mode dial for three different OSS modes.

• Read our full Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II review.

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The best Sony APS-C wide zoom

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Design: You may have noticed that all the lenses on this list so far are full-frame compatible lenses, but we thought this APS-C lens from Sony was absolutely worth including. Whilst there isn't a lot of competition at this level and this lens won't win any prizes for focal length, we'd still class it as one of the best zoom lenses for APS-C Sony cameras (which are rapidly improving). The lens itself is versatile and the build is compact and lightweight, making it very travel-friendly and easy to keep on your camera for most shooting situations.

Performance: Despite not offering longer focal lengths, during our review of the Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 G lens we found this lens to be an absolute workhorse that can handle almost anything you throw at it. This lens produces incredibly sharp images, and its constant aperture of f/2.8 ensures good light intake even at its longest zoom of 55mm. Plus, its wide-angle capability of zooming out to 16mm makes it excellent for astrophotography. We think this lens will appeal to photographers of all disciplines as an excellent all-rounder.

Functionality: One of the drawbacks of this lens, particularly for the hefty price tag, is the lack of image stabilization — and it's only the very recent APS-C camera models that have in-body image stabilization to rely on. That said, for many types of photography you can absolutely make do with just using a tripod or ensuring that you're images are shot at a fast enough shutter speed — and if you're going to be using the 16mm for astrophotography, your camera will be on a tripod anyway.

• Read our full Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 G review.

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The best third-party zoom

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With Nikon and Canon lenses of this type generally costing in excess of $2000, the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM is an appealing alternative at just a smidge over $1000. In our Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM review we were impressed with this bright and well-made lens, although sadly it doesn't come in an E-mount version for Sony users.

Design: At 4 lbs, this isn't a light lens, but it has a pleasantly sturdy feel with most of the barrel being made of metal. It's also thoroughly weather-sealed to keep it safe when shooting outdoors, featuring grommets where the lens meets the camera body and at the zoom and focus rings.

Performance: This lens produces very sharp images even when shooting at f/2.8, with the most impressive results to be found at around f/5.6. It keeps both comatic aberration on stars and daytime chromatic aberration very well controlled, and the autofocus is fast and silent to use.

Functionality: There are three AF Function buttons on the top, left and bottom of the lens, alongside an autofocus switch and a focus limiter that can be set to keep the focus at a minimum of three meters. You also get a locking lens hood and tripod mount included in the kit, giving you everything you need to get started.

• Read our full Canon RF 24-240mm f4-6.3 IS USM review.

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The best for versatility

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Design: Full-frame superzooms tend to be very big, but in our Canon RF 24-240mm f4-6.3 IS USM review, we thought it was nicely sized and reasonably lightweight. The controls on the lens barrel include a stabilizer on/off switch and a lock switch for the zoom, which is easy to find without taking your eye away from the viewfinder. The zoom ring has a rubberized texture for an easy grip, and the two-stage barrel extension moves in and out smoothly.

Performance: Typically, superzoom lenses like this one don't deliver exceptional image quality due to the trade-offs involved in achieving such a broad focal range. The results from the Canon RF 24-240mm f4-6.3 IS USM are decent but not consistently outstanding. When looking at unedited raw files, you'll notice noticeable distortion and vignetting, especially at the wider end of the focal range. While the center of the frame is reasonably clear at the widest aperture of f/4, image quality declines as you stop down the aperture.

Functionality: This lens has a nearly endless list of practical applications thanks to its excellent 10x zoom range, making it appealing to a wide range of different photographers. When zoomed in, 240mm is a true telephoto focal length, allowing you to shoot everything but the most ambitious wildlife or sports photography (where you'll need a wider aperture). Zoomed out, 24mm is a legitimate wide-angle, making it suitable for a variety of general-purpose travel photography. However, even though the Canon 24-240mm can hold its own when it comes to astrophotography, there are certainly better options out there in this budget range.

• Read our full Canon RF 24-240mm f4-6.3 IS USM review.

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The best third-party telephoto

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Design: With a maximum focal length of 600mm, it has the biggest focal range on our best zoom lenses list and is certainly long enough to handle deep sky astrophotography. In fact, it's at the long end of what's possible in a DSLR or mirrorless lens, period. On the downside, the heavy 4.2 lbs weight of this lens is something that we immediately noticed during our testing.

Performance: The performance is excellent, which we talk more about in our Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM review. It performs well enough at the 600mm focal length if you want to use it for astrophotography. It’s sharp, there are no geometry worries to speak of, and for the money (about $1200), there are very few lenses out there that offer this kind of bang per buck. Although some lens models can achieve a higher quality of image at this extremely long focal length, the cost of such a lens can be eye-watering.

Functionality: This lens offers several controls, and you can customize them even further using Sigma's USB Lens Dock. By default, you have the standard autofocus/manual focus/hybrid switch and a focus length limiter for adjusting the focus distance. However, the maximum aperture when fully zoomed in at f/6.3 can feel somewhat limiting, especially if you're used to ultra-wide, large-aperture photography. This means you'll often need to use higher ISO settings, longer shutter speeds, or both. Additionally, achieving steady results at the longer end of the lens will require a high-quality star tracker.

• Read our full Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM review.

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Best zoom lenses: Comparison

Kimberley Lane

Kimberley Lane is a landscape & seascape photographer living in South Wales. Originally using photography as a way to cope with health issues, she aims to portray a feeling of calm and peace through her images. Her work has been featured in a number of national photography magazines.

Best zoom lenses Frequently Asked Questions

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How we test the best zoom lenses

How we test the best zoom lenses

To guarantee you're getting honest, up-to-date recommendations on the best lenses to buy here at Space.com we make sure to put every camera lens through a rigorous review to fully test each product. Each lens is reviewed based on a multitude of aspects, from its construction and design, to how well it functions as an optical instrument and its performance in the field.

Each lens is carefully tested by either our expert staff or knowledgeable freelance contributors who know their subject areas in depth. This ensures fair reviewing is backed by personal, hands-on experience with each lens and is judged based on its price point, class and destined use. For example, comparing a 150-600mm superzoom telephoto lens suitable for a full-frame camera to a sleek little wide-angle prime destined for a crop sensor wouldn’t be appropriate, though each lens might be the best-performing product in its own class.

We take a look at how easy each lens is to operate, how up-to-date the technology is and also the weight of the model. Where appropriate, we'll also include suggestions for additional kit that a particular lens may benefit from, to give the best viewing experience possible.

With complete editorial independence, Space.com are here to ensure you get the best buying advice on camera lenses, whether you should purchase one or not, making our buying guides and reviews reliable and transparent.