Best wildlife lenses for Canon digital SLRs
For overview on best Canon lenses, read here.
For best Canon travel lenses, read here.
If you are interested in Nikon wildlife lenses, read the best wildlife lenses for Nikon digital SLRs
You need fast and long telephoto lenses for wildlife photography as stated in early post on Nikon wildlife lenses. The fast and long telephone lenses are extremely expensive. If you are a beginner, the best bet is to get a Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM $874 . This is a new lens from Sigma with an Optical Stabilizer. The range and OS (similar as Canon’s IS) make it a very good and affordable wildlife lens.
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM ($1460) Lens is a great and very popular wildlife lens. It offers a very wide focal length range up to 400mm. Although not very fast, image stabilization helps a lot to shoot for slow moving animals.
Canon EF 500mm f/4.0 L IS USM ($5800) Lens with the Canon EF 1.4x Extender is an excellent bird photography lens. For people who use full frame cameras such as Canon 1D or 5D mark II, Canon 600mm f/4L with Canon EF 1.4 x gives longer reach and may be the ultimate wildlife lens. But you have to keep in mind that Canon EF 500mm f/4L and Canon 600mm f/4L do not have 100-400mm range, you should bring Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS with you as well. It is also a good idea to carry a light tripod.
Best wildlife lenses for Canon DSLRs