Cameras and lenses for landscape photography

Do you enjoy capturing all the glory of sunrises and sunsets, captivating heights and nature’s best angles? If you’re looking to upgrade your kit, there are quite a few options out there. Many landscape photographers value large sensors, high resolution and decent lenses. In this guide, let’s look at our favourite camera bodies and lenses for landscape photography.

Cameras

First, your camera body. Most landscape photographers prefer using cameras with a full-frame sensor due to their arguably better colour and light rendition and ability to capture fine details—it has a bigger canvas to paint upon. And, with the recent increase in affordable digital medium-format cameras, some landscape photographers are going even bigger than full frame.

As your main subject—the landscape—isn’t going to move, you won’t necessarily need a camera that offers higher shutter speeds or the latest autofocus tracking technology. So, you’re free to focus on sensor size and perhaps ISO performance too. Let’s take a look at some of the camera body options for landscape photography.

Full-frame DSLR 

At the lower end of the budget scale, an older full-frame DSLR—like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II or the Nikon D610—offers outstanding value for money. You might have to compromise on a few features offered by more expensive cameras. And you’ll have to settle for a slightly lower resolution.

On the plus side, you’ll still shoot on that all-important full-frame sensor and have more of your budget to spend on lenses.

If higher-resolution images are important to you, then you can always upgrade to the 45.7-megapixel Nikon D850 or the 50.6-megapixel Canon EOS 5DS R.

Both are considered to be among the greatest DSLR cameras ever released, and you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to lenses, too.

Another benefit of using a DSLR is its battery life—it’s likely your DSLR will keep taking photos long after you’ve arrived back home after your landscape photography trip.

Full-frame mirrorless

Ready to make the move to mirrorless? There are now plenty of full-frame mirrorless camera bodies available. Most of them are compact, versatile and packed with features. Some landscape enthusiasts may also enjoy creating other genres of photography. Full-frame mirrorless camera really offer that versatility in shooting stills and video.

Boasting a full-frame 45-megapixel sensor, the lightweight Canon EOS R5 is a great choice for outdoor landscapes. The Canon EOS R5 is extremely versatile and reliable. Canon is known for its natural colour rendering, and takes it a step further with the R series. And, as you can see in our interview with aerial photographer Paul Seibert, the Canon EOS R5 is even great at shooting from helicopters—if that’s your thing.

Another excellent choice is the Nikon Z7, which has a 45.7-megapixel full-frame sensor and access to a wide range of lenses. The Nikon Z7 is light enough to pack for long hikes, and offers the ability to attach Nikon DSLR lenses and Nikon F lenses with an adapter.

With its 42.2-megapixel full-frame sensor in a compact yet durable body, the Sony A7R III is a great camera for any landscape photographer. It’s pretty lightweight too, so it’s perfect for those hikes through the countryside to find the perfect landscape to shoot.

Medium format

If you want an even-bigger sensor than full-frame, it’s worth considering a digital medium-format camera. Among the more affordable is the Fujifilm GFX 50S or Fujifilm GFX 50R, which share a huge 51.4-megapixel sensor able to pick up all the finest details within your landscapes. 

Read more about Pentax 645Z vs Fujifilm GFX 50S for landscapes.

Lenses

Your choice of lenses completely depends on your preferred style of landscape photography. To bring most of your scene into focus, you’ll need a large depth of field. And this requires a narrow aperture. That’s great news for landscape photographers, who can save money by avoiding those more expensive lenses with wider maximum apertures.

Wide-angle zoom lenses

For Canon mirrorless, the Canon EF 14-35mm f/4 L IS is a great wide-angle zoom. But you can save yourself some cash by going with the Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM via a Canon EF-EOS R instead.

For Nikon mirrorless, you have the and for Nikon DSLRs there’s the EF 16-35mm f/4G ED VR. A Nikon F–Z helps Nikon mirrorless shooters access inexpensive Nikon DSLR lenses.

Sony mirrorless landscape photographers can go third-party with the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN FE.

Finally, for Fujifilm medium-format cameras, there’s the Fujifilm 32-64mm f/4 R LM WR.

Prime lenses

If you don’t have a wide-angle zoom, then you can pick up a few wide-angle primes for a pretty good price. Again, a wide aperture isn’t usually required for landscape photography. 

For Canon DSLR, there’s the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L II USM and Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM EF, and for Canon mirrorless, we’d recommend the 16mm f/2.8 STM and 35mm f/1.8 IS STM Macro. 

Nikon DSLR users could go with the 24mm f/2.8D and 24mm f/1.4G ED, or the Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S and Nikon24mm f/1.8 S for Nikon mirrorless. 

If you’ve got a Sony mirrorless, the 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM FE and Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM are a good choice. Two fantastic primes for your Fujifilm medium-format camera are the Fujifilm 45mm f/2.8 R WR and the Fujifilm63mm f/2.8 R WR.

Telephoto lenses 

While many landscape photographers will rely on wide-angle lenses, using a good telephoto lens can be a great way to pick up and isolate individual details—like people, buildings and trees—within your landscapes. This helps you play with juxtaposition and create a sense of scale in your landscape photography.

For Canon, there’s the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM or Canon RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS. 

Nikon shooters can pick up the 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR or 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S, and Sony mirrorless users would do well with the 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS. 

And, for Fujifilm medium-format, you have the 100-200mm f/5.6 R LM OIS WR. 

Accessories

Last but not least, accessories can make your life far easier when it comes to creating landscape photography. While we won’t go into filters in this article, they can be useful—read more about the different types of filters. 

To get your entire scene in focus, your aperture needs to be as narrow as possible to enlarge your depth of field—which means you need to gather more light. You can either raise your ISO or slow down your shutter speed. Luckily, your landscape subject will never move, so you can bring your shutter speed right down. The only thing you’ll need to consider is hand shake—therefore, a photo tripods is a must-have for landscape photography. It’s worth investing in a lightweight tripod, especially if you’re hiking to your next location. 

Read more recommendations on the MPB content hub.

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