The engine's answer
Best zoom lens for one lens for a whole trip, under €3,000
Canon RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS
90% match
One APS-C lens for the whole trip
Why it wins here
The Canon RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS takes this question at €600 — €2,400 under the €3,000 ceiling — with a 90% match against 65 current lenses. For one lens for a whole trip the engine leans on weight and close focus: it scores 310 g and 0.44 × mag., where the pool averages 633 g and 0.33 × mag.. At 310 g it is lighter than the average lens here (633 g). Asking for a zoom lens alone ruled out 28 of the 65 lenses before scoring began.
The dimensions where it beats the rest of the field by the most, for this question specifically.
- Use
- Prime/zoom
- Budget
What's good
- Wide to real telephoto in 310 g
- Stabilised for unstabilised R bodies
What to watch
- Dim at the long end
- Superzoom softness past 100 mm
What came close — and what each gave up
- Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.689%The kit zoom that starts at twentyThe Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 (89% match) matches it on every weighted measure and loses only on the sum: 89% to 90%. Check price: B&H Photo Adorama MPB (used) eBay (used)
- Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN89%A constant f/2.8 that fits in a coat pocketThe Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN (89% match) trails on close focus — 0.35 × mag. against 0.44 × mag.. Check price: B&H Photo Adorama MPB (used) eBay (used)
- OM System M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO II87%The rainproof standard zoomThe OM System M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO II (87% match) trails on close focus — 0.30 × mag. against 0.44 × mag.. Check price: B&H Photo Adorama MPB (used) eBay (used)
Questions this answer raises
- Is the Canon RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS within a €3,000 budget?
- Yes. At €600 it leaves €2,400 of the ceiling unspent; the Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 costs €600 and the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN costs €450.
- How good is the Canon RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS for one lens for a whole trip?
- On the use question it scores 72%, 39 points above the average of the 65 lenses ranked. Its strongest numbers for this use are weight (310 g) and close focus (0.44 × mag.).
- Is the Canon RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS a zoom lens?
- Yes — type: Zoom. 28 of the 65 lenses in the pool are not, and were never in contention here.
Change an assumption
This page answers one photographer's question. Yours is not that question — adjust the subject, the format or the budget and watch the whole field re-rank.
Answer for your own shooting