These are the best Canon lenses for aerial photography, chosen for their sharp optics, effective stabilization, fast and reliable autofocus, and practical weight—traits that keep images crisp from helicopters, small aircraft, and doors-off flights where vibration, wind, and changing light punish gear. The RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM is the aerial workhorse: light, weather-sealed, and stabilized, it covers city grids, coastlines, and mountain ridges in one flight with clean geometry and quick AF, while the RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM adds low-light headroom for golden hour and blue-hour runs when shutter speeds climb to freeze rotor and airframe shake. For sweeping landscapes and architectural overviews without exaggerated distortion, the RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM is a standout—filter-friendly for ND or haze control, sharp to the edges stopped a touch, and wide enough for tight airspace patterns—while the RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM gives you the same control with faster glass for dusk passes. When you need reach for ships, wildlife from altitude, ridge walkers, or isolated rooftops, the RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM balances brilliantly in the air—short, light, and stabilized—where its f/2.8 sibling is superb but heavier on long sorties; for deep daylight reach the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM is shockingly capable from a stable hover or fast pass, giving tight frames on boats and building details without swapping lenses. Prime shooters can keep kits featherweight and tack sharp with the RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM and RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM—both stabilized, both bright for twilight, both with quick, quiet AF that holds through plexiglass and turbulence; the RF 50mm f/1.8 STM adds a natural perspective for layered urban scenes and landscapes when you want less wide-angle stretch. Budget and legacy options adapt perfectly: the EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM remains a legend for aerials thanks to its IS and rectilinear rendering; the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM is a reliable one-lens flight; the EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II USM and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM are proven telephoto performers that keep weight under control and AF confident when the pilot calls out a quick bank. APS-C flyers benefit from compact reach: the RF-S 18-150mm IS STM covers almost everything with low mass and good stabilization, the RF-S 10-18mm IS STM handles tight patterns and cabin-window framing, and adapted EF-S 55-250mm IS STM delivers lightweight tele punch that’s easy to handhold. In practice, aerial success is equal parts lens choice and technique: favor stabilized lenses and set high shutter floors (start around 1/1000–1/2000 sec, faster with long glass or windy doors-off), use Auto ISO with exposure compensation to ride fast-changing light, and keep IBIS + IS on for handheld dampening unless you’re on a powered gyro; avoid polarizers when shooting through angled plexiglass to reduce banding and uneven sky, press a flexible rubber hood lightly to the window to kill reflections, and shoot slightly wide to crop out window edges and distortions. Stop wide zooms to f/5.6–f/8 for corner discipline and keep telephotos near wide-open to hold shutter speed; use single-point AF on mid-distance subjects and continuous AF for parallax-heavy banking shots; for haze, lean on clear filters in front, protective hoods, and dehaze in post rather than heavy in-flight filtration that can induce reflections. A simple, flight-ready RF kit that covers most missions is RF 14-35mm f/4L for wide coverage, RF 24-105mm f/4L for general scenes, and RF 70-200mm f/4L for distant details; if you want a two-lens setup, carry the RF 15-35mm f/2.8L and RF 70-200mm f/4L to span dawn to daylight with minimal weight, or swap the tele for RF 100-500mm when the brief is ships, wildlife, or roof inspections. Whether you’re mapping coastlines, tracing skyline symmetry, documenting agricultural patterns, or framing mountain layers at first light, Canon’s wide-to-tele RF lineup—plus adapted EF standouts—delivers the stabilization, sharpness, and manageable mass that turn turbulent air into clean, publishable aerial images.