Buying Guide: The best lenses for Sony mirrorless cameras

First I know everyone wants a fast lens! But with a Sony the high ISO with less noise beats the fast lens thinking, know your camera's capabilities BEFORE getting an expensive lens. I started with the A7S in 2014 and with only three Sony FE lenses I used my old Canon FD and EF-S lenses. But for wide angle there were none till I learned of the of the APS-C SEL1018 which can be used also on full frame from 12-18mm (18 if you remove the light shield) and in APS-C mode you get 15-27mm. It is small, uses screw on filters and IS!!! I still have in my bag. Lastly I do not understand the want for a 24-70 or 24-105 when you have the SEL24240. I have many lenses but carry mostly the SEL1224G and the SEL24240. Whether on a A7S, A7R2 or A7M3 both are sharp and easy to travel and capture the most of anything. The SEL1224 is the most excellent for astro Milky Way as is the SEL1635Z (No Coma). But day or night anywhere you can not beat the Combo!!!! Know your camera no longer FILM!

I'm a FF Sony owner, on my 5th body (3 active). IMO, DPR nailed it in this review. You are completely justified in emphasizing an overlapping range of zoom lenses for general photography. I personally prefer prime lenses for critical applications (e.g., landscapes), but they're more expensive and heavier than zoom lenses covering the same range. F/2.8 may be a magic number for professionals and dilitantes, but largely unnecessary when ISO 25,600 can yield publishable results.

I am intriqued by the new 24-105 f/4 lens, but would make the same choice again for a 24-70/2.8 today. This is a core focal length range, used for 50-80% of all shots in my portfolio. Sony spared no effort designing this lens, and its image quality and durability warrant its place in my carry kit.

Surprised you didn't mention the Sony 135 1.8 GM prime.

The concept of a “best” lens is ridiculous. All lenses are compromises, depending on what the user needs - weight, size, price, IQ, FL, AF, stabilization, speed, etc. are all factors to be considered. No lens is perfect - it depends on which compromises are important to you.

I actually disagree with most of these reccomendations. Why 28mm f2 instead of 24mm 1.4? Is it because one is in stock and the other completely sold out everywhere?

My Voigtländer Heliar III 15mm F/4.5 arrived.
I have managed to take it out only once.

What I love: The design. This lens looks and feels like a piece of precision engineering. It is compact, smaller than the 55mm f/1.8. The laws of physics dictate that a lens this size has its limits. You do not take this one (F/4.5) to available light night shooting. Vignetting is quite heavy but the LR profile (over)fixes it with a single click.
The picture quality leaves nothing to be hoped for stopped down.
Manual focusing is assisted by the auto zoom of Sony. If this does not please you, you can turn it off. I turned off the highlighting. The depth of field of this lens sort of makes it useless.
What do I not like? I am not very good with wide angles and this definitely is one. I have taken quite a few pictures of my toes and one of my underpants also. Didn't mean to. My bad. I take this as a learning project.

This lens should have been on DPR's list.
You can find it on Amazon.

I got the Rokinon 35mm f/2.8. Good picture quality, fast AF and nice price. It is light and compact. The only problem is the flare shot against the Sun.
For some reason, the only wide choice they are showing is the Sony zoom.
I ordered the Voigtländer 15mm Heliar III. Any opinions anyone?

Love the 24-70 GM and the 70-200GM. Expensive, but amazing lens.

Can't wait until some of these prices start to drop....

Sigma 16mm 1.4 is phenomenally sharp and affordable. I cannot believe this lens was not mentioned.

The FE recommendations are like a military weapons show - bazookas galore...

sony lens prices are idiotic.

Surprised the 85f/1.8G isn't on the list, for the money the IQ is excellent, sharp wide open, nice bokeh, the AF is fast, the lens is compact and light, you wont miss f/1.4 at all with this lens.

Hello Santa, I've been good this year!

The Samyang FE 35/2.8 doesn't have AF issues, with Firmware 0.2, AF into Avialable/Low Light Situations are drastically being enhanced.

Current is Firmware 0.3 - and the Samyang FE 35/1.4 does also have a Firmware Update, which covers the same issue, it was being priced as low as ~550 EUR here into Germany, posted that more than once - because it's a great "budget" Sony Zeiss FE 35/1.4 Alternative, see various YouTube 1:1 Comparsion Videos, for this Price, it's great, also Center to Edge Sharpness, the same for the cheaper FE 35/2.8, which i am using on my A7, besides build quality, it's also a very good Lens, for the asking price. Got mine mint, some time ago, for just 180 bucks.

https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/samyang_af_35mm_f2_8_fe_review

https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/samyang_af_35mm_f1_4_fe_review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNePiDzYJeM

Both are fine Prime Lenses, for their asking Price - and great "Sony Zeiss" Alternative Lenses.

Good Light.

Those spending the money for the best in class ff sensor (A7rIII) will not settle with a pretty ok lens such as the 28 f2. There are plenty of excellent e-mount primes available, from wide to 135mm. These are the ones to consider.

I would go for the new Sony Rx100 mk6 myself. I’m using it at the moment on holiday and the small size is amazingly liberating. At 200mm I see no vignetting either, which is very good. Image stabilisation indoors is also effective - iso 1600 at 1/20 sec is possible for me.

The fact they picked the 28/2 highlights for me that what is missing is a similar sized 35/2. I know the batis 40mm is out but for a compact 35mm F2 you have to go for the Loxia manual focus 35/2.

I mostly agree with the choices for full frame (FE) except for best prime/ single focal length lens, despite it's limited scope ( it should have been broken down into wide, standard and telephoto at least) I would choose Batis 25 f/2 over the Sony 28 and the Sony 55 f/1.8 or 85 f/1.8 over the Rokinon while the money no object I would give it to the Sony 24 f/1.4 over the Sigma.

No mention of the Voightlander lenses. The 50mm f1.2 is awesome on the Sony.

BEST PRIME LENS, Samyang 35 1.2.>Sony E 50 1.8 oss > Sigma 30 1.4.

Best kit lens replacement, buy an Rx10 MK 1

Best telephoto zomm lens, buy an Rx10 MK1. Money no object: Buy an RX10 Mk3-4.

Ultra Wide Zoom Sony e 10-18

Best macro lens. Sony e 30 3.5
Money no object: Sony Fe 90 2.8 OSS

No guide for m43? 😒

The zeiss Sony 35mm f2.8 is a superb lens with a small size that matched the camera bodies. Surprised there's no mention of it.

I bet these are the lenses which amazon makes the most profits with.

Picking the "best" lens is, to the say the least, a tricky business, in part because choice of lens, like much else, is quite a subjective endeavour.

I agree with your assessment WRT the 28mm, if we consider "best" to be an assessment that balances price, size and value.

Not a few will take exception to your "wedding photographer's" choice of the 24mm to 105mm zoom. Versatile, yes, but clearly an "all things to most people" lens (not fast enough for low-light, not light enough for travellers and not crisp enough for the most demanding shooters).

Perhaps you might have considered a few other primes (85mm? 35 to 50mm? 135mm?).

Surprised that you did not also list the fantastic Sony Zeiss fe 55mm prime lens.

Best prime is the 28/2? Wow I didn't see that coming. I guess I need to re-evaluate this site a bit.
I could have accept the 55/1.8 it is a legend. The 50 1.4 big but amazing. The 35 1.4 big but that is also that lens when you just forget the size and the weight because it doesn't matter anymore. The Batis 85 i like very much it is maybe not the best but still. And there are a lot more, like the 85 G, or the 90 macro ... etc... But the 28/2??? It is a decent lens of course but I don't know...
I guess I just moved on from "big heavy vs small light" into the "I just want the highest IQ possible" world... maybe not everybody. I also don't like when the price is there as a too much consideration factor. I am not rich but still I want to know which one is good and not which one is cheap.
Sometimes I feel like they post something weird on purpose for more comment...

So, the best Prime is the 28/2?! A lens with huge distortion and onion bokeh?

Best Prime is the 85 1.8: extremely sharp, most consistent &reliable af lens & great value.
Best value prime is the samyang 35 1.4, it’s the best focusing samyang, sharp wide open and cost nearly half of the sigma and only a third of the zeiss.
Best lens for any money could be the sigma135art or the Voigtländer65apo or a 400gm
The 35mm sigma isn’t focusing very well...

....

Thanks for this article! There's going to be a lot of critics of articles such as this but most people will appreciate it.

One lens worth considering is the Venus Optics Laowa 12mm. It's one of my favourite lenses - super sharp across the sensor with an enormous DOF even wide open makes it a landscape/astro monster. Incredible contrast and colours also. I started out with the 14mm Rokinon/Samyang but it's horrible in comparison. If I lost or damaged this lens, I'd be buying another immediately.

As others have noted, the omission of the Sony 85mm f/1.8 is a real shame - value for money, another monster.

I'd also note that the Sony 50mm f/1.8 is another favourite of mine. A bit of vignetting but easily fixed in post. Again, super sharp for a relatively cheap lens.

In summary, the Venus Optics Laowa 12mm should be featured, it's a beast!

That’s one of the weirdest articles, DP, are you ok?
1. Where’s “best lens for portraits”?
2. Why no Batis/Laowa/Iris/Sigma art lens?
3. 50mm macro is a junk, and it’s darn slow.
4. Best telephoto lens for APS-C - N/A, that’s what should have been there. 55-210 is just horrible.
5. Best travel zoom - tamron 18-200 is awful (and 18-200 LE also), fat 18-200mm silver is clear winner there.

In the macro group how did you not mention the Voightlander APO 65 f/2. This an absolute gem and doubles as an awesome general purpose lens. Well worth the coin.

Also why wasn’t the Sony 85 f/1.8 listed. This lens is a bargain and produces excellent results, nice bokeh, sharp wide open, small and light, fast AF, equally as good as the much dearer Batis 85 f/1.8 and probably 90-95% as good as the 85 f/1.4 for 99.9% of people.

Venus Optics Laowa 15mm f/2 is a steal.
Must have FE lens.