Guide to the Best Buy Sony Lenses in 2024

When it comes to mirrorless cameras, few brands are as well-known or established as Sony. For years, Sony mirrorless cameras have wowed professional and hobby photographers around the world with their sharp images and compact, lightweight size.

But it’s not just their cameras that have made Sony a favourite amongst photography enthusiasts everywhere: The brand’s extensive range of digital camera lenses is also a huge factor. While this range presents photographers with a variety of choices, it can also complicate the question of which camera lens to buy. To help you choose the right lens for your Sony DSLR or mirrorless camera, we’ve put together a handy camera lens guide with our picks for the most popular lens types. From wide angle lenses to macro lenses, read on to learn the best camera lens to buy for your Sony camera.

Whether you’re a professional photographer or an eager beginner, a standard zoom lens is an essential component of your photography tool kit. Lightweight, portable, and easy to use, these versatile lenses can be used to capture everything from portraits and everyday snapshots to breathtaking landscapes.

If you’re new to photography or are just getting the hang of your Sony camera, a zoom lens can help you take quality snaps while you learn the ropes. Thanks to their easily adjustable focal length, they allow you to experiment with different styles and angles without having to swap between multiple lenses. Once you gain confidence and develop your skills, you can consider growing your photography gear collection with the other lenses in this camera lens guide. 

Our top picks of Sony camera zoom lenses are below.

If you’re looking for a digital camera lens that will help you play with photo composition and explore new angles, then look no further: A wide angle lens is one of your best bets. A short focal length enables these lenses to fit more into every shot, and makes them an indispensable addition to every landscape, travel, and adventure photographer’s bag.

In addition to expansive, panoramic views, wide angle lenses are known for the detail and vibrancy they pack into every image. A high quality Sony wide angle lens will preserve details and colours with stunning accuracy, and ensure everything from the foreground to the farthest point in the distance is in perfect focus. Read on to discover our two favourite Sony wide angle lenses in 2023.

Sony FE 35mm f1.4 GM

• Prime lens - no zoom capability, so you will need to get physically closer to your subject; portable build with fewer parts involved
• Premium GM Quality - capitalise on the high-resolution of Sony cameras with a suitably premium optics
• Customisable focus-hold button - assign to control various shooting functions including focus locking, aperture preview, AF on/off, and more
• Ultra-Bright f1.4 Max Aperture

Sony 16-35mm f4 FE OSS

• Zoom lens - expertly control the framing and composition of your wide-angle images; ideal for landscapes, architecture, and travel photography
• Constant f4 maximum aperture
• Exceptional optical design - tack-sharp images from corner to corner
• ED and Aspherical optical elements
• Optical SteadyShot (OSS) stabilisation - suitable for low-light shooting
• Full-frame and APS-C compatible

Capture even the smallest subject in incredible detail with a macro lens. Whether you’re a food photographer hoping to capture every last, delicious bite or a wildlife enthusiast celebrating the colours and textures of nature, this digital camera lens type is a great addition to your photography toolkit.

Offering a tight crop, long focal length and, in some cases, 1:1 magnification, macro lenses give you a chance to get up close and personal with your subject without disturbing it. This quality makes this type of camera lens ideal for shooting everything from intimate portraits to amazing wildlife photography.

The following Sony macro lenses are compatible with full-frame and APS-C sensors, meaning that you can hang onto them if you upgrade your camera down the track.

Sony E-Mount 90mm f2.8 Macro OSS

• Bright f2.8 aperture - shoot handheld and create shallow depths of fields
• 1:1 magnification - capture life-size images of the most minute subjects
• Optical SteadyShot (OSS) stabilisation - blur-free images and videos without the use of a tripod
• Longer focal length - get a tighter crop of subjects without physically getting too close
• High-end spherical, ED, and Super ED optical elements - premium sharpness levels

Sony E-Mount 50mm f2.8 Macro

• F2.8 aperture - creates a good amount of background blur 
• “Normal” field of view on full-frame cameras and a tighter crop of APS-C sensors - can be used to create stunning portraits
• Dust and moisture-resistant build - great for outdoor shooting
• 1:1 magnification - can focus as close as 16cm
• Focus hold button and focus limiter - tweak the lens to perform at its speediest and most efficient and to suit your shooting style

Prime lenses have been around since the dawn of photography, and they are still favoured by professional and enthusiast photographers who are seeking maximum image quality and resolution. As discussed in our own version of the great prime versus zoom lenses debate, while zoom lenses get the tick for versatility, prime lenses are best for sharpness, depth of field control, and performance in relation to physical size - they are generally more compact than their zoom counterparts.

Prime lenses generally have fast maximum apertures, such as f1.8 or faster, which is perfect or producing dreamy bokeh - that’s what photographers call the beautiful background blur you have seen in countless jaw-dropping portraits. Before you take the plunge and purchase a full kit of prime lenses, it must be noted that by their very definition, prime lenses only provide you with a solitary focal length to work with. If you can get used to this and learn to “zoom with our feet”, you will be overwhelmed with the benefits.

Sony FE 50mm f2.5 G

• Ultra-portable build - perfect for travel
  
• Physical Aperture RIng - includes click/declick switch
  
• Full-frame compatible
• High-quality optical design - Aspherical and ED elements included
  
• Dual linear AF motors
  
• One of a trio of recently released, compact FE prime lenses (See also: 40mm f2.5 & 24mm f2.8)
  

Sony FE 85mm f1.4 GM

• Bright f1.4 max aperture
• Full-frame compatible
• Fast & quiet linear AF motor- great for stills and video
• Portrait-friendly focal length
• Excellent optical design - sharpness and clarity are guaranteed thanks to the combination of XA and ED elements

As far as versatile lenses for digital cameras go, it’s hard to go past a telephoto lens. This powerful zoom lens captures distant and dynamic subjects in astounding detail, making it the perfect choice for everything from wedding photography to sporting shots. Whatever your subject, telephoto zoom lenses allow you to capture them from afar without compromising on composition, quality, or stability.

If you’re looking to add a Sony telephoto lens to your collection in 2023, we recommend the following lens.

Sony FE 70-200mm f4 G OSS

• Constant f4 aperture - a premium level of depth of field control is available throughout usage
• Optical SteadyShot (OSS) stabilisation - blur-free images and videos, even during handheld shooting
• Tripod collar - provides extra stability when you want to go with a tripod for long exposures and similar, and can be removed for enhanced portability
• Dual linear AF motor and lightning-fast AF system - ideal for sports and wildlife shooters

Deciding which camera lens to buy can be a challenge, but it’s also cause for excitement! As you weigh up your options, remember that a new camera lens is an opportunity to expand your photography skill set and explore new techniques. Ideally, your new lens should align with your shooting style and preferences - but it should also leave room for you to develop new ones!

Now that you know the best buy Sony camera lenses, it’s time to shop online for your new lens. For more information about choosing a lens, read our  Digital Camera Lens Buying Guide today.