Mirrorless lenses are sweeping the industry as the next big thing. If you’re a Nikon or Canon shooter, you have to wait a bit longer for a wider selection of mirrorless lenses. However, Sony photographers may have a more difficult time narrowing down the field to the right lens for their needs.
We have compiled a list of our top 6 lenses for the Sony A9 camera body. We chose lenses that range from professional and expensive to high-performance and budget-friendly.
Additionally, we tried to choose lenses that fit a range of applications. Those range from portraiture and macro photography to sports and wildlife images.
Whether you want one lens that can do it all or a number of specialized prime lenses for every occasion, we’ve compiled a list that can help guide you to your final selection.
6 Best Sony A9 Lenses
Best Overall: Sony FE 24 – 70 mm f/2.8 GM
- Focal Length: 24 – 70mm
- Minimum Focus Distance: 1.24 feet
- Weight: 1 lb. 15.3 ounces
- Filter Thread: 82mm
- Image Stabilization: No
Pros: Useful focal length range, impressively sharp photos, weather sealing, fast autofocus, precise auto focus ring
Cons: Vignetting, large, heavy, expensive
What Makes this Lens Our Top Pick?
It can be hard to find a zoom lens that has the sharpness of a prime lens and the utility and versatility of a zoom. However, this lens offers both.
Images are sharp from edge to edge. The focal length range enables photographers to use it for landscape, event coverage, wedding photography, portraiture, street photography and much more. Basically, if you want a dependable all-in-one lens, this is a great option.
The weather sealing is a nice bonus. It allows you to use this lens in wet or dusty conditions. The focus hold button is good for photographing in busy situations where the autofocus grabs on to multiple objects.
The autofocus ring is also more precise than most despite it being a wire-type ring. The rest of the lens feels solid as well, with the barrel blending metal and plastic to both feel solid and still be lightweight.
This lens achieves decent bokeh for a zoom lens. However, the spheres created are a little more sharply defined than prime lenses. It also doesn’t struggle with chromatic aberration, color fringing or shifting or flares.
Even when objects are extremely backlit, the lens maintains decent contrast with definition in the shadows and highlights.
What Do Reviewers Say?
This is one of the most common basic lenses for photographers. However, Sony surpasses many of the lenses with similar stats from competitors. They created a lens that is sharper, faster and more precise.
Many reviewers named this lens as the best standard zoom lens photographers could purchase. They cited the sharp images and well-handled challenges most zoom lenses face.
The lens struggles with distortion slightly at 24mm, but not more than can be easily corrected in post-processing, and other common issues faced by zoom lenses like chromatic aberration and ghosting were handled well and minimally noticeable. The biggest thing photographers noticed the lens struggled with was vignetting, but this can be easily corrected during editing.
The biggest downside noted was price, as the lens is quite expensive. It is also heavier than most mirrorless lenses, but this is understandable given the fast performance and advanced technology included in the lens.
Features and Considerations
The lens struggles a bit with vignetting and is quite heavy and expensive for a mirrorless lens. If you can afford the cost, however, this lens really is a step above others at the same focal length and aperture and will be worth the price. It is amazingly versatile and sharp for a zoom lens and photographers from a number of fields have enjoyed shooting with it.
A Close Second: Zeiss Batis 18 mm f/2.8
- Focal Length: 18mm
- Minimum Focus Distance: 9.8 inches
- Weight: 11.6 ounces
- Filter Thread: 77mm
- Image Stabilization: No
Pros: Zeiss’ T* coating, well contrasted and sharp images, OLED screen on top, fast quiet autofocus
Cons: Expensive, manual focus ring could be more precise
What Makes this Lens Special?
This ultra-wide angle lens is more versatile than some photographers think, and is perfect for photographing landscape, real estate photography, street photography and even astrophotography.
Images come out sharp form corner to corner and there are considerable details in the shadows and highlights. Overall this is a high-performance prime lens that any photographer would be lucky to have in their camera backpack.
There’s an OLED screen on the top of the lens that tells the photographers the estimated focus distance that can be turned on and off, and the Zeiss’ T* coating reduces flare and chromatic aberration. This also makes this lens a great option for astrophotography since there is very little coma visible.
The autofocus is fast and silent, which is nice when using this lens for nature photography where insects or other small animals may be present. The interior has 11 elements arranged in 10 groups with a considerable amount of glass elements to cut down on things like flare and ghosting.
What Do Reviewers Say?
Reviewers praise the lens for its high quality performance and consistently sharp images and had minimal complaints all things considered. The lens handles well and has a few fun extra elements, like the OLED screen on top to help with focusing and the glass elements to cut down on flaws.
One of the biggest criticisms was the focus ring is too smooth, and it is hard to get a precise focus when using it. It could use more texture and resistance, but the autofocus system is fast and precise so many photographers choose to use the lens in autofocus mode instead.
There is very little linear distortion in final photos, and while there is clear vignetting it is easy to ignore or correct during editing. Flare is relatively easy to control, but there is some ghosting present that can be more difficult to correct. This lens also creates a nice bokeh effect when you get close enough to your subject.
Features and Considerations
While the Batis is sharp, it could definitely be sharper as there is slight softening around the edges of the frame. There is also a very small amount of chromatic aberration present in final images. Both of these issues are minor however and can easily be corrected when editing your final selection.
Finally, this lens definitely isn’t cheap, and while it is high-performance it is also more specialized than other zoom lenses or lenses with longer focal lengths. If photographers have a need for a wide-angle lens, though, they won’t regret going with this one.
Best Portrait Lens: Sony FE 85 mm f/1.4 GM
- Focal Length: 85mm
- Minimum Focus Distance: 2 feet 7 inches
- Weight: 1 lb. 12.9 ounces
- Filter Thread: 77mm
- Image Stabilization: No
Pros: Great for portraits, super wide aperture, good low light performance
Cons: No image stabilization, expensive, heavy
What Makes this Lens Special?
This is definitely the best 85mm prime lens for Sony mirrorless camera fans, with this lens being faster, sharper and generally better than third party competitors.
This lens is ideal for portrait photographers and has a wide enough aperture that you can capture beautiful bokeh and isolate subjects from the background nicely. It can also be used for landscape photography, nature photography and event coverage.
In addition to allowing photographers to take better images indoors and in other low light situations, the wide open aperture also gives images a sharper look and creates better bokeh.
The lens is relatively small and lightweight compared to others in its class, though it can be a bit heavy on the Sony mirrorless camera bodies. It is weather-sealed against moisture, dust and freezing though and is durable through consistent use.
There are 11 elements included in this lens, including one aspherical element and 3 special dispersion ones to help handle ghosting, flares and aberrations. The autofocus motor is also smooth and precise, even in low light situations.
What Do Reviewers Say?
This lens was one of Sony’s G-Master class lenses, which have the company’s best optical technology and quality today. They are more expensive and heavier because of this but also deliver quality to match. Reviewers generally praise this lens, particularly for its low light performance, and had a hard time finding things to criticize when reviewing it.
The lens focuses in one second or less with consistent accuracy, though photographers can switch to manual focus mode if they want. Like most lenses that have an aperture at f/2.4 or larger final images can struggle with chromatic aberrations and greenish fringing. This lens definitely has this issue, but not badly enough that we would consider going with a different option.
The images are also very sharp in the center, with minimal softening around the edges and corners. This is more noticeable when shooting far away from a subject, but as this lens is most popular among portrait photographers this shouldn’t be an issue.
Features and Considerations
This lens performs well overall, but can struggle with slight color aberrations, flares, ghosting and glare. These issues are not uncommon for lenses with similar statistics and are either easy to fix or easy to miss in final images in this case.
Like many mirrorless Sony lenses also, this lens is a little on the expensive side. While it would be nice if price were no option, photographers should weigh how often they would use a prime lenses like this vs. getting a more versatile zoom lens when making their selection.
Best Telephoto Zoom Lens: Sony 70 – 200 mm f/4 G OSS
- Focal Length: 70 – 200mm
- Minimum Focus Distance: 3 feet 3.4 inches
- Weight: 1 lb. 13.6 ounces
- Filter Thread: 72mm
- Image Stabilization: Yes
Pros: Easy to access controls, tripod collar included, fast autofocus, many premium glass elements, affordable for a telephoto zoom lens
Cons: Softening around the corners, Not as fast as the new 70 – 200mm f/2.8mm lens
What Makes this Lens Special?
While this isn’t the fastest or best telephoto zoom lens from Sony for their mirrorless camera bodies, we included it on this list because it is a great budget option that still takes amazing images.
It is also considerably lighter than telephoto zoom lenses created for DSLR bodies and can take sharp images with brightly rendered colors. Overall, most photographers who own this lens love it.
The rubberized rings on the barrel are easy to grip and use, and the autofocus is silent and quick. The motor is also pretty silent, which is useful when photographing wildlife.
The lens also has image stabilization built in, a first for this guide, which works together with the in-body SteadyShot featured on Sony’s mirrorless cameras to cut out camera shake and blur.
What Do Reviewers Say?
Reviewers praise this lens for its performance and affordability. Having been the first full frame telephoto zoom lens released by Sony for their full frame mirrorless system, it has held up pretty well over the years.
For photographers who make a living shooting sports or wildlife images, a faster, newer lens might be a better option, but for the rest of us this lens is perfect.
There is noticeable vignetting at both ends of the zoom range, but they are easy to correct and aren’t as severe as other lenses included on this list.
The lens also handles backlighting and other harsh light sources well, with some blue or purple haze but minimal color fringing. It also creates bokeh decently well for a telephoto zoom lens.
The lens doesn’t struggle with distortion at all and creates images that are consistently sharp and have minimal softening around the edges. Given its consistent performance, reviewers particularly liked how this lens is versatile and works for a number of different applications, from wildlife and sports photography to moon shots and portraiture and even landscape and nature shots.
Features and Considerations
The autofocus and general performance is a bit slower than newer telephoto zoom lenses that have been released. The lens also struggles with purple and green hues when facing a strong lighting source. Given the surprisingly affordable price tag and lightweight nature, however, these are excusable.
Best Landscape Lens: Sony FE 16 – 35 mm f/2.8
- Focal Length: 16 – 35mm
- Minimum Focus Distance: 11 inches
- Weight: 1 lb. 8 ounces
- Filter Thread: 82mm
- Image Stabilization: No
Pros: Nano AR and fluorine coatings, weather-sealed, sharp images, smooth bokeh, versatile focal length range
Cons: Expensive, heavy
What Makes this Lens Special?
This is another lens from Sony’s G-Master class, and it delivers in performance, quality and consistency again. The lens has 2 extreme aspherical elements, 3 aspherical elements, Nano AR coating and fluorine coating to help reduce ghosting, flare, chromatic aberrations and achieve remarkably sharp images. It also has an 11-blade rounded aperture to create smooth and consistent bokeh.
While chromatic aberration is more of a struggle at shorter focal lengths, this lens eliminates it almost completely at longer focal lengths. Since this issue is more difficult to correct in post processing, this makes this lens particularly appealing to many photographers. It also is remarkably sharp, with images that are noticeably sharper than Canon’s lens with the same specifications.
What Do Reviewers Say?
Reviewers praise this lens as one of the best wide-angle zoom lenses from any manufacturer, and cite the amazing sharpness, consistent quality and cutting-edge technology as reasons to invest in this lens. This lens is also surprisingly consistent at all focal lengths and doesn’t appear to have a weak length like many zoom lenses do.
While there is some vignetting, this is the easiest issue to fix during post-processing, and the lens handles other lighting issues remarkably well. Images are razor sharp at the center of the frame, with barely noticeable softening around the edges and corners. The wide open aperture also allows photographers to use this lens in lower light situations, like landscapes at twilight or architecture shots at night.
Features and Considerations
The one area where this lens scores lower than lenses with the same stats from other manufacturers is distortion. While the problem is worse at the longer focal lengths, it is slightly more noticeable at all focal lengths than with other lenses. Most photographers can correct this during editing on your monitor, though, and this seems like a small trade-off given the Sony FE 16 – 35mm f/2.8’s performance in other areas.
Most Versatile Lens: Sony FE 24 – 240 mm f/3.5 – 6.3 OSS
- Focal Length: 24 – 240mm
- Minimum Focus Distance: 1 foot 8 inches – 2 feet 8 inches
- Weight: 1 lb. 11.5 ounces
- Filter Thread: 72mm
- Image Stabilization: Yes
Pros: Affordable, great for travel, relatively lightweight, advanced linear autofocus motor, built in image stabilization, weather stabilization
Cons: Chromatic aberration, could be sharper, vignetting
What Makes this Lens Special?
This is a great all-around lens. It is particularly good for travel given its affordable price tag, versatile focal length range and lightweight nature. That is the case especially when compared to other lenses at similar focal lengths.
From portraits to sports to wildlife and everyday or travel photography, it’s hard to doubt the utility of a zoom lens that ranges from wide-angle to ultra-telephoto. Surprisingly, the technology and performance of this lens are also noteworthy, making it a great value purchase.
The lens has five aspherical elements and one ED glass element to help cut down on flares and ghosting and deliver great optical performance. The advanced linear motor achieves autofocus quickly, precisely and accurately.
The built-in Optical SteadyShot pairs well with the image stabilization built in to Sony’s mirrorless camera bodies to reduce blur and shake. The lens is also weather-sealed to protect it in any environment, making it even more ideal for travel.
What Do Reviewers Say?
Reviewers consistently noted that they were surprised at the value and performance this lens delivered for such an affordable price tag. It’s not common to find a lens that seems to genuinely be able to do it all for under $1,000. That is the case particularly if you want that lens to do everything well. This lens seems to fit that bill.
The lens build is solid and surprisingly lightweight for a zoom lens that reaches so far into the telephoto range. It still feels a bit heavy on the mirrorless Sony A9, but that is to be expected for larger telephoto lenses.
There are also no buttons or controls on the barrel. Features like the optical image stabilization have to be turned on and off in the camera menu.
The images are sharp with some noticeable vignetting when the camera is wide open. Flare is controlled well and isn’t noticeable. However, purple fringing and color aberration is a bit more of a struggle.
Features and Considerations
While the weight is decent for a telephoto lens, this lens is a bit front-heavy. This can cause it to make the A9 feel a little unbalanced. However, most photographers were able to adjust and get used to the distribution in a day or two of use.
The lens struggles a bit more with color aberration and fringing than other lenses. However, this trade-off is worth the utility for many photographers.
Selection Criteria: How We Ranked Our Choices
With so many lens options available for the Sony A9 and other Sony mirrorless camera bodies, it can be difficult to narrow down to the top lens or lenses you should add to your camera bag. Here are the criteria we considered when compiling this list.
Versatility
When selecting a lens, it is best to first consider budget so you can decide if you can afford to go with prime lenses that have more specific applications but are sharper or more versatile zoom lenses that fit a number of scenarios. We tried to present options that fit both plans but tend to favor versatile lenses that fit a number of different applications.
While super wide-angle prime lenses are nice and are definitely necessary for photographers who make a living doing real estate photography, they are expensive and far too specialized for the average photographer.
This is where we instead recommend lenses like Sony’s FE 16 – 35mm f/2.8, as this can be used for real estate photography but can also excel at landscapes, everyday images and wedding photography.
Lens | Best Uses |
Sony FE 24 – 70 mm f/2.8 GM | Everyday photography, weddings, general use |
Zeiss Batis 18 mm f/2.8 | Landscape, everyday photography |
Sony FE 85 mm f/1.4 GM | Portrait |
Sony 70 – 200 mm f/4 G OSS | Sports, action, wildlife |
Sony FE 16 – 35 mm f/2.8 | Landscape, architecture, weddings |
Sony FE 24 – 240 mm f/3.5 – 6.3 OSS | Travel |
Value
Whether you go with an expensive lens or a budget one, you should make sure the technology you are getting is well worth the money. If a lens is expensive because it is the only one in that class currently on the market or has just been released, wait and see what comes out next. Often the price will drop or a lens with more current technology is just a month or two away.
Maximum Aperture
While having a wider maximum aperture can definitely increase the price of a lens, it also enables you to photograph lower light situations. For instance, the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM lens is one of the more expensive options on this list, but you can photograph an event indoors without a tripod and with amazing sharpness.
We recommend considering the application you are most likely to use your lens in and deciding if you need the f/1.4 or f/2.8 aperture or if you would be just as well served by a cheaper f/4 lens that would be just as sharp outside in adequate lighting.
Lens | Maximum Aperture |
Sony FE 24 – 70 mm f/2.8 GM | f/2.8 |
Zeiss Batis 18 mm f/2.8 | f/2.8 |
Sony FE 85 mm f/1.4 GM | f/1.4 |
Sony 70 – 200 mm f/4 G OSS | f/4 |
Sony FE 16 – 35 mm f/2.8 | f/2.8 |
Sony FE 24 – 240 mm f/3.5 – 6.3 OSS | f/3.5 |
Sony vs. Third Party
While there are a number of high-value, robust lenses from third-party manufacturers, we tried to select the best lens in each class based on performance, value and price. There are often lenses with the same focal lengths and apertures from multiple manufacturers.
While we have selected our top picks for this guide, we recommend you compare across manufacturers before making your purchase to be sure you are getting the right lens for your situations.
For example, while the G-Master class Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 is lauded as one of the best portrait lenses on the market, if you tend to shoot senior class portraits outside in good lighting, you can probably get a less expensive lens with a smaller maximum aperture from Zeiss or another third party manufacturer. The lens may not perform as well as the Sony GM lens in low lighting, but why pay the premium if you don’t need the functionality?
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